Major YouTube creators face backlash for promoting AI platform without disclosure

Matti Haapoja and Sam "Kold" Kolder posted videos in recent days demonstrating Higgsfield's Seedance 2.5 and were met with an angry response from their followers. Neither creator labeled the videos as sponsored, and neither replied to inquiries from The Verge about the nature of the arrangement. Only after publication did Higgsfield's PR manager, Nuray Omarkhan, confirm that the creators had received cash payment along with platform credits.

The comparison that ignited the criticism

Haapoja likened generative AI in his video to the Canon EOS 5D Mark II, the iconic DSLR that brought full 1080p video to independent creators. Marques Brownlee responded on Threads and dismissed the analogy: the 5D Mark II was a physical tool that demanded learning and craft, whereas generative AI "was built on real human work with zero credit." Brownlee's rebuttal, from a voice that carries weight in the creator community, gave license to a wider wave of criticism.

One video, two different receptions

Kolder's video, titled "AI is replacing me," drew mixed comments. Alongside praise for the transitions and aesthetic came remarks such as "AI defeated our king" and "no AI will replace creative artists." Haapoja faced a more blanket rejection; fellow creators who viewed him as a peer attacked the move directly. The difference in tone suggests the audience is reacting not only to the technology but to how it is framed by figures they trust.

The film that slipped under the radar

"Cully Hill Boys," a feature-length movie starring AI doubles of YouTubers Michael "N3on" Rafiq and Matt Kiatipis, went live last week with little fanfare. The performers approved the use of their likenesses but were not involved in production as traditional actors. Reactions ranged from AI supporters cheering Higgsfield to critics labeling the output "slop," yet the criticism was aimed at the company, not the cast.

What is different this time

The fundamental distinction between Higgsfield's earlier collaborations and the current push is the scale of exposure and the ambition of the claim. Haapoja and Kolder did not merely demonstrate a tool; they presented it as the future of the industry, in videos that feel like infomercials. When viewers recognize marketing disguised as professional advice, trust erodes. The fact that disclosure arrived only after the fact, and from a third party, only compounds the damage.