History of BuzzFeed in Timeline
BuzzFeed is an American internet media, news, and entertainment company founded in 2006 by Jonah Peretti and John S. Johnson III. Initially focused on tracking viral content, it has grown into a broad digital media organization. Kenneth Lerer, also a co-founder of The Huffington Post, played a significant role as a co-founder, investor, and is now the executive chairman. The company is based in New York City.
2006: BuzzFeed Founded
In 2006, BuzzFeed was founded by Jonah Peretti and John S. Johnson III with the goal of tracking viral content on the internet. The company was based in New York City.
2006: BuzzFeed Laboratories Started
In 2006, Jonah Peretti started BuzzFeed (originally called BuzzFeed Laboratories) as a side project while working at the Huffington Post. It employed an algorithm to identify viral stories and initially launched an instant messaging client called BuzzBot.
2008: BuzzFeed Raises $3.5 Million
In 2008, BuzzFeed raised $3.5 million through Hearst Ventures and SoftBank.
2010: BuzzFeed Revenue Triples
In 2011, BuzzFeed ran over 100 social media campaigns, causing their revenue to triple in comparison to 2010.
December 2011: BuzzFeed News Division Begins
In December 2011, BuzzFeed's news division began with the appointment of Ben Smith as editor-in-chief.
2011: Ben Smith Hired to Assemble News Operation
In 2011, Ben Smith was hired from Politico to assemble a news operation at BuzzFeed, complementing the existing aggregated listicles.
2011: BuzzFeed Revenue Triples
In 2011, BuzzFeed's revenue tripled compared to 2010 after running more than 100 social media campaigns.
January 2012: BuzzFeed Earns $15.5 Million in Funding
In January 2012, BuzzFeed announced that it had earned $15.5 million in funding from New Enterprise Associates, Lerer Ventures, Hearst Interactive Media, SoftBank, and RRE Capital to expand the site's content.
June 2012: Accusations of Plagiarism Against Matt Stopera
In June 2012, Gawker's Adrian Chen accused BuzzFeed writer Matt Stopera of frequently copying and pasting "chunks of text into lists without attribution."
July 17, 2012: McSweeney's Internet Tendency Published Satirical Piece About BuzzFeed
On July 17, 2012, humor website McSweeney's Internet Tendency published a satirical piece entitled "Suggested BuzzFeed Articles", which prompted BuzzFeed to create many of the suggestions and list McSweeney's as a "Community Contributor".
October 2012: Sponsored Content for Obama Administration
In October 2012, BuzzFeed ran sponsored content for the Obama administration, which led to an increase in ad revenue.
2012: Ze Frank Hired at BuzzFeed Video
In 2012, BuzzFeed Video hired Ze Frank, leading to the production of several video series, including "The Try Guys".
2012: BuzzFeed Acquires Kingfish Labs
In 2012, BuzzFeed's first acquisition was Kingfish Labs, a startup focused on optimizing Facebook ads.
January 2013: New Enterprise Associates Raises $19.3 Million
In January 2013, BuzzFeed announced that New Enterprise Associates had raised $19.3 million.
March 2013: Report of Copied "Listicles"
In March 2013, The Atlantic Wire reported that several BuzzFeed "listicles" had apparently been copied from Reddit and other websites.
May 2013: BuzzFeed Launched the "Community" Section
In May 2013, BuzzFeed launched the "Community" section to enable users to submit content, initially limited to one post per day, with increased submission capacity based on their "Cat Power".
2013: Mark Schoofs Hired as Head of Investigative Reporting
In 2013, Pulitzer Prize winner Mark Schoofs of ProPublica was hired as head of investigative reporting for BuzzFeed.
April 2014: Huffington Post Takes Top Spot in NewsWhip Rankings
BuzzFeed consistently ranked at the top of NewsWhip's Facebook Publisher Rankings from December 2013 to April 2014, until The Huffington Post entered the position in April 2014.
July 2014: Plagiarism Accusations and Firing of Benny Johnson
In July 2014, BuzzFeed writer Benny Johnson was accused of multiple instances of plagiarism and was subsequently fired after 41 instances were found and corrected.
August 2014: BuzzFeed Motion Pictures Announced
In August 2014, BuzzFeed announced the creation of BuzzFeed Motion Pictures, a new division that would potentially produce feature-length films.
August 2014: BuzzFeed Raises $50 Million from Andreessen Horowitz
In August 2014, BuzzFeed raised $50 million from Andreessen Horowitz, which more than doubled previous funding rounds. The site was reportedly valued at around $850 million.
October 2014: BuzzFeed Acquires Torando Labs
In October 2014, BuzzFeed acquired Torando Labs to create BuzzFeed's first data-engineering team.
October 2014: Pew Research Center Survey on BuzzFeed's Reliability
In October 2014, a Pew Research Center survey found that, in the United States, BuzzFeed was viewed as an unreliable source by the majority of people, regardless of political affiliation.
December 2014: General Atlantic Acquires $50 Million in BuzzFeed Stock
In December 2014, growth equity firm General Atlantic acquired $50 million in secondary stock of BuzzFeed.
2014: BuzzFeed Deletes Early Posts
In 2014, BuzzFeed deleted over 4000 early posts, as they were deemed to look stupider as time passed.
2014: BuzzFeed's Social Media Traffic
In 2014, BuzzFeed received 75% of its views from links on social media outlets such as Pinterest, Twitter, and Facebook.
2014: BuzzFeed Launches Motion Picture Division
In 2014, Buzzfeed launched a motion picture division, initially led by Ze Frank. Michael Shamberg and Jordan Peele joined in advisory roles.
February 2015: Viral "The Dress" Post
In February 2015, a post resulting in a debate over the color of an item of clothing from BuzzFeed's Tumblr editor Cates Holderness garnered more than 28 million views in one day, setting a record for most concurrent visitors to a BuzzFeed post.
April 2015: Controversy over deleted posts critical of advertisers
In April 2015, BuzzFeed faced scrutiny after deleting two posts criticizing advertisers, including Dove soap and Hasbro. Ben Smith apologized, reinstating the posts. However, one of the authors, Arabelle Sicardi, resigned shortly after. An internal review found three additional posts had been deleted due to criticism of Microsoft, Pepsi, and Unilever.
June 2015: BuzzFeed shows support for same-sex marriage
In June 2015, BuzzFeed, along with websites like the Huffington Post and Mashable, temporarily changed the theme of their social media avatars to rainbow colors to celebrate same-sex marriage being ruled constitutional in the United States.
August 2015: NBCUniversal Invests $200 Million in BuzzFeed
In August 2015, NBCUniversal made a $200 million equity investment in BuzzFeed with plans to hire more journalists for an investigative unit and expand internationally.
2015: BuzzFeed Launches In-House Podcasting Team
In 2015, BuzzFeed established an in-house podcasting team, leading to the development and launch of podcasts such as Another Round and Internet Explorer.
February 2016: Scaachi Koul's controversial tweet on diversity
In February 2016, Scaachi Koul, a Senior Writer for BuzzFeed Canada, posted a tweet stating BuzzFeed was looking for non-white, non-men writers. Her tweet sparked controversy and accusations of racism and sexism, leading to hate comments and threats of violence. The request for diversity also raised concerns of tokenism.
April 8, 2016: BuzzFeed Interns Created Exploding Watermelon Live Stream
On April 8, 2016, two BuzzFeed interns created a live stream on Facebook, wrapping rubber bands around a watermelon until it exploded, gaining attention as part of Facebook's live video strategy.
June 2016: Report on BuzzFeed's Obama coverage and RNC ad cancellation
In June 2016, a report found BuzzFeed's coverage of Barack Obama to be overwhelmingly positive. During the same month, BuzzFeed cancelled an advertising agreement with the Republican National Committee due to "offensive remarks" made by Donald Trump.
August 2016: Alleged meeting between Michael Cohen and Russian officials
In January 2017, BuzzFeed faced widespread criticism for publishing the Steele dossier, including an unverified claim that Trump's attorney Michael Cohen had met with Russian officials in Prague in August 2016.
2016: Columbia Journalism Review Study on Trustworthiness
A 2016 study by the Columbia Journalism Review found readers less likely to trust a story (originally published in Mother Jones) that appeared to originate on BuzzFeed.
2016: BuzzFeed News Had 20 Investigative Journalists
By 2016, BuzzFeed had 20 investigative journalists.
2016: Separation of News and Entertainment Content
In 2016, BuzzFeed formally separated its news and entertainment content into BuzzFeed News and the newly formed BuzzFeed Entertainment Group, which includes BuzzFeed Motion Pictures. BuzzFeed also had correspondents from 12 countries and foreign editions in multiple countries.
2016: Jim Parsons Cast in Buzzfeed's First Narrative Film
In 2016, Jim Parsons was cast as Buzzfeed reporter Matt Stopera in what was to be Buzzfeed's first narrative film, Brother Orange.
2016: NBCUniversal Invests Additional $200 Million
In 2016, NBCUniversal invested an additional $200 million in BuzzFeed after the two companies had collaborated on projects such as the Rio Olympics.
2016: Claims of BuzzFeedVideo Stealing Content
In 2016, claims surfaced of the YouTube channel BuzzFeedVideo stealing ideas and content from other creators.
2016: Advertising Standards Authority Ruling on Dylon advertorial
In 2016, the Advertising Standards Authority of the United Kingdom ruled that BuzzFeed violated advertising rules by not clearly identifying an article promoting Dylon as a paid advertorial. The ASA acknowledged BuzzFeed's labeling on its homepage and search results, but ruled that direct links to the article lacked sufficient disclosure.
2016: Tasty Sponsored Show named Worth It
Since 2016, Tasty sponsors a show named Worth It starring Steven Lim, Andrew Ilnyckyj, and Adam Bianchi.
January 2017: Criticism for Publishing Steele Dossier
In January 2017, BuzzFeed faced widespread criticism for publishing 35 pages of unverified memos, known as the Steele dossier, leading to criticism from journalists, media officials, and then-President elect Donald Trump, who called BuzzFeed a "failing pile of garbage".
January 2017: BuzzFeed releases the 'Steele dossier'
In January 2017, BuzzFeed released the "Steele dossier", an uncorroborated private intelligence report alleging salacious accusations against Donald Trump. The release was met with criticism, with some calling it irresponsible journalism and "fake news". Ben Smith defended the decision as being of "obvious central public importance."
January 2017: BuzzFeed's User-Generated Content Reached 100 Million Views
In January 2017, BuzzFeed's user-generated community content accumulated 100 million views.
2017: BuzzFeed Layoffs
After laying off 100 employees in 2017, BuzzFeed continued to make financial changes.
2017: BuzzFeed Launched Animation Lab
Around 2017, BuzzFeed launched Animation Lab with a focus on short-form animation content.
2017: BuzzFeed Employs 1,700, Announces Layoffs
By the end of 2017, BuzzFeed employed around 1,700 employees worldwide, but announced plans in November of that year to lay off around 100 employees in the US.
2017: BuzzFeed wins Webby Awards and Greg Coleman named Publishing Executive of the Year
In 2017, BuzzFeed won Webby Awards for Best News App and Best Interview/Talk Show (for Another Round). Also in 2017, president Greg Coleman was named Publishing Executive of the Year by Digiday.
2017: BuzzFeed Voted Second Least Trustworthy Source
In a 2017 survey among US readers, BuzzFeed was voted the second least trustworthy source among American readers.
June 2018: BuzzFeed Announces Layoffs in UK and France
In June 2018, Buzzfeed announced it would lay off 45 employees in the UK, and 100 in France.
June 2018: The Try Guys Left BuzzFeed
In June 2018, The Try Guys (Eugene Lee Yang, Zach Kornfeld, Keith Habersberger, and Ned Fulmer) left BuzzFeed and created their own independent channel.
September 2018: BuzzFeed Shuts Down Podcast Department
In September 2018, BuzzFeed closed its podcast department due to insufficient ad revenue, resulting in staff layoffs and the cancellation of most of its podcasts, including See Something, Say Something.
2018: BuzzFeed news named Pulitzer Prize finalist
In 2018, BuzzFeed news was a finalist for a Pulitzer Prize in their international reporting category for their article that "proved that operatives with apparent ties to Vladimir Putin have engaged in a targeted killing campaign against his perceived enemies on British and American soil".
2018: Night In/Night Out Canceled
In 2018, after Ned and Ariel Fulmer left BuzzFeed with the Try Guys, the series Night In/Night Out was subsequently canceled.
2018: BuzzFeed Revenue Increases Amidst Layoffs
In 2019, BuzzFeed laid off 200 employees to help facilitate growth despite raising revenue by 15% from 2017 to 2018.
January 2019: BuzzFeed announces workforce reduction
In January 2019, BuzzFeed announced that it would cut its workforce by 15%.
January 2019: Revelation of Unpaid Contributors for BuzzFeed Quizzes
In January 2019, Matthew Perpetua, BuzzFeed's director of quizzes, revealed in a blog post after being laid off that many of the site's most popular quizzes were created by unpaid contributors, including a college student in Michigan who was a significant traffic driver for the company.
January 2019: BuzzFeed Fired Staff and Canceled Podcasts
In late January 2019, BuzzFeed laid off 200 employees across the company and canceled its remaining podcast, Thirst Aid Kit.
January 18, 2019: Mueller's Office Disputes BuzzFeed Report
On January 18, 2019, Robert Mueller's office disputed a BuzzFeed report stating that Trump instructed Michael Cohen to lie to Congress, calling the report "not accurate".
January 23, 2019: BuzzFeed Announces Workforce Reduction
On January 23, 2019, BuzzFeed announced a 15% reduction in workforce, affecting international, web content, and news divisions, impacting approximately 200 employees.
February 2019: BuzzFeed News Voted to Unionize
In February 2019, following major layoffs, BuzzFeed News voted to unionize, leading to a dispute between executives and the union when the executives did not attend a meeting.
July 2019: BuzzFeed voluntarily recognizes employee union
In July 2019, BuzzFeed announced that it would voluntarily recognize an employee union.
December 2019: Tasty on Facebook Reached 100 Million Followers
As of December 2019, BuzzFeed's video series on comfort food, Tasty, had 100 million followers on Facebook.
2019: Steven Lim Left BuzzFeed
In 2019, Steven Lim left BuzzFeed to start his own production company Watcher.
2019: Bergara, Madej, and Lim started Watcher Entertainment
In late 2019, Ryan Bergara and Shane Madej started their own digital production company, Watcher Entertainment, with Worth It's Steven Lim.
March 25, 2020: BuzzFeed Announces Salary Cuts Due to COVID-19
On March 25, 2020, BuzzFeed announced in an internal memo that it would cut employee salaries on a sliding scale due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with Peretti forgoing his salary.
May 13, 2020: BuzzFeed Shuts Down Divisions in UK and Australia
On May 13, 2020, BuzzFeed shut down its divisions in the UK and Australia, furloughing staff.
June 2020: Firing of Ryan Broderick for Plagiarism
In June 2020, BuzzFeed News senior reporter Ryan Broderick was fired after it was revealed he had "plagiarized or misattributed information in at least 11 of his articles."
November 19, 2020: BuzzFeed to Acquire HuffPost
On November 19, 2020, BuzzFeed announced that they would acquire HuffPost in a stock deal, making Verizon Media a minority shareholder in BuzzFeed.
2020: BuzzFeed Signs Deal with Universal Television
In 2020, BuzzFeed signed a deal with Universal Television to produce content based on its stories.
2020: Tasty Streamed the Saturday Night Seder
In 2020, in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, "Tasty" streamed the Saturday Night Seder, an online Passover Seder that featured many celebrities and benefited the CDC Foundation.
June 2021: BuzzFeed Plans to Go Public and Acquire Complex Networks
In June 2021, BuzzFeed announced its plans to go public via a special-purpose acquisition company (SPAC) and planned to acquire Complex Networks.
June 24, 2021: BuzzFeed to Go Public and Acquire Complex Networks
On June 24, 2021, it was reported that BuzzFeed, valued at $1.5 billion, would go public through a SPAC deal and acquire Complex Networks for $300 million.
September 1, 2021: BuzzFeed Video's YouTube Channel Statistics
As of September 1, 2021, BuzzFeed Video's YouTube channel had accumulated over 17.4 billion views and more than 20.3 million subscribers.
November 2021: Bergara and Madej continued collaborating with BuzzFeed to produce BuzzFeed Unsolved
In November 2021, Ryan Bergara and Shane Madej continued collaborating with BuzzFeed to produce BuzzFeed Unsolved.
December 2021: BuzzFeed Public Listing to Finance Acquisitions
In February 2024, BuzzFeed announced the sale of Complex to NTWRK, a livestream shopping platform, even as it would retain some popular franchises. These moves marked a retreat for the company after its December 2021 public listing done to finance acquisitions and came during a difficult period for media companies.
2021: Animation Lab Had A Combined Total of Over 17 Million Followers
As of 2021, BuzzFeed's Animation Lab 4 projects had a combined total of over 17 million followers.
2021: BuzzFeed News Wins Awards
By 2021, after years of investment in investigative journalism, BuzzFeed News had won the National Magazine Award, the George Polk Award, and the Pulitzer Prize, and was nominated for the Michael Kelly Award.
2021: BuzzFeed Raises $16.2M in Post IPO Round
In 2021, BuzzFeed raised $16.2M in its latest funding round, which was Post IPO round held on Dec 03, 2021.
2021: BuzzFeed wins Pulitzer Prize
In 2021, BuzzFeed won a Pulitzer Prize in the international reporting category for an investigative series about the Xinjiang internment camps.
March 2022: BuzzFeed News Editors Resign, Face Job Cuts
In March 2022, three top BuzzFeed News editors announced their resignations, and the newsroom faced voluntary layoffs or job cuts after investors encouraged the shutdown of BuzzFeed News.
September 23, 2022: Ghost Files Web Series Released
On September 23, 2022, the spiritual successor to BuzzFeed Unsolved, Ghost Files, a documentary entertainment web series by Watcher Entertainment was first released.
April 20, 2023: BuzzFeed News Division to Close
Chief executive Jonah Peretti announced the BuzzFeed News division would close on April 20, 2023.
April 20, 2023: BuzzFeed News to be Shuttered
On April 20, 2023, Jonah Peretti announced that BuzzFeed would close BuzzFeed News and focus its news efforts on HuffPost, resulting in approximately 180 layoffs.
May 2023: BuzzFeed Receives Delisting Notice from Nasdaq
In May 2023, BuzzFeed received a delisting notice from Nasdaq after its share price declined below $1.
November 2023: BuzzFeed Given Further Extension to Raise Stock Price
In November 2023, after passing the deadline to raise the stock price above $1, BuzzFeed was given a further 180 days until May 2024 to comply with Nasdaq's requirements.
January 2024: BuzzFeed Stock Price Plummets
By January 2024, the stock price of BuzzFeed had declined 98% since its initial listing, and the company was burdened with debt.
January 2024: Animation Lab Team Layoffs
In January 2024, a lot of the Animation Lab team were laid off (including Loryn Brantz), leading to the cancellations of Weird Helga and The Good Advice Cupcake.
February 2024: BuzzFeed Sells Complex to NTWRK, Considers Selling Tasty
In February 2024, BuzzFeed announced the sale of Complex to NTWRK, a livestream shopping platform, and considered selling Tasty. Layoffs were also announced.
May 2024: BuzzFeed Implements Reverse Stock Split
In May 2024, BuzzFeed implemented a 4:1 reverse stock split, bringing them above the $1 a share threshold.
May 2024: Vivek Ramaswamy Acquires Stake in BuzzFeed
In May 2024, activist investor Vivek Ramaswamy acquired a 7.7% stake in BuzzFeed, becoming the fourth-largest shareholder, and later increased it to 8.37%. He expressed intentions to shift the company's political leanings.
July 2024: BuzzFeed Sells Bring Me! to LOST iN
In July 2024, BuzzFeed sold travel-brand Bring Me! to media publisher LOST iN.
December 2024: BuzzFeed Sells First We Feast for $82.5 Million
In December 2024, BuzzFeed sold First We Feast, which produces the show Hot Ones, for $82.5 million to a consortium of Investors.
2024: The Independent Discussed Acquiring BuzzFeed and Huffington Post's UK Operations
According to Reuters, in early 2024 British media group The Independent reportedly discussed a multi-year agreement to acquire control of BuzzFeed and Huffington Post's operations in the UK and Ireland.
2024: Alan Reid Becomes President of Buzzfeed Studios
In 2024, Alan Reid became president of Buzzfeed Studios.
2025: BuzzFeed Had Net Loss of $57.3 Million
In 2025, Buzzfeed had a net loss of $57.3 million.
March 2026: Buzzfeed Faces Liquidity Issues
In March 2026, Buzzfeed revealed that it is still burdened by legacy commitments and it has engaged in “strategic conversations” about relieving its liquidity issues.
2026: BuzzFeed Notes Lack of Resources to Fund Obligations
In 2025, Buzzfeed had a net loss of $57.3 million, noting that it did not have enough resources to fund its cash obligations for 2026.
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