Picture this scenario. Okay. It is February 2026.
You open your banking app. You see a pending
deposit for $35 ,000. That is a life -changing
amount of money. Right. And that is just your
monthly payout from Facebook. Right. But the
kicker here, you did not film a single second
of original footage to get it. You are effectively
just an aggregator at that point. Exactly. You
are curating, but then you wake up the very next
morning, you reach for your phone. You check
the app and your account is gone. Just completely
banned. Banned. The income drops to zero instantly.
This is the high stakes reality of what we call
the green screen economy. It is incredibly lucrative,
but the ground beneath you is totally unstable.
It is a classic problem. You are building a massive
castle on rented land. But, you know, the rent
checks right now are paying out incredibly well.
You just have to understand the specific mechanics
of the platform. Welcome back to the Deep Dive.
Today we are dissecting a guide by Max Ante.
It is titled Mastering Fair Use for Facebook
Monetization. It is a really detailed breakdown.
It is. And honestly, when I first saw that title,
I was highly skeptical. We are talking about
Facebook in 2026. My core assumption was that
the only people left on there are posting photos
of their grandkids. Or they are arguing in local
HOA groups. Is there actually a creator economy
left on that platform? That assumption is super
common, but the data paints a completely different
picture. We're looking at 3 .07 billion daily
active users. Three billion. That is almost half
the planet. Yeah. But be honest here. How many
of those are actual engaged users versus just
legacy accounts? people forgot to delete. A very
significant portion are highly active. And that
is actually where the massive opportunity lies
today. See, most of the big creators migrated
away. They went to TikTok and Instagram years
ago. They chased the cultural zeitgeist. Right.
They followed the trendy apps. So you have this
huge population of three billion people. They
are hungry for content, but there is a severe
shortage of high quality supply. It is a fundamental
supply and demand imbalance. Exactly. So here
is our roadmap for today. First, we're going
to look at that supply gap. Why Facebook pays
so much right now. Then we need to get very specific
about the legal tightrope. Right. What constitutes
fair use versus just outright stealing content?
Because that distinction seems really blurry
to a lot of people. After that, we get into the
step -by -step execution. How to research accounts
and use green screens properly. And finally,
the escape hatch. How to turn those viral views
into an owned email list. Let us start with the
economics. You mentioned the creators left. That
created a vacuum. But Facebook has been trying
to lure creators back for years. Why is 2026
suddenly different? It all comes down to the
metrics they use now. The source material highlights
something called qualified view metrics. In the
past, you could totally game the system. You
could use bots or cheap clickbait. Now, meta
is filtering aggressively for qualified views.
Meaning real human eyes watching for a significant
duration. Exactly. And because the supply of
creators who can actually hold attention is so
low, the payouts are extremely high. Facebook
is aggressively paying for transformative content
to keep users scrolling. Because if they stop
scrolling, Facebook loses ad revenue. Right.
But the barrier to entry is not zero. You have
to prove yourself first. To even get invited
to the monetization program, you need about 5
to 10 ,000 followers, plus 600 ,000 eligible
minutes viewed. In a 60 -day window. Yes, in
60 days. 600 ,000 minutes. That sounds like an
impossible mountain to climb for a totally brand
new creator. It sounds huge. But in viral video
math, it is really not. One or two modest hits
get you there overnight. It is an invite -only
system. Consistency is what triggers that automated
apply email. You just have to show up. Yeah.
You do not need to be famous. You just need to
solve Facebook's main problem. You have to keep
users glued to the app. So this is just about
popularity. It's about an economic imbalance.
Exactly. It is an arbitrage opportunity where
demand vastly exceeds supply. Okay, the demand
is definitely there. But let us look at the method
itself. We are talking about taking other people's
viral videos and then reposting them with a green
screen reaction. I really have to play devil's
advocate here. Isn't that just theft? This is
exactly where people get banned, and it is where
the guide gets highly technical. Reposting is
theft, pure and simple. So what happens if you
just rip a video? If you just download a TikTok
with the watermark and upload it to Facebook,
you are done. You trigger limited originality
of content flags. Your page dies immediately.
The strategy here relies entirely on a legal
doctrine. It is called fair use. But fair use
is a legal defense you use in a courtroom. How
does an algorithm, an automated sorting system
that picks winners based on user behavior, know
what fair use actually is? The algorithm looks
for one specific thing, transformation. But,
and this is a critical distinction, it is not
just about visual transformation. You cannot
just put a filter on it. It is about market transformation.
You have to fundamentally change the actual purpose
of the content. Give me a concrete example of
that. What does a transformative video actually
look like compared to a stolen one? The guide
uses a brilliant example, the junk removal business.
Imagine a highly viral video. A guy is bragging
to the camera. He says, I built a junk removal
business to $150 ,000. And step one was buying
this beautiful $40 ,000 truck. Okay, yeah. Typical
hustle culture content. Right. Now, a lazy creator
just reposts that. Maybe they add a tiny caption
that just says, wow, crazy. That is theft. Total
theft. It offers the exact same value as the
original video. But a fair use creator does something
different. They use the green screen feature,
they put their own face in the corner, and they
pause the video early on. They interrupt the
pattern. Exactly. They stop and say, hold on,
this is terrible advice. Buying a $40 ,000 truck
as step one is exactly how you go bankrupt. Here
is how you actually test this business model
with just $200. I see. So you are completely
pivoting the content. You move it from pure entertainment
to actual education. You are changing the market.
The original video appeals to people who just
want to see a cool, shiny truck. Your video appeals
to people who want to start a business safely.
Because you are actively criticizing and correcting
the original creator. Yes. You aren't replacing
the original at all. You are analyzing it. That
makes perfect sense legally. But why does the
algorithm actually prefer the reaction video?
Why wouldn't it just show people the original?
Because of conflict. Conflict drives deep retention.
When you interrupt a video and say, this is totally
wrong, the viewer instinctively stops scrolling.
They want to see the fight. They want to know
why it is wrong. A static video of a guy buying
a truck is passive. A video of someone tearing
apart that financial decision is highly active.
It holds their attention much longer. Is the
key distinction whether you replace the original
or add to it? Precisely. If your version renders
the original unnecessary, you are in trouble.
Okay, so we understand the core theory now. We
need to find viral content that is wrong, or
maybe incomplete or controversial, and then we
add immense value to it. But how do you actually
find that specific content? It is tough. If I
open Instagram right now, I'm just going to see
what my friends are eating. Or weird conspiracy
theories. Your personal feed is totally useless
for this. It is way too messy. The guide outlines
a specific tactic. They call it the research
count. So just a burner account? Essentially,
yes. You create a brand new empty Instagram account.
You never post anything on it. You strictly use
it to engage with your chosen niche. Give me
an example of how you train it. Say you want
to be the finance creator. You create this burner
account and you only watch, like and save finance
videos. You swipe past everything else immediately.
You ruthlessly train the algorithm. Within 48
hours, that feed transforms. It becomes a highly
curated stream of viral candidates. You aren't
hunting for content anymore. The algorithm is
serving you the best performing videos on a silver
platter. And once you finally have that curated
feed, what exactly are you looking for? Just
massive view counts. High views are the baseline.
Think maybe 500 ,000 to 5 million views. But
you are really looking for what the source calls
signals. Signal. You want a video that triggers
a real internal reaction in your own brain. You
watch it and think. I strongly disagree with
this. Or they miss the most important part of
the story. Or even just, I can explain this concept
so much better. Exactly. That genuine internal
reaction is your script. It totally removes the
friction of writing. You aren't staring at a
blank page wondering what on earth to say. You
are just entering a conversation that is already
happening online. I have to admit something here.
I still wrestle with prompt drift myself. Oh,
yeah. Yeah. When I try to create content, I get
bogged down in perfectionism. I will record a
simple voiceover 10 times, or I keep tweaking
the script until I completely lose the original
energy. It sounds like this method forces you
to be a lot more raw. It does. Authenticity completely
beats polish here. The guide explicitly recommends
using the basic green screen template right inside
CapCut. You aren't building a polished documentary.
You are just overlaying your face. You put your
face in the corner, you hit record, and you speak
your mind. If it looks too highly produced, it
actually hurts your trust with the audience.
People want to feel like they are FaceTiming
a friend who just has a really hot take. Speed
is the actual feature, not the bug. Exactly.
But there is one part of the execution where
the guide says you absolutely cannot speed through.
And that is the upload process. Oh, the toggles.
Right. I do this all the time personally. I post
a reel on Instagram. And I just hit that share
to Facebook toggle because it is one single click.
You are saying that kills the reach. It absolutely
destroys it. The source is incredibly adamant
about this. Never use the share to toggle. Ever.
You must upload natively to every single platform.
Why does that matter to the algorithm? It is
the exact same video file. It is about metadata.
Hidden digital tags that tell computers what
a file actually is. Plus platform prioritization.
If Facebook sees a post that is just a lazy mirror
of an Instagram post, it treats it as recycled
garbage. It suppresses the reach. Heavily. But
if you upload the file directly into Facebook
Reels, the algorithm treats it as fresh native
content. Why go through the trouble of uploading
natively everywhere? Poggles kill reach. Native
uploads signal you are a distinct creator on
that platform. That is the kind of... boring,
completely unsexy detail that actually makes
a business work. Beat. But let us pivot for a
second. I know there are listeners right now
thinking, okay, the money sounds great, but I
am totally burnt out on video. A lot of people
are. I do not want to film my face, even if it
is just a tiny reaction box. Is there a version
of this arbitrage that doesn't involve a camera
at all? There is. And honestly, for the introverts
out there, it might be even more effective. The
guide calls it the non -video route. It involves
repurposing text and photos. How does that actually
work if Facebook is pushing video reels so hard
right now? Well, the main feed still desperately
needs static content. The strategy here is to
leverage Twitter or X. You hunt for a viral tweet.
Something with massive engagement, 50 ,000 likes
or more. You screenshot that tweet. And you post
the image to Facebook. But... And here is that
crucial fair use element popping up again. You
do not just post the screenshot blindly. You
add a highly polarized text response. So instead
of a video reaction, it is a purely text based
reaction. Exactly. Let us say there is a viral
tweet that says remote work is completely destroying
modern productivity. You screenshot that exact
tweet. Your caption on Facebook isn't just, huh,
interesting point. You have to take a real stance.
Your caption says, hard disagree. Remote work
is the single only reason small businesses are
surviving right now. Here's exactly why. You
are manufacturing a debate directly in the comment
section. Because conflict is the ultimate currency.
Algorithms reward raw engagement above all else.
A phrase like hard disagree practically invites
people to pick a side. They comment to aggressively
defend their view. Or they attack yours. And
all those comments signal to Facebook that this
post is highly engaging. So they push it to millions
of more people. So conflict is essentially the
currency here. Yes. Clear stances drive comments,
which drives distribution. It is a bit cynical,
but undeniably effective. You are basically curating
a town square argument. You really are. And that
actually brings us to the most critical part
of this entire deep dive. The escape hatch. Right.
We have talked a lot about... how to get the
views and how to get the money directly from
Facebook. But as we said right in the intro,
relying on that money is incredibly dangerous
because the digital landlord can kick you out
at any second. Exactly. The thirty five thousand
dollars a month is amazing until the policy changes
or you catch a random ban. The guide strongly
argues that the real wealth is not the Facebook
payout. The payout is just the bait. The true
wealth is funneling that massive daily traffic
into a private. email list. I feel like telling
a creator to build an email list is like telling
them to eat their vegetables. Everyone knows
they absolutely should do it, but nobody actually
wants to sit down and do it. It sounds super
boring until you actually sit down and realize
the math. You do not own your Facebook followers.
Meta owns them. But you own your email list.
It is totally portable. If Facebook disappears
off the face of the earth tomorrow, you still
have your core audience. You can just email them.
But here is the major friction point. Facebook
does not want people leaving their app. Ever.
Right. If I put a link to my newsletter right
in the main caption, doesn't the algorithm punish
the post? Yes, severely. The algorithm constantly
scans captions for external links. If it sees
a .com, it throttles the reach of that post immediately
because you are actively trying to siphon their
precious users away. So how do you actually get
them out of the app then? The first comment hack.
Okay, break that down. The algorithm is very
strict about the main captions, but it treats
the comment section entirely differently. Comments
are logged as user interactions. So you post
your video normally. No links in the caption.
Then, as soon as it is live, you immediately
comment on your own post. You say, if you want
the full breakdown, I explain it in my free newsletter.
Link right here. And the algorithm just ignores
the external link hiding in the comments. Generally,
yes. It just sees a comment getting engagement.
It thinks, great, people are actively discussing
this piece of content. It doesn't penalize the
post reach nearly as much. That is a wildly crucial
technical workaround. But I want to push a bit
on the actual value of the list itself. We are
talking about monetizing Facebook views directly.
Does an email list actually make real money?
Or is it really just a digital insurance policy?
It makes significant money, often way more than
the platform ad revenue itself. The guide mentions
specific tools like Sparkloop. Sparkloop. That
is a newsletter referral tool, right? It is.
You can get paid per single subscriber. Other
big newsletters will pay you, sometimes $2 to
$5, just for getting someone to sign up for their
list. Wait, so let me make sure I have this straight.
Facebook pays you for the initial view. You move
that viewer over to your email list. using the
comment hack. Then you get paid by another totally
different newsletter for that exact same signup.
You are double dipping. It is brilliant. And
then once those people are permanently on your
list, you can sell sponsorships. If you have
50 ,000 dedicated subscribers, you can easily
charge $1 ,000 or more for a single sponsored
email blast. Two sec silence. Imagine growing
from 96 ,000 to 250 ,000 subscribers just from
comment links. That is an asset that generates
massive cash flow without you needing to go viral
every single day. That right there is the fundamental
difference. between a temporary gig and a real
business. One specific creator mentioned in the
source material grew their list to a quarter
million subscribers purely through this exact
method. That is an asset worth millions of dollars.
Easily. Is the Facebook payout actually just
the bait? 100%. The payout pays the bills. The
list builds the empire. If you are just blindly
chasing views for the ad revenue, you are playing
a short -term game. You're playing against a
casino that eventually closes its doors. But
if you use the views to build a list, you are
walking out of the casino with all the chips
in your pocket. That is the big mental shift.
So let us recap this entire machine that seems
like a very clear four -step process. Step one.
You identify the massive supply gap. Facebook
desperately needs retention. You step in and
provide it. Step two. You use fair use correctly.
You do not just lazily repost. You fundamentally
transform the content by adding real conflict
or education. Step three, upload natively. Every
single time. Do not be lazy and rely on the auto
-share toggles. And step four, aggressively move
those millions of viewers to an email list via
that first comment hack. Exactly. You build the
asset you own using the traffic you rent. It
totally transforms the idea of being a YouTuber
or a Facebooker. You transition into being a
true media company. You aren't just making digital
noise anymore. You're building a permanent distribution
channel. And that is exactly what the smartest
operators are doing right now. They treat the
viral video simply as top of funnel marketing.
It is not the final product itself. We have covered
a ton of ground today, from complex legal definitions
to the specific metadata of video files. But
I want to leave you with a final thought on risk.
We talked a lot about the risk of getting banned.
But isn't there a huge business risk in just
being a commentator? What do you mean? Well,
if you stop finding good viral videos to react
to, your entire business completely stops. That
is the ultimate vulnerability. You are wholly
dependent on the broader ecosystem to feed you.
But the primary counter argument is that by building
the email list, you eventually earn the right
to go direct. Once you have that massive audience
sitting in your inbox, you do not need a viral
video to talk to them anymore. You can just hit
send on an original thought. You completely graduate
from the algorithm. You graduate from the algorithm.
If you want to dig deeper into the actual safety
checklists for fair use, because we... honestly
really just scratched the surface of the legal
stuff today. I highly recommend checking out
the full source material we linked. The fair
use safety checklist alone could literally save
your account. It is absolutely worth printing
out and taping right to your monitor. Thanks
for diving in with us today. Keep experimenting,
keep building, and remember, renting attention
is fine, but owning it is always better. Think
about how you can apply this arbitrage to your
own niche this week. We will see you in the next
deep dive. See you then.