BuzzFeed Declares War on “SNARF” and Announces a New Social Platform

February 11, 2025 at 11:06 AM EST

BuzzFeed Unveils Plan to Take Back the Internet We Love

Company Aims to Disrupt Social Media With a New AI-Driven Platform Built for Creativity and Joy, Not Manipulation or Addiction

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Read BuzzFeed CEO’s Editorial in full here: http://bfisland.com

Today, BuzzFeed announced a new social platform designed to bring joy and creativity back to the internet. The digital media pioneer introduced a strategy to counter tech platforms’ unchecked influence over an internet increasingly fueled by misinformation, addiction, and negativity. At the heart of the strategy is a commitment to human creativity and a reinvention of how content is created and shared.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250210869644/en/

(Credit: BuzzFeed)

“For years, major social platforms have abandoned their responsibility to content and culture, instead handing over control to deep learning algorithms that optimize for one thing: engagement at all costs,” said Jonah Peretti, founder and CEO of BuzzFeed. “The result is a digital world dominated by what I call SNARF — content that thrives on Stakes, Novelty, Anger, Retention and Fear.”

“We’re building an alternative,” Peretti said. “The future of social media should be designed for creativity and connection, not addiction. This isn’t about making BuzzFeed better, it’s about reimagining what the internet can be. It’s time to bring back the internet we love, where everyone can find their people and unleash their creativity.”

BuzzFeed is taking matters into its own hands by developing a next-generation social platform from the ground up, built with user agency, creativity, and joy at its core.

Designed as an oasis from algorithm-driven doomscrolling, the platform will introduce quirky, weird, and joyful experiences to make the internet fun again. It will bring together the best of BuzzFeed’s recent innovations, with a focus on interactive storytelling, new content formats, and cutting-edge AI tools to power self-expression, connection and creative exploration.

Details on the platform remain under wraps, but early testers will have the opportunity to help shape its development.

Creators, media partners, and industry leaders looking to collaborate, contact us at BFisland@buzzfeed.com

About BuzzFeed, Inc.

BuzzFeed, Inc. is home to the best of the Internet. Across pop culture, entertainment, shopping, food and news, our brands drive conversation and inspire what audiences watch, read, and buy now — and into the future. Born on the Internet in 2006, BuzzFeed is committed to making it better: providing trusted, quality, brand-safe news and entertainment to hundreds of millions of people; making content on the Internet more inclusive, empathetic, and creative; and inspiring our audience to live better lives.