Measured Updated dailyMarkdown copy

Slip fake entries into a real list

A viral gaming format on TikTok and Instagram

Put deadpan fake items, such as invented heroes, future games or a made-up product, into otherwise real content and never point them out.

3

accounts it worked for

55x

median, times their usual

#12

of 35 in gaming

Angle

Green screen, Slideshow

Why it works

Viewers rush to the comments to correct the fakes or ask whether they're real. Gamesdotgg, jacobm.stevens and jampacksam each hide absurd entries inside useful or believable content.

Hook formula[Real-sounding list or announcement] with [fake entry] hidden inside

How to make it

  1. 1Build a normal ranking, deals list or product announcement
  2. 2Add one or two plausible but fake items
  3. 3Don't acknowledge them and let commenters catch them

Examples

Best first, one per account. Each links to the original post.

  • @jampacksam

    20K followers, Instagram

    “XBOX”

    79x their usual likes, green screen, game news and reviews

  • @jacobm.stevens

    225K followers, TikTok

    “Best Deals During Steam Autumn Sale (A LOT under $5)”

    33x their usual views, green screen, game news and reviews

  • @gamesdotgg

    51K followers, Instagram

    “Every Deadlock hero ranked by pick rate”

    55x their usual likes, slideshow, game news and reviews

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More gaming formats

What’s working in gaming this week

How this is measured

  • Every post is compared with its own account's usual reach, not with other accounts. "14x their usual" means the post got 14 times the median views of that account's recent posts.
  • TikTok videos and Instagram Reels are measured on views. Instagram carousels have no view count, so they are measured on likes against the account's usual likes, and say so.
  • A post makes the library at 2x its account's usual or more. A format is a repeatable move (what is said or shown, or how it is edited) that several accounts used in breakout posts. It is listed here once it worked for 3 or more different accounts.
  • Formats rank on how many accounts they worked for and how far above usual, damped so a fluke on one tiny account cannot outrank a format that worked for ten.