History of BuzzFeed in Timeline

BuzzFeed is an American digital media company specializing in news, entertainment, and viral content. Founded in 2006 by Jonah Peretti and John S. Johnson III, with early involvement from Kenneth Lerer, it's based in New York City. The company initially focused on identifying and tracking viral trends on the internet. BuzzFeed has grown into a prominent online platform, known for its quizzes, listicles, and short-form videos, alongside more traditional news and investigative journalism.

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.

2006: BuzzFeed Laboratories Started as a Side Project

In 2006, while working at the Huffington Post, Jonah Peretti started BuzzFeed (originally called BuzzFeed Laboratories) as a side project, in partnership with John Johnson. It initially used an algorithm and a messaging client called BuzzBot to identify and share viral content.

2008: BuzzFeed Raises $3.5 Million

In 2008, BuzzFeed secured $3.5 million in funding from Hearst Ventures and SoftBank.

2010: Revenue Benchmark

In 2010, BuzzFeed had a revenue benchmark that it tripled in the subsequent year.

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 as Editor-in-Chief

In 2011, BuzzFeed hired Ben Smith as editor-in-chief from Politico to spearhead the site's expansion into long-form journalism and reportage under the BuzzFeed News banner.

2011: Revenue Triples

In 2011, BuzzFeed's revenue tripled compared to 2010 due to running over 100 social media campaigns.

2011: Ben Smith Hired to Build News Operation

In 2011, Jonah Peretti hired Ben Smith from Politico to create a news operation within BuzzFeed, adding to the site's aggregated listicle content.

January 2012: $15.5 Million Funding Announced

In January 2012, BuzzFeed announced that it had raised $15.5 million in funding from various investors like New Enterprise Associates, to facilitate the site's content expansion.

June 2012: BuzzFeed accused of plagiarism by Gawker

In June 2012, Gawker accused BuzzFeed's Matt Stopera of plagiarizing content by copying text into lists without attribution.

July 17, 2012: McSweeney's publishes satirical piece "Suggested BuzzFeed Articles"

On July 17, 2012, McSweeney's Internet Tendency published a satirical piece entitled "Suggested BuzzFeed Articles", which prompted BuzzFeed to create many of the suggestions. BuzzFeed listed 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 contributed to an increase in ad revenue.

2012: Ze Frank Hired

In 2012, BuzzFeed hired Ze Frank, leading to the production of various video series by BuzzFeed Video, including "The Try Guys".

2012: Acquisition of 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: Atlantic Wire reports more instances of plagiarism in "listicles"

In March 2013, The Atlantic Wire reported that several BuzzFeed "listicles" had apparently been copied from Reddit and other websites.

December 2013: BuzzFeed Ranks at the Top of NewsWhip's Facebook Publisher Rankings

From December 2013 to April 2014, BuzzFeed consistently ranked at the top of NewsWhip's "Facebook Publisher Rankings".

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 at BuzzFeed.

April 2014: The Huffington Post Takes Top Position in NewsWhip Rankings

In April 2014, The Huffington Post surpassed BuzzFeed to take the top position in NewsWhip's "Facebook Publisher Rankings".

July 2014: BuzzFeed writer Benny Johnson fired for plagiarism

In July 2014, BuzzFeed writer Benny Johnson was accused of multiple instances of plagiarism and was subsequently fired. 41 instances of plagiarism were found and corrected.

August 2014: BuzzFeed Motion Pictures Announced

In August 2014, BuzzFeed announced a new division called BuzzFeed Motion Pictures, which had the potential to produce feature-length films.

August 2014: $50 Million Raised from Andreessen Horowitz

In August 2014, BuzzFeed raised $50 million from venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, more than doubling previous rounds of funding and valuing the site at around $850 million.

October 2014: Acquisition of Torando Labs

In October 2014, BuzzFeed announced its acquisition of Torando Labs, which became BuzzFeed's first data-engineering team.

October 2014: BuzzFeed viewed as unreliable source in Pew Research Center survey

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 Secondary Stock

In December 2014, growth equity firm General Atlantic acquired $50 million in secondary stock of BuzzFeed.

2014: Deletion of Early Posts

In 2014, BuzzFeed deleted over 4000 early posts, because they were not aging well.

2014: BuzzFeed's traffic driven by social media sharing

In 2014, BuzzFeed received 75% of its views from links on social media outlets such as Pinterest, Twitter, and Facebook. The company used data analysis to maximize content distribution.

2014: Pew Research Center Survey on BuzzFeed's Reliability

In 2014, a Pew Research Center survey revealed that a majority of respondents in the United States viewed BuzzFeed as an unreliable source, irrespective of age or political affiliation.

February 2015: "The Dress" goes viral and breaks concurrent visitor record

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: BuzzFeed deletes posts critical of advertisers and faces scrutiny

In April 2015, BuzzFeed deleted two posts that criticized advertisers, leading to scrutiny. An internal review found three additional posts deleted for being critical of products or advertisements by Microsoft, Pepsi, and Unilever. Ben Smith apologized and reinstated both posts with a note. Days later, Arabelle Sicardi, one of the authors of the deleted posts, resigned.

June 2015: BuzzFeed changes social media avatar to rainbow colors

In June 2015, BuzzFeed and other websites 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 invested $200 million in BuzzFeed, leading to plans to hire more journalists for investigative reporting and expand internationally with outposts in India, Germany, Mexico, and Japan. Hiring would also occur for the UK bureau, motion picture unit, and food-themed business, Tasty.

2015: BuzzFeed Starts Podcasting Team

In 2015, BuzzFeed launched an in-house podcasting team, resulting in the development and launch of podcasts such as Another Round and Internet Explorer.

February 2016: BuzzFeed Canada writer tweets request for non-white non-men pitches

In February 2016, Scaachi Koul, a Senior Writer for BuzzFeed Canada, tweeted a request for pitches stating that BuzzFeed was "...looking for mostly non-white non-men." The tweets, which were deemed racist and sexist, resulted in a barrage of hate comments and threats of violence against Koul.

April 8, 2016: BuzzFeed interns explode a watermelon on Facebook Live

On April 8, 2016, two BuzzFeed interns created a live stream on Facebook, during which rubber bands were wrapped one by one around a watermelon until the pressure caused it to explode.

June 2016: BuzzFeed cancels advertising agreement with the Republican National Committee

Also in June 2016, BuzzFeed cancelled an advertising agreement with the Republican National Committee because of what BuzzFeed founder Jonah Peretti called "offensive remarks" made by Donald Trump.

June 2016: BuzzFeed coverage of Obama deemed "creepy"

In June 2016, a report found that in 100 BuzzFeed stories about Barack Obama, 65 were positive, 34 were neutral, and one was critical. The report called BuzzFeed's coverage of Obama "creepy" and "almost uniformly uncritical and often sycophantic."

2016: BuzzFeed among least trusted sources by millennials

According to a Pew report based on 2014 surveys, in 2016, BuzzFeed was among the least trusted sources by millennials.

2016: BuzzFeed's Investigative Journalism Team Grows

By 2016, BuzzFeed had 20 investigative journalists working within its news division.

2016: News and Entertainment Content Separated

In 2016, BuzzFeed formally divided its content into BuzzFeed News and the newly formed BuzzFeed Entertainment Group, which includes BuzzFeed Motion Pictures. BuzzFeed also expanded internationally with correspondents in 12 countries and foreign editions in multiple regions.

2016: Additional Investment from NBCUniversal

In 2016, NBCUniversal made an additional $200 million equity investment in BuzzFeed after the two companies collaborated on projects such as the Rio Olympics, to market themselves to advertisers.

2016: Tasty sponsors Worth It

In 2016, Tasty began sponsoring the show named Worth It starring Steven Lim, Andrew Ilnyckyj, and Adam Bianchi. In each episode, the trio visit three different food places with three drastically different price points in one food category.

2016: Claims surface of BuzzFeedVideo stealing content

In 2016, claims surfaced of the YouTube channel BuzzFeedVideo stealing ideas and content from other creators, adding to previous plagiarism accusations.

2016: BuzzFeed broke UK advertising rules for Dylon advertorial

In 2016, the Advertising Standards Authority of the United Kingdom ruled that BuzzFeed broke the UK advertising rules for failing to clearly label an article promoting Dylon as an online advertorial. The ASA acknowledged BuzzFeed's defense regarding homepage and search result labels but noted individuals linking directly to the story might miss the "sponsored content" label. Therefore, the labeling was deemed insufficient to clarify that the webpage's main content was an advertorial.

January 2017: BuzzFeed criticized for publishing Steele dossier

In January 2017, BuzzFeed faced widespread criticism for publishing the unverified Steele dossier, leading to President Trump calling 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 that alleges several accusations of Trump. The release was met with criticism and accusations of spreading "fake news."

January 2017: BuzzFeed's user-generated community content hits 100 million views

In January 2017, BuzzFeed's user-generated community content accumulated 100 million views, marking a significant milestone for the platform's community section.

2017: BuzzFeed launches Animation Lab

Around 2017, BuzzFeed launched Animation Lab with a focus on short-form animation content that is posted on platforms such as Instagram, TikTok and later YouTube and Twitter.

2017: BuzzFeed Employee Count and Layoff Plans

By the end of 2017, BuzzFeed had approximately 1,700 employees globally. However, in November of that year, the company announced plans to lay off around 100 employees in the US.

2017: Layoffs Announced

In 2017, BuzzFeed laid off 100 employees after previously announcing plans to do so.

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). Additionally, president Greg Coleman was named Publishing Executive of the Year by Digiday.

2017: BuzzFeed voted second least trustworthy source in US

In a 2017 survey among US readers, BuzzFeed was voted the second least trustworthy source among American readers.

June 2018: BuzzFeed Layoffs in Europe

In June 2018, BuzzFeed laid off 45 employees in the UK and 100 employees in France as part of a broader restructuring effort.

June 2018: The Try Guys leave BuzzFeed to form independent channel

In June 2018, Eugene Lee Yang, Zach Kornfeld, Keith Habersberger, and Ned Fulmer (formerly of The Try Guys) left BuzzFeed and created their own independent channel, also titled "The Try Guys".

September 2018: BuzzFeed Shuts Down Podcast Department

In September 2018, BuzzFeed shut down its podcast department and laid off staff because of insufficient ad revenue, leading to the cancellation of most podcasts, including See Something, Say Something.

2018: Revenue Increase

From 2017 to 2018, BuzzFeed's revenue increased by 15%.

2018: Night In/Night Out canceled after Try Guys leave BuzzFeed

In 2018, after Ned and Ariel Fulmer left BuzzFeed with the Try Guys, the series Night In/Night Out was subsequently canceled.

2018: BuzzFeed staff a finalist for Pulitzer Prize

In 2018, staff of BuzzFeed news was a finalist for a Pulitzer Prize in their international reporting category.

January 2019: BuzzFeed announces workforce cut

In January 2019, BuzzFeed announced that it would cut its workforce by 15%.

January 2019: BuzzFeed's quiz director reveals unpaid contributors

In January 2019, BuzzFeed's director of quizzes revealed that many popular quizzes were created by unpaid contributors, with one college student driving significant traffic and generating an estimated $3.8 million for the company.

January 2019: Further Staff Layoffs and Podcast Cancellation

In late January 2019, BuzzFeed fired 200 staff across the company and cancelled the remaining podcast, Thirst Aid Kit.

January 18, 2019: Mueller's office disputes BuzzFeed report about Trump and Cohen

On January 18, 2019, Robert Mueller's office disputed a BuzzFeed report stating that Trump instructed Michael Cohen to lie to Congress, characterizing the report as "not accurate".

January 23, 2019: BuzzFeed Announces Workforce Reduction

On January 23, 2019, BuzzFeed announced a 15% reduction in its workforce, affecting the international, web content, and news divisions, which resulted in approximately 200 employees being laid off.

February 2019: BuzzFeed News votes to unionize after layoffs

In February 2019, following major layoffs, BuzzFeed News employees voted to unionize. A dispute between BuzzFeed's upper executives and the union began when the executives failed to show up to a meeting.

July 2019: BuzzFeed to recognize employee union

In July 2019 BuzzFeed announced that it would voluntarily recognize an employee union.

December 2019: Tasty's Facebook following reaches 100 million

As of December 2019, BuzzFeed's video series on comfort food, Tasty, has 100 million followers on Facebook. The channel has substantially more views than BuzzFeed's dedicated food site.

2019: Additional Layoffs and Facebook Funding

In 2019, BuzzFeed laid off 200 employees. However, revenue rose by 15% from 2017 to 2018. Also in 2019, Facebook began funding two BuzzFeed News shows for Watch.

2019: Bergara, Madej and Lim create Watcher Entertainment

In 2019, Ryan Bergara and Shane Madej from BuzzFeed Unsolved, along with Worth It's Steven Lim, started their own digital production company, Watcher Entertainment.

March 25, 2020: Salary Cuts Announced 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 CEO Jonah Peretti forgoing his salary until the pandemic's end.

May 13, 2020: Divisions Shut Down in the UK and Australia

On May 13, 2020, BuzzFeed shut down its divisions in the UK and Australia, furloughing 10 news staff in the UK and four in Australia.

June 2020: Ryan Broderick fired 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: Acquisition of HuffPost

On November 19, 2020, BuzzFeed announced its acquisition of HuffPost in a stock deal that made Verizon Media a minority shareholder in BuzzFeed.

2020: Deal with Universal Television

In 2020, BuzzFeed entered into a deal with Universal Television to develop content based on its stories.

2020: Tasty streams Saturday Night Seder for COVID-19 relief

In 2020, during 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 Announces Plans to Go Public and Acquire Complex Networks

In June 2021, BuzzFeed announced its intention 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, news broke that BuzzFeed, valued at $1.5 billion through a SPAC deal, planned to go public 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 amassed over 17.4 billion views and over 20.3 million subscribers.

December 2021: BuzzFeed Public Listing

In December 2021, BuzzFeed had a public listing done to finance acquisitions.

2021: BuzzFeed News Wins Awards

By 2021, BuzzFeed News had been recognized for its investigative journalism, winning the National Magazine Award, the George Polk Award, and the Pulitzer Prize, and being nominated for the Michael Kelly Award.

2021: BuzzFeed Raised $16.2M in Post IPO Round

In 2021, BuzzFeed raised $16.2M in its latest funding round, which was a 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

In March 2022, three top BuzzFeed News editors announced their resignation, and the newsroom was facing voluntary layoffs or job cuts, after investors encouraged Jonah Peretti to shut down the news division.

September 23, 2022: Watcher Entertainment releases Ghost Files

On September 23, 2022, Watcher Entertainment released Ghost Files, a documentary entertainment web series that is the spiritual successor to BuzzFeed Unsolved.

April 20, 2023: BuzzFeed News to Shut Down

On April 20, 2023, Jonah Peretti announced that BuzzFeed would be closing down BuzzFeed News, consolidating its news efforts into HuffPost and laying off approximately 180 employees.

May 2023: Nasdaq Delisting Notice

In May 2023, after initially listing on Nasdaq at $10 a share, the share price subsequently declined to under $1, leading to a delisting notice by Nasdaq, requiring them to raise the share price above $1 within 180 days or risk being removed from the exchange.

November 2023: Extension Granted for Nasdaq Compliance

In November 2023, after the initial deadline passed without meeting the Nasdaq compliance requirements, BuzzFeed was given a further 180 days to raise its stock price.

January 2024: Stock Price Decline

By January 2024, BuzzFeed's stock price had declined 98% since its initial listing, leaving the entire company valued at around $37 million and significantly burdened with debt.

January 2024: Layoffs in Animation Lab lead to show cancellations

In January 2024, layoffs within BuzzFeed's Animation Lab team, including Loryn Brantz, led to the cancellations of Weird Helga and The Good Advice Cupcake.

February 2024: Sale of Complex and Potential Sale of Tasty

In February 2024, BuzzFeed announced the sale of Complex to NTWRK and considered selling Tasty, marking a retreat after its public listing and during a challenging period for media companies. Layoffs were also announced.

May 2024: Reverse Stock Split Implemented

In May 2024, BuzzFeed implemented a 4:1 reverse stock split, raising them above the $1 a share threshold to avoid delisting.

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%.