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Hello, geeks!

Just when you think the social media circus can’t get any weirder…

Elon’s Grok turns up like a drunk hype man with a thesaurus and a God complex.

Buckle up and brace yourself. Coming up in this week’s Geekout…

  • Zuckerberg won another fight… this time it was Meta vs. FTC. And weirdly, TikTok may have helped him win 🥊

  • Chinese spy agents are using LinkedIn to target British MPs… but if their carousels suck + there’s no #ad disclosure. Unforgivable 🕵️‍♂️

  • Elon could drink piss better than any human… says Grok, who also said he’s fitter than LeBron. Humble 💩

I did warn you it was super-f**king weird!

__________

Plus, this week’s batch of platform updates are wild…

  • WhatsApp is bringing back an old feature (because retro is in)

  • TikTok wants to help you stop doomscrolling at 2am

  • YouTube’s testing a new DM inbox for share shorts with friends

  • Snapchat launched public group chats called ‘Topics’ (remember when it was just for nudes?)

Grab a coffee. Let’s unpack the madness.

P.S. These are GOLD! 👇

  • The ONE tool that finally saved me from “Final_v17.doc” social report hell. [ad]

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  • The FREE newsletter 130,000+ creators trust for insider info, including me.

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🔥 GEEKOUT HOT 5

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

Meta wins FTC antitrust trial that focused on WhatsApp, Instagram

Meta won its case against the Federal Trade Commission, seven months after the trial began. And TikTok inadvertently helped tip the balance.

  1. Disney and YouTube TV strike a truce after 15 days of chaos [SETTLING]

  2. MI5 warns Chinese spy agents use LinkedIn to target UK MPs [SPOOKING]

  3. Grok’s Elon Musk worship is getting weird following latest update [CRINGING]

  4. Adobe acquired digital marketing platform Semrush for $1.9B [ACQUIRING]

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🚨 EVERYONE’S TALKING ABOUT

Meta wins against the FTC’s weak-sauce case

Meta does not have social media monopoly, judge rules

Mark Zuckerberg will be breathing easier this week after the US Federal Trade Commission LOST its case against Meta.

The FTC had accused Meta of keeping rivals down by holding an illegal monopoly on social media in the US.

Meta might have done a lot of bad things over the years, but you and I both know that there’s no way it’s a monopoly.

Sure, buying Instagram and WhatsApp made Meta a much bigger, more valuable company, but the existence of thriving rivals like TikTok (so important there has been a massive five-year-long drama about whether it stays in the US) and YouTube means the FTC’s case fell apart like a cheap replica of one of Zuck’s luxury watches.

And here’s the thing: maybe Instagram becoming part of the same company as Facebook DID harm competition at one point. But you can hardly claim it’s had a long-lasting effect if you look at the market today.

It’s honestly a surprise that the FTC went ahead with such a weak-sauce case. It smelled of ‘we just want to get Meta however we can’ rather than a robust argument that the company was hurting the market.

Tech moves too fast to regulate properly. We see it with AI now. All the disagreements over how to build laws around an emerging technology just allow it to get bigger and potentially do harm in the meantime.

But hey, now this is settled, maybe it’s time for Zuck and his big tech friends to go deal shopping again? Upcoming social apps might expect a call sometime soon…

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✨ NEW & NOTEWORTHY

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

Meta  Meta / Facebook  Facebook / Messenger  Messenger

Facebook’s new Content Protection tool for creators | Image: Meta

  • Facebook has a new Content Protection tool to help creators safeguard their Reels from re-posts across Facebook + Instagram

  • Meta's Chief AI Scientist Yann LeCunn confirmed he is leaving after 12 years to launch an “Advanced Machine Intelligence” AI startup

  • Meta’s AI Vibes feed is a flop, with leaked internal data showing it’s struggling to hold people’s attention

  • Meta wants to expand Community Notes globally, and has asked the Oversight Board to weigh in on where that would be a bad idea

  • Meta now lets users share custom Hyperscape worlds with up to eight friends via a link

  • Meta is about to start grading workers on their AI skills

  • Meta has been accused of masking large-scale piracy of adult movies to train AI with a “personal use” excuse

  • Facebook Marketplace is testing a ‘View in Room’ tool, letting you preview furniture in your home

  • Facebook on iOS is widely rolling out its ‘Moods’ feature for Notes posted on Messenger

  • Messenger now auto-verifies encryption keys so users know their private chats are truly secure

  • Messenger is testing a new indicator in the chats tab that shows when a message includes a voice note

__________

Instagram  Instagram

Instagram for iOS now supports Dolby Vision for enhanced HDR | Image: Meta

__________

WhatsApp  WhatsApp / Threads  Threads

WhatsApp’s new ‘About’ status updates feature | Image: Meta

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X / Twitter  X (Twitter)

X launches revamped DM features with ‘Chat’ | Image: X

  • X rolled out ‘Chat’, its revamped DM features, to all users. It supports e2e encryption, video calls, and disappearing messages, but experts warn of security issues

  • X’s upcoming ‘About this account’ feature is set to note if an account is using a VPN

  • X is being investigated in France for alleged Holocaust denial

  • X is positioning itself as the digital hub for World Cup 2026, kicking off with Draw Day coverage

  • xAI is seeking $15 billion in fresh funding as it looks to expand Grok

  • xAI plans to release Grok 5 in Q1 2026, missing Musk’s earlier promise of a 2025 launch

__________

TikTok  TikTok

TikTok’s new well-being tools | Image: TikTok

__________

YouTube  YouTube

  • YouTube is quietly reviving its in-app DMs for sharing videos — years after social shifted to private chats. It’s a late move to match Instagram, TikTok, and Snapchat’s private sharing tools.

  • YouTube has a new drag-and-drop tool gives creators tighter control over timestamps for better playback accuracy. It’s also expanding access to its AI comment reply suggestions feature.

  • YouTube TV is offering ex-subscribers $60 off their first month to win them back after the Disney dispute was resolved

__________

Snapchat  Snapchat / LinkedIn  LinkedIn / Bluesky  Bluesky

Snapchat launches new public ‘Topic Chats’ feature | Image: Snap

  • Snapchat added Topic Chats, public chatrooms tied to trending events and popular culture, in a shift away from its private messaging roots

  • Snapchat officially launched on Amazon Fire Tablets via the Amazon Appstore

  • LinkedIn has been spotted giving Premium subscribers the opportunity to share a two-month free trial with a new connection

  • Telegram added live stories, star-powered auctions, and repeating scheduled messaging

  • Bluesky rolled out tighter moderation tools and a revamped strikes system for rule breakers

  • Twitch now requires UK users to complete facial scans to access 18+ content like gambling or alcohol

  • Mastodon’s founder and CEO has stepped down due to burnout. The platform will now be governed by a board

  • Canva added a true multi-track video timeline, shifting it from slideshow tool to a real editor

  • Roblox will soon require facial age checks to unlock chat features

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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 AI

The newest social media AI features spotted this week:

“Meta's new image segmentation models can identify objects and people and reconstruct them in 3D”

Meta's new image segmentation models can identify objects and people and reconstruct them in 3D

__________

Also spotted this week… 👀

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💀 LOL

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🌡️ VIRAL

TikTok creators are rallying around the idea of a ‘Great Meme Reset’ on 31 December.

The plan is to escape the ‘Great Meme Depression’ by reviving classic memes like Harambe and Nyan Cat.

The ‘Great Meme Reset’ Is Coming

__________

Also going viral this week… 🔥

  • Claims that LinkedIn gives male profiles more views than female profiles went viral this week, although LinkedIn insists it doesn’t use gender, age, or race to rank content

  • TikTok’s ‘lying challenge’ is weird, sweet, and taking over your feed

  • What’s the white rabbit TikTok trend? Check this explainer

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🪧 BRANDS

Marketers are waking up to the murky economics behind influencer deals.

Brands want to know how much of their spend actually reaches creators

The IAB is pushing to map the maze of agencies, reps, and platforms between brands + creators.

Now, a new “currency” akin to cost-per-click is in development to simplify creator pricing.

Marketers move to bring transparency to creator and influencer fees

__________

More brand social news this week… 👀

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🙊 WHAT DID YOU SAY?!

"It seems aggressive, but not crazy"

- Meta CMO Alex Schultz defends the company’s AI spending amid talk of a bubble that might soon go ‘pop’

-
__________

Also overheard this week: 👂

  • "LLMs are great, they're useful, we should invest in them — a lot of people are going to use them… They are not a path to human-level intelligence. They're just not. Right now, they are sucking the air out of the room anywhere they go — and so there's basically no resources [left] for anything else. And so for the next revolution, we need to take a step back and figure out what's missing from the current approaches."

    -

    – Outgoing Meta AI guru Yann LeCun offers some hints at why he’s set to leave the company

    -

  • “Additive, not addictive”

    -

    – Pinterest’s CTO describes its approach to AI features, wanting to enhance users’ lives, not get them hooked

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📖 MY FAVE READ

This is a great essay from the always smart Rachel Karten

Forget posting for your followers—new social feeds are built for strangers, not fans.

Strategies now hinge on scale (post more), storytelling (make it episodic), or a hybrid.

The feed may be your front door, but the real party’s in the DMs, channels, and fan-fuelled offline moments

Post-social media

It's time to rethink what the feed is for.

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📺 MUST WATCH

As social media pros, Adam Mosseri dominates a lot of our work with his constant changes to Instagram.

This Good Guys podcast interview digs deep for “a revealing, hilarious, and surprisingly heartfelt breakdown of how IG actually works.”

This one is fascinating and a lot of fun… Well worth a watch!

__________

And don’t miss:

.

😮 WTF?!

We probably shouldn’t be surprised… but Grok seems to have the hots to Elon Musk 😳

Its wild praise for Elon Musk includes claiming Elon...

  • ...is better than everyone at blowjobs, piss drinking, eating poop

  • ...is fitter than LeBron, smarter than da Vinci. and funnier than Seinfeld

  • ...could beat Mike Tyson, resurrect faster than Jesus, outperform porn star Riley Reid

Grok says that Elon Musk is a lean and wiry former streetfighter, if you were wondering how the impartial truth bot is currently functioning

__________

Also WTF this week… 👀

  • TikTok’s parrot craze has supercharged global demand for African greys, fuelling an illegal trade

  • Right-wing YouTube podcasters are driving a massive surge in ads tied to conservative values, with themes like masculinity, patriotism, and anti-establishment views

  • The Cambridge Dictionary has chosen ‘parasocial’ as its word of the year after interest in the word grew in the video streaming world

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🤦‍♂️ FAIL

Having started out leading social teams for various UK Government departments, this was painful to watch unfold…

That Department for Education’s ‘Apology’ post.

Is it so tone deaf they now need to post a real apology for it…?

Plenty of people thought so, including parents and teachers who think things have only got worse, and a smug ‘funny’ post is totally inappropriate.

It certainly has the whiff of the kind of posts we see coming out of the Trump White House, which, it turns out, don’t really work in the UK.

Ouch! 🫣

Instagram post

__________

Also…

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👔 YOU’RE HIRED!

Hot new social media jobs worth checking out this week:

British Cycling is looking for a Social Media Officer [Manchester, UK]

__________

More top social media jobs spotted this week

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🧪 SOCIAL SCIENCE

Worried about screen time before bed…? 📱

Researchers found…

  • People who used screens 5 or more nights a week slept better than those who used them just occasionally.

  • Regular users showed stronger sleep timing and daytime alertness than moderate scrollers.

Experts say it’s not just screen time—it’s what you’re doing.

Cozy scrolling is probably fine. Doomscrolling emails, not so much.

Turns Out TikTok Before Bed Might Not Be Wrecking Your Sleep After All

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👌 PRO TIPS

This is an insightful piece about Meta’s platform priorities in 2026, from Facebook’s former political strategist Kate Harbath:

“After a decade of building political strategy at Facebook and now working as a consultant with tech companies and major brands, I’ve developed a specific skill set: reading platform signals…”

“…Not just what they say publicly, but what their strategic emphasis reveals about where they’re investing and how they’re positioning against competitors”

Platform Priorities Decoded: What Meta's Teams Are Telling Strategic Partners Right Now

Tips to be successful on Facebook, Instagram and Threads

__________

More pro-tips worth checking out…

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📊 SOCIAL STATS

$67 MILLION

– The profits from Baby Shark in 2024. Nine years on, it’s still do-do-doing numbers

__________

Even more social stats: 📈

  • HOT SWAP: LinkedIn users have reported up to 700% more reach when switching profiles from female to male

  • LUKEWARM VIBES: Leaked documents show Meta’s Vibes AI feed hit 2 million daily users as of November 9, up 1% on previous week

  • YUCK: Elon Musk's Grokipedia cites a neo-Nazi website 42 times, researchers say

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📈 CHARTED

The growth of creator economy ad spend in the US is 🚀…

__________

Even more social charts: 📈

KINGS OF SOCIAL : The most-used social media platforms among US adults in 2025, according to Pew Research’s latest study

__________

Also…

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💥 EVEN MORE SOCIAL MEDIA NEWS & UPDATES

Lawmakers want to let users sue over harmful social media algorithms

Section 230 is facing a new kind of attack.

  • UK regulator Ofcom has been accused of dragging its feet on child online safety. [The Guardian]

  • EU regulators have met this week to discuss possible strict teen social media restrictions across the bloc. [Social Media Today]

  • Meta started notifying Australian teens of account shutdowns as the country’s social media ban looms. [The Guardian]

  • Australia added Twitch to its under-16 social media ban launching 10 December. [BBC News]

  • A Spanish court fined Meta €479 million for illegally using personal data for ads. [Reuters $$$]

  • The UK government is turning to influencers to reach more voters [The Guardian]

  • Meta’s new Manhattan pop-up store is part glasses lab, part hype machine. [Business Insider $$$]

  • Meta has had a leadership reshuffle amid AI pressure. [@MattNavarra]

  • Meta, TikTok, Google, and YouTube are suing California over a law that blocks teens from algorithmic feeds without parental consent. [Bloomberg Government $$$]

  • Meta paid $190 million to settle claims it shielded Mark Zuckerberg amid the Cambridge Analytica scandal. [Bloomberg $$$]

  • Meta delayed an major undersea project due to conflict in the Red Sea and permit issues. [Engadget]

    …although Meta says the core of its 2Africa cable linking Africa, Europe, and Asia is complete. [Social Media Today]

  • X dropped its lawsuit against law firm Wachtell seeking to claw back $90 million in legal fees. [Reuters $$$]

  • TikTok joined forces with Germany’s Violence Prevention Network to build in-app resources against online extremism. [Social Media Today]

  • A British hacker must repay £4m after hijacking celebrity Twitter accounts in 2020. [BBC News]

  • The Financial Times brought its free Alphaville newsletter to Substack to reach younger, finance-curious audiences. [Press Gazette]

  • Meta shifted smart-glasses leader Li-Chen Miller into its new Robotics group as first product manager. [Business Insider $$$]

  • OnlyFans will begin background checks on new US creators, sparking backlash from sex workers. [404 Media]

__________

New features and updates:

  • Facebook is testing another UI for post engagement buttons on iOS. [@oncescuradu]

  • YouTube is testing retroactive cost cuts for Demand Gen tCPA campaigns that underperform early. [Search Engine Land]

  • Instagram is testing a replies counter in DMs. [@theahmedghanem]

  • TikTok upgraded its cutout effect feature. [@jonahmanzano]

  • Reddit has a new app icon on iOS. [@oncescuradu]

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📰 WEEKEND READS

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

“When Kim Min-seok gave the go-ahead in June 2016 to publish a 90-second clip of a children's song, he had no idea what he was unleashing…”

(Sorry if it’s stuck in your head now) 😁

Pinkfong: How the viral Baby Shark video created a $400m business

__________

More great weekend reads:

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😳 AND FINALLY…

I get it… you want to juice your engagement by putting cute animals in your pics.

But nah… everyone can TOTALLY tell that’s an AI kitty.

These Instagram models are phoning it in. Put in the legwork and adopt a pet!

"Pathetic": Instagram Models Are Using AI To Generate Fake Cute Animal Photos And Photoshop Fans Hate It

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📅 BACK NEXT WEEK…

If you’ve made it this far, congrats — you’re officially in the elite “actually reads the outro” club. 🏅

Your reward? A sneak peek at a bit of Geekout news.

Geekout Newsletter is getting 2026 glow up…

✨ Newsletter + Website Redesign
Enhanced visuals, improved spacing, cleaner layout, and a few fun design extras thrown in to give it a bit of polish.

✨ NEW Geekout LinkedIn Swipe File:
The best bits of Geekout every week, in a swipe-friendly LinkedIn carousel format. Sneak peek below.

Check out my LinkedIn later today (Friday) to see what we’ve created. hope you like it!

The design refresh is a work-in-progress. More details soon.

__________

Right, i’m heading off to see what Grok says about me.

If it mentions drinking piss, i’m pulling the plug.

Goodbye, geeks!

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

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