• You can easily tap to see who viewed your Instagram video if the video is on your story.
• For Instagram stories, you can also see exactly who has viewed the a video story while it's still live.
• However, for video posts, you can't identify all the users who've watched your video, but you can still see the total number of views and users who've liked the posts.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

There are two ways you can track the viewers of video content you post on Instagram. 

To see who viewed a video on your Instagram story, you'll have to tap the story while it's still live. The total number will appear in the bottom left hand corner. Tap to scroll and view the names of all the users who've watched the story. 

For a video posted to your profile feed, tap the label underneath the post. Unfortunately, you can only view the total number of views but not the individual user names. You can, however, view the users who have liked it and, thus, have viewed it. 

Here's how to see who viewed your Instagram videos.

Check out the products mentioned in this article:

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How to see who viewed your Instagram video

1. Head to your Instagram profile tab and tap or scroll to view the video you've posted.

2. Underneath the video, you'll see a total number of views as well as a few of the names of those who liked it. Tap on these labels to view more details.

3. In the details, you'll see the total number of views listed again at the very top; the individual viewers' names are not accessible. Scroll the list to see the names of everyone who liked the video, or use the search bar at the top to save time and search for a specific person.

• It's important to note that the views total is only available for videos. For still photos, the details pane will only show the names of those who liked it.

How to see who viewed one of your Instagram stories

1. Open Instagram and tap on your story icon in the upper left hand corner. You can also access your story from your profile page. Both will show a colored ring around your circular profile picture.

2. In the bottom left hand corner you'll see "Seen by" followed by the number who has viewed the story post so far. Tap on this to view more details.

3. The total number will appear again in the upper left hand corner next to an eye icon. Scroll the list to see all of the viewers below.

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• How to see your message requests on Instagram, accept or ignore a message, or block a user

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NOW WATCH: Tax Day is now July 15 — this is what it's like to do your own taxes for the very first time

• Last year, Google announced it would acquire wearables maker Fitbit in a $2.1 billion acquisition that has drawn attention from antitrust regulators.
• The deal is currently being probed by the Department of Justice, and will have to overcome several hurdles in order to be approved.
• Google says it will not use Fitbit owners' data for ad purposes, but there are plenty of unanswered questions about the other ways it could use that information.
• In Europe, GDPR laws could put Google's data handling under even more scrutiny. "There's something very special around this deal," said one expert.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

When Google announced it was acquiring wearables maker Fitbit for $2.1 billion, it felt like a perfect match: Fitbit, which has increasingly struggled to fend off Apple's dominance in this space, was being thrown a lifeline; Google finally had a way into the health and fitness market.

But it also raised a lot of eyebrows: Google would not only be absorbing Fitbit's products, but a treasure trove of 28 million users' health data as well.

The merger is still far from done, and considering the size of both companies — and the vast amount of private user data at stake — this deal is attracting attention from antitrust regulators that could potentially keep Google and Fitbit sweating into 2021.

In fact, experts in both the US and Europe told Business Insider that they consider this merger to be "unprecedented." In order to stick the landing, Google will need to prove both that absorbing Fitbit won't be harmful for the market nor will it put users' privacy at risk.

Google, for its part, has said that it will not use Fitbit users' data for advertising purposes. "The company never sells personal information, and Fitbit health wellness data will not be used for Google ads," the company said in a statement at the time.

But even if that data is not used directly for ads, there are plenty of other things Google could be doing with it.

When the merger was announced in November last year, Rep. David Cicilline, chairman of the House Antitrust Subcommittee, pressed the Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission over how the acquisition could serve to further entrench Google's data monopoly and put user privacy at risk. Since then, Cicilline has continued to voice concerns over the deal.

"Google has said they will not use this data for advertising purposes, but Google made the same promise or similar promises during its acquisition of DoubleClick in 2017 and later broke that commitment," Cicilline told Business Insider.

"When a company makes the vast majority of its profits from digital advertising, I think it's naive to think it won't use all the data it can to boost its bottom line."

Cicilline, who is currently leading a separate investigation into anti-competitive behavior among the big four tech companies, has called for a moratorium on major mergers during the pandemic, a provision he wants to include in the next relief package.

If the Google-Fitbit merger doesn't happen this year, the companies can extend the process through May 3, 2021. But if the deal fails entirely, Google would have to pay Fitbit $250 million.

In the US, the merger is now being reviewed by the Department of Justice, which already has an ongoing, much wider antitrust probe into Google's business practices, and took over from the Federal Trade Commission to dig into the Fitbit deal.

And it appears that big tech regulation isn't slowing down in the pandemic. It was recently reported that the DOJ had moved the Fitbit deal to a second request review, where the companies must provide more documentation on the specifics of the deal. The probe is also being overseen by Attorney General William Barr.

Furthermore, just last week, two public advocacy groups wrote a letter to Barr urging closer scrutiny of the deal. "We are very concerned about the potential harms to competition that may arise from the acquisition of Fitbit by Google parent company Alphabet," reads the letter sent from the groups Consumer Federation of America and Public Knowledge.

The groups are concerned that swallowing Fitbit would give Google a dangerous amount of market power, and argued the merger should be rejected "if the Justice Department finds that it may substantially harm competition."

'There's something very special around this deal'

Under US antitrust law, the merger could be blocked if it's considered to "substantially lessen competition." Google argues that it doesn't currently have any products in the fitness wearables sector, but according to Maurice Stucke, former DOJ antitrust official and University of Tennessee College of Law professor, user data and privacy still falls squarely under this area of concern.

"What's clear now among privacy officials from around the world is that privacy and competition can intersect," said Stucke. "The collection of data in and of itself can contribute to market power."

That means regulators are closely looking at how this merger will further consolidate Google's already-huge data empire.

In the letter sent by public advocacy groups last week, it was pointed out that even if Google doesn't use Fitbit's data for its own advertising, by taking Fitbit off the market it is keeping that trove of data out of the hands of a potential competitor's advertising business.

For the merger to be approved, regulators will need to be convinced that obtaining Fitbit's database of intimate health data won't give Google monopoly power.

The view from Europe

Google also potentially faces even deeper scrutiny in Europe, where the merger will need to be signed off by the European Commission.

Some experts believe that could be the part that delays the merger, especially as it is also being closely watched by the European Data Protection Board (EDPB) to ensure Google is complying by the laws of General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR). 

It's certainly not first major tech acquisition to pass through European regulators, but Paul d'Amecourt, a strategy consultant for Vae Solis Europe who specializes in working with tech companies, says it is the most significant to happen since GDPR came into force.

"There's something very special around this deal," Paul d'Amecourt told Business Insider. "The name, the environment, the size of it, and the fact we're talking about health issues."

According to d'Amecourt, there is the potential for a risky situation where the European Commission could sign off on the deal and then the EDPB contests that Google has violated GDPR afterwards.

Something similar happened in 2017 during Facebook's merger with WhatsApp, where the European Commission slapped Facebook with a €110 million fine for merging user accounts despite telling the Commission it wouldn't.

That case will cast a shadow over the EC's decision regarding Google and Fitbit. To get around concerns that it could violate GDPR, Google may have to offer up certain concessions to the European Commission about how it will handle users' data.

Google and Fitbit also will likely be asked to provide information on how data is stored on their various databases, as well as detail how they will be able to carry out internal audits to continually reassess their compliance with GDPR rules, said experts.

And although Google has vowed not to use Fitbit owners' data for advertising purposes, it will need to offer more guidance on what it intends to do with that information.

"They said they won't directly use it directly for advertising purposes, but it's very hard to monitor how they're going to use that data," former DOJ antitrust official Maurice Stucke said.

"They're not using it directly for advertising purposes, but let's say they use it to give you better search results. And then they use their current other data for advertising purposes to target you. In a way, it helps Google maintain its dominance in search, which helps it maintain its dominance in search advertising. The point here is that you could use it indirectly in ways that would be very hard for the agency to monitor."

This Google-Fitbit merger is notable for the way it combines privacy, competition, and consumer protection concerns in one case, which has fired up a lot of debate. Stucke says it's the convergence of these three parts, all of which which regulators must take into account, make this a particularly intriguing case that could itself set a precedent going forward.

"This merger is the intersection of those three elements – that's why it's so interesting."

SEE ALSO: The 33 insiders who wield the most power at YouTube

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NOW WATCH: Inside London during COVID-19 lockdown

• Airbnb announced Tuesday it's cutting 25% of its staff, or about 1,900 jobs.
• The cuts are meant to refocus the company on its core business of home sharing; the company plans to pause or cut back other efforts such as offering hotel accommodations or making travel videos, CEO Brian Chesky told employees in an internal letter.
• Although Airbnb has raised $2 billion in recent weeks, it expects its revenue this year to be less than half the $4.8 billion it recorded in 2019, Chesky said.
• Airbnb plans to offer affected workers at least 14 weeks of severance pay and, in the US, a year's worth of healthcare coverage.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Airbnb, hit hard by the global coronavirus epidemic, is laying off about 1,900 workers, or 25% of its staff, company CEO Brian Chesky told employees on Tuesday.

Chesky announced the cuts at a staff meeting at noon then confirmed them in an internal letter he subsequently sent to workers. The company is expecting the pandemic to reshape the travel industry and its business, Chesky said in the letter. The cuts are meant to help refocus Airbnb's business on what it sees as its primary opportunities after the crisis, he said.

"Today, I must confirm that we are reducing the size of the Airbnb workforce," Chesky said in the letter. "For a company like us whose mission is centered around belonging, this is incredibly difficult to confront, and it will be even harder for those who have to leave Airbnb."

The cuts come despite the fact that Airbnb has raised $2 billion in the last month through debt financing. The company is forecasting that its revenue will be less than half the $4.8 billion it pulled in last year.

The company plans to notify affected workers in the US and Canada later on Tuesday, Chesky said. Workers in other countries will be notified according to local laws and standards, he said. The effective date of the layoffs in the US and Canada is next Monday.

The company is planning on returning its focus to home sharing — people who offer accommodations in the rooms, apartments, and houses that they own or manage. As a result, Chesky said, it's planning on pushing the pause button on its efforts in transportation and in Airbnb Studios, its effort to produce streaming travel videos. The company also is planning to cut back on investments in offering hotel rooms and in Lux, it's luxury accommodations effort, he said.

Airbnb plans to pay laid off US workers 14 weeks of base pay plus an additional week for each year or partial year of service to the company. Non-US employees will get at least 14 weeks of pay.

The company is also planning on providing 12 months worth of health care coverage to US workers. Outside the US, workers will have their health insurance costs paid through the end of this year.

The mass job cuts are only the latest effort by Airbnb to slash expenses in response to the crisis. Last month, the company laid off most of its contractors and postponed its summer internships. In late March, it slowed its hiring and froze its marketing spending.

Got a tip about Airbnb? Contact Troy Wolverton via email at twolverton@businessinsider.com, message him on Twitter @troywolv, or send him a secure message through Signal at 415.515.5594. You can also contact Business Insider securely via SecureDrop.

• Read more about Airbnb:
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• Airbnb is facing an unprecedented threat from the coronavirus. Here are the veteran execs on Airbnb's board of directors who will be critical to CEO Brian Chesky's success or failure.
• Some Airbnb investors reportedly want to oust CEO Brian Chesky, blaming him for spiraling costs and a 'hasty' move to give full refunds on coronavirus cancellations

SEE ALSO: Airbnb's losses swelled to $674 million last year, even before the coronavirus crisis crushed its business

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• A credit score below 669 is considered a "bad" credit score with both the FICO and VantageScore scoring models.
• Payment history, credit utilization, and hard credit inquiries are a few of the factors that can impact your credit score.
• A bad credit score can hurt your ability to get approved for a loan at the lowest rates and may have a negative impact on applications for other services as well, such as insurance, utilities, and phone service.
• Get your free credit score with Credit Karma »

A credit score is a three-digit number that usually ranges from 300 to 850. Lenders equate higher scores with lower risk, and lower scores with higher risk. Scoring models, such as FICO and VantageScore, use data from your credit reports to calculate your scores and provide them to lenders when you apply for credit.

Since there are multiple credit bureaus and scoring models, everyone will have multiple credit scores. For example, your FICO scores will usually be somewhat different from your VantageScore scores. And a FICO score based on your TransUnion credit report could be slightly different than one that uses your Experian or Equifax credit files.

While 300 is the lowest credit score and 850 is a perfect credit score, most of our scores will fall somewhere between those two extremes. So what range of scores constitutes a "bad" credit score? Let's take a look.

What is a bad credit score?

To understand whether your score is good or bad, you first need to know which scoring model is being used. FICO and VantageScore use slightly different credit scoring ranges. 

With FICO, a score from 580-669 is considered Fair, while a score below 580 is considered Poor. The VantageScore scoring model breaks sub-prime borrowers into three credit score ranges: Fair (601-660), Poor (500-600), and Very Poor (300-499). So anything below 669 is considered "bad" credit.

See every credit score range for both scoring models below.

FICO scoring ranges

VantageScore scoring ranges

What's the difference between having a bad credit score and no credit score?

If you have no credit score, that means you don't yet have any credit history on file with the major US credit bureaus. If you have a bad credit score, on the other hand, that means you do have a credit history and one or more factors on your credit file are holding your score back. 

Having no credit score is, in many ways, better than having a bad credit score because you're starting from a clean slate. You don't have any negative marks on your credit reports (like late payments, charge-offs, bankruptcies, etc.), which can take several years to fall off.

However, it can still be difficult to get approved for credit when you have no credit score, since lenders won't have any credit history to base an approval decision upon. Thankfully, there are a variety of ways you can begin to build credit such as applying for a secured credit card or credit builder loan, or being added as an authorized user on someone else's credit card.

How can a bad credit score impact your life?

A bad credit score can make it more difficult to get approved for any type of credit from lenders. This includes both revolving credit, like credit cards, and installment loans, like mortgages and auto loans.

For example, home buyers need a credit score of at least 620 to qualify for a conventional loan mortgage. And Experian's latest State of the Automotive Finance Market report found that new car buyers who took out a loan or lease in the fourth quarter of 2019 had an average credit score of 719.

Even if you're able to get approved for a loan with a bad credit score, you're unlikely to qualify for the best rates. For example, new car buyers in Q4 2019 whose credit scores fell within the Excellent range (781-850) received an average interest rate of 3.82% while the average rate for car buyers with Poor scores was 11.51%.

Finally, it should be noted that your credit score can even impact your application for services outside the credit industry. According to the FTC, landlords, insurance agencies, utility providers, and even phone companies may check your credit to gauge if you're a good risk. 

How can you repair a bad credit score?

The first step towards fixing a bad credit score is to check your credit report to see what's holding your score back. Due to the COVID-19 crisis, you can check your credit score free once per week through April 2021 at AnnualCreditReport.com. If there are errors on your report that are hurting your score, you have the right to dispute them and request their removal.

If there are no errors on your credit report and you're not sure why your score is low, tools like Credit Karma and Credit Sesame can help. They can identify your negative credit score factors and give advice on how to improve your score. 

In any case, one of the best things you can do to repair a bad credit score is to begin paying all your bills on time. Payment history is an important credit score factor in both the FICO and VantageScore scoring models.

You'll also want to pay attention to how much of your available credit you're using each month. A lower credit utilization rate generally has a positive impact on your score. Limiting your hard credit inquiries can also help to rebuild a bad credit score.

Finally, you may want to sit down with a credit counselor to get personalized advice on how to manage your debt and rebuild your credit. You can use the locator tool from the National Foundation for Credit Counseling (NFCC) to find an accredited counselor near you.

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• David "Moose" Wolpoff is the CTO and cofounder of Randori, a company that attacks its clients to find their cybersecurity weaknesses. 
• Wolpoff, a former government contractor who worked with the military on issues such as "hard drives that got shot," says he can break into any company.
• Randori just landed a $20 million Series A funding round led by Harmony Partners, investors in E-Trade, Priceline, and Spotify. A person close to the company says that it was an "up round," valuing Randori at some $60 million.
• The money will go towards hiring, with the company looking for hackers who agree that 'breaking into things is an addiction.'
• The startup's human hackers and automated attack platform find vulnerabilities, provide insights, and save money for customers like athenahealth and the ACLU. 
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

David "Moose" Wolpoff is an intimidating guy. The chief technical officer and cofounder of the cybersecurity startup Randori likes to talk about attacking his customers – by which he means breaking into their computer systems.

"My worldview is maybe a little cocky," Wolpoff says, "but given enough time, I'm going to breach you. You're not going to keep me out." 

Randori is a Japanese martial arts term meaning "random attack," and Fortune 500 companies pay Wolpoff and team to come at them. That's it. He doesn't stick around later to help clean up and fix "bugs," vulnerabilities in their computer systems. "I have never facilitated fixing a bug," says the bald, bearded, and frequently scowling Wolpoff, a former government contractor who worked with the military on issues like "hard drives that got shot." 

People like to hire Wolpoff and give him money – perhaps because it's good to have someone like him on your side. Case in point: The $20 million Series A funding Randori just landed – in the middle of a pandemic – led by New York boutique venture capital firm Harmony Partners, which also invested in companies like E-Trade, Priceline, and Spotify.

The 20-person startup with offices in Boston and Denver is using its new funding round to hire people who agree with Wolpoff that "breaking into things is an addiction," and to build out its automated attack system. Their goal, says Wolpoff, is "real attacks, real infrastructure, real assets. Nothing is simulated." The only difference between Randori and criminals is: "We're not going to steal the assets and then sell them." 

"Randori is uniquely positioned to help organizations build resilience into their cybersecurity programs," says Mark Lotke, Harmony's founder and managing partner. (Investors close to the deal confirm this was an "up round," increasing Randori's valuation to around $60 million — about three times the investment.)

Randori's CEO, Brian Hazzard, wanted to start a company with Wolpoff after watching him attack the cybersecurity company Hazzard worked for at the time, Carbon Black (which has since been acquired by VMware).

"As soon as Moose lands in your system," Hazzard says with admiration, "he's got home court advantage. He heads right to where your crown jewels are. Our job is to get to your crown jewels. We're a trusted adversary." 

How Wolpoff gets in

If an adversary like moose Wolpoff sounds like the last person you want to hire or pay in these difficult times, consider: There were more than 5,000 data breaches last year, at an average cost of more than $8 million for US companies, according to IBM. Many companies now take the attitude that it's not a matter of if they will be hacked, but when. 

Wolpoff starts with just an email address from the organization he is hacking. That email address is fed into Randori's automated attack platform, which finds any associated accounts and gleans data that can be used to find vulnerabilities. Wolpoff and his growing team of hackers, and the combination of humans and machine learning beat up your company all day, every day, until they get into your system.  

The goal is to identify gaps in security defenses, provide the insight security teams need to understand and promptly respond to threats, and save companies money by addressing their security needs rather than layering on defensive systems they don't need. Customers include athenahealth, the Center for Strategic and International Studies, and the ACLU. 

"Red team" exercises are old hat in the cybersecurity industry, where hacking simulations have been used to test companies' systems for decades. But those kinds of controlled drills may not  prepare companies for real-world threats.

"I really wanted to go further and test all our existing defenses," says Randori customer John Shaffer, chief information officer of Greenhill, a NYC investment banking firm.

"You don't know if you're ready to fight until you fight a couple of times," Wolpoff says – and suddenly it becomes clear that he is not the mugger in the parking lot, but the self-defense teacher who shows you how to fight off muggers. 

The success rate of moose breaking into customers' computer systems? 100%.

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Tax Day is now July 15 — this is what it's like to do your own taxes for the very first time

• The Small Business Administration was called on to save America's economy over the past two months, administering $670 billion in federal aid to beleaguered businesses.
• But the SBA's loan approval system, called E-Tran, was an obscure tool designed for low volume — and it kept crashing.
• In a normal year, E-Tran processes roughly $20 billion in loans from fewer than 1,800 banks. By the time this crisis is over, the system is expected to dole out more than $1 trillion in loans in just a few months from over 5,400 lenders. 
• "Little did we know how critical it would be," said Maria Contreras Sweet, who led the overhaul of E-Tran during her term as SBA Administrator under Obama.
• It's likely that E-Tran wouldn't have melted down to such a dramatic extent without the digital tools in the hands of large and small banks alike. 
• Visit BI Prime for more stories.

As the coronavirus pandemic started to ravage the US economy, Congress and the Trump administration had a short window of time to find a readily available tech platform that could quickly distribute hundreds of billions of dollars to small businesses in desperate need of cash. 

Amid what sources described to Business Insider as warnings from a wide array of industry participants, lawmakers tasked the Small Business Administration's E-Tran platform with carrying out the emergency loan program known as the Paycheck Protection Program, which grew in size over two installments to a staggering $670 billion. 

But Congress had little choice if it wanted to move quickly. 

A little-known website prior to the outbreak, E-Tran was designed to handle an average of $20 billion in loans per year — and it generally performed as intended. But when it became the lifeline for entrepreneurs across the US, E-Tran experienced high-profile failures that blocked many small businesses from obtaining funds. 

"I was holding my breath when I heard that it went out for a little bit there," said former SBA head Maria Contreras Sweet, who led an overhaul of the platform during her tenure under former President Barack Obama. "We put so much effort into that program, and we never anticipated it would be tested in such an unprecedented way."

The looming technology problems should have been easy to anticipate, according to industry sources who recounted to Business Insider the rush to warn lawmakers and administration officials of the shortcomings of E-Tran as the PPP advanced through Congress.

Instead, when the program went live, banks using advanced robotic automation technology were able to flood the E-Tran system with thousands of applications at once — eventually forcing the SBA to prohibit financial institutions from automating aspects of the submission process. 

This is the inside story of an obscure, backwater platform doomed to crash from the start, and the banking technology that overloaded it.   

The SBA declined to comment for this story, instead issuing a statement that it was working with the Treasury Department "around the clock to help small businesses and their lenders during this unprecedented time." 

A spokesperson for Sen. Ben Cardin of Maryland, the Senate Small Business Committee's top Democrat, told Business Insider that "the Administration was consulted on the cost of implementing the programs, which is why the agency was appropriated $675 million by the CARES Act."

Spokespeople for the Treasury and the Senate Small Business Committee Chairman Marco Rubio did not respond to requests for comment. 

A technological crisis within a financial crisis

Shortly after the work day began on Monday April 6, banks rushed to submit PPP applications.

It was the second day of the first round of PPP funding and, among other issues, lenders already reported problems with E-Tran crashing.

During the second round of funding, lenders grew frustrated with the system timing out when they were trying to process loans of more than $1 million. Others simply couldn't access the site's homepage.

Oakland, California-based Beneficial State Bank has long been a preferred SBA lender, and CEO Randell Leach told Business Insider that the way his team interacted with E-Tran before the launch of the PPP initiative is a far cry from the way it's using it now.

Leach described E-Tran as a legacy system that his team used in a very small-scale way. "In this environment, when the volumes are thousands and hundreds of thousands, it just isn't designed for that," he said.

When it became clear that PPP funding was insufficient to help the legions of desperate businesses "that anxiety and panic created its own set of communication challenges and pressures on the industry," he added. 

At NextTier Bank in Pennsylvania, Senior VP Maria Amoruso told Business Insider about the difficulties her team faced as it loaded hundreds of loan applications into E-Tran late into the night during the first and second rounds of PPP funding.

E-Tran, she said, "just couldn't handle it. The SBA is processing more on a daily basis than they normally process in a year."

NextTier has now processed nearly a thousand PPP loans by hand — a process that Amoruso said takes about 10 minutes per filing.

"The most challenging part is making sure you have all of the details required by the system – date business started, ZIP+4 for the applicant and principal, and NAICS code are a handful of the data points that you need to have in advance of entering the application," she said.

It used to be fax machines

When Contreras Sweet took the helm of the SBA in 2014, she saw tremendous disparities in the technology capacities of the agency's partner institutions across the country.

"Many of the community banks were still processing their SBA loans over fax machines," said Sweet. "When we said we wanted them to go online, they would scan and then send them to us. That's not what we meant by digitization." 

Under Sweet's tenure, the agency took action to try to expand and improve the E-Tran system. 

"When we got there, it was a proprietary system," she said. "We moved really aggressively to a plug-and-play so we weren't wedded to one vendor, and it gave us a lot more latitude."

As an often-overlooked agency within the federal government prior to the outbreak — one that both Trump and Obama sought to minimize with budget cuts — SBA was never going to receive enough annual funding from Congress to keep up with the pace of innovation within the financial industry.

Looking at the SBA's financial portal today is like peering into a fintech time capsule.

Indeed, five years is a lifetime in that industry, and while the SBA was attempting its own modernization efforts, Wall Street giants like JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America were spending billions of dollars annually to harness advanced tech like artificial intelligence and blockchain. 

At a small scale, the system could handle tools like automation that SBA-specific lenders used prior to the coronavirus recovery program. But the tech improvements weren't enough to handle the coming onslaught of applications. 

Contreras Sweet told Business Insider that the challenges faced by lenders and borrowers alike were to be expected given the scale of the $2.2 trillion CARES Act.

"We're trying to do something that is unprecedented in our country's history," she said. "So no question, there's going to be some challenges around it."

E-Tran was never built to handle this capacity

The platform was never intended to be used as the mechanism to underpin one of the largest economic recovery packages in history. 

In a normal year, E-Tran processes roughly $20 billion in loans from fewer than 1,800 banks. By the time this crisis is over, the system is expected to dole out more than $1 trillion in loans in just a few months from over 5,400 lenders. 

But industry insiders said Congress and the administration were left with little choice apart from E-Tran. 

"To do this as quickly as possible, there was no other game in town," said Charles Potts, chief innovation officer at the Independent Community Bankers of America. 

"There is no other platform or mechanism by which a lender could be the intermediary to money from the federal government and distribute it to small businesses," he added. 

It's perhaps unsurprising that IT ended up as the main point of contention with the PPP, given that the federal government did not have a good track record on technology to begin with. 

The Obama administration, for example, spent hundreds of millions of dollars to build Healthcare.gov — the portal that Americans used to sign up on the exchanges created by the 2010 healthcare law — only for it to crash at launch. 

The digital divide

E-Tran likely wouldn't have melted down to such a dramatic extent without the plethora of digital tools in the hands of banks. 

The IT team at KeyBank, for example, scrambled the night before PPP launched to build a proprietary portal that would seamlessly connect its systems to E-Tran. 

Among other tools, the Cleveland-based financial giant employed what is referred to as robotic process automation, or RPA, to speed the operation along. The technology allows companies to automate office tasks like filling out basic forms.

KeyBank wasn't alone. Because of the PPP's promise to award loans on a first-come, first-serve basis, financial institutions of all sizes employed automation tools in the race to get documentation to the SBA as fast as possible.

Beneficial's Leach said his team decided to forgo submitting loan applications by hand in favor of an automated service from a third-party provider that Leach had worked with before. The lending team spent the weekend after the PPP launch training on the new software and had it up and running the following Tuesday. The tool enabled Beneficial to submit 333 applications during the first round of PPP funding, which Leach said saved over 8,000 jobs. 

While small banks hoped automation would help them nab a place in the competitive PPP queue, it became a problem during the second round of funding when industry giants like Bank of America and JP Morgan Chase began dumping their backlogs of hundreds of thousands of applications into E-Tran all at once. 

In response to the overload, the SBA prohibited the use of RPA in submissions and later set aside an exclusive window of time for smaller lenders.

Max Mancini, an executive vice president at Automation Anywhere, a California-based developer of robotic process automation software, argued that limiting access to tech would hamper community banks' efforts to level the playing field with the industry giants.

"Because it's first-come-first-served, the people with the best technology win. That's the reality. And that tends to not favor smaller players," he told Business Insider. 

And smaller players were wary of investing capital in tech capabilities that might only have been needed for this one-time program. 

"It's been a very manual process for us," said Southern Bancorp CEO Darin Williams. "We know this is short-lived, so we didn't invest in — and try to learn — some new technology platform."  

For a company like Arkansas-based Southern Bancorp, spending money on a tool it would only tap to process PPP loans in the short term did not seem like a logical investment. 

"No doubt technology would allow us to increase our volume," Williams added."I can't do the volume that Bank of America can do."

SEE ALSO: How big banks decided the futures of America's small businesses: The inside story of how $349 billion in government cash was doled out in just 12 days, leaving thousands of entrepreneurs without relief

SEE ALSO: How KeyBank's tech overhaul got the 195-year-old firm processing 33,000 small business loans during the coronavirus pandemic — up from 550 per year

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Pathologists debunk 13 coronavirus myths

• Republican Rep. John Ratcliffe, President Donald Trump's nominee for Director of National Intelligence, testified to the Senate Intelligence Committee on Tuesday that he will "speak truth to power" if confirmed.
• This is Ratcliffe's second attempt at securing the Senate's approval for the DNI role. Trump initially nominated Ratcliffe last year, but the congressman withdrew after a string of controversies about his past record and public statements.
• Ratcliffe was grilled on Tuesday on his views about the origins of the novel coronavirus, Russian interference in US elections, and Trump's controversies with the intelligence community.
• Officials from previous Democratic and Republican administrations have sounded the alarm about his nomination, saying Ratcliffe's appointment could paralyze the intelligence community and present an existential threat to career officials.
• Scroll down for highlights from Ratcliffe's blockbuster testimony.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Republican Texas Rep. John Ratcliffe pledged on Tuesday to "speak truth to power" if he's confirmed as the Director of National Intelligence, the US's top spy chief who is responsible for overseeing 16 other intelligence agencies.

"Regardless of what anyone wants our intelligence to reflect, the intelligence I will provide, if confirmed, will not be impacted or altered as a result of outside influence," Ratcliffe said in opening remarks at his confirmation hearing before the Senate Intelligence Committee. "Above all, my fidelity and loyalty will always be to the Constitution and rule of law, and my actions as DNI will reflect that commitment."

This is Ratcliffe's second attempt at securing the Senate's approval to be DNI. President Donald Trump initially nominated him for the position last July after Ratcliffe catapulted into the spotlight by berating the former special counsel Robert Mueller during congressional hearings.

But the congressman withdrew from consideration after it surfaced that he inflated his resume and misled the public about his role in overseeing anti-terrorism efforts at the US attorney's office for the Eastern District of Texas.

Ratcliffe adopted a markedly different demeanor during Tuesday's hearing than he has over the last several years as one of Trump's biggest attack dogs on Capitol Hill.

Though he's gone to bat for the president repeatedly during his time in Congress, Ratcliffe tried on Tuesday to distance himself from Trump and strike a more balanced tone amid questions about his qualifications and experience.

Scroll down for highlights from Tuesday's hearing:

Ratcliffe only recalled one instance in which he disagreed with Trump

In addition to pummeling Mueller with allegations of bias and corruption last year, Ratcliffe also made headlines for his full throated defense of Trump during his bitter impeachment proceedings.

The Texas representative sought to separate himself from the president during Tuesday's hearing but faced an uphill battle with Democrats on the committee.

At one point, Sen. Angus King, an Independent senator who caucuses with Democrats, asked Ratcliffe if he could recall a time that he publicly disagreed with Trump. Ratcliffe said he supported a resolution last year opposing Trump's decision to withdraw troops from Syria.

"Any other incidents?" King pressed.

"I'm sure there are," Ratcliffe said. "I don't recall any as I'm sitting here." 

Democrats zeroed in on Ratcliffe's 'inexperience, partisanship, and past statements' embellishing his record

"I have to say that, while I am willing to give you the benefit of the doubt in this hearing, I don't see what has changed since last summer, when the president decided not to proceed with your nomination over concerns about your inexperience, partisanship, and past statements that seemed to embellish your record," said Sen. Mark Warner, the vice chairman of the panel. "This includes some particularly damaging remarks about whistleblowers, which has long been a bipartisan cause on this committee."

Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California also questioned Ratcliffe about his allegations against the intelligence community official who filed an anonymous whistleblower complaint against Trump last year that catalyzed his impeachment.

Ratcliffe accused the official of making "false statements" and said they "didn't tell the truth."

But he declined to explain his remarks on Tuesday, telling Feinstein he didn't want to "re-litigate" Trump's impeachment.

"I want to make it very clear, if confirmed as DNI, every whistleblower, past, present and future, will enjoy every protection under the law," Ratcliffe said.

Ratcliffe said he'll be 'laser focused' on tracing the origins of the novel coronavirus if confirmed as DNI

"If confirmed the intelligence community will be laser focused on getting all of the answers that we can regarding how this happened, when this happened, and I commit to providing with as much transparency to you as the law will allow and with due regard for sources and methods," Ratcliffe said on Tuesday.

He added that he believes China is the "greatest threat actor" against the US right now, citing the country's role in the coronavirus outbreak and its aggression in the cyber arena.

"All roads lead to China," Ratcliffe said.

Ratcliffe walked a tightrope on questions about if the coronavirus came from a lab in Wuhan, China

Sen. Angus King asked Ratcliffe at one point whether he's seen any intelligence product suggesting the virus originated in a Wuhan lab, as Trump and other administration officials have publicly suggested.

Ratcliffe replied that he hasn't seen any evidence indicating that, but noted that he had not had a classified briefing on the matter in a while.

Shortly after, Republican Sen. Tom Cotton asked Ratcliffe if he'd seen any evidence confirming the virus originated in a wet market, as scientists, medical professionals, and infectious disease experts have said.

Ratcliffe said he hasn't seen any intelligence proving that theory either.

The Office of the Director of National Intelligence put out a statement last week saying the intelligence community agrees with the "wide scientific consensus" that the coronavirus was not "manmade or genetically modified."

The statement continued to say the intelligence community will "rigorously examine emerging information and intelligence to determine whether the outbreak began through contact with infected animals or if it was the result of an accident at a laboratory in Wuhan."

Multiple intelligence officials and those familiar with the matter told The New York Times, Politico, and other outlets they have found no hard evidence so far to back up the theory that the novel coronavirus was created in or escaped from a Wuhan lab.

Sources also told The Times that Trump administration officials are pressuring American spies to link the virus to the lab, and one former intelligence official described senior aides' repeated emphasis of the lab theory as "conclusion shopping," a disparaging term analysts use to describe politically motivated demands.

CNN also reported that intelligence shared among the Five Eyes nations indicates it is "highly unlikely" the outbreak resulted from a lab accident but rather originated in a Chinese market.

Ratcliffe refused to comment on Trump's controversies with the intel community, despite his vocal defense of the president in Congress

Ratcliffe refused to comment on the myriad controversies involving Trump and the intelligence community on Tuesday, despite his willingness to go to bat for the president while serving on the House intelligence and judiciary committees.

Here are some of the things Ratcliffe declined to weigh in on:

• Trump's refusal to accept the intelligence community's conclusion that Russia interfered in the 2016 election to help him win.
  • The US intelligence community concluded with high confidence in 2017 that Moscow meddled in the election to propel Trump to the presidency. The Senate Intelligence Committee came to the same conclusion. The House Intelligence Committee, which Ratcliffe serves on, agreed Russia interfered but did not conclude it did so to help Trump.
• Trump's decision to oust former intelligence community inspector general Michael Atkinson.
• Atkinson's decision to notify Congress about a whistleblower's complaint against Trump.

"That's a legal question that I don't know the answer to," Ratcliffe said when asked about the complaint and whether Atkinson was right to notify Congress.

At one point, Ratcliffe was asked whether he believes a "deep state" exists within the intelligence community.

"I don't know what that means," he replied, despite the fact that he's repeatedly suggested there is a "secret society" within the FBI.

Former CIA, NSA officials warn Ratcliffe's appointment would paralyze the intelligence community

Robert Deitz, a former top lawyer for the CIA and National Security Agency who served under Republican and Democratic administrations, told Business Insider that there is "great concern" about Ratcliffe's nomination within the intelligence community. "His appointment suggests Trump is trying to politicize the Office of the Director of National Intelligence and mold it into a partisan operation, which it has never been," Deitz said.

He added that although there were initial concerns within the rank and file about Coats, he "turned that around and engendered a great deal of loyalty within the department because he valued people's work."

"Ratcliffe is, as demonstrated during the Mueller hearings, a very aggressive partisan," Deitz said. "If you're going to support the president in everything he says, whimsical or not, intelligence professionals are going to have a very difficult time working under you."

Glenn Carle, a former covert CIA operative and a vocal Trump critic, told Business Insider that Ratcliffe's confirmation could also present career officials with an existential dilemma.

"This will put officers in the same position that many were in after Trump took office," Carle said. "In Trump's case, if you served the chief executive, you were undermining your oath because you can't trust him to protect sources and methods or to serve the national interest. If you didn't follow his orders, you were being insubordinate."

"If Ratcliffe is confirmed, the people who work under him will be faced with this dilemma again: they're screwed if they follow his directives, because he is a partisan, and they're screwed if they don't," Carle said.

Former NSC official: Ratcliffe's confirmation will 'send a chill' through nonpartisan, career officers

The friction between Trump and Coats was something of an open secret by the time Coats' resignation was announced last July. Throughout his tenure as DNI, Coats repeatedly warned about continued Russian attacks against the US electoral system and critical infrastructure. His statements often stood in sharp contrast to the president's well documented reluctance to acknowledge the threat Moscow poses.

Conversely, Ratcliffe often fuels the president's unfounded conspiracy theories. He told Fox Business Network's Maria Bartiromo that former FBI director James Comey "either is or should be" investigated for violating the Espionage Act, for memorializing his conversations with the president in the Oval Office, and for later instructing a friend to share that information with the press.

He later said during a Fox News interview that "there were crimes committed during the Obama administration" related to investigating Russia's interference in the 2016 election.

During Mueller's hearings, Ratcliffe came out guns blazing against the former FBI director, accusing him of breaking Justice Department protocol while investigating Trump for obstruction of justice.

And The Daily Beast reported just hours before Ratcliffe was scheduled to testify on Tuesday that the Texas congressman follows a slew of Qanon accounts on Twitter. Among those he follows are accounts that push the Pizzagate conspiracy theory and a 9/11 truther with just one follower besides Ratcliffe.

Edward Price, the former senior director of the National Security Council under Obama and a former CIA analyst, told Business Insider Ratcliffe's appointment could lead to "reticence and even paralysis" on the part of the intel community when it comes to some of the most consequential national security questions.

If Ratcliffe is confirmed, he'll have the authority to automatically declassify sensitive intelligence relating to any number of government inquiries, including the Russia probe. That notion could "send a chill throughout the personnel ranks and among all of those who might otherwise work for the US government against shared threats," Price said.

"His presence at the helm of the community would be a constant reminder that analysts, operators, and anyone else who comes into contact with our nation's most sensitive operations could one day find themselves on the wrong side of a politicized feud," he added.

• Singapore-based company Nestron is selling its newest prefab tiny home, the Cube Two.
• The tiny home is furnished and totally move-in ready on arrival.
• It's also a smart home, with an AI assistant connected to all devices.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

The tiny home of the future is here. Singapore-based Nestron released information and photos of its newest prototype for the Cube Two, a smart tiny home with an AI assistant.

The Cube Two, which is now available for preorder, is on the larger end of tiny home at 263 square-feet. Nestron says it can accommodate households of three or four with an open concept design and more space devoted to the communal living area. From the outside, it looks like an upgraded RV, but inside the futuristic elements really shine.

Here's what the inside of this futuristic smart home looks like. 

SEE ALSO: Finland invited the entire country to a virtual concert in an online version of its capital city — take a look

The entire structure is about nine yards long and nearly four yards wide.

Inside, it's fully ready to move into upon delivery.

It has a living room, kitchen, bathroom, bedroom, and bar counter.

A skylight adds light and opens up the space.

Nestron says that the Cube Two increases usable space over a traditional house by 15%.

Most furniture comes built-in and included in the base price.

Furniture includes a range hood and sink in the kitchen, dining table and sofa in the living room, and a bed-rack, wardrobe, and counter in the bedroom.

The bathroom has a shower, towel rack, and a basin.

It also has smart home appliances — the washing machine, refrigerator, AC, and stove are all connected.

AI assistant Canny is the central control for all the appliances in the house.

Even light fixtures are integrated.

Between the AI integration and the sleek, white furniture, the tiny home feels almost like a spaceship.

The Cube Two is available for preorder, and starts at $52,000, with additional costs for adding electrical appliances and other customizations.

Shipping to the US costs an additional $8,000.

• US stocks traded mixed on Wednesday amid continued efforts by the US government to reopen the economy.
• Investors looked past a dismal report from ADP showing that US companies lost 20.2 million jobs in April. The government's April jobs report is due Friday.
• General Motors exceeded profit forecasts in its quarterly earnings report. Lyft and PayPal are scheduled to report earnings after the market closes.
• Read more on Business Insider.

US stocks were mixed on Wednesday amid investor optimism spurred by the US government's efforts to reopen the economy. President Donald Trump on Tuesday reiterated his hope about reopening while acknowledging that it likely means the coronavirus death toll would worsen.

Hopes of renewed economic activity offset a dismal ADP employment report showing that US companies lost 20.2 million jobs in April, slightly better than the median economist estimate of a 20.6 million decline in private payrolls. The government's April jobs report is due Friday.

"Unfortunately we should get comfortable with unprecedented pressure on the labor market despite pockets of the country reopening," said Mike Loewengart, the managing director of investment strategy at E-trade.

Here's where US indexes stood at 3:00 p.m. ET on Wednesday:

• S&P 500: 2,871.00, up 0.09%
• Dow Jones industrial average: 23,868.17, down 0.06% (15 points)
• Nasdaq composite: 8,905.69, up 1.1%

Read more:A fund manager trouncing 90% of his rivals shared with us 5 trades he's making to stay ahead — including a big bet on Disney after it was crushed in the pandemic sell-off

Tech stocks including Microsoft and Amazon rose midday, leading the Nasdaq higher. Investors also continued to look at first-quarter earnings to see how companies have fared during the earliest weeks of the coronavirus pandemic.

General Motors exceeded profit forecasts in its quarterly report, sending shares up roughly 7%.CVS Health gained more than 3% after its earnings release, where it also maintained its full-year earnings-per-share guidance. Lyft and PayPal are scheduled to report earnings after the bell.

Shares of Disney surged nearly 3% Wednesday, reversing losses from Tuesday when the company reported first quarter earnings that disappointed Wall Street.  

West Texas Intermediate oil slipped more than 4% to $23.28 per barrel Wednesday, snapping five days of gains that doubled prices. 

Read more:These 22 well-known companies could get acquired as coronavirus batters their businesses, BTIG says

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: How waste is dealt with on the world's largest cruise ship

• You can connect your AirPods to a PS4 using a Bluetooth adapter, which you can plug right into your PS4.
• These Bluetooth adapters will let your connect a variety of Bluetooth devices to your PS4.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Wireless headphones are great for gaming, and Apple's AirPods are a great set of wireless headphones. It only makes sense, then, to put them together.

Unfortunately, the PlayStation 4 doesn't natively support AirPods. To connect AirPods to your PS4, you'll need to use a third-party Bluetooth adapter.

The best part about this is that once you get the dongle, you can use it to connect any Bluetooth device, not just your AirPods. 

Here's how to use a Bluetooth dongle to connect AirPods to your PS4.

Check out the products mentioned in this article:

AirPods with Charging Case (From $139 at Walmart)

Sony Playstation 4 (From $299.99 at Best Buy)

Avantree Leaf Class 1 Long Range USB Bluetooth Audio Transmitter Adapter (From $39.99 at Amazon)

How to connect AirPods to a PS4

1. Turn on your PS4.

2. Plug the bluetooth adapter into the USB port at the front of your PS4.

3. Put the adapter into pairing mode — how you do this will depend on what type of adapter you have. Check your adapter's manual.

4. Press and hold the pairing button on the back of your AirPod charging case to put it into pairing mode as well.

5. Your AirPods and PS4 should pair automatically. The pairing light on both your AirPods and the Bluetooth dongle will stop flashing.

6. A pop-up message will display on the screen of your PS4. After you confirm, setup will be complete, allowing you to play your game while using AirPods.

Related coverage from How To Do Everything: Tech:

• How to turn off your PS4 controllers manually or automatically, to save battery when you're not using them

• How to connect a PS4 controller to your PC in 2 different ways

• 'Why won't text messages send on my Android?': 4 ways to troubleshoot your Android device if it won't send texts

• How to connect AirPods to a Nintendo Switch for wireless audio listening

• 'Why won't my Bluetooth device connect?': How to fix common Bluetooth connection issues

SEE ALSO: 8 affordable PlayStation 4 accessories that'll help you make the most of your console

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• Advertisers have sliced budgets for influencer sponsored posts in recent weeks to save on costs and avoid appearing tone deaf during the coronavirus pandemic.
• But while sponsored content has long been a predictable (and essential) source of income for digital creators, the industry has matured well beyond branded posts, and the influencer economy won't be destroyed by the current economic downturn.
• As live sports and other major media events have shut down, social-media engagement is hitting an all-time high, positioning influencers to take center stage. 
• Merchandise, direct-to-consumer products, and content production are just a few of the alternative revenue streams that influencers and marketers have been leaning into as sponsored post opportunities disappear. 
• Business Insider spoke to professionals across the industry to better understand how influencers are earning a living during the coronavirus and what the future has in store for the industry.
• Click here for more BI Prime stories.

The influencer economy isn't going to turn to dust, despite recent reports predicting its demise.

Last month, Vice declared that the coronavirus had"killed the influencer market — maybe for good." Wired wrote that the influencer economy was hurtling toward its first recession. And The Guardian questioned whether the influencer lifestyle would survive the pandemic.

But while the decline of advertising has hurt the influencer business in the near term — as it has the media industry as a whole — creators and marketers are proving more resilient and adaptive than some expected during the economic downturn. 

Many creators have shifted their focus to alternative revenue streams that have allowed them to continue to earn a living, and shown in the process how much the influencer business has expanded in recent years.

The creator industry now includes a slew of non-ad revenue opportunities, including merchandise sales through companies like Fanjoy, e-commerce affiliate revenue through platforms like RewardStyle, recurring subscription income through services like Patreon, and a variety of other categories.

Many of these money-making opportunities are smaller than the sponsored content deals that have characterized the industry since its inception. But together, they paint a picture of an influencer business whose revenue has become more diversified in the past few years, mirroring broader changes in digital media.

But the biggest factor that shows why the influencer industry will endure is simple: consumer demand is strong — in fact, stronger than ever.

Influencer-marketing agencies that facilitate deals between advertisers and creators said they had seen a recent spike in social-media engagement. And some of these companies are still hiring at a time when large pockets of the ad industry have had to lay off or furlough employees. 

"It's definitely not going to be the end of influencer marketing," said Ricky Ray Butler, the CEO of the influencer marketing agency BEN. "Musicians and other celebrities are now acting like influencers, seeing what the buzz is about on platforms like TikTok. Content creators should be creating more now than ever before, even if they are making less money. The creators that are innovating today and connecting with their audiences will be remembered."

Advertising rates are down, but some creators are still finding deals

The influencer advertising business has certainly been hurting in recent weeks.

Once social-distancing measures began to take effect in the US in March, influencers said many sponsorship deals were postponed or put on pause, as in-person events and paid travel opportunities evaporated. Many creators also saw their YouTube ad rates decline dramatically.

The ad revenue drop isn't unique to the influencer economy, as several of the major ad holding companies have resorted to layoffs and furloughs.

But some categories of brands, like gaming, tech, and home essentials are still booking deals. 

The gaming software Electronic Arts recently worked with YouTube star David Dobrik (17 million subscribers) on a campaign for his YouTube channel where Dobrik used a T-shirt cannon to giveaway checks up to $10,000 and merch to fans outside their homes.

But the picture is grim. Brands that have continued to run influencer campaigns during the pandemic are still adjusting to less favorable economic conditions by reaching out to influencer agencies to renegotiate payment terms.

"Everyone's deferring payments everywhere," said Vickie Segar, the CEO of the influencer-marketing agency Village. "When you're in a crisis situation, your job is to have liquidity and hold liquidity."

And it's clear that brand deals are down in a massive way.

Sponsored content on Instagram fell from representing 35% of influencer posts in mid-February to 4% of creator content in mid-April, according to the marketing-analytics firm Launchmetrics.

"We've seen an across-the-board reduction in overall advertising spend," said Neil Waller, CEO of the influencer-marketing agency Whalar Media.

That might have been a death blow to the industry a few years ago, but many influencers have diversified far beyond advertising revenue.

Direct sales can stabilize income when ad budgets falter 

The overarching trend that has diversified the creator industry is the rise of direct revenue from fans. Some of the ways influencers have turned their followers into paying customers are by selling products, offering courses, and delivering exclusive content on subscription-based platforms. 

Even before the coronavirus, merch sales had been a main source of revenue for some top creators whose content is not particularly friendly to advertisers — like Dobrik, whose custom merchandise makes up the majority of his income, as he told The Wall Street Journal in March. 

As a whole, merch sales have increased in recent weeks, according to Chris Vaccarino, the founder and CEO of the prominent influencer merchandise company Fanjoy.

YouTube creator Preston Arsement, who has almost 30 million total subscribers across nine channels, said his merchandise sales had tripled since the coronavirus outbreak and had made up for a decline ad revenue (though he said brands in the food and gaming categories were still running deals).

Other influencer-led DTC businesses like fitness programs and workout apps have surged in sales.

Fashion influencer Audree Kate Lopez, who has nearly 30,000 Instagram followers, relied on brand campaigns as a large source of revenue, but rather than waiting for deals she has been working on re-launching an online course for college students, Fashion Fundamentals, as a new way to earn extra income.

Even without launching a new business venture, creators can maximize their earnings by making use of some services, like the membership platform Patreon and the personalized video shout-out app Cameo.

Viewers are still willing to pay for content and products from their favorite creators, which shows that the demand is still high, and even growing.

For instance, lifestyle influencer Katy Bellotte (177,000 Instagram followers) launched a Patreon account on May 1 as a way to offer her followers more content while earning extra revenue. Her account offers three monthly memberships up to $4 and she already has 864 paying Patrons.

Since March, Patreon said 70,000 creators have joined the platform, and the company has seen a 20% month-over-month growth in the number of users paying for content for the first time.

Marketers and influencers are experimenting with new formats 

As sponsored post opportunities dry up during the coronavirus pandemic, many influencers are trying new formats that are surging, like livestreaming and e-commerce.

Live-video marketing on social-media platforms has long been a revenue-driver for Twitch gamers and other streamers who have pitched brands on their sizable recurring live audiences. But as interest in live content spreads to other social-media platforms like Instagram — which traditionally has focused on posed photos and videos — more influencers and brands have been experimenting with the format as a marketing opportunity.

"People are more apt to spend 30, 60, or 90 minutes on an influencer or branded livestream, whereas they're typically only engaging with a static photo on a feed for a couple seconds," said Ellie Jenkins, an influencer-innovation manager at Mavrck. "That long-term engagement is really powerful for brands."

Several influencers and marketers have also turned to affiliate link revenue as brick-and-mortar shopping shuts down, a subcategory of e-commerce marketing in which creators add referral links to social posts in order to get financially compensated for any converted sales on products they promote.

Again, the rise of these revenue streams relies on the simple fact that demand for the content influencers produce is high, despite the meltdown in the advertising market.

Influencer marketing agencies are still hiring, even as they're being forced to pivot to new revenue streams outside sponsored posts

Agencies focused specifically on the influencer business have remained fairly stable in recent weeks as the major ad holding companies have had to resort to layoffs and furloughs in order to weather economic fallout from the coronavirus crisis. 

Five out of seven influencer-marketing agencies surveyed by Business Insider for this story had yet to lay off any employees during the coronavirus pandemic. The two agencies that did report layoffs said it affected less than 5% of their total workforces. And some influencer-marketing companies are still hiring, though often with a focus on essential positions only.

"There is still plenty of activity and plenty of planning for the future, but we expect to see a large revenue drop across the board in Q2," said Whalar's CEO Waller.

In some cases, influencer agencies have picked up new business by connecting brands with influencers as content creators at a time when production studios are unable to set up on-site photo or video shoots.

"We're definitely still seeing that the ability to use influencers as a content production studio for everything from digital to TV assets has been an area of rapid growth and interest," Waller said.

The influencer-marketing agency Obviously told Business Insider in late March that it had seen a 33% increase in the number of brands looking to hire influencers specifically for content creation since the pandemic began. Its clients reported a "creative cost reduction" of over 50% on average when working with influencers as content creators, the company said. 

"We have taken on even more content production," said Village's Segar. "It's yet another opportunity for brands to take risks from a traditional approach and see how more modern, cost-efficient approaches (i.e. leveraging creators for production) can work."

The strength in these influencer-marketing businesses shows they believe their long-term bet on the space is still intact.

Viewers want more, as demand for content across all platforms spikes

From following a workout on Instagram Live, to homeschooling with science experiments on YouTube, or streaming top gamers on Twitch, viewers are hungry for content customized to their needs at home.

TikTok just broke a record for the most app downloads in a single quarter, and Instagram influencers have reported seeing a large bump in user engagement on the app's "Stories" and "Live" features. Google reported a year-over-year spike in YouTube viewership during its first quarter earnings call last week. 

"Our watchtime has increased across the board," Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai told investors. "Viewership on YouTube has increased significantly compared to last year, too."

Arsement told Business Insider that his viewership on YouTube almost doubled in March, rising from 310 million views in February to 550 million views by the end of the month. Even the channels he hadn't uploaded new content to were seeing a spike in views. He said across his nine YouTube channels, his viewership had almost doubled (though his ad rates had dropped by over 50%).

Social media has taken center stage in recent weeks, giving influencers and marketers the opportunity to take advantage of a larger and more engaged audience.

"We're seeing an extreme increase on the consumption of social content," Village's Segar said. "Consumer behavior has changed. As a marketer, it is our job to monitor and react and hopefully get ahead of consumer behavior. What brands are realizing is even though they're not going to drive sales during this time, having a presence in social during a crisis when people are looking for a community gives you the opportunity to be a part of that support system."

Many influencers, especially those in categories like travel, will likely feel the pain from a contracting ad market for months to come. But it's clear that — though the industry might look different — it won't collapse. The consumer demand is strong and not going anywhere.

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NOW WATCH: A cleaning expert reveals her 3-step method for cleaning your entire home quickly

• Some people are claiming they're "exempt" from mask wearing due to medical conditions they won't disclose, according to one doctor on Twitter. 
• Doctors say that even people with asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease should wear masks in public, and that there are ways to make the practice safer and more comfortable. 
• Other arguments against wearing masks have been more about politics and choice than health conditions. 
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Face masks are currently recommended, if not required, in many public settings throughout the US in order to can help protect wearers from contracting or spreading the novel coronavirus. 

But some people are saying they're "exempt" from mandates requiring mask wearing in public because they have a medical condition that makes the practice risky, according to Dr. Alan Hawxby, a transplant surgeon at the Oklahoma University Medical Center, who posted about the phenomenon on Twitter. 

These so-called "anti-maskers" say they're not required to disclose what that condition is, thanks to privacy laws like HIPAA. 

But doctors say various conditions don't excuse people from wearing masks, but rather emphasize the importance of wearing one correctly. 

People with lung conditions like asthma may have trouble breathing with a mask but there are ways to make it easier 

It's true that wearing a mask can be annoying and uncomfortable, and for some people, the experience is beyond bothersome. As one Twitter user with asthma wrote in response to Hawxby's post, the condition makes it "extremely hard to breathe when wearing the mask" and can cause him to "hyperventilate and almost pass out." 

There have also been reports of medical professionals suffering serious skin damage after wearing the masks for long periods, causing the sweat and friction to damage the skin and open up the possibility of infection.

Unsubstantiated rumors have also circulated online, saying that continuous mask wearing can cause hypercapnia, a condition caused when too much carbon dioxide enters the blood and can lead to symptoms ranging from fatigue and headaches to seizures and coma, Reuters reported. 

But health experts say the solution isn't forgoing masks altogether, but wearing ones better suited to the individual. 

For people with asthma or COPD, for example, the arthritis organization Creaky Joints recommends staying home as much as possible; picking times when it's least hot, humid, and polluted when you do go out; practice; and choose one that's comfortable, like a cloth mask made with a moisture-wicking and breathable fabric. 

The right mask fit is critical for healthcare workers, too, both for safety and comfort, Christopher R. Friese, a professor of nursing at the University of Michigan who was on a National Academy of Medicine panel on respiratory protection, told Business Insider. 

He said medical professionals and first responders should undergo a "fit test" which doesn't only lead them to a mask that makes an appropriate seal on their faces, but also involves being screened for conditions like asthma, allergies, and claustrophobia that could make wearing certain types problematic. 

"There are times when we recommend one product over another because someone has health conditions, or if the fit is better," Friese said. "In this pandemic, I fear that many settings are forgoing fit testing and that upfront screening for contraindications, which puts healthcare workers and first responders at risk." 

Past movements have advocated against mask wearing for other reasons 

In 2013, a Missouri nurse chose not to get the flu vaccine and so her hospital required her to wear a face mask to protect patients. She refused, saying the mask was a "scarlet letter," and arguing that masks are ineffective. She was fired. 

In 2015, The Ontario Nurses Association used a similar argument to rally against mask wearing requirements for those who didn't get vaccinated. 

Among the lay public during coronavirus, people have refused to wear masks for various reasons, ranging from fears of racial profiling to beliefs that the government should not dictate what citizens do or do not wear.  

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NOW WATCH: How the Navy's largest hospital ship can help with the coronavirus

• My wife and I paid off her $80,000 of student loan debt in a little under three years from when she graduated.
• Rather than spend the money we previously put toward debt on fun things we wanted, we used the extra cash to finish filling what is now our six-month emergency fund.
• We fully stocked our $24,000 emergency fund in a few months due to our intense effort, and it has been a huge blessing, especially in the current environment.
• Read more personal finance coverage.

An emergency fund has always been an essential part of my family's financial plan. My wife and I don't want to get stuck in a financial bind should a sizable unexpected expense pop up or a job loss reduce our income.

When my wife graduated from college with a nursing degree, she had over $80,000 of student loan debt. We wanted to pay it down aggressively, but we made sure to set aside a decent emergency fund first.

We decided to keep $10,000 in savings as we started our pay-off journey. This way, we could handle most financial surprises without digging ourselves deeper into debt.

With a lot of hustle, two well-paying professional jobs, and keeping our expenses to a minimum, we were able to pay off what my wife owed in under three years. Even though paying off my wife's student loan debt was a considerable accomplishment, our finances weren't in ideal shape. 

Building our emergency fund

We decided to build a full six-month emergency fund before we relaxed our tight grip on our expenses. That meant adding another $14,000 to our emergency fund. After three years of sacrifice, delaying gratification another few months to fill our emergency fund wasn't a hard decision for us. 

While we were paying off my wife's student loan debt, she ended up on short-term disability twice due to foot surgeries. Her short-term disability coverage through her work only paid a portion of her base salary, which resulted in a significant dip in our monthly income. 

Thankfully, we were spending much less than we earned to pay down her student loans. This meant we only had to put the aggressive debt pay-off on hold and we could still cover our other expenses. However, this opened our eyes to how fragile finances can be if one of us lost our job. 

After I graduated in 2009 into the great recession, I was very well aware that jobs should not be taken for granted. My wife had a similar issue when she graduated in 2011. It was difficult for her to find a nursing job without having prior experience despite having a four-year degree.

We didn't want to put our future finances at risk. The decision to focus on building our emergency fund was easier because we knew it would only take a few more months of sacrifice to put ourselves in a strong financial position.

Delaying gratification to build our savings

Due to our decision to fill our emergency fund, we didn't immediately get the new furniture or home upgrades we wanted. Instead, we used the massive monthly payments we had been making toward her student loan debt, often several thousand dollars per month, to add to our emergency fund. This brought us peace of mind. 

We did allow ourselves one luxury — an inexpensive cruise vacation — to celebrate our big win. After that, we delayed other major purchases until our emergency fund was complete. 

In retrospect, we haven't had to dip into our emergency fund for any emergencies since we finished building it in 2014. Even so, we're glad we have financial reserves during times like these. 

• More personal finance coverage
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• 7 reasons you may need life insurance, even if you think you don't

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NOW WATCH: A cleaning expert reveals her 3-step method for cleaning your entire home quickly

• Most skincare products take time to work. That's why I'm always impressed with the ones that yield immediate results.
• The Stem Cellular Exfoliating Peel Spray ($52) from Juice Beauty is a gentle exfoliant that uses all-natural ingredients to slough off dead skin and reveal fresher, brighter looking skin in seconds.
• The first time I tried it, I was in awe — and I'm not exaggerating here. I've been using it for a few weeks now and still am loving how soft and fresh it leaves my skin feeling.

When it comes to skin care, instant gratification is pretty uncommon. It could take weeks for that serum to reveal its promised dewy glow and even the most expensive under-eye cream out there won't make your crow's feet disappear overnight. Most skincare products take time to work their magic. 

But every now and then you'll stumble upon the elusive product that provides serious results with actual immediacy. And when you find one of those products, you have to share it with the world.

That's why I'm divulging all the details of my new skin-care obsession: The Juice Beauty Stem Cellular Exfoliating Peel Spray. 

The name may be a jumbled mouthful, but trust me: It's one of the most fool-proof ways to exfoliate your way to smoother, glowier skin.

What it is

Juice Beauty was launched in 2005 with a mission to provide high-performance, luxury skincare products made completely from natural and organic ingredients. Since then, the brand has released a host of all-natural makeup and skincare products, ranging from colorful lip glosses to clinically tested and validated skincare collections, like Stem Cellular.

The Stem Cellular Exfoliating Peel Spray is just what it sounds like — a facial mist that you spray onto skin to exfoliate. 

For many, the word "exfoliate" conjures up memories of vigorously rubbing skin with rough microbeads until it burns. Juice Beauty's iteration of a chemical exfoliant is surprisingly gentle, though understandably so when you consider it's made with stem cells from fruit. Yes, you read that right. The Stem Cellular spray combines exfoliants derived from plants to slough off dead skin, with ingredients like licorice root, cucumber extract, and aloe to nourish, brighten, and soothe it as well.

How to use the peel spray

Juice Beauty recommends using this product in the morning while you shower. As much as I love multitasking, I got it during the day and was so excited to use it, I had to give it a try that night. I think the results were equally as impressive, regardless of when you use it.

After washing my face and patting dry, I reached for the sleek silver bottle. I gave it a good shake and liberally spritzed my face, neck, and décolleté. The mist is cool with an invigorating (though not particularly pleasant) scent. While lightweight, each spritz comes out quickly, so I'd recommend spraying a few inches away from your face. 

As the instructions suggested, I let the product sink into my skin for a few seconds. Then, I used my fingertips to rub all of the product in, gently massaging my face with circular motions. Here's where the process gets kind of gross, but really great. 

As I rubbed, I watched the dead skin cells ball up into little clumps on the surface of my skin and onto my fingers. Within just seconds, the peel had lifted the dry, flaky skin off of my face and left scant remnants on the surface. When I felt that I had adequately rubbed everything in, I rinsed my face with warm water.

After patting dry again, I oohed and aahed as I did a double take in the mirror. My skin looked noticeably more vibrant, with healthy dose of redness (which went away quickly, don't worry), and felt so much smoother than before. To make that baby soft skin feeling last, I followed with my favorite moisturizing jelly serum from Moon Juice and a basic Neutrogena moisturizer. 

When I woke up the next morning, I still felt fresh-faced. Just imagine what my skin would have felt like if I had used the spray in the morning instead.

Bottom Line

At-home exfoliation can be a toss up — if you're not careful about the products you use and how often you exfoliate, you can really hurt your skin. You could always go to the experts and get a facial for a deep exfoliation every now and then, but that isn't the most cost-effective option.

That's why Juice Beauty's exfoliating spray is such a sweet luxury. For $52 you can have a quality exfoliating experience that's gentle on the skin but yields serious results. You can even spray your hands, arms, or any other body parts that could use some extra help sloughing off dry skin.

Since it's made of all-natural and organic ingredients, this product should be fine for all types of skin. It's still an exfoliant though, so you probably shouldn't use it every day — I've been using it about once or twice a week.

My favorite thing about this product, though, is how convenient it is. I don't need to fumble around with physical exfoliators or make a mess with a clay mask — all I have to do is spritz. The size — a travel-friendly 1.7 fluid ounces — makes this easy to take on the go.

I think you'll want to spread the word after trying this one, too.

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• Economists forecast that 3 million Americans filed for unemployment insurance in the week ending May 2, according to Bloomberg data. 
• If the Thursday report comes in near expectations, it would be the fifth week in a row of declining yet elevated unemployment insurance claims. 
• "We're continuing to expect claims to remain elevated as now this second wave comes through" different sectors of the economy, Lindsey Piegza, chief economist at Stifel, told Business Insider. 
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Economists expect that the number of Americans filing for unemployment insurance declined again last week, but remained elevated as the coronavirus pandemic continues to slam the labor market. 

The median economist estimate is 3 million jobless claims in the week ending May 2, according to Bloomberg data. If the Thursday report from the Labor Department is near the estimate, it would be less than the 3.8 million claims filed in the previous week and the fifth report in a row to show a decline. 

Still, it's important to note that 3 million applications for unemployment insurance benefits in one week is high, compared to both pre-coronavirus levels and the Great Recession, when the worst week of job losses racked up 665,000 claims. 

As much of the US remains in lockdown to curb the spread of coronavirus, "it's not just restaurants closing down, but we're seeing secondary and tertiary impacts on other small businesses and medium-sized businesses," Lindsey Piegza, chief economist at Stifel, told Business Insider. 

She continued: "We're continuing to expect claims to remain elevated as now this second wave comes through these different sectors of the economy."

Read more:A fund manager trouncing 90% of his rivals shared with us 5 trades he's making to stay ahead — including a big bet on Disney after it was crushed in the pandemic sell-off

Still, declining claims are a step in the right direction. And, some states have started to slowly open their economies, which may help workers regain employment.

Hopefully, the situation will continue to improve and weekly claims will dwindle to between 1 million and 2 million by the end of May, Piegza said. 

The report will be released just one day before the April jobs report, due Friday from the Labor Department. Following nearly two months of high weekly jobless claims, economists expect that the report will be devastating — Bank of America is forecasting that the US economy lost 22 million jobs in April and that the unemployment rate spiked to 15% from 4.4% in March.

The private sector report from ADP Wednesday set the stage for Friday, showing that US companies lost 20.2 million jobs in April, the largest monthly decline on record.

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NOW WATCH: What makes 'Parasite' so shocking is the twist that happens in a 10-minute sequence

• New York City soup kitchens are overwhelmed with residents who have been laid off or furloughed because of the coronavirus health crisis.
• One soup kitchen run by the Coalition for the Homeless is seeing a 50% spike in demand since the virus broke out.
• The food program has become vital as more than half a million New Yorkers have lost their jobs during the lockdown. 
• The homeless are especially vulnerable to the coronavirus, and 69 homeless New Yorkers have already died from COVID-19.
• View more episodes of Business Insider Today on Facebook.

In a kitchen in Harlem, volunteers prepare vats of hot soup every evening, meant to feed hundreds of homeless people across New York City.   

Juan de la Cruz, who runs the Grand Central Food Program, helps the volunteers by preparing the soup and delivering it. Demand for the free meal has surged these days. 

"We went probably from serving 720 meals to overnight having to get over 1,100 meals," said de la Cruz, the program director of the Grand Central Food Program.

It's not just the homeless who are lining up, but also people who have lost their jobs during the coronavirus health crisis and can no longer afford food. From March 14 through April 25, about 733,305 New Yorkers lost their jobs, making food programs even more vital. 

"Money is really hard to come by," Steven, an out-of-work appliance repairman who visits the soup kitchen, told Business Insider Today. "And I'm hungry." 

Over time, the soup kitchen, run by the Coalition for the Homeless, has become the largest mobile soup kitchen in the US. Volunteers have been delivering meals every day for the last three decades, rain or shine.

"One of the beauties of the program is that you see a lot of the same people from night to night, and sometimes it takes a year for somebody to crack a smile and begin a conversation with somebody," said de la Cruz.

The food program also distributes coats and blankets during the winter. Throughout the pandemic, volunteers at the soup kitchen have also been giving out masks and hand sanitizer, as well as advice on how to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. 

"Unfortunately not everyone is as convinced that this is a pandemic," de la Cruz said. "So we have quite a few that believe that this is just a hoax, that believe that this is not real. So it's reminding them, you know, why take the risk, why take the chance? Protect yourself as best as you can and you know, so it's doing a lot of that."

But others do know how deadly the virus can be. In New York City, the worst hit city in the US, at least 69 homeless people have been reported dead as of May 5, according to the NYC Department of Homeless Services. 

"A friend of mine, he passed away Sunday night. He had the coronavirus," said Al Pagan, another regular at the soup kitchen. "He was a nice guy too. He was in his 80s, and his name was Bill. He also represents the homeless people on the streets."

Before the spread of COVID-19, New York City had already been dealing with record homelessness. 

"Before the crisis hit, we had about 63,000 adults, individuals, both, children and families, adults and families, and single adults in the shelter system every single night, said Giselle Routhier, policy director at Coalition for the Homeless. "Plus we have thousands more people who are bedding down on the streets and in public spaces as well." 

The pandemic has only made things worse for those on the streets.

"When you have health professionals and doctors as part of their recommendations for staying healthy, saying stay home and self isolate, you can't do that if you don't have a home. They're struggling to access basic necessities like food and bathrooms and showers," Routhier said.

That's why people like de la Cruz are doing what they can, even putting their own lives at risk, to make a difference during these difficult times.

"I know the need is there, so I would never not come out," he said. "I always think of giving food to somebody who's hungry as the most rewarding experience because nothing is more basic than food. So being able to do that, it's a reward in itself."

SEE ALSO: Subway and bus drivers in New York City say the government did too little, too late, to protect them from the coronavirus as thousands of their colleagues got sick and 98 died.

DON'T MISS: Supermarkets are paying thousands of dollars for this touch-free handwashing machine that kills 99.9% of germs in 12 seconds

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NOW WATCH: Inside London during COVID-19 lockdown

• President Donald Trump and his top advisers have repeatedly down played the threat posed to American lives and the US economy by the coronavirus pandemic. 
• On Tuesday, the White House Council of Economic Advisers (CEA) released a so-called "cubic model" devised by Kevin Hassett, a top economic adviser, that shows COVID-19 deaths plummeting to zero by mid-May. 
• A slew of economists and public health experts quickly repudiated Hassett's model and some argued he bent the data to fit the outcome he desired. 
• Paul Krugman, a Nobel Prize-winning economist and New York Times columnist, tweeted that Hassett's modeling was "beyond stupid" and will "kill thousands." 
• Emily Gee, a former staff economist on the CEA, told Insider that CEA's decision to release the graph shows the Council is "being used as a mouthpiece for the administration and a political tool."
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

President Donald Trump and his top advisers have repeatedly played down the threat posed to American lives and the US economy by the coronavirus pandemic. 

In some of the most infamous instances, Trump predicted on February 26 that the number of COVID-19 infections in the US "within a couple of days is going to be down close to zero," while Larry Kudlow, Trump's director of the National Economic Council, declared the virus had been "contained."

Earlier this week, The Washington Post reported that the White House is relying in part on a so-called "cubic model" devised by Kevin Hassett, a top economic adviser, that shows COVID-19 deaths plummeting to zero by mid-May. 

This model, which the White House Council of Economic Advisers (CEA) released on Tuesday, contradicts other models the White House is reportedly looking at, including one created by the University of Washington's Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation that predicts 135,000 deaths by August 1. Nearly 73,000 people have already died from the disease in the US, with about 2,000 dying every day over the last week. 

'Predictions are hard, especially those about the future'

A slew of economists and public health experts quickly repudiated Hassett's model, which they argue flies in the face of existing data, and criticized the administration for relying on its economic team to produce rosy public health analysis. 

Paul Krugman, a Nobel Prize-winning economist and New York Times columnist, tore into Hassett's modeling and his record of economic research in a Tuesday op-ed.

Krugman pointed out that Hassett has made several major economic predictions — including that the stock market was massively undervalued in 1999 and that there was not a housing bubble in the mid-2000s — that turned out to be wrong and that Hassett has never admitted to those errors. 

"Hassett remains ... a pillar of the modern conservative establishment, and Trump called on him to second-guess experts in epidemiology, a field in which he has no background," Krugman wrote.

He added in a series of tweets that Hassett's modeling was "beyond stupid" and will "kill thousands." 

Emily Gee, a health economist at the left-leaning Center for American Progress and a former staff economist on the CEA, said Hassett's mathematical model is "suspect" for a host of reasons, including that it doesn't factor in the loosening of social distancing policies happening in states across the country. 

"Fitting a model to past data is one thing, predicting the future is much harder," she told Insider. "To paraphrase Yogi Berra, 'Predictions are hard, especially those about the future.'"

Gee said CEA's decision to release the graph shows it's "being used as a mouthpiece for the administration and a political tool."

Republicans have also been critical of Hassett's model and the Trump administration's overall virus response effort.  

"Pandemic response requires more than mathematical modeling," Mike Leavitt, the former Secretary of Health and Human Services under President George W. Bush, told Insider of Hassett's model. "It demands an understanding of the biology, a deep knowledge of history and the capacity to factor in human nature. Some of the more optimistic models I've seen are a product of assumptions that seem devoid of history and biology and human nature." 

Brian Riedl, a conservative economist at the Manhattan Institute who called Hassett "a friend," conceded it is unusual for an economist to devise modeling about public health issues. 

"I don't want to beat up Kevin ... For the most part, he is taken seriously by those on both sides of the aisle," Riedl told Insider, adding that Trump and his staff "really trust" Hassett. "That said, generally pandemic modeling is usually done by people with more of a background in public health data analysis."

Nate Silver, of FiveThirtyEight, theorized that Hassett created a simple trendline in Excel based on Johns Hopkins' daily death toll data. 

Jason Furman, a former chair of the Council of Economic Advisers under President Barack Obama, similarly slammed Hassett's work after the Council shared a graphic of the cubic model on its Twitter account. 

"This might be the lowest point in the 74 year history of the Council of Economic Advisers,"Furman tweeted on Tuesday. "The stakes on the epidemiological questions are so high that this utterly superficial and misleading 'modeling' has no place whatsoever in any discussion of the government's response."

Furman added that "the 'cubic fit' is based on an approach to epidemiology that has long been absent from any serious epidemiological discussions" and surmised it was "chosen to get the result they wanted." 

Tomas Philipson, Trump's current CEA chair, tweeted back at Furman, attacking his credentials and accusing him and Krugman of not understanding that the modeling was "data smoothing," rather than "forecasting."

"Today was the low point, with past CEA Chair Furman (and economist turned political hack Krugman) not understanding the difference between data smoothing and model-based forecasting,"he wrote on Tuesday evening. "Furman only chair without peer-reviewed scientific work and academic appointments-it shows."

Furman, now a professor at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government, told Insider he has no further comment. 

SEE ALSO: The Trump administration is privately predicting the daily coronavirus death toll will almost double over the next month, with new infections increasing from 25,000 per day to 200,000

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NOW WATCH: What makes 'Parasite' so shocking is the twist that happens in a 10-minute sequence

• The fan-centric streaming service DC Universe launched in September 2018 and has since released few original TV shows.
• Meanwhile, high-profile DC projects are being developed at HBO Max, the upcoming Netflix competitor from DC's corporate parent, WarnerMedia.
• It suggests DC Universe isn't a major priority for WarnerMedia, which is supported by interviews Business Insider conducted with people close to DC Universe and its content. 
• Industry experts predicted DC Universe would struggle to grow a subscriber base in the current streaming landscape.
• DC Universe insiders expressed uncertainty around the service's future, with some saying it factored into their decision to leave WarnerMedia.
• If you have a tip about DC Universe, contact the author at tclark@businessinsider.com or DM him on Twitter @TravClark2.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Two years ago, the debut of the streaming service DC Universe was hotly anticipated inside DC's parent division, Warner Bros.

The studio's CEO Kevin Tsujihara internally called the platform a top priority in the months before its launch in September 2018. That same year, AT&T purchased Time Warner, forming WarnerMedia and bringing DC and Warner Bros. under its entertainment umbrella. The added financial firepower seemed to be a boon for the fledgling service.

But 2020 is a vastly different time for streaming and for DC Universe in particular.

Tsujihara is gone, having resigned in 2019 following an investigation into his relationship with an actress. And there is a new streaming service at the company that's being heralded as the future of TV for AT&T. 

"Everything is about HBO Max now," said a former employee of Warner Bros. Digital Labs, a product unit that works with the company's streaming services like DCU, who left this year and requested anonymity because of fear of professional repercussions.

HBO Max, WarnerMedia's answer to Netflix, launches on May 27 for $14.99 per month and will include content across the company's divisions. It will be a far cry from the fan-centric DC Universe, which costs $7.99 per month and includes a small collection of original TV shows based on DC Comics properties and a huge library of digital comic books.

With HBO Max on the horizon and the streaming war heating up, major questions hang over DC Universe's future. Little has been announced about its original programming while major DC projects are in development at HBO Max. Some people close to the service told Business Insider they felt it wasn't a priority for WarnerMedia, and some streaming industry experts said they doubted the longevity of the service in its current form.

Any change could have big implications for those who work on the service. The former Digital Labs employee said the uncertainty factored into their decision to leave the company.

DC declined to comment for this story. 

The streaming space has changed since DC Universe launched

What began as a niche, community-focused streamer now looks like a small cog in a giant machine.

"No doubt AT&T is looking to use all of its assets, DC being a critical component, to make HBO Max a player in the competitive streaming landscape," said Stephen Beck, the managing partner of consultancy group cg42. "Unlike some of the other players, they are wrestling with how to deal with preexisting subscription services [like DC Universe]. That's not a small strategic challenge."

But DC Universe's potential obstacles go beyond AT&T's acquisition of Time Warner. They also speak to how the streaming space has changed since DC Universe debuted. Companies are consolidating their content for their own services, from Disney to NBCUniversal's Peacock, and battling for consumers' dollars — making it difficult for smaller services with even the most loyal fanbases to prove vital. And in the case of DC Universe, it's sharing content with a bigger product.

"Folks only have so much disposable income that they dedicate to streaming," Beck said. "Consumers are ultimately going to become more picky around the subscriptions they have. [For WarnerMedia], they'll think 'DC enthusiasts watch other things we create, too.' They're not in the business to create a suite of standalone offerings. They're in the business of creating a mega platform."

Richard Cooper, the research director at data company Ampere Analysis, said not all smaller streaming services would necessarily struggle as more of these "mega platforms" become available. But DC Universe is not well-positioned to stand out, he said. 

"A lot of its content doesn't have an exclusive feel, which niche services need to secure long-term subscribers," Cooper told Business Insider. "Lots of services have superhero content. We're not going to run out any time soon and it will be bigger budgets and more exclusivity compared to what DC Universe will be able to provide."

Cooper said DC Universe could struggle to build a subscriber base if WarnerMedia isn't invested in it, and that its digital-comics library, which is unique to the platform, isn't a "compelling enough reason" for people to subscribe long term. WarnerMedia does not disclose subscriber numbers for DC Universe.

Major new DC shows are in the works, but not for DC Universe

Major DC projects have been announced for HBO Max, which heightens a sense that DC Universe's offering isn't exclusive. And DC Universe's originals have been critically praised but few in number.

A Green Lantern series and "Strange Adventures" are being developed at HBO Max. WarnerMedia also recently announced that J.J. Abrams' Bad Robot production company, which closed a lucrative deal with WarnerMedia last year, was developing a series featuring Justice League Dark characters.

"Most of the people who I'd worked with were confused about what HBO Max means for DC Universe," said another former Digital Labs employee, who exited last year and also requested anonymity to protect career prospects. "It seems like DC Universe is emphasizing its comics and nobody really seems to know where video falls into that."

"Stargirl" is the only new series that has been announced for DC Universe this year, and when it premieres this month, its episodes will air on the CW network the day after they debut on DCU.

HBO Max also announced in October that season two of "Doom Patrol"— formerly a DC Universe exclusive — would be available on both platforms.

A crew member who had worked on more than one DC Universe series, who requested anonymity because they weren't authorized to speak publicly about the series, told Business Insider that HBO Max had been heavily involved in season two (though the show's production is currently halted due to the coronavirus). 

HBO Max's content chief, Kevin Reilly, expressed a sentiment that perhaps sums up the general feeling about the two services best at a Television Critics Association panel in January: "We have to figure out those two subscriptions and we haven't worked out the mechanics of what that's going to look like."

A DC Universe monthly subscription costs less than HBO Max will, but the latter could provide more bang for the buck for fans looking for original video content. If HBO Max consolidates more DCU content and continues to develop exclusive high-profile DC projects, a DC Universe subscription could feel inessential for fans.

DC Universe isn't going away immediately, but its longevity is uncertain

When DC Universe abruptly canceled its series "Swamp Thing" last year after one season, some crew members who spoke with Business Insider at the time expressed shock. One said that there was buzz on the set that DC Universe could be folded into HBO Max, though that did not immediately come to pass.

But with "Stargirl" and "Doom Patrol" being shared between the CW and HBO Max, respectively, and the service already having few original shows, industry watchers have continued to speculate about consolidation within WarnerMedia.

But some WarnerMedia insiders said to not expect anything to change immediately.

"The feeling in the office is that DC Universe is going to be around for at least another year or two," said the former Digital Labs employee who left this year. "There's commitment and funding."

"They want to keep it around but they want to keep it small," the crew member said, adding that they thought it meant the DCU hit "Titans" would be a major focus going forward. This person said spin-offs of the series had been considered.

DC Universe could still thrive after HBO Max launches. Its shows have garnered praise from critics and they are frequently among the most in-demand original streaming shows in the US, according to weekly data from TV analytics company Parrot Analytics. 

But the uncertainty has been too much for some people.

The employee who left in 2019 said they started wanting to leave when "Swamp Thing" got canceled. And the employee who left this year said they'd searched internally for jobs at HBO Max because it seemed more stable than the other streaming services, though they ultimately left the company.

If you have a tip about DC Universe, contact the author at tclark@businessinsider.com or DM him on Twitter @TravClark2.

SEE ALSO: A new survey suggests HBO Max could be a hit when the streaming service launches next month

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NOW WATCH: What makes 'Parasite' so shocking is the twist that happens in a 10-minute sequence

• Fresh meat prices were up 8.1% at the end of April, as the coronavirus pandemic causes serious issues in the American supply chain. 
• Pork and beef prices could increase by an unprecedented 20% in the coming months, according to a new report from CoBank. 
• With pork and beef production plunging by 35%, CoBank economist Will Sawyer says shortages and price inflation are "nearly assured." 
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

A trip to the grocery store is about to get more expensive if you have meat on your shopping list. 

Fresh meat prices escalated 8.1% in stores, compared to the same period last year, according to Nielsen data for the week ending April 25. 

Experts expect prices to skyrocket in the coming weeks, as meat processing plants across the US are forced to close due to the coronavirus pandemic. Pork and beef prices could increase by as much as 20% compared to 2019, according to a new report from CoBank, a cooperative bank that is part of the Farm Credit System.

A 20% increase would be an unprecedented price hike, according to Will Sawyer, CoBank's lead animal protein economist. Pork prices have only experienced inflation of more than 10% twice in the last 20 years; neither time did inflation grow to 20%. 

Pork and beef production has plunged by roughly 35% compared to this time last year, according to the CoBank report. As a result, Sawyer says, grocery stores running out of products and price inflation are "nearly assured." 

Some 115 meat and poultry processing plants have reported COVID-19 cases, according to a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released last week. There have been 4,913 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 20 deaths among workers, as experts say meat processing plants are becoming the next hotspot for the pandemic. 

A number of massive meat processing plants have been forced to shut down due to COVID-19 cases or operate at a limited capacity, as concerned employees refuse to come to work and new social distancing policies roll out. In an effort to combat shortages, President Trump recently signed an executive order demanding that meat processing plants stay open. 

With slaughterhouses shutting down, farmers have been forced to kill pigs and destroy inventory instead of selling at a loss. Hog farmers are expected to euthanize seven million pigs in the second quarter alone, according to CoBank's report. 

Killing animals and destroying products will only make future price hikes and food shortages worse. Sawyer says that the hogs and cattle being euthanized now means that supply shortages will become worse later this year, with reduced grocery store supplies in May and June. 

"As communities reopen with only about one week of meat supply in cold storage, shortages and stock outs in the meat case couldn't come at a worse time," Sawyer writes in the report. "Food inflation and a weak US economy is a combination that will leave many consumers in greater financial strain."

Grocery chains including Kroger and Costco have already started limiting how much meat customers can buy. Fast-food chains say they're closely monitoring the situation, with Wendy's running out of burgers and limiting its menu at roughly 18% of locations.

If you or your business has been impacted by meat shortages, reach out to retail@businessinsider.com. 

SEE ALSO: Experts say meat processing plants are the next coronavirus hotspots in America, as Trump orders slaughterhouses to stay open

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• Goldman Sachs has hired Kurt Hoffman as a managing director in the Structured Finance Investing and Lending group, according to two people with knowledge of his appointment. 
• Hoffman joins from Imperial Capital LLC, where he worked on distressed and special situations, as well as bankruptcies, according to his LinkedIn profile.
• The appointment reunites two longtime work colleagues, bringing Hoffman together again with Tom Tormey, who co-leads the SFIL unit. Both were lawyers at Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP in the early 2000s. 
• Goldman's SFIL group is the successor to one named Principal Funding and Investments, responsible for some of the banks most profitable trades over the years. 
• Click here for more BI Prime stories.

Goldman Sachs has hired distressed situations and bankruptcy expert Kurt Hoffman as a managing director in a  business that handles one-off loans for clients just as industries battered by the economic shutdown are in need of emergency financing. 

Hoffman started last month and will report to Tom Tormey, global co-head of the business known as Structured Finance Investing and Lending, according to two people with knowledge of the appointment. The business is overseen by Ram Sundaram, who also has other responsibilities. Both Tormey and Sundaram are partners.

A Goldman Sachs representative declined to comment for this story.  

While it can be difficult to get information about the group's activities, a press release last year announced a $100 million financing agreement between Goldman and Mexican lending platform Konfio. The fintech startup makes loans to small and medium-sized businesses in the Latin American nation. 

Hoffman and Tormey have known each other for nearly 20 years, having worked side by side at law firm Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP, the people said. Hoffman worked in the bankruptcy and restructuring group at Davis Polk for five years until 2005, when he left for the boutique distressed debt brokerage Imperial Capital LLC, according to his LinkedIn profile. He's been there ever since. 

Tormey left the law firm the following year for Wall Street, joining UBS and then, in 2008, Goldman Sachs. Tormey was one of three co-heads of Goldman's distressed business several years ago before his elevation to partner led the other two execs to leave and preceded his move to SFIL. 

Last year, Goldman hired another lawyer for Tormey's group when it added Humayun Khalid, a member of the bankruptcy and restructuring practice at Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP, according to Bloomberg. Prior to leaving Gottlied, Khalid worked with Goldman in a Lehman Brothers Chapter 11 litigation situation, according to trade publication Commercial Dispute Resolution. 

Goldman's SFIL unit is the successor to one known as Principal Funding and Investment, which has done some of the bank's more profitable trades over the years. It was on the other side of the credit-default swap trades that brought down global insurer American International Group, for example, as well as the deals for the Malaysia development fund known as 1MDB.

The PFI unit purchased at least two of the bond issues and distributed them to investors, earning hundreds of millions of dollars. Toby Watson, a Hong Kong based partner, who worked on the desk and interfaced with 1MBD, left the firm in 2017, the Wall Street Journal wrote at the time.

Tormey wasn't working in the unit at the time. 

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