X’s new business model: threatening advertisers?

...and America HATES Zuck and Elon

Author

Matt Navarra
February 21, 2025

.

🚀 30,000+ social media pros read Geekout
Geekout has a 60% open rate + 12% click rate 
— Double the industry average!
👉 Book your ad in Geekout

.

.

Hello, geeks!

Welcome to this week’s Geekout! It’s a good un’ 👌 

Hit ‘do not disturb,’ and grab a drink!

In this week’s stuffed-full edition:

  • Elon Musk’s shakedown of advertisers (protection racket vibes) 💰

  • American’s hating Mark Zuckerberg (even more than they hate Musk) 👎🏻

  • 44 new social media platform features spotted in the wild 🆕

  • The most-hated person on LinkedIn this week 😳 

But first…You DO NOT want to miss these:

*The NOT a paid ad. Just a mutual promo4promo.

Interested in cross-promoting your newsletter OR paid advertising, get in touch: [email protected]

__________

Geekout x School of Social 🎓

A quick apology to top social media training rockstar (and friend of Geekout), Kineta Kelsall. She’s awesome!

In a rush to hit send last week, i forgot add in a proper mention of School of Social in regards to the collab we are working on together.

Your feedback last week on possible workshops you’d love to see us create has been super useful! More details coming soon.

But for now, another quick poll to help us create new social media training workshops you won’t want to miss:

📊 POLL: What would be your preferred format for a new online social media training workshop series?

Login or Subscribe to participate in polls.

__________

👀 Does Geekout look a bit… different?

Your eyes are not playing tricks on you.

Geekout has had an early Spring clean to make it even easier to skim read, and enhance your reading experience.

I’ve added a couple of tweaks to the colour palette, improved the consistency of text formatting, given the design of each section a little polish, and a few other tweaks.

I hope you like the changes! REPLY to this email with any feedback.

__________

.

SPONSORED - FREE REPORT - 2025 INSIGHTS
Ditch the Social Media Guesswork: The 2025 Creator Playbook is HERE 🔥👇

Juggling algorithms, chasing trends, and watching engagement flatline? 😩 You're not alone.

2025 is the year of creators, and brands tapping into their power are winning BIG.

Dash Social’s latest 2025 Social Media Trends Report: ‘The Creator Effect’ reveals how creators are driving engagement, reach, and revenue faster than ever.

Packed with the latest data, real-world brand wins, and actionable insights, this report is GOLD for social media managers, marketers, and creators.

Sneak Peek at the Good Stuff 👀📈

  • 🧲 TikTok creators = 61% more followers (compared to brand accounts)

    -

  •  📈 Instagram creators = 30% more comments & 13% higher engagement

    -

  • 🔄 Shares are exploding—+57% on TikTok, +12% on Instagram Reels

    -

  • 🔥 Brand Playbooks REVEALED! See exactly how BÉIS, Crumbl, and UGG are crushing it with creator power.

__________

Want the FULL playbook to leverage the power of creators in 2025?

🔥 DOWNLOAD the 'Creator Effect' playbook. It’s free!

📌 P.S. The TikTok stats are wild. You gotta see 'em!

.

🔥 GEEKOUT HOT 5

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

X Hinted at Possible Deal Trouble in Talks With Ad Giant to Increase Spending

Interpublic recently signed an advertising agreement with the platform; other agencies are also in negotiations

  1. America hates Mark Zuckerberg, but it’s still learning to hate Elon Musk [LOATHING]

  2. DeepSeek 'shared user data' with TikTok owner ByteDance [ALARMING]

  3. Meta woos creators in bid to make Facebook cool again [GEN-Z-ING]

  4. Reddit plans to lock some content behind a paywall this year [PROFIT-HUNTING]

.

SPONSORED - FREE NEWSLETTER - CREATORS
The Creator Economy Decoded: 3 Must-Know Stories Every Week (FREE)

Join the 130,000+ readers who are staying up to date with the business of creators. 

From Colin and Samir, every issue of The Publish Press breaks down 3 big stories shaping the industry - what happened, why it matters, and what’s next. 

Discover new trends and insights, as well as the latest job opportunities within the creator space… In under 5 minutes!

__________

Subscribe to Publish Press to get:

🔥 3 big stories every week: What happened, why it matters, and what’s next
-
🚀 Fresh trends & insights: Get the inside scoop on the latest in the creator world
-
💼 Job opportunities: Find your next gig in the booming creator economy
-
⏱️ Quick reads: All under 5 minutes. Stay informed, even on a tight schedule
-
👇 Join 130k+ Publish Press readers… Subscribe for Free Now

-

.

🚨 EVERYONE’S TALKING ABOUT…

Did X go all ‘protection racket’ on advertisers?

X Hinted at Possible Deal Trouble in Talks With Ad Giant to Increase Spending

Before Elon Musk became a fixture at the White House, and seemingly something of an unelected ‘co-president’ of the USA, the failure of X was a lesson in how to tank a company.

As ad revenue and user numbers dropped, rivals started to grow, and Musk resorted to suing advertisers for walking away. It was a sorry state.

But what’s this? Earlier this week we saw talk of a comeback! Old advertisers were returning, new advertisers were signing up, and while it was early days for revenue growth in the face of user decline, it seemed like X might just have a chance as a business.

But all might not be as it seems… The Wall Street Journal reported yesterday that at least one big ad agency received a subtle threat from X’s lawyers in December:

“The message was clear, according to several people with knowledge of the conversation: Get your clients to spend more on Elon Musk’s social-media platform, or else.”

What could X do? Well, there’s the company’s lawsuit against advertisers for withdrawing ad spend, for a start. It’s an incredibly dumb lawsuit but no-one likes to be sued by the richest person in the world.

And now that Musk is arguably the second-most powerful person in America, you really don’t want to get on his bad side.

Meanwhile, it’s very much in X’s interests to appear to be on the up. News broke this week that it is reportedly raising an investment round at the same valuation Elon Musk bought it for, a glue-sniffingly high $44 billion. But Bloomberg reports that the financials underpinning this valuation are… suspect… at best.

With X having snagged the ‘new media seat’ in the White House briefing room this week, it’s clear the platform continues to be in Trump’s good graces.

Just as staying in Trump hotels is seen as an effective (and corrupt) way to try to gain the President’s favour, businesses might see advertising with, or investing in, X as a good way to gain favour with the guys in charge of the USA.

It might be a horrible place to hang out these days, and a pretty poor business, but X is showing no sign of becoming less important. Just in a way the founders of Twitter nearly 20 years ago could never have foreseen.

Sometimes I miss those days…

.

✨ NEW & NOTEWORTHY

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

Meta / Facebook 👥

  • Meta has shared an overview of how its Community Notes will work on Facebook, Instagram, and Threads 📝

  • …and US users can now sign up to take part in Community Notes

  • Facebook now only stores livestreamed videos for just 30 days, and will delete old live broadcasts

  • Facebook has started sending notifications about the best day and time to post on your page

  • Facebook is encouraging users to create ‘photo dump’-like content on Facebook Stories.

  • Meta has threatened to get Trump involved if it believes the EU is discriminating against it

  • …But the EU has promised to push on with big tech investigations anyway

  • Facebook’s in-app browser now supports multiple tabs

  • Meta is building ‘Project Waterworth’, a cable that will span over 50,000 km: the world’s longest subsea cable project

  • Meta’s Ray-Bans have sold 2 million pairs, and is prepping to sell 10M each year

  • Messenger’s app icon on its iOS beta has reverted to Facebook’s traditional blue and white colour palette

__________


Instagram ✨

Instagram’s new direct messaging features

__________


WhatsApp 💬 / Threads 🧵

  • WhatsApp is getting themed chat bubbles and 30 new customisable wallpapers and colour options 💬

  • WhatsApp’s open channels are now big enough to potentially make them subject to tighter EU regulation

  • Some WhatsApp users are annoyed by Meta AI’s sudden presence in the app, but it’s easy to switch off

  • WhatsApp is testing a new ‘allow guests’ feature for chat events.

  • WhatsApp is again testing a 'Clear Badge' feature for unread messages

  • WhatsApp testing a feature to create and share custom sticker packs

  • Threads is testing an option to hide the Replies tab from your profile, with the ability to access it privately from the settings

__________


Twitter (‘X’) 🤡

X’s new ‘Report Moment of Death’ form

  • X has added a new ‘Moment of Death’ clause to its ‘Violent Content’ policy.. Users can now fill out a form if they want to have a video of a loved one dying removed from the app (but they still might not remove it) 🆕

  • Elon Musk says he'll 'fix' Community Notes on X after it disagreed with him

  • X has doubled its Premium+ plan prices after xAI released Grok 3

  • X is blocking users from posting links to Signal through DM, public post, or even in their profile page

  • Elon Musk is inciting mobs to turn on people who criticise DOGE on X

  • X has challenged a German court decision forcing it it to share election data with researchers

  • Brazil's top court ordered X to pay $1.42M fine for non-compliance with judicial orders

__________


YouTube 📺

YouTube’s Voice Replies feature.expanded

__________


TikTok 📱

__________


Bluesky / LinkedIn / Canva / More… ⚡️

__________

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

Just head to the ‘More news’ section below!

.

🤖 SOCIAL A.I.

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

Elon Musk unveils xAI’s latest model Grok 3 and 'Deep Search' tool

Coming soon, a "next generation search engine" powered by Grok.

Also spotted this week 👀

.

💬 YOU CAN QUOTE ME ON THAT

When I’m quoted in the news, you’ll find it here:

I spoke to CNET about Meta’s new 30-day live video removal policy… 🗑️

.

😆 LOL

.

🌡️ VIRAL

This was EVERYWHERE this week… It was a masterclass in how NOT to get attention on LinkedIn…

…while also being a masterclass in how to get lots attention if you don’t care about being branded a sexist.

LinkedIn user sparks furious backlash over bizarre rant about women's breasts

'Let's talk about boobs for a sec...'

Also this week, it was hard to avoid the cringe-making Horizons Worlds ad from Meta.

There are words for how bad this Meta Horizon Worlds ad looks, but we’re not allowed to use them

Tying in with Valentine’s Day by showing a meeting on single people sharing their experiences. But the PS2-level graphics, fake-sounding voices, and bland script left viewers laughing, rather than champing at the bit to download the app.

I would share the ad with you… but Meta seems to have deleted it from Instagram! Luckily, others grabbed it to share, like this post on Bluesky.

There were some great reactions to it though…

Also:

  • TIKTOK: This AI trend lets TikTok users relive history’s best—and worst—moments

.

🪧 BRANDS

Let’s check in on how the dead owl saga is going… oh,, pretty damn well.

Duolingo 'killed' its mascot with a Cybertruck, and it's going weirdly well

.

🙊 WHAT DID YOU SAY?!

“We spent way too much money on it. I lost tens of millions on that show. I’m an idiot”

- MrBeast regrets making Beast Games with Amazon

Also overheard this week:

  • ”We were not meant to receive this kind of feedback from basically anyone, anywhere in the world, just all consistently, day in and day out“ 
    - MrBeast tells Steven Bartlett (Diary of a CEO podcast) about dealing with trolls

  • “After a brief check-in with Twitter, I can confirm it’s worse than ever”
    – Stephen King returned to X, but not for long

.

📺 MUST WATCH

Two of the most love-to-hate people in the social media world, MrBeast and Steven Bartlett, had a conversation this week… 🎙️

Whatever you think of them both, it’s worth a watch. | 📺 Watch on YouTube

Meanwhile: Beast Games is now Amazon Prime Video’s most-watched unscripted series ever, reaching 50 million viewers in 25 days 🤯

MrBeast explains why he has ‘less than one million dollars in the bank’

.

👀 MY FAV READS

“Young people have ditched capitalisation in favour of a writing style that reflects their values and attitudes to tradition. Will this change our language for ever?”

The death of capital letters: why gen Z loves lowercase

.

🏆 NEW YOUTUBE RECORD

This two-year-old YouTube Shorts video from MrBeast has become the platform’s most-liked video, with 54 million likes and growing 🔥

.

😮 WTF?!

When ‘true crime’ is actually made-up AI bulls**t…

YouTube shuts down "true crime" channel that was all AI lies

Also this week 👀

.

🤦 FAIL

HAWK TUAH: She built an empire on a short video clip, and then lost it thanks to a sketchy memecoin… 📉

The Incredible Rise and Fall of the ‘Talk Tuah’ Podcast

Also check out 👀

.

📲 NEW APPS

Are you investing time in growing a Bluesky presence? 

BlueSkyHunter can help you measure your progress: 📊

Bluesky gets growth and analytics tools with BlueSkyHunter launch

.

👔 YOU’RE HIRED!

Hot new social media jobs worth checking out this week:

Blizzard Entertainment is looking for a Senior Director, Social & Content Marketing [Irvine, CA or remote, USA]

More top social media jobs spotted this week 💼

.

🪦 RIP

Social media features heading for the graveyard:

Amazon has ditched the TikTok-style feed that allowed users to discover products and shop from content created by influencers, brands, and other customers. 🗑️

Amazon kills 'Inspire,' its TikTok-style feed for discovering products

.

👌 PRO TIPS

“Measuring social media impact in 2025 requires looking beyond vanity metrics. Discover key strategies and tools to boost engagement.”

Beyond Vanity Metrics: How Brands Are Measuring Social Media Impact

www.searchenginejournal.com/measuring-social-media-impact/536484

More pro-tips worth checking out ✨

.

📊 SOCIAL STATS

100 MILLION +

- The number of TikTok creators who livestreamed on the platform in 2024. more than 46 million new creators went live for the first time

Even more social stats: 📈

  • YOUTUBE: 74% of YouTube videos have 0 comments

  • CREATOR ECONOMY: 53% of creators find it more difficult to reach their followers now compared to 5 years ago [Patreon’s ‘State of Create’ 2025 report]

  • DUOLINGO’S monthly active Android users jumped 25% worldwide after the company ‘killed’ its mascot. Global downloads on Android jumped 38% the day after the campaign, and web searches increased by 58%.

  • GEN-Z: 39% of Gen Z and 33% of millennials say they will never take financial advice from social media or online ever again, and doing so has negatively impacted their lives.

  • TIKTOK is targeting 400% growth for ecommerce in the US by 2025

  • TIKTOK had 9.69 million users in South Korea last month, surpassing Facebook (8.61 million users) for the first time

  • TIKTOK SHOP: Sales grew 153% for TikTok Shop during January, compared with 26% for Shein and 28% for Temu

.

📈 CHARTED

Got a YouTube video with 1,000 views? Turns out you’re doing pretty well! 📊

The vast majority of videos on the platform never break into four-figure view counts.

Check out even more surprising YouTube stats here.

More charted social insights spotted this week: 👀.

.

MORE META NEWS

Meta’s ‘free speech’ revamp divides oversight board

Independent body searches for ways to hold social media group to account over content moderation and hate-speech changes

  • Meta has paused efforts to license books for AI training, court filings show. [TechCrunch]

  • Meta has launched a $50m creator fund for Horizon Worlds as it tries make it take off. [Road to VR]

  • Meta has reduced stock options for staff despite trading at record highs. [Financial Times $$$]

  • …but Meta executives could get bigger bonuses. [CNBC]

  • Mark Zuckerberg has been in Washington DC to talk AI and tech policy. [Bloomberg $$$]

  • Meta has hired former RealReal CEO John Koryl to help sell its smartglasses. [Bloomberg $$$]

  • Italian media groups have file criminal complaint over the WhatsApp hack on journalists. [Engadget]

  • Mark Zuckerberg’s charity has gutted DEI initiatives after it assured staff they would continue. [The Guardian]

New features and tests:

WhatsApp:

  • WhatsApp is testing displaying initials for contacts who don’t have profile photos or have set their privacy settings to hide them from everyone. [@theahmedghanem]

  • WhatsApp is testing separate filters for status and channels. [@oncescuradu]

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

  • Meta Business Suite has introduced a new ‘Adverts Manager’ that consolidates tools for advertisers in one place. [@theahmedghanem]

  • Meta’s latest Quest update brings web shortcuts, DisplayPort out and more. [Upload VR]

.

MORE TIKTOK NEWS

ByteDance's US Backers Say China Growth to Counter Any TikTok Ban Damage

Could ByteDance happily cut TikTok US off? The American presence for the app accounts for just 10% of the company’s global revenue.

  • TikTok is laying off global staff at its trust and safety unit which handles content moderation. [Reuters $$$]

  • TikTok has implemented strict return-to-office conditions on US staff. [ReadWrite]

  • TikTok is conducting a monetisation survey. [@jonahmanzano]

.

💥 EVEN MORE SOCIAL MEDIA NEWS & UPDATES

Kai Cenat plans to launch a ‘streaming university’ to teach aspiring creators

The Twitch star announces plans for a weekend-long crash course, with influencers like MrBeast and Mark Rober set to teach classes.

  • A study of TikTok and X’s 'For You' feeds in Germany found far-right political bias ahead of federal elections. [TechCrunch]

  • Trump’s FTC chief is targeting ‘big tech censorship’ of users. [Bloomberg $$$]

  • Publishers’ event videos are gaining traction on LinkedIn. [DigiDay $$$]

  • Lemon8 is now available in Australia. [@jonahmanzano]

  • Australian children are able to bypass age limit set by social media platforms, a report shows. [Bloomberg $$$]

  • A 'loophole' in the law on messaging apps leaves children vulnerable to sexual abuse, says UK charity the NSPCC. [Sky News]

.

📰 WEEKEND READS

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

A look at the anti-AI movement on Reddit: “Mods ask Reddit for tools as generative AI gets more popular and inconspicuous.” 🤖

Reddit mods are fighting to keep AI slop off subreddits. They could use help.

More great weekend reads:

.

😳 AND FINALLY…

They could do this for free… 🤷‍♂️

“Since the ‘Offline Club’ launched at the end of October, more than 2,000 people have taken part.”

Londoners are paying $12 for the chance to switch off their phones and 'connect with the real world'

.

📅 BACK NEXT WEEK…

Well, that’s all folks.

Your social media news download is complete. ✅

I’m heading off to celebrate my cousin’s 46th birthday in… Wellington, Somerset (UK).

It’s very much NOT a party town.

A couple of old man pubs, and a Chinese takeaway, basically.

But we’ll try to liven it up a little 🙂 

Us by 9.30pm:

Apologies for the any drunken social media activity later.

Goodbye, geeks!

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

Reply

or to participate.