# @thewrap on Instagram

- **Type:** Image
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/DHbbRmkJpQD
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/27602142-thewrap-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/postThumbnails/0116d0af9e.jpg
- **Posted:** 2025-03-20T16:52:17.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** The Wrap (@thewrap) — https://gondola.cc/thewrap

## Caption

Content Warning: ‼️ This story includes graphic descriptions of traumatic events that may be disturbing or triggering to some readers. Please proceed with caution.

#HassanYoussef is the classic rags-to-riches story. Born in Quebec, Canada, to immigrant Lebanese parents, he climbed his way to vast wealth by building a digital empire — first in porn, and now in entertainment news.

The founder and CEO of #Valnet, based in Montreal, owns Screen Rant, Collider, MovieWeb and the comic book news site CBR, which according to the company, collectively drives 260 million page views every month. 

In the past decade, Valnet has scooped up most of the independently owned fan-facing news sites and is constantly seeking to acquire more, regularly sending pitch emails to independent content owners to buy them out and add traffic to its online juggernaut. 

“Valnet has one clear goal: become the greatest content and digital investment company the world has ever seen,” boasted a press release announcing the acquisition of tech site How-To Geek in 2023. The company does not disclose revenues.

But there’s a wrinkle in this story of a bootstrapping entrepreneur. When Valnet takes over a fan site, the playbook is well established: employees are replaced by contractors, compensation plummets and when writers complain they land on a blacklist so they can’t work for Valnet sites at all.

## Stats

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- **Comments:** 4

## Tags

hassanyoussef, valnet

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