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Hello, geeks!

Well hello again, and welcome to this week’s Geekout.

We’re going to get into all of week’s hottest headlines and big platform changes, spotted over the past seven days.

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Mostly creepy… But also clever 😮

Have you stumbled upon theyseeyourphotos.com yet? It’s pretty wild.

Wired describes it as:

I uploaded a photo of my girlfriend and I from our recent trip to Dubai.

Here’s what Google’s Vision API gleaned from just this image:

I particularly liked:

“While they try to project contentment, a sense of strain is subtly evident” 😆

And

“Their hobbies might include… less desirable activities such as excessive spending, social media validation, and gossiping.”

Nailed it 😬

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🔥 GEEKOUT HOT 5

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

2. Reddit temporarily bans subreddit that shared names of Elon Musk’s DOGE squad [DOXXING]

3. X: Banks finally manage to sell off some of Elon Musk’s Twitter debt [DUMPING]

4. WhatsApp says journalists and civil society members were targets of Israeli spyware [SNOOPING]

5. Meta policy chief slams EU tech laws and fines, emboldened by the new White House stance [RAGING]

Make your inbox a little less professional 🤪

Garbage Day is the Webby Award-winning newsletter from tech reporter and Geekout friend, Ryan Broderick. He’s awesome, btw. 

THREE times a week (give or take), Garbage Day stuffs as much internet junk as possible into one email. So you don't have to go find it yourself.

Memes, weird viral videos, internet drama, whatever the heck is happening with AI — it's all in there.

Make your inbox a little less professional and remember what it was like to have fun online again. 👉 check it out here 👈

.

🚨 EVERYONE’S TALKING ABOUT…

Meta’s suddenly a lot more feisty against the EU

Meta is famously a punching bag for regulators. Ever since the Cambridge Analytica scandal, the company has been routinely hauled in front of lawmakers and rule enforcers around the world.

And while it probably deserves that treatment in many cases, the EU’s particularly stringent policing of US tech giants has long been seen as over-the-top and unfair to Silicon Valley bosses.

…but now, with Donald Trump in the White House, it seems Meta is willing to be more forceful at pushing back.

Mark Zuckerberg and Trump himself have made similar noises in recent weeks.

Whether or not it makes a difference probably depends on how tough Trump goes on the US trade war against countries it wants to push around, or at least be seen to.

Recent tariffs against Mexico and Canada were quickly paused, but Trump might seem more willing to bully the more distant EU. How that whole dispute plays out could influence how willing the bloc is to impose tough fines on companies like Meta.

There’s a lot of uncertainty in the world right now, and there’s a lot about Meta’s Trumpy turn that smells very bad. But in terms of giving it a leg up in the global policy battle, the company might well have played a blinder by making other countries feel less bullish about keeping big tech in check.

Possibly bad for the world, probably great for Mark Zuckerberg.

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✨ NEW & NOTEWORTHY

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

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🤖 SOCIAL A.I.

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

• Meta is working with ad agencies to help devise AI ad tools

• Meta says it might stop development of AI systems it deems too risky

• Meta plans to expand generative AI transparency for its ads products

• Meta has improved its Advantage+ AI ad targeting tools

• Meta has launched a new program to improve speech and translation AI

• Instagram seems to be testing a new icon for Meta AI

• LinkedIn is testing AI to help surface jobs that remain hidden from typical search queries

• ChatGPT on WhatsApp can now reply to images and voice notes

• X has added Grok AI search suggestions

• X has added ‘Ask Grok’ links to text

• X now lets you edit, as well as create, images with Grok

• Grok is now more customisable in X, and file uploads could be on the way

• Snap has unveiled an AI text-to-image model for mobile devices

• Snap has a new AI-driven ad budget allocation tool for SMBs

• ByteDance has demoed a new AI system that can generate the most realistic deepfake videos yet

• Cloudflare is making it easier to track authentic images online

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😆 LOL

Beyonce’s face went viral this week after her historic Grammys win. 😱

And the internet did its thing…

Snap boss Evan Spiegel’s LinkedIn profile ‘About’ section is 👌

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📈 MEMES

Jaden Smith’s decision to wear a castle on his head at the Grammys was… well, meme baiting at its finest.

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🌡️ VIRAL

This was video of Instagram overlord Adam Mosseri was everywhere this week…

He’s said it before, but Mosseri bluntly reiterated again that 'Hashtags DON’T work!' for getting reach, likes, and follows.

.

🪧 BRANDS

Valentine’s Day is just a week away, and brands are starting to get in on the action. 💘

Aldi UK’s social team decided to spread the love on Facebook, hooking in other brands for a big love-in. ❤️‍🔥

No shortage of dates for Aldi, it seems!

*Thank to Geekout Pro member Vicki Jakes for signposting this one 👍

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🙊 WHAT DID YOU SAY?!

“Who gives a s**t what he thinks?”

– Ben Stiller fires back at Elon Musk, speaking for all of us

• “We take leaks seriously and will take action… [we] will take appropriate action, including termination”
  – Meta’s chief information security officer Guy Rosen, in a LEAKED memo to staff
  

• "We looked at it and we thought, 'Oh, this is like, a little more like YouTube’” 
  – Mark Zuckerberg on why Meta initially slept on TikTok’s rise
  

• “It’s like this guy that’s doing things that are problematic — taking away fact-checking and safety concerns, making people who are already threatened in this world more threatened.”
  – Jesse Eisenberg doesn’t want to be associated with the man he once portrayed, Mark Zuckerberg
  

• “[TikTok] was the first platform that didn’t just copy Twitch. YouTube just made Twitch on YouTube. Facebook just made Twitch on Facebook. Kick downright copied the site”
  – Dan Clancy, Twitch CEO, isn’t worried about what he sees as copycats
  

• The dangers of social media for children are like the cancer risk of smoking.
  - Says UK’s head of counter-terrorism policing, Matt Jukes

.

👀 MY FAV READS

“TikTok's potential US ban has sparked a flurry of development within the open social web community…”

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😮 WTF?!

Celebrities worrying about wiping out their career with an ill-advised post can now buy ‘cancel culture’ insurance.

The policy includes a 24/7 hotline and a 60-day plan to manage negative media coverage.

I wonder if certain loose-lipped celebrities will have much higher premiums than those who sensibly know when to keep quiet…

Also:

• Meta is researching how humans and robots might collaborate to do mundane tasks like cleaning, cooking, and picking up food deliveries.

• BuzzFeed is building its own social network to counter the right-wing vibe shift in the US

.

🤦 FAIL

The downside of doing things on the internet… is that they’re on the internet:

Also:

• Crypto scammers hacked Trump’s tweets via a Bitly bug

• Reddit has blamed 'bug' after it banned more than 90 NSFW subreddits

• Facebook has admitted that its crackdown on talking about Linux was 'in error' and has been fixed

.

📺 WORTH A WATCH

Here’s Snap’s Evan Spiegel getting feisty in his criticism of TikTok. Let’s face it, he’d benefit massively from a TikTok ban…

You can watch the full interview with Colin and Samir here.

Meta has given us a look at one of its two Super Bowl ads that wil be airing during Sunday’s big game… Chris Hemsworth, Chris Pratt , and Kris Jenner all feature.

.

📲 NEW APPS

If you’re into the new era of decentralised and federated social apps, this is well worth a look…

Also:

• Flashes, a photo-sharing app for Bluesky, opens its beta

• The timeline apps are here, and they’re awesome

.

👔 YOU’RE HIRED!

Hot new social media jobs worth checking out this week:

• Intel is hiring a Developer Social and Community Strategist [San Francisco, CA, USA]

• The International Spy Museum is looking for a Social Media Specialist [Washington DC, USA]

• John Lewis is on the hunt for a Senior Social Art Director [London, UK]

• The Dogs Trust needs a Social Media Lead [Part time, hybrid, London, UK].

👌 PRO TIPS

• Meta has published tips on how to maximise your Threads activity

• LinkedIn has published a new guide on evolving marketing measurement

• Instagram has shared the latest trends and popular audio on Reels

• Creator Tools: 9 time-saving tools to support creators in 2025

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📊 SOCIAL STATS

$10.5 BILLION

– YouTube’s Q4 ad sales hit a record $10.5 billion up 13.8%

• Ad Spend: More than two-thirds of marketers surveyed plan to increase their spend on social (68%) and digital display and video (67%)

• LinkedIn Video: Video uploads on LinkedIn are up 36% in the past year

• Teen Mobile Usage: 1 in 4 teens spent more than two hours on their phone during the school day, in a newly published study

• Snapchat added 10 million more users in Q4, taking it to 453 million daily actives (Up 9% YoY)

• Virtual Reality: Total payment volume on Meta’s Quest devices rose 12% in 2024, driven by significant growth of in-app purchases.

• Snap data shows 9 in 10 Snapchatters engage with sports weekly, and 85% watch sports matches at least monthly

.

📈 CHARTED

A new report looked at the average post engagement in the major social media apps. 📊

Socialinsider analyzed 125 million social media posts to get an understanding of the average engagement in each app:

•⁠ ⁠TikTok is driving the best results with an average engagement rate of 2.5%
•⁠ ⁠X saw the worst engagement per post at 0.15%
•⁠ ⁠TikTok videos see more likes on average than posts in other apps (3,092 Likes per post)
•⁠ ⁠X posts generate the least, with just 40 Likes per post

Also…

• TikTok has nearly bounced back to its original traffic levels after usage fell 85% when the app temporarily shut down on January 19

• YouTube: Longform vs shortform viewing trends on YouTube, charted

• Meta stock is on track for its longest streak of daily gains since 2015

• Meta shares keep improving their performance

• Meta Reality Labs has lost the company a total of ~$60 billion since 2020

• Threads Drives 73.6% more engagement than X, based on data from 10.2 million posts

• Pinterest reported record usage and revenue in Q4

• Social Commerce: Consumers turn to livestreams for commerce in 2025

• News Influencers: Over 20% of US adults get news from social media influencers

.

• After Meta blocked news in Canada, ads for scams are taking its place. [Bloomberg $$$]

• Meta’s policy chief has been in London to talk AI with the UK government. [@joelkaplan]

• Mark Zuckerberg visited White House to discuss US tech leadership. [The Hill]

• Mark Zuckerberg’s charity has confirmed its continued support for DEI despite Meta’s overhaul. [The Guardian]

• An early Meta employee has sued the company, alleging sexual harassment and gender discrimination. [TechCrunch]

• Meta is merging the teams behind Facebook and Messenger into one unit and reorganising its generative AI teams. [The Information $$$]

• Donald Trump Jr.’s company Field Ethos met with Meta about firearms censorship. [The Daily Beast $$$]

• The Canadian government will let its agencies advertise on Meta platforms for the first time since 2023. [CTV News]

New features and tests:

Facebook:

• Facebook now allows creators to view monetisation information for audio used in Reels. [@jonahmanzano]

• Facebook now lets you post a Note from the For You feed. [@oncescuradu]

Instagram:

• Instagram is working on bringing its ‘Pals’ feature into chats. [@alex193a]

• Instagram is making it easier to report issues directly from chats. [@faslu_35]

• Instagram’s website has a fancy new landing page. [@theahmedghanem]

• Instagram has added a new Valentine’s Day animation for Notes. [@oncescuradu]

• Instagram is recommending that you enable disappearing messages for certain chats. [@theahmedghanem]

• Instagram has added two new chat themes: ‘Thinking of you’ and ‘Moo Deng’. [@oncescuradu]

Threads:

• Threads has added a new privacy setting to control blocked Fediverse contacts. [@theahmedghanem]

The rest: Creator Studio / Adtech / Quest and more:

• Meta Business Suite now lets you mark conversations as either Good or Bad. [@theahmedghanem]

.

• TikTok influencers having been looking to sabotage ICE raids in the US using the power of gossip. [Bloomberg $$$]

• TikTok teachers are preparing for ICE raids using school-shooter drill tactics. [Rolling Stone $$$]

• TikTok has launched a new promotional push in Canada, to show how it helps Canadian businesses, as it fights calls for a ban in the country. [Social Media Today]

• There has been a rise in scam job texts to teens from fraudsters posing as TikTok staff, a study found. [The Guardian]

• TikTok’s global head of litigation since 2020 is leaving the company. [The Information $$$]

.

💥 EVEN MORE SOCIAL MEDIA NEWS & UPDATES

• A US bill banning social media for youngsters advances is moving forward through the legislative process. [Politico]

• Social media users risk fragmenting into silos after Trump’s election victory, experts have warned. [Sky News]

• Conspiracy theories about the bird flu are quickly spreading online via X and Rumble. [Bloomberg $$$]

• Despite Australia's strict social media ban for minors, a YouTube exemption poses risks. [Reuters $$$]

• Marketers remain cautious about investing in Snapchat amid TikTok uncertainty. [Digiday $$$]

• Have comments on your blog? Watch out for the UK Online Safety Act. [The Register]

• YouTube promotes eating disorder content to young girls in the US, UK and EU, according to the Center for Countering Digital Hate. [@counterhate]

• Pinterest is marking Black History Month with a new campaign that aims to highlight how Black creators have changed the fashion industry. [Social Media Today]

• LinkedIn is spotlighting the average watch time metric to support its video push. [Digiday $$$]

• German authorities say they are ‘well prepared’ for social media election interference. [Politico]

• Snap is funding a wildfire recovery project in its home city of LA. [Social Media Today]

• A lawsuit against LinkedIn over use of users’ DMs for AI models has been dismissed. [Reuters $$$]

• Indonesia could set an age limit on social media use. [Bloomberg $$$]

New features and tests:

• LinkedIn has added a ‘Contribute Expertise’ button in the share box on desktop, directing you to Collaborative Articles. [@lindseygamble_]

• Linktree now lets you add WhatsApp Channels. [@theahmedghanem]

• Microsoft Teams is getting a Facebook-like feed and follow button. [The Verge]

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📰 WEEKEND READS

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

• What will happen to TikTok? A look at the potential buyers

• Meta’s fact-checking U-turn vindicates Lush’s decision to ditch social

.

😳 AND FINALLY…

Remember all the ‘will they, won’t they’ noise about the ridiculous Musk v Zuck billionaire brawl? 🥊

Turns out it really was close to going ahead at the Colosseum in Rome. 🇮🇹

I still think Musk would have found an excuse to wimp out. 👎🏻

.

📅 BACK NEXT WEEK…

… And that’s this week’s Geekout. Done. ✅

I’m heading off to pour a much needed LARGE glass of wine. 🍷🍷

It’s been one of those kind of weeks!

Thanks again for all your messages of support.

Things are a little better this week, but it might be some time yet before I am back to my usual self.

Your DMs and emails are giving me a boost. ❤️🙏

Goodbye, geeks!

p.s. This newsletter is edited by Martin SFP Bryant