SourceFed#Hosting

File:Philip DeFranco by Gage Skidmore.jpg

SourceFed was an idea Philip DeFranco had been considering as an evolution of his own YouTube series, The Philip DeFranco Show (PDS). In an interview with Forbes, DeFranco stated that he originally wanted to turn his daily show into several daily segments. He added that there was confusion among his audience when this format was tested, convincing DeFranco that he would need to create a new series to not alienate, but grow his audience.{{cite web|last=Humphrey|first=Michael|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/michaelhumphrey/2012/07/27/youtube-primetime-philip-defrancos-people-first-plan-has-sourcefed-booming/|title=YouTube PrimeTime: Philip DeFranco's 'People First' Plan Has SourceFed Booming|work=Forbes|date=July 27, 2012|access-date=August 1, 2012}}

The SourceFed YouTube channel was created in April 2011. In late 2011, YouTube began its $100 million funding of original or premium content channels. Due to DeFranco's position as a YouTube partner, the website offered him funding for an original channel.{{cite web|last=O'Brien|first=Jon|url=http://newantics.com/blog/produce-like-philip-defranco-4-tips-for-developing-a-youtube-channel/|title=Produce like Philip DeFranco: 4 Tips for Developing a YouTube Channel|work=New Antics|access-date=June 5, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120602002457/http://newantics.com/blog/produce-like-philip-defranco-4-tips-for-developing-a-youtube-channel|archive-date=June 2, 2012}} The SourceFed channel, based on a blog of the same name, was one of these channels.{{cite web|last=Dimick|first=Donald|url=http://www.trinitonian.com/2012/08/31/other-places-for-your-tv-fix/|title=Other places for your TV fix|work=The Trinitonian|date=August 31, 2012|access-date=September 29, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131216014827/http://www.trinitonian.com/2012/08/31/other-places-for-your-tv-fix/|archive-date=December 16, 2013}}{{cite web|last=Newton|first=Casey|url=http://blog.sfgate.com/techchron/2012/02/06/youtubes-phil-defranco-building-an-empire/|title=YouTube's Phil DeFranco building an empire|work=SFGate|date=February 6, 2012|access-date=May 24, 2012}}{{cite web|last=Eördögh|first=Fruzsina|url=http://www.dailydot.com/entertainment/philip-defranco-hit-youtube-sourcefed/|title=Philip DeFranco's latest YouTube venture is a hit|work=The Daily Dot|date=January 30, 2012|access-date=May 24, 2012}} DeFranco revealed that he acquired the funding to launch the channel by originally promising YouTube that the channel would be run as a "celebrity gossip channel", and that it would consist of a single show rather than multiple different shows. However, DeFranco negotiated for less funding, in return to have creative control over the channel's content.{{cite AV media|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DJ4M_o01sI0&t=8m40s|title=Table Talk: SourceFed UK, EVIL JOE, and Drugs!!|publisher=SourceFed|via=YouTube|date=May 22, 2013|access-date=May 23, 2013}} The funding was provided by YouTube, as the channel was part of YouTube's original content initiative. DeFranco hand-picked the first six hosts of SourceFed: Joe Bereta, Elliott Morgan, Lee Newton, Steve Zaragoza, Trisha Hershberger, and Meg Turney. Additionally, SourceFed was originally produced by James Haffner.{{cite web|last=Eördögh|first=Fruzsina|url=http://readwrite.com/2012/08/02/youtube-premium-channel-sourcefed-racks-up-50-000-subscribers/|title=YouTube Premium Channel SourceFed Racks Up 500,000 Subscribers|work=ReadWriteWeb|date=August 2, 2012|access-date=August 7, 2012}}

The channel launched as an original channel on January 23, 2012.{{cite web|last=Cohen|first=Joshua|url=http://www.tubefilter.com/2012/01/26/phil-defranco-sourcefed/|title=Is 'SourceFed' 'The Daily Show' for the YouTube Generation?|work=Tubefilter|date=January 26, 2012|access-date=May 24, 2012}}{{cite web|last=Roettgers|first=Janko|url=http://gigaom.com/video/how-phil-defranco-plans-to-save-youtube/|title=How Phil DeFranco plans to save YouTube|work=Gigaom|date=May 25, 2012|access-date=June 5, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121105162502/http://gigaom.com/video/how-phil-defranco-plans-to-save-youtube/|archive-date=November 5, 2012}}{{cite web|last=Walker|first=Rob|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/01/magazine/on-youtube-amateur-is-the-new-pro.html?pagewanted=all|title=On YouTube, Amateur Is the New Pro|work=The New York Times|date=June 28, 2012|access-date=July 25, 2012}} In 2012, Reuters reported that DeFranco had plans to create a news network.{{cite web|last=Oreskovic|first=Alexei|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/youtube-idUSL1E8G1N2720120501|title=YouTube covets TV gold with new channels|work=Reuters|date=May 1, 2012|access-date=July 4, 2012}}{{cite web|last=Wei|first=Will|url=http://www.businessinsider.com/this-youtube-star-wants-to-create-the-next-news-network-2012-5|title=This YouTube Star Wants To Create The Next Big News Network|work=Business Insider|date=May 24, 2012|access-date=May 24, 2012}} Along with the staple news show (20 Minutes or Less), five additional shows began airing within the first month of the channel's January 2012 launch: Curb Cash, One On One, DeFranco Inc.: Behind the Scenes, Comment Commentary and Bloopers. Curb Cash ended in March 2012. The New Movie Thing Show, a movie review series, and a movie club-style series titled The SourceFed Movie Club were launched in May 2012. Since then, SourceFed has debuted new additions to the channel's lineup. As additional content was being introduced, the SourceFed crew expanded, adding hosts and editors to its team.{{cite AV media|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ry7Bj-a8dmc|title=SourceFed Celebrates 1 Million Subscribers!|via=YouTube|publisher=SourceFed|date=July 14, 2013|access-date=July 14, 2013}}

In early 2012, the Maxim Hot 100 voting website crashed on multiple occasions. Bereta and Morgan claimed that these crashes coincided with them telling their audience through 20 Minutes or Less to vote for Newton as a write-in candidate.{{cite AV media|last1=Morgan|first1=Elliott|last2=Bereta|first2=Joe|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sSQjJPIKhNs|title=Hottest Girls for Maxim Update|publisher=SourceFed|via=YouTube|date=April 3, 2012|access-date=July 12, 2018}} Maxim did not address their claims, but did come out with an article noting that Newton had "list potential".{{cite web|url=http://www.maxim.com/hot-100/the-most-popular-hot-100-write-ins-of-2012|title=UPDATE: The Most Popular 'Hot 100' Write-Ins of 2012|work=Maxim|date=2012|access-date=May 24, 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120421015437/http://www.maxim.com/hot-100/the-most-popular-hot-100-write-ins-of-2012|archive-date=April 21, 2012}} In May, it was announced that Lee Newton placed 57th on the 2012 Maxim Hot 100 list.{{cite web|url=http://www.maxim.com/hot-100/2012|title=2012 Maxim Hot 100|work=Maxim|access-date=May 24, 2012}}{{cite web|url=http://www.maxim.com/maximtv/maxims-2012-hot-100-under-100-seconds|title=Maxim's 2012 Hot 100 in Under 100 Seconds|work=Maxim|date=May 24, 2012|access-date=May 24, 2012}}{{cite web|last=Brazeau|first=Rodney|url=http://www.geeksaresexy.net/2012/05/22/maxim-hot-100-goes-geek/|title=Maxim Hot 100 Goes Geek|work=Geeks are Sexy|date=May 22, 2012|access-date=January 9, 2014}}

In March 2012, Philip DeFranco announced that he would take the SourceFed crew to VidCon 2012.{{cite web|url=http://phillyd.tv/post/19131450218/im-bringing-the-whole-sourcefed-crew-to-vidcon|title=It's been a dream of mine ever since SourceFed began to meet Lee Newton|work=PhillyD.tv|date=March 11, 2012|access-date=September 29, 2012|archive-date=November 1, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121101174631/http://phillyd.tv/post/19131450218/im-bringing-the-whole-sourcefed-crew-to-vidcon|url-status=dead}} There, Bereta, Morgan, Newton, and Zaragoza, along with DeFranco, held a Q&A panel and performed.{{cite web|last=Miller|first=Liz Shannon|url=http://gigaom.com/video/vidcon-2012-love-respect-and-double-rainbows/|title=VidCon 2012: love, respect and double rainbows|work=Gigaom|date=July 1, 2012|access-date=July 25, 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120702073908/http://gigaom.com/video/vidcon-2012-love-respect-and-double-rainbows/|archive-date=July 2, 2012}}

SourceFed hosts Meg Turney and Elliott Morgan, along with Philip DeFranco, presented a series of videos as part of YouTube's "Election Hub" during the 2012 Democratic National Convention and the 2012 Republican National Convention, and joined journalists during live coverage streamed at the end of each night of the conventions.{{cite news|last=Chmielewski|first=Dawn C.|url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/envelope/cotown/la-et-ct-youtube-news-philip-defranco-elections-hub-20120828,0,4409102.story|title=YouTube gives wacky anchorman Philip DeFranco greater exposure|work=Los Angeles Times|date=August 28, 2012|access-date=August 28, 2012}}{{cite web|last=Perigard|first=Mark|url=http://www.bostonherald.com/business/general/view/20220824social_politics_youtube_launches_hub_dedicated_to_round-the_clock_campaign_coverage/|title=YouTube launches 'hub' dedicated to 'round-the clock campaign coverage|work=Boston Herald|date=August 24, 2012|access-date=September 1, 2012}}{{cite news|last=Meredith|first=Leslie|url=https://www.foxnews.com/tech/youtube-launches-2012-elections-hub/|title=YouTube launches 2012 elections hub|work=Fox News|date=August 23, 2012|access-date=September 1, 2012}} A public relations representative for YouTube stated “Having awesome partners like Philip DeFranco involved will attract younger viewers and he will have a really fresh take on politics".{{cite web|last=Manarino|first=Matthew|url=http://newmediarockstars.com/2012/08/philip-defranco-gets-political-on-the-youtube-election-hub-channel/|title=Philip DeFranco Gets Political On The YouTube Election Hub Channel|work=NewMediaRockstars|date=August 22, 2012|access-date=September 1, 2012}} YouTube's "Election Hub" channels for major news networks only received several hundred views, whilst DeFranco's videos on Election Hub received tens of thousands. It was put down to it being in an 'experimental stage'.{{cite web|last=Warzel|first=Charlie|url=http://www.adweek.com/news/technology/youtube-now-political-junkies-143303|title=YouTube: Now for Political Junkies|work=Adweek|date=September 3, 2012|access-date=September 6, 2012}} Most of the partners of Election Hub, excluding DeFranco, Al Jazeera English and BuzzFeed, struggled to garner 1,000 views of their on-demand content during the RNC.{{cite web|last=Eördögh|first=Fruzsina|url=http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/why-youtubes-election-hub-is-fizzling.php|title=Why YouTube's Election Hub is Fizzling|work=ReadWriteWeb|date=September 5, 2012|access-date=October 8, 2012}} During the videos, Turney predicted that the DNC will not make a difference for young voters.{{cite web|last=McManus|first=Doyle|url=https://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/opinion-la/la-ol-how-obama-can-energize-youthful-voters-again-20120904,0,1686960.story|title=Can Obama energize youthful voters again?|work=Los Angeles Times|date=September 4, 2012|access-date=September 29, 2012}} During the conventions, SourceFed uploaded videos explaining them.{{cite web|last=Eskridge|first=Sonya|url=http://s2smagazine.com/stories/2012/09/dnc-starts-north-carolina|title=DNC starts in North Carolina|work=Sister 2 Sister|date=September 4, 2012|access-date=September 29, 2012}} #PDSLive 2012 Election Night Coverage, a five-hour live event hosted by SourceFed and DeFranco, was nominated for a Streamy Award for Best Live Event.

Philip DeFranco later created a spinoff channel, SourceFedNerd (stylized as SourceFedNERD), which was announced on May 16, 2013.{{cite AV media|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WdWlKIMbjl0|title=Why People Are Freaking Out Over Tomi Lahren's Suspension and Comments|date=March 1, 2017|work=The Philip DeFranco Show|via=YouTube|access-date=March 22, 2017}}{{cite web|last=Cohen|first=Joshua Cohen|url=http://www.tubefilter.com/2013/05/16/sourcefed-sourcefednerd/|title=SourceFed Launches Spinoff YouTube Channel, SourceFedNerd|work=Tubefilter|date=May 16, 2013|access-date=May 16, 2013}}

In June 2013, Philip DeFranco sold SourceFed along with the other channels under his DeFranco Creative portfolio to Revision3.{{cite web|last=Spangler|first=Todd|url=https://variety.com/2013/digital/news/discoverys-revision3-snaps-up-phil-defrancos-youtube-network-1200489614/|title=Discovery's Revision3 Snaps Up Phil DeFranco's YouTube Network|work=Variety|date=May 30, 2013|access-date=March 24, 2017}} DeFranco also became an executive of Revision3 and the Senior Vice President of Philip DeFranco Networks and Merchandise as a result of the move. In June 2016, DeFranco made his earliest public clarification that he has "no hands on the creative decisions [made] on [SourceFed],"{{cite AV media|last=DeFranco|first=Philip|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vDHlbVjO_4c|title=GUESS WHO GOT BEAT UP LAST NIGHT?! …and there's video of it. OUCH!|work=The Philip DeFranco Show|via=YouTube|date=June 9, 2016|access-date=June 13, 2016}} and while discussing the cancellation of SourceFed in 2017, DeFranco detailed that after selling his DeFranco Creative umbrella to Revision3, he began to have less involvement on the channel, before having no involvement at all.

{{multiple image

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| footer = {{tooltip|L–R|Left to right}}: Reina Scully, Maude Garrett, and William Haynes were brought on during Revision3's ownership.

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During 2013, SourceFed was announced to be a sponsor of that year's VidCon, as well as special guests of the event.{{cite web|url=http://vidcon.com/2013/sponsors |title=VidCon 2013 Sponsors |work=VidCon|access-date=July 18, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130724091845/http://vidcon.com/2013/sponsors |archive-date=July 24, 2013 }}{{cite web|url=http://vidcon.com/2013/special-guests|title=VidCon 2013 Special Guests|work=VidCon|access-date=July 18, 2013|archive-date=July 19, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130719164334/http://vidcon.com/2013/special-guests|url-status=dead}} The event would be held in August. During the event, the couch featured on Comment Commentary was "eaten" by Sharkzilla, the mascot of Shark Week.{{cite web|last=Cohen|first=Joshua|url=http://www.tubefilter.com/2013/08/11/shark-interview-shark-week-sharkzilla/|title=An Interview With Sharkzilla AKA The Shark From Shark Week|work=Tubefilter|date=August 11, 2013|access-date=September 2, 2013}} DeFranco previously hosted Discovery Channel's Shark Week event.{{cite web|last=Shaprio|first=Evan|url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/evan-shapiro/gangnam-style_b_1923147.html|title=We Have Watched 2,100 Years of 'Gangnam Style'|work=Huffington Post|date=October 2, 2012|access-date=September 2, 2013}} While at VidCon 2013, DeFranco gathered 554 people to play Ninja, a playground game, claiming the amount would be a world record.{{cite web|url=http://recordsetter.com/world-record/game-ninja/33640?autoplay=true|title=Largest Game Of Ninja|work=Record Setter|access-date=January 11, 2014}} SourceFed also made appearances at VidCon in 2014, 2015 and 2016.{{cite web|last=P.|first=Sara|url=http://sourcefed.com/vidcon-2014-schedule/|title=VidCon 2014 Schedule!|work=SourceFed|date=June 27, 2014|access-date=June 13, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140627150710/http://sourcefed.com/vidcon-2014-schedule/|archive-date=June 27, 2014}}{{cite web |last=Harris |first=Amber |url= https://corporate.discovery.com/blog/2015/07/28/discovery-digital-networks-takes-vidcon-2015-by-storm/ |title= Discovery Digital Networks Takes VidCon 2015 by Storm |work= The Discovery Blog|publisher=Discovery Communications|date= July 28, 2015 |access-date= June 13, 2016}}{{cite web |last=Stewart |first=Liz |url= https://corporate.discovery.com/blog/2016/06/23/your-favorite-discovery-digital-talent-are-back-at-vidcon/ |title= Seeker & SourceFed Head to Anaheim for VidCon 2016!|work=The Discovery Blog|publisher=Discovery Communications|date= June 23, 2016 |access-date= March 24, 2017}}

In April 2014, it was announced that Elliott Morgan and Meg Turney would both be leaving SourceFed by the end of the month.{{cite AV media |last=Turney |first=Meg |url= https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SYQ-Spvfllc |title= Leaving SourceFed |publisher=Meg Turney|via=YouTube|date=April 3, 2014 |access-date= April 5, 2014}} They were the first hosts to ever leave SourceFed, something which would occur frequently after their precedent. Morgan and Turney, like the hosts which would leave after them, appeared in other online media promptly after their departures; Morgan would work with Mashable, while Turney would become part of Rooster Teeth's personnel.{{cite web |last=Gutelle |first=Sam |url=http://www.tubefilter.com/2014/05/13/mashable-minute-elliott-morgan-host/ |title= "Take A Minute" To Watch Elliott Morgan's New Show With Mashable |work=Tubefilter|date=May 13, 2014 |access-date=February 2, 2015}}{{cite web |last=Jarvey |first=Natalie |url= https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/youtube-personality-meg-turney-joins-708061 |title= YouTube Personality Meg Turney Joins Rooster Teeth News Channel The Know (Exclusive) |work=The Hollywood Reporter|date=May 30, 2014 |access-date= February 2, 2015}}

In September 2014, Zaragoza and Newton hosted a news story covering various charities' refusal of donations from Reddit, following the then-recent celebrity nude photo leaks.{{cite AV media|last1=Zaragoza|first=Steve|last2=Newton|first2=Lee|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yN33ivSONcI|title=Charity Refuses Money From The Fappening!|publisher=SourceFed|via=YouTube|date=September 3, 2014|access-date=September 9, 2014}} The video received criticism from the SourceFed fanbase, and according to StatSheep, the channel lost over 20,000 subscribers.{{cite web|last=Klima|first=Jeff|url=http://newmediarockstars.com/2014/09/sourcefed-loses-20000-subscribers-after-condemning-celebrity-nudes-theft/|title=SourceFed Loses 20,000 Subscribers After Condemning Celebrity Nudes Theft?|work=NewMediaRockstars|date=September 5, 2014|access-date=September 9, 2014}} DeFranco took to Reddit, stating that the significant drop in subscribers was either due to "an error of that individual stats website or YouTube removing dead accounts." Additionally, in response to requests or demands in favor of removing or firing any hosts, DeFranco stated, "No. I let SourceFed control their own creative."{{cite web|last=DeFranco|first=Philip|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/SourceFed/comments/2ffyhf/sourcefeds_subscribers_have_dropped_by_over_20000/ck92xku|title=SourceFed's subscribers have dropped by over 20,000 since yesterday|website=Reddit|date=September 4, 2014|access-date=September 9, 2014}} The video has slightly more dislikes than likes.

On February 27, 2015, SourceFed hosted a live event from YouTube Space LA.{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IfkQ8aVuT54|title=SourceFed Live! at YouTube Space LA|publisher=SourceFed|via=YouTube|date=February 27, 2015|access-date=April 20, 2015}} The show contained live versions of the weekly recurring shows and spoof bits done by the hosts.

On June 9, 2016, SourceFed uploaded a video titled Did Google Manipulate Search for Hillary?, discussing whether or not Google manipulated search results to display Hillary Clinton in an untruthful positive light.{{cite AV media|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PFxFRqNmXKg|title=Did Google Manipulate Search for Hillary?|publisher=SourceFed|via=YouTube|date=June 9, 2016|access-date=June 13, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160609165251/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PFxFRqNmXKg&gl=US&hl=en|archive-date=June 9, 2016}}

• {{cite AV media|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PFxFRqNmXKg|title=Did Google Manipulate Search for Hillary? (December 1, 2016 archive)|publisher=SourceFed|via=YouTube|date=June 9, 2016|access-date=June 13, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161201035321/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PFxFRqNmXKg|archive-date=December 1, 2016}}
• {{cite AV media|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PFxFRqNmXKg|title=Did Google Manipulate Search for Hillary? (January 1, 2017 archive)|publisher=SourceFed|via=YouTube|date=June 9, 2016|access-date=June 13, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170101061600/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PFxFRqNmXKg|archive-date=January 1, 2017}} This video was uploaded at the tailend of the primaries for the 2016 United States presidential election, with Clinton being the Democratic Party's presumptive nominee for President of the United States in the 2016 election. Matt Lieberman, the host for the video, suggested that Google's autofill feature pulls up results for Clinton's crime reform, despite "hillary clinton crime" being a more popular search term than "Hillary Clinton crime reform". Lieberman did emphasize that SourceFed was not accusing Google of any crimes, instead calling the manipulation "deeply unethical and wrong but not illegal." Lieberman also added that there is no evidence to suggest collusion between the Clinton campaign and Google, but went on to claim that "the intention is clear: Google is burying potential searches for terms that could have hurt Hillary Clinton in the primary elections over the past several months."

The video attracted considerably more media attention than other SourceFed uploads, as it was referred to in posts by USA Today, The Washington Times, Business Insider, and The Globe and Mail, among other outlets.{{cite web|last=Akhtar|first=Allana|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/news/2016/06/10/google-says-search-isnt-biased-toward-hillary-clinton/85725014/|title=Google defends its search engine against charges it favors Clinton|work=USA Today|date=June 10, 2016|access-date=June 13, 2016}}{{cite web|last=Richardson|first=Valerie|url=http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2016/jun/9/google-accused-burying-negative-hillary-clinton-st/|title=Google accused of manipulating searches, burying negative stories about Hillary Clinton|work=The Washington Times|date=June 9, 2016|access-date=June 13, 2016}}{{cite web|last=Leswing|first=Kif|url=http://www.businessinsider.com/google-says-no-altered-hillary-clinton-search-results-2016-6|title=Google says charges of altering search results to help Hillary Clinton are 'simply false'|work=Business Insider|date=June 10, 2016|access-date=June 13, 2016}}{{cite web|last=Dingman|first=Shane|url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/technology/google-under-fire-after-video-suggests-biased-search-results-favour-clinton/article30402737/|title=Google accused of 'biased' search results favouring Clinton|work=The Globe and Mail|date=June 10, 2016|access-date=June 13, 2016}} Shane Dingman, writing for The Globe and Mail opined that "This conspiracy theory post is not typical fare" for SourceFed. Nick Corasaniti of the New York Times wrote that the "conspiracy theory [about Google suppressing negative news in search results about Hillary Clinton] began with a video from the online outlet SourceFed that went viral this year, and quickly garnered headlines on conservative news sites like Breitbart and InfoWars."{{cite web|last=Corasaniti|first=Nick|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/29/us/politics/google-trump-clinton.html?_r=0|title=Donald Trump Pushes Debunked Theory That Google Suppressed Rival's Bad News|work=The New York Times|date=September 29, 2016|access-date=March 26, 2017}} Business Insider replicated the experiment shown in the video and found similar results. The video also drew responses from Google and Donald Trump (the Republican Party's then-presumptive nominee for President of United States). Google defended its search engine; one representative of the company stated "Google Autocomplete does not favor any candidate or cause. Claims to the contrary simply misunderstand how Autocomplete works." A Snopes fact check on the video rated its claims as "false".{{cite web|last=Evon|first=Dan|url=https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/google-manipulate-hillary-clinton/|title=Does This Video Document Google Manipulating Searches for Hillary Clinton?|publisher=Snopes|date=June 10, 2016|accessdate=April 16, 2023}} Trump stated that if SourceFed's claims were true, "it is a disgrace that Google would do that."{{cite web|last=Smith|first=Allan|url=https://www.businessinsider.com/donald-trump-google-search-viceo-2016-6|title='If this is true, it is a disgrace': Donald Trump responds to viral video claiming Google's search is biased|work=Business Insider|date=June 10, 2016|accessdate=August 16, 2022}}

SourceFed uploaded a follow-up video, featuring Lieberman responding to the reception that the video received.{{cite web|last=Kastrenakes|first=Jacob|url=https://www.theverge.com/2016/6/10/11906912/google-denies-autocomplete-search-manipulation-hillary-clinton|title=Google denies altering search suggestions for Hillary Clinton|work=The Verge|date=June 10, 2016|accessdate=April 16, 2023}}

In late 2016, the newly formed media company Group Nine Media acquired SourceFed Studios's parent company Revision3 (which was renamed as Seeker) from Discovery Digital Networks. Seeker and SourceFed Studios were merged along with Thrillist, NowThis News, and The Dodo into Group Nine, which then decided to close the SourceFed Studios network.{{cite web|last=Gutelle|first=Sam|url=http://www.tubefilter.com/2017/03/20/discovery-group-nine-media-philip-defranco-sourcefed-shutter/|title=Discovery-Backed Group Nine Media To Shut Down Philip DeFranco's SourceFed Among Massive Shift|work=Tubefilter|date=March 20, 2017|access-date=March 23, 2017}}

On March 20, 2017, the four hosts of SourceFed's primary channel at the time—Ava Gordy, Mike Falzone, Candace Carrizales, and Steven Suptic—released a video addressing the cancellation of SourceFed as well as its SourceFedNerd and People Be Like spinoffs. They also announced the schedule for the channel's final week; a podcast, a Comment Commentary episode, a usual white wall-styled video, and a live-streamed farewell video were announced for Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, respectively. At the time, the SourceFed channel had amassed just over 1.7 million subscribers and 906 million video views in its run. DeFranco clarified on Twitter that he had no involvement with the decision to dissolve SourceFed Studios.{{cite tweet|last=DeFranco|first=Philip|user=PhillyD|number=843984564976406528|title=@tubefilter your article somewhat claims that this SF decision is why I took last week off. It is not. Not at all.|date=March 20, 2017|access-date=March 24, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170324041711/https://twitter.com/PhillyD/status/843984564976406528|archive-date=March 24, 2017}}

The final Nerd and People Be Like videos were released on March 24, 2017.{{cite AV media|title=SFN Final Video|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4RlTHFxH3Wo|publisher=SourceFedNerd|via=YouTube|date=March 24, 2017|access-date=March 25, 2017|ref=120}}{{cite AV media|title=People Be Like Final Video|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WoiD14GH6Cg|publisher=People Be Like|via=YouTube|date=March 24, 2017|access-date=March 25, 2017|ref=121}} SourceFed's final video was also uploaded, which doubled as the intro for the channel's 6 hour final live stream.{{cite AV media|last=SourceFed|title=SourceFed Says Goodbye: The Final Livestream|date=March 24, 2017|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=grwEevizUaU|access-date=May 5, 2017}}{{cite AV media|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=95XVpwUUxuU|title=SourceFed Memories - SourceFed Says Goodbye Intro|publisher=SourceFed|via=YouTube|date=March 24, 2017|access-date=March 25, 2017|ref=122}}

File:SourceFed hosts.jpg

When the channel launched in 2012, YouTube content creator Joe Bereta of Barats and Bereta, actor Elliott Morgan, and comedian Lee Newton, were introduced as the original three hosts of SourceFed. DeFranco, who hand-selected the three, also appeared as a host for the channel's first two weeks. DeFranco also hand-selected a second batch of three hosts (Trisha Hershberger, Meg Turney, and Steve Zaragoza) who debuted on the channel in 2012. All but Zaragoza would eventually leave the channel throughout 2014 and 2015.{{cite web |last=Cohen |first=Joshua |url= http://www.tubefilter.com/2014/04/03/elliott-morgan-meg-turney-are-leaving-sourcefed/ |title= Elliott Morgan And Meg Turney Are Leaving SourceFed |work=Tubefilter |date= April 3, 2014 |access-date= April 5, 2014}}{{cite web|last=Guttelle|first=Sam|url=https://www.tubefilter.com/2014/12/22/joe-bereta-leave-sourcefed-defy-media/|title=Joe Bereta Will Leave SourceFed To Join Defy Media|work=Tubefilter|date=December 22, 2014|access-date=July 7, 2018}}{{cite tweet|last=Hershberger|first=Trisha|user=thatgrltrish|number=580762392147075074|title=So many feels - goodbyes and next chapter|date=March 25, 2015|access-date=March 29, 2015}}{{cite AV media|last1=Newton|first1=Lee|last2=Everett|first2=Ross|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B9HDodu87ul|title=Lee Newton's Last SourceFed Video|publisher=SourceFed|via=YouTube|date=March 28, 2015|access-date=March 29, 2015}} However, these hosts later made guest appearances on the channel after their departures, and Morgan specifically was briefly brought back on the main channel to host The Study.

Ross Everett was introduced as the seventh on-camera host, after spending time as a writer for the series. In April 2014, DeFranco announced Everett was moved back to his writing position. However, near the end of the month, Everett announced his departure from SourceFed in a Tumblr blog post.{{cite web|last=Everett|first=Ross|url=http://therosseverett.tumblr.com/post/83484718140/my-time-at-sourcefed-has-come-to-an-end|title=My Time At SourceFed Has Come To An End|work=To Whom I May Concern|publisher=Tumblr|date=April 21, 2014|access-date=May 17, 2014}} Amidst the 2014 departures of Everett, Morgan, and Turney, SourceFed brought on William Haynes, Matt Lieberman, and Reina Scully in March 2014, serving as the de facto replacements for the former.{{cite AV media|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NVjmjWeGXwk|title=All-Newbies #TableTalk!|publisher=SourceFedNerd|via=YouTube|date=May 8, 2014|access-date=May 10, 2014}} While Haynes and Lieberman stayed on with SourceFed through its cancellation, Scully left the company in August 2016.{{cite AV media|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uK44ejxn2bI|title=Why I Left SourceFed|publisher=Reina Scully|via=YouTube|date=August 29, 2016|access-date=August 29, 2016}}

With Bereta, Hershberger, and Newton's departures in late 2014 and early 2015, new hosts were brought on. On February 24, 2015, Sam Bashor accepted an offer to become an official host on the SourceFed and SourceFedNerd channels. He was previously a writer for the channels and made several appearances in videos. He was also the host for DeFranco's merchandising branch, ForHumanPeoples. Early 2015 would also see YouTube personality Bree Essrig, as well as Australian TV & radio host Maude Garrett join in hosting SourceFed.{{cite web|last=Gutelle|first=Sam|url=http://www.tubefilter.com/2015/03/25/sourcefed-bree-essrig-host/|title=SourceFed's Newest Host Is Bree Essrig|work=Tubefilter|date=March 25, 2015|access-date=March 29, 2015}}{{cite web|last=DeSimone|first=Evan|url=http://newmediarockstars.com/2015/05/maude-garret-joins-sourcefed-get-to-know-the-latest-host-of-sourcefed-nerd/|title=Maude Garrett Joins SourceFed: Get To Know The Latest Host of SourceFed Nerd|work=NewMediaRockstars|date=May 14, 2015|access-date=June 17, 2015}}

Early 2016 saw Mike Falzone join the main channel as the host of a revised form of #TableTalk, which was brought back to SourceFed's main channel content output. Scully and Garrett both announced their departures from SourceFed in August.{{cite AV media|last=Garrett|first=Maude|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AA2Df_TZQ-s|title=I'm Leaving SourceFedNERD - WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?!|work=Maude Garrett's Geek Bomb|via=YouTube|date=August 23, 2016|access-date=March 24, 2017}} Coinciding with their departures, Ava Gordy and Candace Carrizales were introduced as hosts on the main SourceFed channel.{{cite AV media|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8H_xyGVwvng|title=Orlando Bloom's Dick Pic!|publisher=SourceFed|via=YouTube|date=August 5, 2016|access-date=March 24, 2017}}{{cite AV media|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y7AeynK-ts4|title=Would You Swim In A Dumpster Pool?|publisher=SourceFed|via=YouTube|date=August 8, 2016|access-date=March 24, 2017}}

;Host timeline

ImageSize = width:750 height:400

PlotArea = width:605 height:360 left:135 bottom:30

Alignbars = justify

DateFormat = mm/dd/yyyy

Period = from:2012 till:2017

TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:yyyy

Legend = orientation:horizontal position:bottom

Colors =

id:Pre-debut value:rgb(0,0,1) legend:Pre-debut

id:lines value:black legend:Streamy-awards

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bar:Bereta text:Joe Bereta

bar:Morgan text:Elliott Morgan

bar:Newton text:Lee Newton

bar:Zaragoza text:Steve Zaragoza

bar:Hershberger text:Trisha Hershberger

bar:Turney text:Meg Turney

bar:Everett text:Ross Everett

bar:Haynes text:William Haynes

bar:Lieberman text:Matt Lieberman

bar:Scully text:Reina Scully

bar:Bashor text:Sam Bashor

bar:Suptic text:Steven Suptic

bar:Essrig text:Bree Essrig

bar:Garrett text:Maude Garrett

bar:Falzone text:Mike Falzone

bar:Gordy text:Ava Gordy

bar:Carrizales text:Candace Carrizales

bar:Moore text:Whitney Moore

bar:Molina text:Filup Molina

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color:red width:15 textcolor:black align:right anchor:from

bar:Bereta from:01/23/2012 till:12/31/2014 Color:Red

bar:Morgan from:01/23/2012 till:04/11/2014 Color:Red

bar:Morgan from:08/22/2015 till:04/23/2016 Color:Red

bar:Newton from:01/23/2012 till:03/28/2015 Color:Red

bar:Zaragoza from:02/04/2012 till:03/25/2017 Color:Orange

bar:Hershberger from:06/13/2012 till:04/21/2015 Color:Orange

bar:Turney from:07/01/2012 till:04/18/2014 Color:Orange

bar:Everett from:07/13/2013 till:04/25/2014 Color:Black

bar:Haynes from:03/13/2014 till:03/25/2017 Color:Yellow

bar:Lieberman from:03/20/2014 till:03/25/2017 Color:Yellow

bar:Scully from:04/01/2014 till:08/29/2016 Color:Yellow

bar:Bashor from:02/18/2015 till:03/25/2017 Color:Green

bar:Suptic from:02/24/2015 till:03/30/2016 Color:Green

bar:Suptic from:09/01/2016 till:03/25/2017 Color:Green

bar:Essrig from:03/24/2015 till:03/25/2017 Color:Green

bar:Garrett from:05/14/2015 till:08/24/2016 Color:Green

bar:Falzone from:02/11/2016 till:03/25/2017 Color:Blue

bar:Gordy from:08/05/2016 till:03/25/2017 Color:Purple

bar:Carrizales from:08/08/2016 till:03/25/2017 Color:Purple

bar:Moore from:08/22/2016 till:03/25/2017 Color:Purple

bar:Molina from:08/29/2016 till:03/25/2017 Color:Purple

;Guest hosts

{{col-start}}

{{col-break}}

File:Grace Helbig VidCon 2012 on Stage 06.jpg

• Keith Jordan (February 14, 2012)
• Harley Morenstein (March 5, 2012 and April 4, 2013)
• George Watsky (April 7 and August 12, 2014)
• The Gregory Brothers (Michael, Andrew, Evan and Sarah Gregory) (June 26, 2012)
• Sean Klitzner (October 10, 2012)
• Timothy Ferriss (November 19, 2012)
• Grace Helbig (June 10, 2013; 2 episodes)
• Laci Green (July 25, 2013)
• Rhett and Link (Rhett McLaughlin and Link Neal) (September 5, 2013)
• Megan Batoon (March 10 and July 29, 2015)

{{col-end}}

The main series on the SourceFed channel was SourceFed News. The series featured 1–2 hosts presenting news stories, and covering a variety of topics. Episodes of the series were presented in a comedic daily newscast format.{{cite web|last=Lazar|first=Shira|url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/shira-lazar/sourcefeds-joe-bereta-on-_b_1913503.html|title=SourceFed's Joe Bereta on Engaging YouTube Journalism and Unbiased Reporting (VIDEO)|work=Huffington Post|date=September 25, 2012|access-date=September 29, 2012}}{{cite web|last=Barney|first=Chuck|url=http://www.mercurynews.com/entertainment/ci_23045371/11-notable-online-programs|title=11 notable online programs|work=The Mercury News|date=April 17, 2013|access-date=April 21, 2013}} During his tenure on the series, Bereta was its head writer.{{cite web|last=Peterson|first=Chris|url=http://www.flatheadnewsgroup.com/hungryhorsenews/article_e6aef9d0-753c-11e2-a5dd-001a4bcf887a.html|title=Bereta finding success in the City of Angels|publisher=Flathead News Group|work=Hungry Horse News|date=February 12, 2013|access-date=March 4, 2013|archive-date=April 10, 2013|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130410234649/http://www.flatheadnewsgroup.com/hungryhorsenews/article_e6aef9d0-753c-11e2-a5dd-001a4bcf887a.html|url-status=dead}}

Early in its run, SourceFed's news series was titled 20 Minutes or Less, as five news stories would be covered daily throughout separate videos totaling 20 minutes or less. Due to only presenting five stories a day, stories covered on SourceFed often "cross-pollinated", or were influenced by news stories on the PDS.{{cite AV media|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WKhowDAjt7c|title=Joe Bereta (SourceFed) on YouTube News, DROPPING KNOWLEDGE|work=What's Trending|via=YouTube|date=September 25, 2012|access-date=May 24, 2013}} SourceFed News stories were also referred to as "white wall" videos. George Watsky's music was commonly used throughout the series in the background.{{cite AV media|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aHyKhglJRN0|title=Medicinal Marijuana Officially Kosher!|publisher=SourceFed|via=YouTube|date=July 10, 2013|access-date=July 11, 2013}}

In addition to daily news coverage, the SourceFed channel produced and uploaded several shows.

File:Lee Newton & Elliott Morgan (7492855754).jpg

From May to December 2012, Deadline Hollywood tracked the weekly views of all the original premium channels on YouTube. The channel was consistently one of the top original channels every week.{{cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2012/05/new-feature-deadlines-weekly-youtube-channel-rankings-274889/|title=New Feature: Deadline's Weekly YouTube Channel Rankings|work=Deadline Hollywood|date=May 29, 2012|access-date=January 11, 2014}}{{cite web|last=Liberman|first=David|url=https://www.deadline.com/2012/12/deadline%E2%80%99s-youtube-channel-rankings-4/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121231004004/http://www.deadline.com/2012/12/deadline%E2%80%99s-youtube-channel-rankings-4/|url-status=dead|archive-date=December 31, 2012|title=Deadline's YouTube Channel Rankings|work=Deadline Hollywood|date=December 21, 2012|access-date=January 11, 2014}} On May 26, 2012, the SourceFed YouTube channel reached the 100 million video view milestone.{{cite web|url=http://www.techinvestornews.com/Internet/Latest-YouTube-News/how-phil-defranco-plans-to-save-youtube|title=How Phil DeFranco plans to save YouTube|work=Tech Investor News|date=May 25, 2012|access-date=May 28, 2012}}{{Dead link|date=August 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}{{cite web|last=Cohen|first=Joshua|url=http://www.tubefilter.com/2012/05/28/phil-defranco-sourcefed-100-million-views-youtube/|title=Phil DeFranco's SourceFed Hits 100M Views on YouTube (in Just 4 Months)|work=Tubefilter|date=May 28, 2012|access-date=May 30, 2012}} On August 1, 2012, SourceFed became the first of the YouTube original channels to reach 500,000 subscribers.{{cite web|last=Roettgers|first=Janko|url=http://gigaom.com/video/next-up-for-youtube-grooming-new-comedians/|title=Next up for YouTube: Grooming new comedians|work=Gigaom|date=August 2, 2012|access-date=August 18, 2012|archive-date=August 6, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120806002824/http://gigaom.com/video/next-up-for-youtube-grooming-new-comedians/|url-status=dead}} In celebration of the event, 20 Minutes or Less uploaded a special video onto SourceFed that featured clips of SourceFed's audience congratulating them and stating the reason that they subscribed to the channel.{{cite web|last=Manarino|first=Matthew|url=http://www.newmediarockstars.com/2012/08/youtubes-philip-defranco-sourcefed-cast-talk-500000-subscriber-milestone/|title=YouTube's Philip DeFranco & SourceFed Cast Talk 500,000 Subscriber Milestone|work=NewMediaRockstars|date=August 1, 2012|access-date=August 7, 2012|archive-date=August 4, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120804022338/http://newmediarockstars.com/2012/08/youtubes-philip-defranco-sourcefed-cast-talk-500000-subscriber-milestone/|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|last=Cohen|first=Joshua|url=http://www.tubefilter.com/2012/08/01/phil-defranco-sourcefed-500000-youtube-subscriber/|title=Phil DeFranco's 'SourceFed' Celebrates 500,000 YouTube Subscribers|work=Tubefilter|date=August 1, 2012|access-date=August 7, 2012}}

SourceFed was one of the most popular YouTube original channels,{{cite web|last=Dreier|first=Troy|url=http://www.onlinevideo.net/2012/08/youtubes-original-channels-offer-lessons-in-success-and-failure/|title=YouTube's Original Channels Offer Lessons in Success and Failure|work=Onlinevideo.net|date=August 16, 2012|access-date=August 18, 2012}} as the channel earned over 20 million monthly views.{{cite web|url=http://www.sacbee.com/2012/07/31/4677614/openslate-releases-quantitative.html|title=OpenSlate Releases Quantitative Ratings For More Than Ten Thousand Online Video Channels SlateScore™ Defines the Value of Video Content to Advertisers|work=The Sacramento Bee|date=July 31, 2012|access-date=August 1, 2012}} Due to its success, SourceFed was among the 30-40% of original channels to be renewed by YouTube in November 2012.{{cite web|last=Roettgers|first=Janko|url=https://finance.yahoo.com/news/pay-play-youtube-succeed-paid-150047615.html|title=Pay to play: Can YouTube succeed with its paid channel subscriptions?|work=Gigaom|via=Yahoo! Finance|date=May 11, 2013|access-date=January 11, 2014}} On July 14, 2013, the SourceFed channel reached one million subscribers.{{cite web|last=Klima|first=Jeff|url=http://newmediarockstars.com/2013/07/long-live-awesomeness-sourcefed-reaches-1-million-subscriber-mark/|title=Long Live Awesomeness: SourceFed Reaches 1 Million Subscriber Mark|work=NewMediaRockstars|date=July 15, 2013|access-date=July 28, 2013}}{{cite AV media|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ry7Bj-a8dmc|title=SourceFed Celebrates 1 Million Subscribers!|publisher=SourceFed|via=YouTube|date=July 14, 2013|access-date=July 15, 2013}}

The Wall Street Journal noted that it was hard to figure out why the simplicity of the idea behind SourceFed was able to receive mass appeal.{{cite web|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10000872396390444799904578050433478294220|title=From Cars to Cartoons: The Real Hits of YouTube|work=The Wall Street Journal|date=October 12, 2012|access-date=October 26, 2012}}

After winning the Streamy Audience Choice Award for Series of the Year, SourceFed's The New Movie Thing Show was criticized by The Atlantic. The publication wrote "The audience pick for series of the year went to SourceFed, which consists of short clips of people explaining things in loud, fast voices," and "It's not even close to quality programming. Just something goofy to watch online."

SourceFed was nominated for four awards at the 3rd Streamy Awards, winning in the Audience Choice for Series of the Year category.{{cite web|url=http://www.streamys.org/nominees-winners/3rd-annual-nominees/|title=3RD ANNUAL NOMINEES|publisher=Streamy Awards|access-date=January 20, 2013}} The following year, SourceFed won the award for News and Current Events Series.{{cite web|last=Gutelle|first=Sam|url=http://www.tubefilter.com/2014/09/07/enchufe-tv-tyler-oakley-4th-streamy-award-streamys-winners/|title=EnchufeTV, Tyler Oakley Win Big At 4th Streamy Awards [FULL LIST OF WINNERS]|work=Tubefilter|date=September 7, 2014|access-date=September 7, 2014}}

• The Valleyfolk

;Notes

{{notelist}}

;References

{{reflist|colwidth=30em}}

;Primary video and playlist sources

In the text these references are preceded by a double dagger (‡):

{{Reflist|group="‡"}}

• {{cite web|last=Klima|first=Jeff|url=http://newmediarockstars.com/2013/02/sourcefed-interview/|title=SourceFed {{pipe}} YouTube Personalities|work=NewMediaRockstars|date=February 28, 2013|access-date=March 4, 2013}}
• {{cite web|last=Aune|first=Sean P.|url=http://www.technobuffalo.com/videos/interview-with-trisha-hershberger-at-ces-2014/|title=Interview With Trisha Hershberger at CES 2014|work=TechnoBuffalo|date=January 10, 2014|access-date=January 11, 2014}}

{{Revision3}}

{{Streamy Awards Audience Choice Winners}}

{{Streamy Awards Winners CSS}}

Category:2012 establishments in California

Category:2012 web series debuts

Category:2017 web series endings

Category:American non-fiction web series

Category:English-language YouTube channels

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Category:Internet properties disestablished in 2017

Category:Internet properties established in 2012

Category:Mass media about Internet culture

Category:Mass media companies disestablished in 2017

Category:Mass media companies established in 2012

Category:Shorty Award winners

Category:Streamy Award-winning channels, series or shows

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Category:YouTube channels launched in 2012