Distractify

{{short description|Online publication and Internet media company launched in 2013}}

{{Infobox website

| name = Distractify

| logo = Distractify logo.png

| screenshot =

| caption =

| employees =

| parent =

| url = {{url|distractify.com}}

| commercial = Yes

| type = Online publication

| registration = No

| language = English

| founded = {{Start date and age|2013}}

| country_of_origin =

| owner =

| author =

| editor =

| launch_date = {{Start date and age|2013}}

| current_status = Active

}}

Distractify is an online publication and Internet media company launched in 2013 by Quinn Hu (also known as the YouTuber 2 Bucks), Yosef Lerner, and Jake Heppner. The company started as a social media startup for viral content and later branched out into news about pop culture.

History

Founded by Quinn Hu, Yosef Lerner, and Jake Heppner, Distractify began in 2013 as a social media startup for viral content. The site reached 21 million unique visitors in November 2013. In 2013, 90% of traffic to the site came from Facebook. Distractify competes with BuzzFeed, Upworthy, and ViralNova.{{Cite web |date=22 November 2013 |last=Dickey|first=Megan Rose|title=This 20-Year-Old Is The Mastermind Behind Distractify, A Fast-Growing Media Startup|url=https://www.businessinsider.com/distractify-media-startup-2013-11|access-date=January 22, 2021|website=Business Insider}}

In 2014, Distractify saw a drop in Facebook traffic after Facebook began to lower reach for meme-related posts.{{Cite web|url=https://www.startupdaily.net/2014/05/startups-can-leverage-facebooks-new-algorithm/ |date=May 2, 2014 |access-date=February 5, 2021 |title=How startups can leverage Facebook's new algorithm |last=Reinemann |first=Beverly |website=Startupdaily}} The site received $7 million in funding that year.{{Cite web|last=FinSMEs|date=June 25, 2014|title=Distractify Raises $7M in Series A Funding|url=https://www.finsmes.com/2014/06/distractify-raises-7m-in-series-a-funding.html|access-date=January 22, 2021|website=FinSMEs|language=en-US}}

In 2017, Distractify filed a federal lawsuit against Brainjolt, which owns "22 Words", for publishing content which was similar to some of Distractify's content.{{Cite web|last=Maddaus|first=Gene|date=June 29, 2017|title=Distractify Accuses 22 Words of Stealing Its Viral Facebook Posts|url=https://variety.com/2017/digital/news/distractify-22words-viral-copyright-facebook-lawsuit-1202480626/|access-date=March 29, 2021|website=Variety|language=en-US}} Distractify has been sued in the past on behalf of photographers for alleged copyright violations concerning the use of their photographs.{{Cite news|last=Victor|first=Daniel|date=July 6, 2017|title=51 Times That the Aggregator Distractify Says Its Copyright Was Violated|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/06/business/media/distractify-lawsuit-22-words.html|access-date=March 29, 2021|issn=0362-4331}}

References

Category:American entertainment websites

Category:Internet properties established in 2013