Trust and method
Editorial standards
How this blog reports, sources, corrects and discloses AI assistance. The short version: primary documents first, every figure dated, and no invented quotes or first-hand experiences.
Who publishes this blog
1-in-8-billion.com is an independent edition of the 1 in 8 Billion idea. It is not affiliated with 1in8b.life , the original project. The blog is published by the same editorial desk that writes and maintains this edition.
We build a browser life simulator on public statistics: UN World Population Prospects 2024, UN IGME, World Bank WDI, WHO and UNESCO. That is our first-hand experience — we work with these datasets and their modelling limits every day. It is also a bias. We are interested in this genre and in this interpretation of it. We disclose that rather than pretend to be neutral.
What counts as original data
Original data means numbers we collected or calculated ourselves, with the method stated in the article. In this blog that currently means:
- YouTube snapshots: a fixed set of market-language searches, videos deduplicated by video ID, public view counts recorded on a stated date.
- Percentages calculated from those snapshots, with the inputs shown.
- Google Trends exports, with the query, region and window named.
These are samples, not censuses. A YouTube search is personalized and incomplete; public view counts move after the snapshot. We say so in the article instead of presenting a sample as an audit.
How we source
Primary documents first: the official site, published interviews, developer posts and public data releases. Then reputable secondary reporting. Every number in an article carries a source and a date. When a figure is self-reported by the developer, we label it. When a figure is our calculation, we show the inputs. When we cannot verify a claim, we leave it out or mark it as unverified.
Where an article relies on a translation, we say so. Where a timeline comes from a third-party compilation, we name the compiler and note which dates we could not verify independently.
What we don’t do
- We do not invent quotes, statistics, tests or first-hand experiences.
- We do not present a simulation as a forecast.
- We do not accept payment for coverage or links.
- We do not publish a correction silently.
AI disclosure
This site, including this blog, is produced with AI assistance. Drafts are generated with AI and checked against the sources cited in each article. AI is not used to fabricate quotes, data or reporting. The editorial decisions — what to cover, what to leave out, what to correct — are ours. If you believe a passage is wrong, tell us.
Corrections and updates
Email [email protected] with the article URL and the claim you believe is wrong. We check the source. If we change the article, we add a dated note at the bottom and update the “last updated” date. We do not remove a correction because it is inconvenient.
Independence and funding
The blog has no ads, sponsors, affiliate links or paid placement. The site is free to play. The original game’s optional keepsake pass is not sold here, and nothing in an article is influenced by a commercial relationship.
Contact
Questions, corrections and data issues: [email protected]. For the simulator’s data sources and modelling limits, see About this edition.
Cite this blog
1 in 8 Billion editorial desk. “Why 1 in 8 Billion went viral.” 1-in-8-billion.com, 27 October 2026. https://1-in-8-billion.com/blog/why-1-in-8-billion-went-viral/ .