Welcome to Social Media Buzz Weekly, your weekly bulletin of the latest social media updates. With the social media landscape evolving with each passing day, it can be challenging to keep a tab on the rapid developments. Well, not anymore, as we have taken it upon ourselves to keep you abreast of every happening in the social media space.
So, without any further ado, let’s look at some of the most significant developments from the last week in the world of social media.
1. Meta Is Generating Images of Users to Spark More Interest in Its AI Tools
Meta is experimenting with another way to show off its generative AI engine, by creating images of actual users, then displaying them to those users in-stream.
Meta is now using people’s selfie images, that have been uploaded to its generative AI image tools, to then create custom AI depictions of them in different, imagined scenarios. Meta has confirmed that it is testing this out, and that some users are seeing these bizarre depictions in-stream. Last month, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg claimed that its Meta AI chatbot now has close to 600 million monthly active users, making it the most used AI chatbot tool in the world.
2. Meta Appoints New Board Members, Including UFC Chief Dana White
Meta has announced three new board members, in Exor CEO John Elkann, investor Charlie Songhurst, and UFC chief Dana White.
The most notable inclusion here is White, who’s been a strong supporter of Donald Trump, and even spoke at the Republican National Convention last year. White also supported Trump’s 2020 campaign, and has spoken on Trump’s behalf at some of his rallies. The inclusion of such a strong Trump ally on the Meta board could help to ease tensions with the incoming President, who, at one stage, had threatened to jail Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg if he were to regain power, due to the company’s perceived political bias.
Trump was specifically referring to Meta’s decision to suspend his Facebook and IG accounts back in 2021, following the Capitol riots, while key Trump ally Elon Musk has also been a strong critic of Zuckerberg and his politically-motivated actions.
3. Meta Is Getting Rid of Fact-Checks and Switching to Community Notes
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has announced that the company is discontinuing its fact-checking program, and moving to an X-style “Community Notes” system for clarifying claims made by users in its apps, while it’s also looking to bring more political content back to its apps.
Meta’s new Chief Global Affairs Officer Joel Kaplan said that this approach has worked on X, “where they empower their community to decide when posts are potentially misleading and need more context.” However, it’s worth noting that Community Notes require agreement between people with a range of perspectives to help prevent biased ratings.
This limits the capacity of Community Notes to be applied to some of the most divisive, politically-motivated content in the app, because on some issues, like election interference, immigration, “stolen” elections, etc., there will never be full spectrum agreement. As such, reports have found that the vast majority of proposed Community Notes are never displayed.
4. TikTok Adds More Generative AI Features
TikTok has launched a range of helpful, complementary AI features that align with usage trends, as opposed to trying to get you to generate images of random junk.
Over the last month, TikTok has continued to expand its generative AI elements, with the addition of options like its “AI Group Shot” tool, which enables users to add images of themselves and their friends to an image template. TikTok is working on more AI tools that align with this, including the capacity to easily convert your own images into trending memes.
Moreover, it’s also developing enhancements in its editing and creation tools, including AI-based suggestions for video captions.That could help you maximize your content opportunities, by giving you caption suggestions that align with search trends in the app.
5. TikTok Knew Its Live-Streams Exploit Children, Utah Lawsuit Claims
TikTok has long known its video live-streams encourage sexual conduct and exploit children yet turned a blind eye because it “profited significantly” from them, according to newly unsealed material in a lawsuit by the state of Utah.
The accusations have been made public ahead of a January 19 ban on TikTok in the United States unless its China-based owner, ByteDance, sells the popular social media app. Utah’s original lawsuit accusing TikTok of exploiting children was filed last June by the state’s Division of Consumer Protection, with state Attorney General Sean Reyes saying the TikTok Live streaming feature created a “virtual strip club” by connecting victims to adult predators in real time.
6. Justice Department Asks Supreme Court to Reject Trump's Bid to Delay TikTok Ban
The Justice Department has urged the Supreme Court to reject Donald Trump’s request to delay a law that would ban TikTok in the United States if it isn’t sold by its Chinese parent company.
The DoJ urged justices to uphold the law despite Trump’s argument that he could negotiate a deal after his inauguration later this month. The department said TikTok hasn’t demonstrated it can prevail in its case to justify a pause, and that Trump didn’t argue that the company could succeed.
7. X Tests Dedicated Video Tab in Lower Function Bar
X looks to be close to launching a new button along the bottom function bar of the app, with its dedicated, immersive video feed to be directly accessible in one tap.
The bottom function bar on X is set to get a revamp, with a new icon for Grok, its AI chatbot, and a quick link to its full-screen video feed. Given that X keeps touting itself as a “video first platform”, this makes sense. The update would put more emphasis on video content, and as X continues to build out its slate of original video programming, that’s slowly becoming a more critical focus for its business planning, in regards to audience retention and ad placement.
8. X Plans to Launch ‘Money’ in Limited Form This Year
X CEO Linda Yaccarino noted in a post that X Money would be among several launches planned for the coming months.
X has been granted payment transmitter licenses in 38 U.S. states thus far, but X withdrew its application for a license in New York early last year, after a legal filing was made in opposition to its payments push, which questioned the “fitness and character” of X to hold such authority. The main concern noted within that filing is that X has “troubling and deep ties” to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, due to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman being an investor in Musk’s X project.
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the filing alleges, has a long history of brutality and repression, which it claims have been “fueled and enabled” by the platform itself.
Wrapping Up
And that was a wrap of this week’s Social Media Buzz. We’ll be back next week with more news and updates for you from the social media world. Till then, stay tuned!
If you want to read more on the latest developments taking place in the social media space, take a look at ClickInsights’ Social Media Buzz, wherein we bring to you monthly reports on everything going on in social media, ranging from platform updates to policy changes that influence the way we market.
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