A possible plague case in Siberia, and Forbes' short guide to the scare
The Short's comment section filled far faster than the channel's usual, and a Ray Dalio warning about an AI bubble had a quick start of its own.
Forbes
Story of Why this story? The video opened at a pace of 64,174 views a day, 41 times a normal first day on this channel (1,570).
What To Know About The Russian Plague Scare
"What To Know About The Russian Plague Scare" is a Forbes Short about a news item that sounds older than it is: a potential case of pneumonic plague identified in Russia, and federal agencies working together to monitor travelers arriving from Siberia. The description keeps the tone level. Health officials say they are confident the threat to Americans is "extremely low," and President Donald Trump says Russia claims to have the situation "very much under control."
That was enough to bring people in. Seven hours after it went up, the Short had close to 30,000 views, far more than a Forbes Short usually gathers in its entire first day. The comments moved faster still: 80 in those hours, on a channel whose Shorts typically collect a couple on day one.
The conversation goes in several directions. Some viewers reach for pandemic-era jokes about stocking up on toilet paper. One, who lived in northern New Mexico for years, points out that the disease still turns up there now and then. Others doubt the official reassurances, Russian and international alike. A video with the same title went up again the next day and has already gone further.
It was not the channel's only quick starter. "Billionaire Ray Dalio Warns AI Bubble Could Soon Burst" also ran well ahead of a usual Forbes Short. In it, the founder of Bridgewater Associates says the artificial intelligence bubble is nearing the point where it may burst, as interest rates rise and technology companies borrow heavily to fund the AI build-out. Both stood out on a day when the channel overall ran quieter than normal.
The rest of the day's uploads kept closer to Forbes' usual ground: a $2.3 billion mortgage-tech unicorn, and Michael Dell's fortune jumping to just behind Larry Page's among the world's richest.
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- Channel
- Forbes
- Subscribers
- 2,190,000
- Channel views, last 7 days
- 1,703,402
- Channel views, pace per day
- 164,975 (on a normal day: 228,822)
- Video published
- October 7, 2026
- Video views so far
- 29,380 (less than a day online)
- Video views, pace per day
- 64,174
The numbers
Both Shorts started far ahead of what this channel's Shorts usually do on their first day, and the comments on the plague video ran even further ahead.
