Several prominent YouTube filmmakers, including Matti Haapoja and Sam "Kold" Kolder, have faced fan backlash after posting videos promoting the AI platform Higgsfield and its new Seedance 2.5 feature. The videos, which were not labelled as advertisements, prompted accusations that Higgsfield had been quietly courting creators through PR firms to boost its public image, leaving many viewers feeling misled and alienated.

Haapoja's video compared generative AI to the iconic Canon EOS 5D Mark II camera and showcased Higgsfield's feature-length AI film "Cully Hill Boys", while Kolder's video used a fictionalised narrative to explore AI's creative potential. Neither creator nor Higgsfield confirmed to The Verge whether the posts were paid partnerships. Reaction was sharply negative for Haapoja, with tech YouTuber Marques Brownlee criticising the camera comparison and noting that AI models are trained on uncredited human work, while Kolder's response was more mixed, with some praise alongside comments accusing him of being "replaced" by AI.