The news: Meta’s AI app is drawing backlash as users unknowingly publish private chats—some serious—under real names due to a confusing share feature, per TechCrunch. Many people thought they were using the chatbot or saving notes in private, only to find that their prompts—which included topics like gender identity, medical concerns, tax evasion, and job interviews—were visible to strangers. Our take: This episode poses significant issues for Meta regarding the metaverse, AI, and advertising.

The news: Pinterest will host high-performing influencer content posted on affiliate shopping platform LTK, automatically bringing popular images from the platform to Pinterest, according to The Verge. Pinterest also hired Chip Jessopp, former Amazon director of global accounts and ad tech sales, as head of programmatic, per Digiday. Jessopp will help Pinterest create new demand channels while scaling its programmatic abilities. Our take: Pinterest’s moves could better position it as a legitimate competitor in digital advertising and a promising growth area for influencers and marketers—giving the platform more legs against social commerce giants like Meta and TikTok.

The number of social network users in the US will tick up 1.7% YoY this year, while adult users will see almost 2% growth. But time spent on social networks among adult users will peak this year, meaning the battle for engagement is on.

The news: Snapchat and McDonald’s have launched a collaboration giving MyMcDonald’s Rewards members a chance to exchange points for a one-month Snapchat+ subscription. The offer marks the first time McDonald’s is offering a digital subscription service as a reward. The program is only available to new Snapchat+ subscribers. Our take: Snapchat’s decision to collaborate with McDonald’s shows its evolving strategy to bolster user monetization through premium subscriptions. Attracting new users to the platform and convincing them to become long-term paid subscribers could help alleviate this issue.

The news: A CBS investigation discovered hundreds of deepfake ads on Meta platforms promoting “nudify” apps that create sexually explicit content based on images of real people. The analysis of Meta’s ad library found at minimum hundreds of deepfake ads across Facebook, Instagram, Threads, Facebook Messenger, and Meta Audience Network. Our take: The rise of deepfakes on major platforms like Meta emphasizes AI’s potential to erode consumer trust and raise brand safety risks—forcing advertisers to navigate a growing gap between innovation and lagging safeguards.

On today’s podcast episode, we discuss how Americans’ feelings towards AI have changed this year, the gaps in concern between AI experts and the general public, and the best ways to get started with AI. Join Senior Director of Podcasts and host Marcus Johnson, Analyst Grace Harmon, and Senior Vice President of Media Content and Strategy Henry Powderly. Listen everywhere and watch on YouTube and Spotify.

The news: Meta is in talks to invest upwards of $10 billion in Scale AI, a data labeling startup. The deal would be Meta’s biggest ever external AI investment and could help it position its Llama large language model (LLM) as an industry standard, per Bloomberg. Scale AI has already partnered with Meta to develop Defense Llama, an LLM designed for military use that’s built on Llama 3, and also works with Meta competitors like Microsoft and OpenAI. Our take: Meta’s massive investment could draw antitrust scrutiny in an era of acqui-hires. The outcome of active probes in Big Tech partnerships could influence regulatory action, especially if this investment contains any exclusivity that limits model training resources for other companies.

The news: Quality control is a growing fear for advertisers as an Adweek investigation found ads from major brands appeared near offensive and inappropriate content. Ads from brands like Amazon and Verizon were found near sexual or racially offensive content on the Android short-form video app XShorts. Our take: Advertisers are increasingly faced with a digital landscape where programmatic ad buying lacks the quality control required to keep up with rapid innovation and demand for ad space—prompting renewed calls for transparency, verification, and human oversight in automated systems.

Canada trails just one country—the US—in average daily time spent with media. That means plenty of opportunity for media buyers to reach audiences across a range of devices and services.

The news: Meta is planning another VR headset, codenamed Loma, to compete with Apple’s beleaguered Vision Pro, per The Wall Street Journal. The product will look similar to its Ray-Ban Meta Smart Glasses—rather than a traditional headset goggles design—and feature higher-fidelity video than the Quest line of headsets. Meta is offering millions of dollars to Disney, A24, and others for exclusive IP-based gaming content to avoid the Vision Pro’s pitfall of lacking compelling content. Our take: Meta’s renewed headset push shows the company is learning from past missteps, but success will hinge on whether Loma can offer must-have experiences at a justifiable price.

The news: TikTok announced updates to its ad capabilities focused on the evolving creator ecosystem at its fifth annual TikTok World event. Updates included an analytics tool for audience insights at different stages of the buying cycle, promotions targeting audiences likely to take action, and multiple changes to TikTok One. Our take: TikTok’s new offerings are key to reassuring advertisers and creators that the platform’s influencer tools still outperform rivals. The features will convince advertisers that TikTok is essential to connect with relevant creators, while showing creators that TikTok remains the best place to make partnerships.

Tools like Smart+ and Content Suite help brands find trending creator content, predict ad success, and target more precisely.

It will rely on automated systems to approve algorithm updates and safety features, potentially sidelining privacy teams and risking half-baked feature launches.

XChat introduces file sharing, disappearing messages, and calls—but user skepticism over privacy and vague “Bitcoin-style” encryption may hinder adoption.

Businesses could soon plug in budgets and products, and Meta will handle the rest—threatening the role of agencies in the digital ad pipeline.

A successful affiliate strategy means casting a wide net: Captiv8 data shared with EMARKETER shows that each influencer size category has strategic benefits that shouldn’t be overlooked.

The R1-0528 model nearly matches OpenAI and Google on reasoning, offering a tantalizing preview of what the cheaper, open-source future of AI could look like.

Fewer content removals signal better precision, but reduced proactivity could slow responses to hate speech and misinformation.

Facebook is projected to lose users in several major markets: Meta may need to lean more heavily on its other platforms to sustain growth.

Separating research from product lets Meta build faster, think longer term, and prove it’s serious about becoming more than a social media company.