The Daily Populous Sunday January 18th, 2026 morning edition
Authored by dexerto.com and submitted by IndicaOatmeal

A moderator for popular subreddit ‘LiveStreamFails’ has been removed from his position after promoting a dubious reality show called ‘Million Dollar Fan.’

In January 2026, a show called ‘Million Dollar Fan’ started getting promoted at the top of the LiveStreamFails (LSF) subreddit. This coincided with a number of other endorsements for the show from popular streamers signed to creator agency Mythic Talent, such as Twitch star ExtraEmily.

The series was supposedly set to air on Amazon Prime, with filming to begin in November 2026 in Vancouver, Canada. Competitors would stay at a “9,000 square-foot luxury mansion” for a week, where creators and their fans would face off in a series of events for a record-breaking $20M — more than even MrBeast’s game show, which set over 40 Guinness World Records.

The prize money was an instant red flag for many in the streaming community, who quickly began investigating. Curious users found even more issues with the show’s official website, which had a domain name based out of Iceland and boasted an AI-generated stock image of the aforementioned “luxury mansion” on its front page.

Million Dollar Show The Million Dollar Show had several popular streamers involved before they all backed out amid claims the project was an alleged ‘scam.’

It wasn’t long before Redditors began labeling the show as a supposed ‘scam.’ On January 13, the webpage went dark, and now boasts a message that says “this site can’t be reached.”

‘Million Dollar Fan’ reality show sparks controversy on LSF

The scrutiny didn’t stop with the end of the website, though; Redditors also turned their attention toward the moderator who’d pinned the Million Dollar Show promotion to the LSF subreddit.

Skeptical commenters asked the moderator, named ‘stale2000,’ if he or other LSF moderators had been given some kind of financial incentive to promote the show on the sub, worrying that it could be a sham.

Stale2000 debated these users in the replies beneath his pinned post, explaining that he’d reached out to the show’s production team to somehow get LSF “involved” in the project.

“I reached out to them on my own because I thought the show was cool, and that’s it,” he wrote.

r/livestreamfail Comments between stale2000 and concerned users on the LSF subreddit.

He also removed several comments calling out the post, which was later removed by other moderators.

After an investigation by Reddit’s Code of Conduct team, he was allegedly removed from his position as an LSF moderator. He gave his version of events in a video he emailed to the platform’s CEO, Spez, that’s going viral across social media.

LSF mod removed over show controversy demands change

Stale2000, real name Brian, posted the video to YouTube on January 15, where he pleaded with Spez to give moderators more support and argued that Reddit mods should be treated like celebrities due to the amount of influence they have on such a major social platform.

“Reddit moderators have power. They have influence,” he said. “…Reddit moderators have control over millions of impressions per day, and nobody seems to notice or care.”

“Reddit moderators should be treated like celebrities or influencers. Not because they deserve respect, but because they actually have real power and influence – if not for the world, then at least for your $50bn company. Maybe if you gave them actual support, it could go from $50bn to $100bn.”

The moderator went on to argue against claims of the show being a ‘scam,’ saying there’s been no “definitive” evidence released thus far to warrant this label.

He also called out popular streamer and YouTuber MoistCritikal, who’d made a video poking fun at The Million Dollar Show that was uploaded shortly before its page went dark and things went sideways.

MoistCritikal responds to Reddit moderator who promoted Million Dollar Show

MoistCritikal uploaded a response video the next day. In his video, he admitted that he was at a “loss for words” over the situation, calling the moderator “power hungry” and arguing that his actions warranted his termination as a mod.

“I do actually feel bad for him, because this is clearly a position that meant a lot for him. I wish him the best going forward… but I do not think a talent agency for mods is the right path,” he said. “This was a mind-boggling adventure.”

Stale2000’s video has gone viral on social media as of January 16, with many users poking fun at his “embarrassing” video.

“Oh my god, this is the most embarrassing sh*t I have ever seen,” another wrote.

“The CIA couldn’t have gotten this out of me with a car battery,” yet another joked.

Thus far, no other news has released regarding the Million Dollar Show, leaving fans and even supporters like stale2000 eager for answers.

HuskerBusker on January 17th, 2026 at 19:39 UTC »

This has to be an impeccably crafted bit. That haircut is just too perfect.

blackop on January 17th, 2026 at 19:24 UTC »

People have said it for years that mods are generally known to be absolute assholes, now you got one reaffirming it for all to see. I think nothing is surprising though, we all have that subreddit we have been kicked from because of a random power trip from a mod.

Rain_i_am on January 17th, 2026 at 19:22 UTC »

I still refuse to believe this is real.