Isaac Hayes III’s Fanbase Emerges as a Creative Haven in a Sea of Misinformation

With overwhelming disinformation spreading on X and sites such as Facebook and Instagram, and with pornography and right-wing propaganda flooding those platforms, Fanbase is quickly gaining traction.

Founded in 2018 by Isaac Hayes III, the Atlanta-based social media platform is climbing the App Store charts by offering users a space to create content and profit from it.

Fanbase allows users to share videos, photos, audio, and stories while earning money. Creators can also offer subscriptions ranging from $2.99 to $99.99, giving supporters access to exclusive content. 

“Fanbase is a free-to-download, free-to-use, next-generation social network that allows any user to earn money from day one,” the company states on its website.

Fanbase goes beyond content creation by allowing users to invest directly in the platform. Users can become stakeholders in the company for a minimum investment of $399. However, the company warns that investments are speculative and involve risks, including the possibility of losing the entire amount.

Hayes, who discussed Fanbase’s impact during an appearance on the Black Tech Green Money podcast, described the platform’s unique role in the social media industry. 

“I’m the only, Black-founded start-up social media app that’s currently in existence that was founded for the entire planet, but it’s Black-owned in infrastructure and ownership,” Hayes said.

This week, Hayes ignited a thought-provoking conversation on X by posing a question to artificial intelligence: What would happen if the entire Black community left platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and X and never came back? The A.I. analysis suggested that such an exodus would significantly disrupt the social media landscape, detailing Black creators’ absence’s cultural, economic, and reputational impacts.

The analysis explained that platforms would lose cultural relevance as Black creators have long-driven trends in music, fashion, and entertainment. Viral content, such as memes, dances, and challenges, would decline, and platforms would struggle to maintain user engagement. Without the creative influence of Black users, content could become monotonous, leading to user fatigue and a loss of interest.

The departure of Black creators would also damage platforms’ reputations, exposing systemic inequities and sparking scrutiny over their lack of support for marginalized groups. The absence of Black-led movements and social justice conversations would weaken the platforms’ role as spaces for meaningful discourse. Furthermore, the creative stagnation caused by this absence would reduce the platforms’ ability to maintain global cultural influence.

“In summary, the departure of the Black community from these platforms would create a cultural, creative, and reputational vacuum that would be difficult to recover from,” Hayes said. “It would significantly diminish the platforms’ ability to engage users, maintain cultural influence, and sustain long-term growth.”