Photo illustration by Matthew Cooley The days of explaining what a content creator is are long gone. Now, they are firmly enmeshed in our world — taking off in every industry, influencing every aspect of culture, and filling every minute of people’s lives. This leaves us in need of a new definition of what it means to be influential online. This year, you may notice that we left off some of the highest-ranking creators from past lists. That’s because their empires have made content largely an afterthought — if you have a $100 million Amazon show or a $500 million media company, do you still really count as a creator? Instead, we focused on those who have become industry leaders, entertainment darlings, and go-to experts while still keeping up on the platforms that made them stars. Rolling Stone received submissions from staffers, contributors, and industry experts to craft our initial list; we then weighed follower counts, growth, engagement rates, and our own editorial judgement to narrow it down and rank our final choices. All that’s left is to introduce it here: the 25 most influential creators of 2026.
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25. Chan and Jamal
Image Credit: Joshua McJunkins*; photo illustration by Matthew Cooley Handle: @chanandjamal Platform: Comedy Followers: 8 million
Chantelle and Jamal Morant’s first sketch to go viral was the “hoodie video,” which featured Chantelle, 36, stealing her husband Jamal’s sweatshirts, then lightly twerking her way off-screen. “It’s definitely based on true events,” says Jamal, 38, laughing. The same can be said for most of their content, which has expanded from relationships to parenting since having their daughter, Soleil. The couple have found particular success on Facebook, where they have almost 5 million followers, which they believe has to do with the demographic who frequent it — “a lot of millennials are on there,” Jamal explains — and also because of the way that community comes together around their content. Their newest venture is a mockumentary series, which Chantelle describes as, “like Modern Family, but with us.” E.G.P.
