Telegram’s “$300m deal” with xAI is hot...

... but Elon Musk says it's NOT

Author

Matt Navarra
May 30, 2025

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Hello, geeks!

Welcome to your geeky download of everything new in social this week.

Coming up…

… Telegram’s $300 million deal with Elon Musk’s xAI (that Musk now says is NOT a deal)

… Meta’s went full Skynet in new partnership to build AI-powered products for the U.S Military

… TikTok’s ‘Goodnight’ trend raises questions about men’s loneliness crisis

… 60+ NEW TikTok, Instagram, LinkedIn, WhatsApp features spotted in the wild

… Plus 4 WILD new AI tools for social media managers

But first, this 👇 is worth checking out…

🔥 This 2025 IRL Marketing Trends report reveals how 100+ super-brands—from Disney to BMW—are breaking through the social noise [Ad]

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Geeking Out in Italy 🇮🇹

Next week, I’m heading back to Italy to speak at one of my favourite events — We Make Future in Bologna (June 4–6).

It’s my second time on stage at the festival after last summer’s social media deep dive.

This year? I’m back with ‘The State of Social in 2025’ — my breakdown of the biggest shifts brands, creators, and marketers need to know.

I’ll be covering everything from the TikTok ban fallout and the importance of decentralised platforms…

…To AI’s growing grip on content and engagement, the future of short-form video, social commerce, and the rise of the ‘unhinged’ social media manager.

WMF is massive — over 70,000 attendees, 1,000+ speakers, and 90 stages across three days.

Plus a huge expo floor packed with 3,000+ exhibitors and startups.

The content is 🔥. The food? Even better. And the Italian sunshine 👌.

Based near Bologna? Or attending the event? Let’s meet up.

Drop me a message here. Would love to say hi IRL.

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SPONSORED - 2025 TRENDS REPORT - FREE
The #1 Marketing Trend of 2025? Real-World Impact

Flowcode’s new 2025 Trend Report reveals how 100+ leading brands — from Disney to BMW — are shifting budgets offline to break through digital noise.

What’s inside:

  • 💬 QR codes that drive real conversions (like $1.8M in merch from one tour!)

  • 📍 The rise of hyper-local activations

  • 📊 How top brands are capturing first-party data without cookies

  • 📺 Why “clickable TV” and OOH are the new performance channels

Plus…

The campaigns that crushed it in 2024 & the playbook to win IRL in 2025.

👉📈 Download 2025 Trends Report now

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🔥 GEEKOUT HOT 5

Geekout’s pick of the hottest headlines in social this week:

Elon Musk's xAI is paying Telegram $300 million to adopt Grok

However, the deal was quickly fact-checked hours later, when Elon Musk rejected Telegram CEO Durov’s claims stating that “no deal has been signed”

  1. Meta’s Fate Now Rests With Judge as FTC Antitrust Case Concludes [JUDGING]

  2. U.S. Will Ban Foreign Officials to Punish Countries for Social Media Rules [RETALIATING]

  3. Meta Teams Up With Anduril to Make AI-Powered Products For U.S. Military [SKYNET-ING]

  4. Tate Brothers Hit With 21 Criminal Charges Including Rape in the UK [PROSECUTING]

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🚨 EVERYONE’S TALKING ABOUT…

Opinions and moderation are becoming even more of a worldwide battlefield in the Trump II era

US will ban foreign officials to punish countries for social media rules

Social media has been a battleground of ideas for well over a decade at this point, but that battleground is becoming increasingly politicised… and you might end up feeling the brunt of it yourself.

News broke this week that the US State Department will restrict visas for foreign officials that support content moderation ‘censorship,’ an apparent response to the EU’s tough new laws on moderation.

Set aside the fact that the Trump administration is pretty keen on censorship itself, the idea that the US would get super-aggressive over allies’ approaches to something as everyday as content moderation (attitudes to which vary around the world) would have been unthinkable less than a year ago.

Meanwhile, it’s not just foreign officials who might have trouble getting into the US. The US has paused the visa process for students wanting to study in the US as it prepares to more closely vet their social media posts.

While we don’t yet know what this vetting will look for, the Trump administration’s attempts to deport pro-Palestinian students could give us an idea.

But whatever they look for, the idea that something you posted years ago might make you unable to travel to the US is a frightening thought - especially if the policy is expanded more widely.

Think of the implications for work - might employers pre-vet job applicants even more closely, to make sure they’re likely to be able to travel to meetings in the US? Might your big family holiday to Florida be off the cards because you once made a joke about Donald Trump?

I’m speculating, obviously, but it’s a short leap from where we are now to a world where that is a reality. The people REALLY smiling will be those who have always avoided social media entirely 🙃

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✨ NEW & NOTEWORTHY

Everything else you need to know from the past seven days…

Meta / Facebook / Messenger 👥

Messenger now lets you pin your favourite chats

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Instagram ✨

Instagram now support 3:4 aspect ratio photos

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WhatsApp 🟢 / Threads 🧵

WhatsApp’s new Instagram-style features update

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Twitter (‘X’) 🤡

  • X launched X Originals, a new home for original content, featuring 300+ episodes across 17 shows

  • X paused encrypted DMs as it rebuilds its messaging platform…

  • …but X has also launched a new beta Chat feature with end-to-end encryption and a four-digit code for added security.

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YouTube 📺

YouTube’s new split-screen ads for livestreams

  • YouTube launched split-screen ads for livestreams, which roll as you watch

  • YouTube will soon let viewers use Google Lens to search what they see while watching Shorts

  • YouTube will now auto-review videos flagged for ‘limited or no ads’, cutting the need for creators to request manual checks

  • YouTube is pitching brand sponsorships tied to cultural events like the Oscars and PGA

  • YouTube has been spotted giving its mini-player a new look

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TikTok 📱

TikTok’s new ‘Link’ sticker for Stories | Image: Lindsey Gamble

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LinkedIn / Discord / Pinterest / More… 💼

  • LinkedIn now offers creators more detailed analytics for text and video posts, revealing the impact of individual posts on new profile views, follows, and link clicks on your profile’s custom button

  • LinkedIn now has a searchable database of all promoted jobs in the app

  • LinkedIn’s Video tab is now called Today’s Top Trends

  • LinkedIn launched a Learning Career Hub to boost skill growth and internal mobility

  • Discord is testing unskippable, reward-based video ads, a major monetisation shift beyond Nitro subscriptions

  • Discord is rolling out ‘Orbs’, a virtual currency users can earn by completing ad-driven Quests.

  • Twitch creators accused the platform of “double-taxing” their income with a new feature that lets streamers buy gift subs and Bits using their unpaid earnings.

  • Pinterest signed its first sports deal ever, with the New York Liberty

  • Spotify added a new podcast feed, mentions section, and threaded comments

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🔥 Want to see more hot NEW features spotted in the wild this week?

Just head to the ‘More news’ section below!

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🤖 SOCIAL A.I.

The newest social media A.I. features spotted this week:

Discord might use AI to help you catch up on conversations

The company just celebrated its 10th anniversary.

Also spotted this week 👀

  • Instagram added the ability to write with Meta AI directly in Stories

  • Google’s new AI Mode offers direct answers from Reddit posts — without sending users to Reddit

  • xAI’s Grok added ‘Workplaces’ to help you group files, chats, and custom instructions for seamless, organized workflows

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⚖️ META ON TRIAL

The latest from FTC v. Meta:

The trial’s first phase is now all wrapped up after Meta completed its defence:

Meta’s antitrust defense wraps with one big claim: WhatsApp and Instagram couldn’t be better

Instagram’s co-founder testified it had stifled it.

What happens next?

  • Both sides will have a chance to file follow-up briefings this summer.

  • The judge presiding over the case said he would work “expeditiously” to decide whether Meta broke the law.

  • Prediction: The FTC has struggled to prove its case, making a forced breakup of Meta highly unlikely.

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😆 LOL

Tap through for the GIF on this one for maximum effect 👇

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🌡️ VIRAL

Is TikTok’s latest viral trend spotlighting a male loneliness crisis?

Or is it just a bit of fun?

“A new trend that’s been circulating on social media has grown men reaching out to their buddies to say “good night,” and sometimes even “sweet dreams.”

A TikTok trend has men calling to wish their friends 'good night.' What does that say about male loneliness?

Many find the videos funny, because they're unexpected—but experts say that's exactly what men are sorely missing.

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🪧 BRANDS

This is a fun read:

“Supermarkets were once the trendsetters, studying popular items on restaurant menus and recreating them on their shelves. Now the big shops are the ones being influenced, says Zoe Simons, a brand development chef at Waitrose.”

From matcha lattes to Dubai chocolate – how supermarkets fight to cope with TikTok trends

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🙊 WHAT DID YOU SAY?!

“It’s the equivalent of putting our kids in cars with no seat belts, with no air bags, and having them drive on roads with no speed limits and no traffic lights…

“And that is just morally unacceptable.”

– Former US surgeon general Vivek Murthy says Congress has failed to protect kids from social media’s mental health harms

Also overheard this week:

  • Ex-Meta exec Nick Clegg on why asking artists for use permission would ‘kill’ the AI industry:

    “I just don’t know how you go around, asking everyone first. I just don’t see how that would work,” Clegg said. “And by the way if you did it in Britain and no one else did it, you would basically kill the AI industry in this country overnight.”

  • Meta chief AI scientist Yann LeCun says current AI models still can’t match basic human (or animal) intelligence

    He believes AI models are still missing four essential traits: understanding the physical world, memory, reasoning, and complex planning

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📺 MUST WATCH

Oh this is going to be good…

With Succession and Peep Show, Jesse Armstrong has been a creative force behind two of the funniest TV shows this century.

Now he’s back with Mountainhead, a movie starring Steve Carell about tech moguls taking a retreat together up a mountain… just as the world unravels thanks to the chaos and misinformation their platforms have let rip.

It’s on HBO and Max in the US from tomorrow, and then Sky Cinema and NOW in the UK from Sunday…

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👀 MY FAV READS

I ask this question often…. Like seriously… why? 👇

“Imagine if your favourite neighbourhood bar turned into a Nazi hangout…”

What Are People Still Doing on X?

Also:

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😮 WTF?!

ENGAGEMENT BAIT: This image-based post hit 51M views in Q1 2025. It uses an old trick: post a basic math puzzle with clickbait text like “only for genius.”

Meta has yet to crack down on this classic engagement bait.

A fake Facebook event disguised as a math problem has been one of its top posts for 6 months

Also this week 👀

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🤦‍♂️ FAIL

INSTA-DRAIN: Yikes. If your Android battery’s been tanking, Google says Instagram might be the culprit.

Fix: Update the app to the latest version.

Google says to update Instagram to fix Android battery drain issue

Also:

  • Elon Musk’s X continued to suffer glitches days after a data centre fire, potentially exposing weaknesses in the platforms reliability

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📲 NEW AI TOOLS

Try the latest is AI productivity for social pros:

Sociable AI is designed to make a community manager’s life easier. It automates reactive and proactive tasks…

“Sociable AI enable brands to spread brand awareness on social media by commenting early on viral posts their audience cares about.”

“The platform predicts trending content and drafts funny, relatable comments and automates DMs based on your brand voice.”

Automate social media engagement with AI | Sociable AI

More new AI tools worth checking out:

  • Coso.ai: “Turn hours of drafting content and figuring out what to post, into a couple of minutes approving content”

  • Kawaak: “Turn your expertise into viral LinkedIn posts”

  • Distro: “Transform your ideas into compelling content through natural conversations. Distro AI Studio helps you create, edit, and publish faster than ever.”

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👔 YOU’RE HIRED!

Hot new social media jobs worth checking out this week:

Eventbrite needs a Social Media Coordinator [Remote, USA]

More top social media jobs spotted this week 💼

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👌 PRO TIPS

“STN Digital founder David Brickley shares lessons learned from award-winning work with Kobe Bryant, Elton John, Caitlin Clark, and others.”

A social marketing guru shares the keys to successful campaigns

More pro-tips worth checking out ✨

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📊 SOCIAL STATS

1 BILLION

- The number of Meta AI active users, according to Mark Zuckerberg

Even more social stats: 📈

  • VIOLENCE: Violent content on Facebook jumped from 0.07% to 0.09% and harassment from 0.07% to 0.08%.

  • BIG IG: 92% of social media professionals say Instagram is their priority in 2025

  • GETTING BETTER?: Meta claims a 50% drop in US moderation enforcement errors since it shifted to Community Notes earlier this year

  • GROK STOP: 25% of European organisations have banned Elon Musk’s Grok chatbot over privacy and misinformation concerns, according to a recent study by cybersecurity company Netskope

  • SNAP DECISION: Snap says 65% of Snapchatters rely on AI to get outfit ideas, and 63% say AR tools reduce their need to go in-store

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📈 CHARTED

Social media pros find TikTok (32%) the toughest platform to crack in 2025

Other insights from a new survey of 825+ social media professionals by Rachel Karten (Link-In-Bio), include…

– 92% say Instagram is their priority in 2025
– LinkedIn (52%) beats TikTok (50%) for the #2 spot
– 70.3% say carousels perform best
– 66.9% rank short-form video as top format
– 59% say they moved their brand off X
– 60% would pick Instagram if stuck with just one social app
– 51% of SMMs feel worse off vs last year
– The most admired brands on social in 2025: Duolingo, Dunkin, National Parks Service

More charted social insights spotted this week: 👀.

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💥 EVEN MORE SOCIAL MEDIA NEWS & UPDATES

If algorithms radicalize a mass shooter, are companies to blame?

The Buffalo shooter says he was radicalized by memes.

  • A German court rejected a push to block Meta from using public Facebook and Instagram posts to train AI. [Reuters $$$]

  • Meta’s original Llama creators are fleeing—many to rival French startup Mistral. Just 3 of the 14 authors of the 2023 Llama research paper still work at Meta. [Business Insider $$$]

  • The tech trial behind Australia’s under-16 social media ban is running late, with a core report now due in July. [The Guardian]

  • Texas has joined Utah in passing a law requiring Apple and Google to verify user age before app downloads. [Social Media Today]

  • Google has defeated Rumble’s antitrust lawsuit, with a judge ruling the case missed the legal deadline by years, although Rumble still has another case active against the tech giant. [MediaPost]

More new features and tests:

  • Facebook has started sending invites to creators to switch to the new content monetisation program to keep earning, as In-stream Ads, Ads on Reels, and Performance Bonus will be shut down after August 31. [@theahmedghanem]

  • WhatsApp is working on an accessibility feature that increases contrast by darkening key interface colours. [WABetaInfo]

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📰 WEEKEND READS

Geekout’s pick of the best longer reads to sink into over the weekend:

“We all know that social media often portrays a highlight reel, and the same goes for relationships online…”

What Is a Social Media Prenup and Do You Need One?

More great weekend reads:

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😳 AND FINALLY…

Going bald? Know someone losing their hair?

This Discord community is…. developing its own hair loss drugs 🤯

Inside the Discord Community Developing Its Own Hair Loss Drugs

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📅 BACK NEXT WEEK…

And that’s everything that went down in social this week.

I’m heading off to pack for my trip to Italy.

The vibe i’m aiming for: Italian summer chic.

The vibe i can pull off:

Goodbye, geeks!

P.S. This newsletter is edited by Martin SFP Bryant

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