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Hello, geeks!
It’s been a brutal, bruising week for Mark Zuckerberg.
Meta lost two landmark lawsuits in the U.S over child safety failures and platform addiction claims.
The court ruled Meta’s apps are addictive. And that they are deliberately designed that way. Oof!
With headlines calling the verdicts social media’s ‘Big Tobacco’ moment, legal experts are predicting a flood of new lawsuits as Meta enters a new era of accountability.
Meta got stung with orders to pay out damages of $4.2 million and $375 million as a result of the rulings. That’s hardly a punishment for a company that generates $550 million a day in revenue.
However, the real cost is yet to come. Lawyers and lawmakers in the US have had social media platforms in their crosshairs for years. These verdicts might now give them the hook to hang them on.
As BBC’s Zoe Kleinman said: “…this could be the beginning of the end of the social media era as we know it.”
Also, this week…
Ads on TikTok and Snapchat are about to get really annoying. 🤬
Check my analysis of three new attention-seeking ad formats that about to hit your feeds
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Geekout Interviews… Matt Simari x Instagram Edits boss
Next week, I’ll be sending you a special (extra) edition of Geekout.
To kick off Geekout Interviews…, yesterday I logged on with Edits product boss Matt Simari.
If you think Edits is just Instagram’s CapCut clone… you might be underestimating what Meta’s really doing.
Matt unpacked Meta’s plans for the Edits app — and what it means for creators, brands, and your entire creative workflow.
Here’s a taste of what he revealed…
What drove Meta to create Edits in the first place
How Meta plans to compete with TikTok rival app CapCut
Whether Edits will stay free forever — or if premium plans are coming
Why short-form drama content is exploding — and how Instagram plans to respond
How AI is already changing the way creators edit content
What’s coming next on the Edits roadmap… plus the one thing he couldn’t say 👀
…and more
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The full interview will land in your inbox early next week.
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3 cool things…
📊 The BIGGEST LinkedIn study of the year just dropped. Data from 1.3M posts. What’s working isn’t what you think. [ad]
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Meta ordered to pay $375 million after losing child safety lawsuit in New Mexico [DAMAGING]
Elon Musk’s ‘stupid tweets’ caused Twitter investors’ losses, jury finds [SWINDLING]
OpenAI kills Sora AI video app and scraps Disney brand partnership [EXITING]
Hundreds of UK teens to be banned from using social media as the government tests a full teen ban [EXPERIMENTING]
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Garbage Day is the 🏆 award-winning newsletter from tech reporter Ryan Broderick.
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 there.
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↪︎ Check out Garbage Day… It’s one of my top 5 newsletters
How many ads is too many? TikTok and Snapchat might soon find out
Two pieces of news this week caught my eye, as they illustrate just how hungry social platforms are getting for new ways to grow their revenues.
TikTok is rolling out aggressive new ad formats to dominate user attention, such as logo takeovers and ads timed to display at key moments in a video.
The logo takeover option will allow brands to have their logo alongside TikTok’s own when the app is opened. Think of it a bit like things like the ‘Friends is sponsored by Jet2’ sponsorship stings at the start of TV shows.
As TechCrunch explains, there’s also a ‘Prime Time’ ad option, where “three sequential ads from one advertiser will be shown to the same user within a designated 15-minute time window. TikTok says brands can use this format to tell a continuous story during high-activity periods.”
There are more that I won’t get into the weeds of here, but they certainly dance on the line between giving advertisers better results and making the user experience more annoying.
Also this week, Snapchat unveiled ‘Total Snap Takeovers’ for brands to own every key app surface, making them impossible to avoid. As Snap puts it: “Total Snap Takeovers allow advertisers to show up as the first ad spot in each tab for wide reach, high impressions, and increased brand lift.”
For most social media platforms, advertisers are their main customer, so it makes sense to better serve their needs and give them better results.
But with these new features, both TikTok and Snapchat are moving ever closer towards having so many ads that users feel like throwing their phones across the room.
YouTube already has far too many ads, to the point where it sometimes feels rage inducing. Sure, you can pay to remove the ads, but I’m worried as platforms push for ever greater growth, users will tolerate more and more ads, with platforms adding ever more as a response, until we all reach a tipping point, get bored, and switch off.
How about instead of growing forever, platforms just focus on making a good profit from a great user experience?
What? That’s unrealistic…?! Ah well, I can dream….
Meta
/ Facebook
Meta adds new affiliate tools for creator monetisation | Credit: Meta
Facebook and Instagram are letting influencers earn a commission from products again with more affiliate tools
Meta is slashing several hundred jobs across its Reality Labs, recruiting, and sales teams
Meta is getting ready to launch two new Ray-Ban AI glasses products, official US filings have revealed
Meta launched new retail tools are designed to drive in-app shopping on Facebook and Instagram
Meta’s Oversight Board says expanding Community Notes outside of the US poses “significant” risks
Meta’s AI smart glasses have hit a roadblock ahead of launch in the EU, as the lack of user-replaceable batteries and supply shortages hold it back
Meta Business Suite is introducing a new, more powerful message filter with additional options for community managers and admins on desktop
Meta Business Suite app now supports inviting collaborators for Instagram Reels
Meta Business Suite now supports photo stickers in the Story builder
Facebook has been spotted labelling ads run by China state-controlled media outside the US
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Instagram
Instagram finally lets you reorder carousels after publishing | Credit: Meta
Instagram finally lets you reorder carousels after publishing
…and Instagram may add a cover image feature for carousel posts, Adam Mosseri says
Instagram is expanding Reels ads into trending categories like TV, movies, travel, finance
Instagram’s Edits latest app update added precise video transform tools (position/scale/rotate), advanced templates, and improved search for adding links to Reels and profiles
… Edits is also testing a Templates filter in the Ideas tab
Instagram added new ‘two-admin approval’ controls for accounts with three or admins, to prevent one admin going rogue
Instagram is working on the ability to automatically download Reels for offline viewing
Instagram Stories now offer a ‘spin’ effect for footage shot with Meta’s smart glasses
Instagram is testing a refreshed UI for tagging in post creation
Instagram added four hidden features for BTS fans. Finding them unlocks a message from the band
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Threads
Threads recent views count | Credit: @haiimjose
Threads will now let you display how many views your posts got on your profile
Threads’ Marketing API now has expanded advertiser tools and integrations in third party platforms like Hootsuite and Sprout Social
Threads now lets you swipe to choose topics or communities when composing a post
Threads is testing a new animation for the ‘Like’ button
Threads is testing a new Shared Content section in messages, letting you review what you’ve shared with a contact
Threads is testing a custom feed that returns you to the posts you last viewed when reopening the app
Threads is testing a text selection option that lets you copy specific parts of a post caption
Threads has launched an in-app BTS Arirang experience through the BTS community
Threads added an animation to encourage users to add interests to their profiles
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WhatsApp
WhatsApp feature update adds multi-account switching and more | Credit: Meta
WhatsApp dropped a collection of new features, including the ability to run two WhatsApp accounts on one phone, improved storage management, and more
WhatsApp is working on a disappearing messages feature
WhatsApp is working on a feature that lets you create custom audiences for status updates
WhatsApp is working on a premium feature that unifies chat settings within a list
WhatsApp working on Liquid Glass overhaul for its voice message player
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X / Twitter
X locks X Pro (TweetDeck) behind $40 Premium+ paywall | Credit: X
X has locked TweetDeck, now known as X Pro, behind its $40 Premium+ paywall without warning. It was previously part of the $8 per month plan (thanks Elon 🙄)
…But X’s head of product says something more powerful than X Pro is coming soon
X said it would limit creator revenue for foreign influencers trying to fake US accounts, but Elon Musk blocked the plan hours after the announcement
X lost its lawsuit accusing advertisers of organising a platform boycott
X is offering advertisers up to $200K in incentives to return to the platform, a leaked deck revealed
X’s Money card has appeared in pictures shared by internal testers
xAI has been sued by the city of Baltimore over the Grok sexual deepfakes scandal
X Chat’s beta app is testing support for setting nicknames for your contacts
X no longer crops single-image posts on iOS, preserving their original aspect ratio
X is testing a new main chat UI design with a meteor shower as an animation
X has added an undo/redo functionality when drafting a new post
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YouTube
Credit: YouTube
YouTube has been courting advertisers amid its efforts to open up more direct routes to creators
YouTube is rolling out a Top Sports Podcasts lineup, letting advertisers align with top shows like New Heights and Rich Eisen Show
YouTube has lowered entry requirements for its shopping affiliate programme from 1,000 to 500 subscribers
YouTube is now showing a ‘Continue watching’ button for videos shown in the Google Discover feed
YouTube has been spotted moving the Account Switcher button to the top-left side of the app
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TikTok
TikTok testing new micro drama feed in main app | Credit: TikTok
TikTok is testing a new Short Drama feed, bringing more mini-series directly into main app…
… TikTok is also casting actors to make its own micro dramas as it jumps headfirst into the surging format
TikTok has been spotted testing a new profile layout, with redesigned buttons and a cleaner layout
TikTok is testing a new sticker that enables private replies to Stories
TikTok Shop has added a CRM, Instagram sync, and live-streaming tools for sellers
TikTok launched “Watch it. Love it. Want it.” campaign to highlight how users move from watching to buying
TikTok is cracking down on rule-breakers with new strike-based ban system, and letting creators know why videos aren’t eligible for recommendation
TikTok has been woo-ing big brand advertisers by hosting a lavish CMO Collective event in the US, featuring Michelin star food and special celebrity guests
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Snapchat
/
Reddit
/
Pinterest
Snapchat testing '"Snap your Questions to my AI” | Credit: @theahmedgahnem
Snapchat is testing a new feature “Snap Your Questions to My AI” feature, which allows Snaps AI to answer questions about your photos
Snapchat now less you add music to Snaps by importing audio from your camera roll or recording it directly
Snapchat has expanded the Creator Subscriptions programme to the EU
…meanwhile, the EU launched a major probe into Snapchat over its “weak” child safety features
LinkedIn is targeting marketers with new ad campaign mocking vanity metrics culture
Reddit is betting big on shopping with new shoppable ads and a Shopify tie-in
Reddit is considering biometric identity verification like FaceID to combat its bot problem
Pinterest has launched ‘Promote a Pin’ to quickly turn any post into an ad
Pinterest has launched a TV show that transforms boards into real-life makeovers
Mastodon has revamped profiles to win over mainstream social media users
__________
Also spotted this week…
Meta launched a suite of AI power tools for advertisers and creators
Meta launched Meta Small Business to boost AI tools for entrepreneurs
Meta hired the team behind Dreamer AI to boost its personalised AI agent capabilities
Instagram has added new AI photo-to-video transitions for Stories
Instagram Edits now lets you create custom fonts with a new, AI-powered ‘AI style’ feature
WhatsApp has introduced AI-powered writing help for replies, and AI photo touch-ups to stylise images, change backgrounds, or remove objects
YouTube launched Gemini-Powered Creator Partnerships with AI matching for brands
X is set to roll out “the full power of Grok” into its algorithm next week, product boss Nikita Bier says
xAI’s Grok app is introducing SuperGrok Lite, a $10-per-month plan with small creation limits
xAI’s Grok Grok AI now lets you create custom agents
Elon Musk says xAI is ‘doubling down’ on AI videos after OpenAI said it was killing Sora
TikTok now lets you lets you generate AR effects from text prompts and presets
ByteDance has rolled out Dreamina Seedance 2.0 into CapCut for AI video creation
Snapchat’s new ‘AI Clips’ Lens format turns photos into five-second videos
Are Meta’s two big losses in court this week a ‘Big Tobacco’ moment for social media?
They will certainly embolden legal teams around the world considering similar action.
Here’s a round-up of all the courtroom action this week, including the latest Elon Musk lawsuit updates…
Elon Musk’s lawyers are trying to bar Delaware judge over LinkedIn ‘like’. Judge Kathaleen McCormick's LinkedIn account “liked” a post celebrating Musk’s $2bn court loss, but she says she might have clicked it accidentally and denies bias.
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Elon Musk’s court loss last week has been questioned by his legal team after it emerged the jury made a ‘420’ (weed) joke in their documentation. Elon is known to enjoy a 420 joke himself, so his lawyers reckon the jury was mocking him, and thus it wasn’t a fair trial. 🤔
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Meta shares tumbled 6% after the back-to-back US verdicts find it liable for harm to young users. Investors worry about the company’s legal exposure
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New Mexico’s Attorney General has vowed a legal and political crackdown on social media following the state’s win against Meta this week.
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UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has pledged action on “addictive features” in social media apps in the wake of the landmark US case
__________
__________
A new slop trend has flooded TikTok with absurd AI fruit soap operas featuring scandal, affairs, and chaos.
…And users recreating the slop themselves!
__________
More viral news this week:
Influencers are pushing trendy health tests—but experts warn of hidden harms
Thousands have swooned over this MAGA dream girl. But she’s made with AI
Top sports clubs like Arsenal and LA Chargers are expanding their social media operations to compete for sponsorship revenue.
“Sponsors used to want hospitality access and pitch-side banners. Now they want access to a club's social following.”
"People don’t like wearing things on their faces and don’t trust those who do.”
__________
Also quoted this week:
“Now is the time to apply the same creativity and innovation that built the social media ecosystem to the vital task of protecting kids online. And if we can’t do this effectively, we lose any credibility to oppose a ban.”
- Pinterest CEO Billy Ready says governments should ban social media for kids under 16
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“Over the past year, we faced the noise and we’ve done the hard work… And what’s standing here today, I am genuinely proud to say, is the strongest, most secure, most creative platform we have ever built.”
- TikTok US CEO Adam Presser tries to reassure advertisers the platform is the right place to spend their dollars
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“Social media is inherently unhealthy for kids”
- Emily Jeffcott, one of the lawyers for the plaintiff in the big social media addiction trial marks her win.
UK retailer Argos has sparked a backlash over selling a £15 “influencer kit” for toddlers.
The toy includes tripod, camera, phone, microphone for role-play. But critics warn it pushes kids into “very adult, performative” online culture
Campaigners ask “What are we teaching children to value?”
__________
More WTF this week:
Watching TikTok or YouTube while driving is replacing texting as the top in-car distraction 😳
Elon Musk is pushing the idea of using Grok for tax return filings, citing a $1,400 refund example. Tests showed AI chatbots miscalculated by over $2,000 on average
Ex-Disney CEO Bob Iger allegedly operated a private Instagram and Threads account under the alias “Max Stryker”
Mark Zuckerberg is building a personal AI agent to act like a “chief of staff”
AI videos of sexualised black women have been removed from TikTok after a BBC investigation
AI influencer awards season is upon us
LinkedIn is killing spontaneous live streaming with new scheduling rules. From 22 June, every live event must be scheduled in advance.
The instant “go live” option is being removed, but you will still be able to quickly schedule a live stream for minutes later.
Tumblr finds itself in Geekout’s FAIL section two weeks in a row…
This week, the platform scrambled to reverse mass user bans, after an automated moderation error caused users to panic…
__________
Also:
YouTube users have been reporting missing like counts, raising confusion across the app and the web
The YouTube Android app's Cast button vanished for some users, a frustrating glitch
A new study has linked social media misinformation to a rise in self-diagnosing ADHD and autism
Researchers found over half of ADHD content on TikTok was inaccurate.
Experts warn this can mislabel normal behaviour and delay a proper diagnosis
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Also:
Children spending 3+ hours daily on social media show higher anxiety and depression as teens
Mozilla needs a Social Media & Content Strategist (Open-Source AI) [Remote, worldwide]
__________
More social media jobs:
Women’s Aid Foundation England is hiring a Social Media Officer [Remote, UK]
Bobbie is looking for a Social Media Manager [Remote, USA]
The Young Vic Theatre is recruiting a Social Media and Digital Content Manager [London, UK]
Want more Instagram Reels views? Start talking—and show your face early.
Based on analysis of 10,110 Facebook Reels published by 704 brand Pages, Emplifi found:
Reels featuring human speech in the first 3 seconds boosted 10s retention by ~25% and drove +5.6% higher engagement vs music-only clips.
Reels featuring a face early in the video, saw retention jump another ~10%.
Reel with short, seamless loops (under 7s) saw +18.7% more replays and +16.1% higher engagement.
And format still matters: vertical video delivers ~21% more reach.
__________
More pro tips:
10 Reddit comment frameworks that drive engagement without sounding like ads
TikTok ad creative has a shorter shelf life. Here’s how to keep up
2 TRILLION
More stats:
GROW SOCIAL: 68% of small businesses say social drives most value for growth in 2026
GRIM: The Internet Watch Foundation reports a 260x surge in AI-generated child abuse videos, with over 3,000 verified AI clips vs 13 in 2024
FEED FIX: Social media has become British MPs’ top news source,, with usage jumping to 83% — up from 61% at the start of 2025
Why the metaverse might just be another failed tech initiative like NFTs and Google Glass…
__________
Also in the news this week…
Meta is targeting a $9 trillion valuation with a new executive incentive programme, aiming to get to the valuation in the next five years. [Wall Street Journal $$$]
Meta’s acquisition of Manus is being probed in China as its founders are barred from leaving the country. [Financial Times $$$]
Meta CTO Andrew Bosworth will lead a drive to get employees using AI routinely across the company. [Wall Street Journal $$$]
Meta’s Reality Labs division is now organised into "pods" made up of "AI builders" and "AI pod leads”. [Business Insider $$$]
Meta's lawyers shut down the primary source of pirated Quest games. [Upload VR]
The UK government faces pressure after the House of Lords again voted for an under-16 social media ban. [The Guardian]
TikTok Shop is to split the cost of returns shipping with sellers from 8 April. Better performing shops get a more generous split. [@MattNavarra]
TikTok and X say they are “neutral” on potential UK teen social media ban. [Politico]
Russia is throttling Telegram, pushing users toward state-backed app MAX. [NBC News]
A Dutch court banned X’s Grok from generating fake nudes and child abuse content. X faces findes of up to €10 million if it fails to comply [Politico]
A new California bill aims to crack down on parents cashing in on kids’ private lives online. [Los Angeles Times]
Donald Trump named Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg, Oracle’s Larry Ellison and NVIDIA’s Jensen Huang to a new AI policy panel. [Wall Street Journal $$$]
YouTube downplayed its Netflix rivalry, stressing its creator-first business model. [Variety]
EU lawmakers backed plans to ban “nudify” AI apps, but some new AI regulations have been elayed. [The Verge]
UK regulator Ofcom has welcomed Apple adding age verification in iOS 26.4 for certain apps. [Financial Times $$$]
Meta and Google urged the EU to extend laws blocking child abuse content. [Social Media Today]
Hugo Barra is rejoining Meta after departing five years ago, marking Meta's shift in focus from VR to AI. [CNBC]
Europe’s human rights chief warned banning kids from social media could go too far. [Politico]
Meta unfairly targeted older workers during layoffs last year, a new lawsuit claims. [Gizmodo]
Why VPNs could be next on lawmakers’ ban list. [The Verge $$$]
Meta awarded $150,000 grants to six universities studying sEMG wristband input. [UploadVR]
TikTok announced Charlie Puth as the latest guest on its ‘TikTok In The Mix’ series. [TikTok Newsroom]
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New platform features and tests:
Meta is partnering with Arm to develop AI-optimised data centre CPUs. [Meta Newsroom]
Facebook revamped its Friends section on desktop, with more control over how you manage it. [@theahmedghanem]
Facebook is testing a new ‘Select text’ tool for use with comments. [@oncescuradu]
Messenger is testing a new welcome screen for Meta AI that has both text-based and image prompts. [@oncescuradu]
X added a new audience setting on desktop: ‘Accounts you follow and who they follow’. [@oncescuradu]
X added a new ‘Regions’ audience setting. [@oncescruadu]
X now offers a ‘Report EU illegal content’ option. [@theahmedghanem]
xAI added tags to Grok. [@jonahmanzano]
Linktree’s new AI tool gives creators personalised growth recommendations. [Linktree blog]
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Also worth a read:
Polymarket says it predicts the truth. Its social feeds are filled with falsehoods
All hail Merlin! The Instagram pig that is now a Guinness World Record holder.
Merlin now officially holds the record for the most Instagram followers for a pig, with 1.1+ million fans.
I hope he has a good agent to handle negotiations for any future Gymshark x Merlin drop, or a possible Crocs collab? 💰
And that’s this week’s Geekout debriefing, done. ✅
I’m heading off to wrap up the final edits of next week’s special edition of Geekout.
Look out for ‘Geekout Interviews…’ x Instagram Edits’ Matt Simari, in your inbox next week.
Goodbye, geeks!
P.S. This newsletter is edited by Martin SFP Bryant
