PewDiePie

Felix Arvid Ulf Kjellberg^[c] (born 24 October 1989), better known as PewDiePie,^[d] is a Swedish YouTuber, best known for his gaming videos. Kjellberg's popularity on YouTube and extensive media coverage have made him one of the most noted online personalities and content creators. Media coverage of him has cited him as a figurehead for YouTube, especially in the gaming genre.

Born and raised in Gothenburg, Kjellberg registered his YouTube channel "PewDiePie" in 2010, primarily posting Let's Play videos of horror and action video games. His channel gained a substantial following and was one of the fastest growing channels in 2012 and 2013, before becoming the most-subscribed on YouTube on 15 August 2013. From 29 December 2014 to 14 February 2017, Kjellberg's channel was also the most-viewed on the platform. After becoming the platform's most-popular creator, he diversified his content, shifting its focus from Let's Plays and began to frequently include vlogs, comedy shorts, formatted shows, and music videos. For its first foray into original programming as part of the relaunch of its subscription service, YouTube also enlisted Kjellberg to star in a reality web series.

Kjellberg's content was already noted for its polarizing reception among general audiences online, but in the late 2010s, it became more controversial and attracted increased media scrutiny. Most notably, a 2017 article by The Wall Street Journal alleging his content included antisemitic themes and imagery prompted other outlets to write further criticism of him and companies to sever their business partnerships with Kjellberg. Though he acknowledged the content which garnered media ire as inappropriate, he defended it as humor taken out of context and vehemently rebuked the Journal's reporting in particular. In late 2018 and early 2019, Kjellberg engaged in a a public competition with Indian record label T-Series, before his channel was ultimately overtaken by the label's as the most-subscribed on YouTube. Shortly following this, he returned to making regular gaming uploads, with a focus on Minecraft, generating record viewership for his channel. In the 2020s, Kjellberg became more reserved online, uploading less consistently and taking frequent breaks from Internet use. Meanwhile, in his personal life, he moved to Japan with his wife, Italian Internet personality Marzia. He has since semi-retired from YouTube, choosing to upload less frequently and for his enjoyment rather than as a career. His content has since centered on his family life and personal interests. With over 110 million subscribers and 29.4 billion views,^[e] his channel still ranks as one of the most-subscribed and viewed on YouTube.

He is widely considered a pioneer and ambassador of YouTube's platform and culture, as well as largely influential to Internet culture in general, particularly its gaming subculture. Kjellberg's popularity online has been recognized to boost sales for the video games he plays and has allowed him to stir support for charity fundraising drives. He is often written about in regards to and as a result of controversy; particularly, following the Journal's piece, some writers opined that Kjellberg promoted hateful ideologies or described him as adjacent to them, though others have stated such descriptions are perhaps unfair. Other writers have stated Kjellberg underestimated his impact and responsibility as an online creator. Noted as YouTube's most-popular creator for much of the 2010s, Time magazine named him as one of the world's 100 most influential people in 2016.

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