YouTube has celebrated its 20th anniversary.

In the early 2000s, Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim, three colleagues from PayPal, came up with a dating site where anyone could upload videos; however, the platform did not gain popularity. The idea for creating YouTube emerged later, in February 2004, in the days following the Super Bowl — the championship game of American football. The website Youtube.com was launched on February 14, 2005.

The ability to upload videos was introduced on April 23. The first video was uploaded by Jawed Karim, titled "Me at the Zoo": it featured a young man standing in front of the elephant enclosure at the San Diego Zoo, humorously discussing the animals' behavior.

In 2006, Google acquired YouTube.com for $1.65 billion. This marked the beginning of a revenue-driven operation: YouTube brought together videographers, editors, ad creators, and advertisers seeking an audience. Experts believe that the absence of studios and significant production costs, along with user-generated content, gives YouTube a considerable advantage over traditional media.