Haapoja, Kolder Face Backlash Over Higgsfield Videos Offering 30% Discount
Updated
Updated · The Verge · Aug 21
Haapoja, Kolder Face Backlash Over Higgsfield Videos Offering 30% Discount
1 articles · Updated · The Verge · Aug 21
Summary
Fan criticism intensified after Matti Haapoja and Sam Kolder posted videos showcasing Higgsfield’s Seedance 2.5, with viewers reading them as de facto ads for generative AI tools.
A 30% annual-subscription discount link in Kolder’s caption and shared screenshots of outreach from PR firms working for Higgsfield fueled suspicions that the campaign was paid, though the videos were not labeled as ads.
Haapoja drew especially sharp pushback on Threads after comparing generative AI to Canon’s 5D Mark II; Marques Brownlee countered that AI is trained on human-made work without credit.
Kolder’s YouTube response was more mixed, but the broader episode shows how creator endorsements of AI can alienate audiences that value human creativity and see the technology as a threat.