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 significant digital media outlet. Kenneth Lerer, also co-founder of The Huffington Post, is 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 to focus on tracking viral content. Kenneth Lerer, co-founder and chairman of The Huffington Post, started as a co-founder and investor.

2006: BuzzFeed Laboratories Started as 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. The site initially launched an instant messaging client, BuzzBot, which sent users a link to popular content.

2008: BuzzFeed Raises $3.5 Million

In 2008, BuzzFeed raised $3.5 million through Hearst Ventures and SoftBank.

2010: Revenue Comparison

In 2010, BuzzFeed's revenue increased significantly compared to 2011 when they ran 100 social media campaign, resulting in their revenue tripling compared to 2010.

December 2011: BuzzFeed's News Division Begins

BuzzFeed's news division began in December 2011 with the appointment of Ben Smith as editor-in-chief.

2011: Ben Smith Hired as Editor-in-Chief

In 2011, Ben Smith of Politico was hired as editor-in-chief of BuzzFeed to expand the site into long-form journalism and reportage under the BuzzFeed News banner.

2011: Revenue Triples Due to Social Media Campaigns

In 2011, BuzzFeed ran more than 100 social media campaigns, resulting in their revenue tripling compared to 2010.

2011: Ben Smith Hired to Assemble News Operation

In 2011, Peretti hired Ben Smith of Politico to assemble a news operation in addition to the many aggregated "listicles".

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: Plagiarism Accusations Against Matt Stopera

In June 2012, Gawker's Adrian Chen observed that one of BuzzFeed's most popular writers—Matt Stopera—frequently copied and pasted "chunks of text into lists without attribution."

July 17, 2012: McSweeney's Publishes "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, listing McSweeney's as a "Community Contributor".

October 2012: Sponsored Content for Obama Administration Leads to Ad Revenue Increase

In October 2012, BuzzFeed ran sponsored content for the Obama administration leading to an increase in ad revenue.

2012: BuzzFeed Acquires Kingfish Labs

BuzzFeed's first acquisition was in 2012 when the company purchased Kingfish Labs, a startup founded by Rob Fishman, initially focused on optimizing Facebook ads.

2012: Ze Frank Hired by BuzzFeed Video

Since hiring Ze Frank in 2012, BuzzFeed Video has produced several video series, including "The Try Guys".

January 2013: New Enterprise Associates Raises $19.3 Million

By January 2013, BuzzFeed announced that New Enterprise Associates had raised $19.3 million.

March 2013: Report of "Listicles" Copied from Reddit

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

May 2013: BuzzFeed Launches "Community" Section

In May 2013, BuzzFeed launched the "Community" section to enable users to submit content. Users initially were limited to publishing only one post per day, but could increase their submission capacity by raising their "Cat Power".

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

BuzzFeed consistently ranked at the top of NewsWhip's "Facebook Publisher Rankings" from December 2013.

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

BuzzFeed consistently ranked at the top of NewsWhip's "Facebook Publisher Rankings" until April 2014, when The Huffington Post entered the position.

July 2014: Benny Johnson Plagiarism Scandal

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

August 2014: BuzzFeed Raises $50 Million from Andreessen Horowitz

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

August 2014: BuzzFeed Announces BuzzFeed Motion Pictures

In August 2014, the company announced a new division, BuzzFeed Motion Pictures, which may produce feature-length films.

October 2014: BuzzFeed Acquires Torando Labs

In October 2014, BuzzFeed announced its next acquisition, Torando Labs, which would become BuzzFeed's first data-engineering team.

October 2014: BuzzFeed Viewed as Unreliable Source

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 Secondary Stock

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

2014: BuzzFeed Adds Traditional Content

According to The New York Times, BuzzFeed added more traditional content, building a track record for delivering breaking news and deeply reported articles. In 2014, BuzzFeed deleted over 4000 early posts.

2014: Social Media as Primary Traffic Source

In 2014, BuzzFeed received 75% of its views from links on social media outlets such as Pinterest, Twitter, and Facebook.

February 2015: Viral "Dress" Post Sets Record

In February 2015, a post resulting in a debate over the color of an item of clothing garnered more than 28 million views in one day, setting a record for most concurrent visitors to a BuzzFeed post, which reached 673,000 at its peak.

April 2015: Posts Critical of Advertisers Deleted

In April 2015, BuzzFeed drew scrutiny after Gawker observed the publication had deleted two posts that criticized advertisers like Dove soap (Unilever) and Hasbro, leading to an apology from Ben Smith and the resignation of one of the authors.

June 2015: BuzzFeed Celebrates Same-Sex Marriage Ruling

In June 2015, BuzzFeed, along with other websites, temporarily changed their social media avatars to rainbow colors to celebrate the ruling that same-sex marriage was 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. BuzzFeed planned on hiring journalists around the world and planned to open outposts in India, Germany, Mexico, and Japan. It planned on hiring staff for its UK bureau, its rapidly-expanding motion picture unit and its food-themed business, Tasty.

Loading Video...

2015: BuzzFeed Starts In-House Podcasting Team

In 2015, BuzzFeed started an in-house podcasting team, through which the podcasts Another Round and Internet Explorer were developed and launched.

February 2016: Scaachi Koul's controversial tweets

In February 2016, Scaachi Koul, a Senior Writer for BuzzFeed Canada, posted tweets seeking pitches, specifically mentioning non-white non-men. These tweets, deemed racist and sexist, resulted in hate comments and threats. A former colleague defended Koul's diversity request but raised concerns about tokenism.

April 8, 2016: Watermelon Explosion Live Stream

On April 8, 2016, two BuzzFeed interns created a live stream on Facebook, during which rubber bands were wrapped around a watermelon until it exploded.

June 2016: BuzzFeed's Coverage of Barack Obama and Cancellation of Advertising Agreement

In June 2016, a report criticized BuzzFeed's coverage of Barack Obama as "creepy" and overly 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 of Michael Cohen with Russian Officials

In August 2016, the Steele dossier claimed that Trump's attorney Michael Cohen had met with Russian officials in Prague, Czech Republic, a claim that Cohen has vehemently denied.

2016: BuzzFeed Among Least Trusted Sources by Millennials

A Pew report based on 2014 surveys indicated that BuzzFeed was among the least trusted sources by millennials in 2016.

2016: BuzzFeed Has 20 Investigative Journalists

By 2016, BuzzFeed had 20 investigative journalists.

2016: BuzzFeed Separates 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 also includes BuzzFeed Motion Pictures. As of 2016, BuzzFeed had correspondents from 12 countries, and foreign editions in Australia, Brazil, France, Germany, India, Japan, Mexico, Spain, and the United Kingdom.

2016: NBCUniversal Invests Additional $200 Million

In 2016, NBCUniversal invested an additional $200 million in BuzzFeed after the two companies had collaborated on many projects, namely the Rio Olympics. The companies planned to work together to market themselves to advertisers.

2016: BuzzFeedVideo Accused of Stealing Content

In 2016, claims surfaced of the YouTube channel BuzzFeedVideo stealing ideas and content from other creators.

2016: BuzzFeed Broke UK Advertising Rules

In 2016, the Advertising Standards Authority of the United Kingdom ruled that BuzzFeed violated UK advertising regulations by not clearly indicating that an article promoting Dylon was a paid online advertisement. This ruling was based on the fact that individuals could link to the story directly, and the labeling was not sufficient to make clear that the content was an advertorial.

2016: Tasty Sponsors "Worth It"

Since 2016, Tasty has sponsored the show Worth It starring Steven Lim, Andrew Ilnyckyj, and Adam Bianchi.

January 2017: BuzzFeed Publishes Steele Dossier

In January 2017, BuzzFeed faced widespread criticism for publishing 35 pages of unverified memos, known as the Steele dossier. Then-President elect Donald Trump referred to BuzzFeed as a "failing pile of garbage".

January 2017: User-Generated Content Reaches 100 Million Views

In January 2017, BuzzFeed's user-generated community content accumulated 100 million views.

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 Announces Layoffs

By the end of 2017, BuzzFeed employed around 1,700 employees worldwide, although it announced plans in November of that year to lay off around 100 employees in the US, 45 in the UK.

2017: BuzzFeed Lays Off Employees

In 2017, BuzzFeed laid off 100 employees.

2017: BuzzFeed Wins Webby Awards and President Named Publishing Executive of the Year

In 2017, BuzzFeed won Webby Awards for Best News App and Best Interview/Talk Show (for Another Round). Greg Coleman, president of BuzzFeed, was also named Publishing Executive of the Year by Digiday.

Loading Video...

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 France

In June 2018, BuzzFeed announced plans to lay off around 100 employees in France.

June 2018: The Try Guys Leave 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, also titled "The Try Guys".

September 2018: BuzzFeed Shuts Down Podcast Department

In September 2018, BuzzFeed shut down its podcast department and laid off the staff due to a lack of desired ad revenue. It cancelled most of its podcasts, including See Something, Say Something.

2018: BuzzFeed Increases Revenue

In 2018, BuzzFeed raised revenue by 15%.

2018: "Night In/Night Out" Canceled

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

2018: BuzzFeed News Finalist for Pulitzer Prize

In 2018, the staff of BuzzFeed news was a finalist for a Pulitzer Prize in the 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".

January 2019: BuzzFeed Announces Workforce Reduction

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

January 2019: Unpaid Quiz Contributors Revealed

In January 2019, Matthew Perpetua, BuzzFeed's director of quizzes, revealed that many of the site's most popular quizzes were created by unpaid contributors, highlighting the case of Rachel McMahon, a college student in Michigan.

January 2019: BuzzFeed Fires Staff and Cancels Remaining Podcast

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

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 notified all employees via memo that there would be an upcoming 15% reduction in workforce affecting the international, web content, and news divisions of the company. The layoffs would affect approximately 200 employees.

February 2019: BuzzFeed News Votes to Unionize

In February 2019, BuzzFeed News voted to unionize, following major layoffs. 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 Success

As of December 2019, BuzzFeed's video series on comfort food, Tasty, had 100 million followers on Facebook. Tasty has also released a cookbook.

2019: BuzzFeed Lays Off More Employees

In 2019, BuzzFeed laid off 200 of its employees.

2019: Steven Lim Leaves BuzzFeed

In 2019, Steven Lim, star of Worth It, left BuzzFeed to start his own production company Watcher.

2019: Bergara and Madej Start Watcher Entertainment

In late 2019, Ryan Bergara and Shane Madej started their own digital production company, Watcher Entertainment, with Worth It's Steven Lim, while continuing to collaborate with BuzzFeed to produce BuzzFeed Unsolved.

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 of 5% (lowest income bracket) up to 25% (highest income bracket) due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

May 13, 2020: BuzzFeed Shuts Down Divisions 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 as well as four in its Australian outpost.

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: BuzzFeed Announces Acquisition of HuffPost

On November 19, 2020, BuzzFeed announced that they would acquire HuffPost in a stock deal that made Verizon Media 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" Streams 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 Announces 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

According to a news from June 24, 2021 on Variety, BuzzFeed, valued at $1.5 billion through a SPAC deal, is 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 garnered more than 17.4 billion views and more than 20.3 million subscribers.

November 2021: Bergara and Madej End Collaboration on BuzzFeed Unsolved

In November 2021, Ryan Bergara and Shane Madej ended their collaboration with BuzzFeed on BuzzFeed Unsolved.

December 2021: BuzzFeed's Public Listing

BuzzFeed's public listing in December 2021 was done to finance acquisitions and came during a difficult period for media companies.

2021: Animation Lab Finds Success

As of 2021, BuzzFeed's Animation Lab had a combined total of over 17 million followers across four projects: Weird Helga, The Good Advice Cupcake, The Land of Boggs, and Chikn Nuggit.

2021: BuzzFeed Raises $16.2M in Funding Round

BuzzFeed raised $16.2M in its latest funding round, which was Post IPO round held on Dec 03, 2021.

2021: BuzzFeed Wins Pulitzer Prize

BuzzFeed won a Pulitzer Prize in 2021 in the international reporting category for an investigative series about the Xinjiang internment camps.

2021: BuzzFeed News Wins Awards

By 2021, BuzzFeed News had won the National Magazine Award, the George Polk Award, and the Pulitzer Prize, and was nominated for the Michael Kelly Award.

March 2022: BuzzFeed News Faces Resignations and Job Cuts

In March 2022, three top BuzzFeed News editors announced that they would be resigning and the newsroom would face voluntary layoffs or job cuts.

September 23, 2022: Watcher Entertainment Releases Ghost Files

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

April 20, 2023: BuzzFeed News to be Shuttered

On April 20, 2023, Jonah Peretti announced that BuzzFeed would be shuttering BuzzFeed News and focusing its news efforts into HuffPost, resulting in the layoff of about 180 workers.

May 2023: BuzzFeed Receives Delisting Notice from Nasdaq

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

November 2023: BuzzFeed Given Further Extension by Nasdaq

Once the deadline for the initial notice passed in November 2023 with the stock price still below $1, BuzzFeed was given a further 180 days until May 2024 to raise stock price.

January 2024: BuzzFeed's Stock Price Plummets

By January 2024, the stock price of BuzzFeed had declined 98% since its initial listing, with the entire company now only worth around $37 million, and the company was significantly burdened with debt.

January 2024: Animation Lab Team Layoffs

In January 2024, many members 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 Announces Sale of Complex to NTWRK

In February 2024, BuzzFeed announced the sale of Complex to NTWRK, a livestream shopping platform, even as it would retain some popular franchises. At the same time, it reportedly considered selling Tasty, a social media food brand. It also announced layoffs.

Loading Video...

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, making him the fourth-largest shareholder, which he later increased to 8.37%.