The Dodo

The Dodo is an American digital media brand dedicated to animal stories and wildlife content, built around short-form video featuring rescued, adopted, and wild animals distributed primarily via social media platforms. In June 2026, The Dodo was among the Vox Media titles acquired by Penske Media Corporation, incorporated into the new PMX Global subsidiary alongside The Verge, Eater, SB Nation, Popsugar, and Thrillist, under president Ryan Pauley; James Murdoch's Lupa Systems acquired the remaining Vox assets, including New York magazine and Vox.com, simultaneously.

The Dodo was founded in 2014 and built its audience through emotionally resonant short videos of animals being rescued, adopted, or reuniting with owners, designed for high-volume social sharing on Facebook, YouTube, and later Instagram and TikTok. Group Nine Media, a social-first holding company, grew The Dodo alongside NowThis, Thrillist, and Seeker as its anchor social-video brands. The Dodo consistently ranked among the most-watched video channels on Facebook and among the most-shared media publishers globally. Vox Media absorbed The Dodo when it merged with Group Nine in early 2022. The brand's video output prioritises emotional resonance over news value, giving it a distinctive model compared with other Vox and PMX editorial titles.

The Dodo's value to Penske Media lies primarily in its social-video audience and production capability rather than in traditional web traffic or search-driven reach, distinguishing it from editorial-first brands in the same PMX bundle. Its model of high-volume, emotionally-charged animal content has proved more resilient to algorithmic platform changes than text-based publishers, and its ability to generate audience engagement across successive platform shifts, from Facebook to TikTok, gives it a different risk and opportunity profile from the news and entertainment titles acquired alongside it.