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Hello, geeks!

It’s time for your weekly dive into everything you need to know from the world of social.

Things like…

• The White House’s shiny new TikTok account didn’t get a great reception at home… or in China 😬

• Meta’s constant shifting on AI is giving the stock market jitters 🫨

• The creepy tracking devices that are all over TikTok 😳

• Did Musk ask Zuck to team up with him, even after all the trash talk? 🙃

And loads more. As ever here at Geekout, we’re about to go DEEP into the week’s news…

But first… These are worthy of your attention: 👀 [ad]

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• 💡 100 time-saving ChatGPT prompts for social media managers you’ll want to steal.

__________

PSA: Geekout’s Summer Break 🏖️

I’m about to jet off on holiday for a much-needed break with my kids.

This means there will be no Geekout next week (Fri 29 Aug).

But Geekout will return to your inbox on Friday 5 September.

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🔥 GEEKOUT HOT 5

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

2. Chinese officials reaffirm they won’t sell TikTok’s algorithm to US, ahead of 17 Sept US ban deadline [LINK]

3. Meta puts the brakes on its massive AI talent spending spree, as re-org spooks the stock market [LINK]

4. Meta faces US Senate investigation into its ‘sensual’ AI chats for kids policy [LINK]

5. Andrew Tate sues TikTok and Meta for $100 million over 2022 bans [LINK]

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🚨 EVERYONE’S TALKING ABOUT

What was team Trump thinking?

We are less than a month away from the next TikTok sale deadline in the US (this time its for real, honest!).

So with the future of the platform hingeing on whether or not China would approve a sale, it was OBVIOUSLY the perfect time to launch a White House TikTok account… right?

The content was typically Trump, with the kind of meme-y tone we’ve seen from other official social channels since he became President again.

Bashing Zelensky in the same week as he was in town for talks over the future of Ukraine was perhaps a bit ridiculous, but when has anything ever made clear sense in Trump’s political communications?

The whole thing backfired. Aside from the roasting the account received from TikTok users, the account proved the perfect backdrop for China to reaffirm that it won’t allow TikTok’s core algorithm to be sold abroad.

An editorial in the state-run China Daily mocked Trump’s new TikTok account amid looming ban threats.

The furore kicked off in the same week that Billy McLaughlin, the meme-maker-in-chief at the White House, announced he was leaving his role. Say what you like about the fascistic tone of some of his output, he timed his exit in such a way he’ll be able to claim it was nothing to do with him, whether that’s true or not.

And sometimes in your career, knowing when to get the hell out is the most important skill of all!

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✨ NEW & NOTEWORTHY

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

Meta 👥

• Meta has reorganised its AI teams again, with four units focused on research, superintelligence, product, and infrastructure

• …but the move spooked investors and Meta’s stock dropped nearly 5% in a week

• Meta Verified has added a Search Optimisation perk, boosting subscribers’ usernames to the top of search results

• Meta has reportedly signed a new six-year cloud deal with Google, worth over $10 billion

• Meta has changed the wording of its overview of how and when you’ll be charged for ads, with upfront billing now being put into effect

• Meta and Character. ai are being probed over touting AI mental health advice to children

• Meta no longer requires Meta Verified subscribers to upload their ID to verify their identity when updating their profile picture

• Meta’s Oakley HSTN smart glasses are now up for preorder, shipping August 26

• Meta has shown off its impressive, high-spec ‘Tiramisu’ VR headset - but it’s just a prototype

• Meta has shown off its Boba 3 headset, with a 180° × 120° FOV in a Quest-like form, but don’t expect it to go on sale yet

• Meta’s upcoming ‘Hypernova’ HUD Glasses with an EMG wristband will reportedly sell for $800 and could launch in mid-September

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Instagram ✨

• Instagram now lets creators link multiple Reels in a series

• Instagram has started promoting Edits features in the main feed

• Instagram could replace the “Save” KPI with a “Screenshot” KPI… or simply add Screenshot as a new one

• Instagram has shared details of how it might bring back a tweaked Bonuses programme for Reels

• Instagram has added ‘Show Promotions’, letting you display a sale or offer from your shop that ends within seven days, directly on your profile

• Instagram Edits has added Text-to-Speech, with a choice of voices

• Instagram’s Beats feature is now also available on the main app after previously being on Edits

• Instagram has added a new shortcut for Quicksnaps in the main Instagram DMs UI

• Spotify now supports real-time music sharing to Instagram Stories and Notes

• Instagram is turning notes purple and adding a ❤️‍🔥 emoji when a user posts a Taylor Swift song

__________

Threads 🧵 / WhatsApp 🟢

• Threads now lets you share posts as Status updates on WhatsApp.

• WhatsApp has updated the channel post reactions sheet UI, adding the option to react directly from it while viewing reactions from others

• WhatsApp is testing improvements to the emoji reaction panel in chats, groups, and channels

• WhatsApp is testing a voicemail-like feature for missed calls

• WhatsApp is testing the ability to react to Status updates with recently used emojis

• WhatsApp is testing the separation of single-message forwarding from multiple-message selection

__________

Twitter (‘X’) 🤡

• A US judge has blocked the FTC’s probe into Media Matters over its investigation into X ads, calling it “a retaliatory act”

• X has reached a settlement with axed Twitter workers who sued the company

• X now lets you select video quality on your phone, not just on desktop

__________

YouTube 📺

• YouTube is rolling the ability for free users to get offline downloads, but only in low-res, and music videos aren’t included (Premium subscribers still get unlimited HD downloads)

• YouTube has been spotted testing a new semi-transparent UI on desktop

• Google will pay $30 million to settle claims it illegally tracked kids on YouTube for targeted ads

• YouTube is reportedly bidding to host the Oscars once ABC’s deal ends in 2028

• YouTube Shorts now has an effects maker, comment controls, and brand power tools

__________

TikTok 📱

• TikTok is poised to lay off hundreds of UK-based moderators despite the Online Safety Act, as it turns to AI instead

• TikTok now lets US students connect on campus with a feature called Campus Verification

• TikTok Live’s new ‘Viewer Wishes’ feature lets live creators perform preset actions in response to specific donations

• TikTok is overhauling subscriptions from 15 September, with more incentives, content-driven perks, and interactive tools

• TikTok’s new guidelines add subtle changes for LIVE creators, AI content, and more

• TikTok and ATP have launched new creator network to bring behind-the-scenes access to major tennis events

• TikTok has launched Music On Stage ’25, a global contest for rising artists, streaming on TikTok LIVE

• TikTok Shop has joined forces with INTA to educate young shoppers on counterfeits

__________

LinkedIn / Snapchat / Discord / More… 👻

• LinkedIn has detailed new measures to combat fake engagement

• LinkedIn has expanded its post-level analytics with new rolling notifications on profile views, followers, and impressions

• LinkedIn will now send notifications to members when their posts drive profile viewers or new followers, alongside impressions

• Snapchat has launched Buddy Passes, letting Snapchat+ members gift three seven-day subscriptions each billing cycle

• Discord and NVIDIA are teaming up to launch instant in-app game streaming via GeForce NOW

• Discord now supports Apple’s Handoff, letting users jump between devices mid-chat

• 4chan will refuse to pay daily online safety fines in the UK, its lawyer has said, calling them “harassment'“ of US-based tech companies

__________

🔥 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 is launching AI-powered translations for creators on Facebook and Instagram, starting with English and Spanish.

…but some users are freaked out by the results of the translations

Also spotted this week 👀

• Meta has rolled out a bunch of AI-powered ad tools to boost holiday shopping performance

• TikTok will force all Shop advertisers onto its AI campaign tool, GMV Max from the start of next month

• TikTok now lets you generate AI videos inside the timeline

• YouTube is testing machine learning tools to sharpen and clean up Shorts playback

• xAI added a ‘Multi select animate’ feature for two or more uploaded images in the Grok app

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😆 LOL

(Today’s LOLs were chosen by Therese McCurdy on Geekout Pro 🙏)

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🌡️ VIRAL

Well this is creepy and grim… 😬 “If your girl says she’s just out with friends every night, you’d better slap one of these on her car.”

As 404 Media reports: “TikTok Shop is selling GPS trackers marketed with viral videos that have voiceovers explicitly encouraging secretly tracking a romantic partner. Some of the videos have millions of views, and TikTok Shop’s own metrics show that that more than a hundred thousand of the devices have been sold.”

Also going viral this week: 🔥

• A woman’s viral TikTok accused a waxer of wearing Meta glasses during a Brazilian wax

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🪧 BRANDS

TikTok hit Roomies looks like your next favourite sitcom—but it’s actually a clever Bilt campaign.

Here’s a taster…

@roomiesroomiesroomies

Ep 9: the AC is broken

More brand news this week: 👀

• Video game The First Descendant is under fire for TikTok ads using AI-generated influencers and an unauthorised deepfake of popular streamer DanieltheDemon

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🙊 WHAT DID YOU SAY?!

“We did not build a cautious, government-style account. We built a fast, culturally fluent content machine designed to cut through the noise and win online. And it worked.”

- Former White House meme man Billy McLaughlin explains his controversial social strategy.

-
Also overheard this week: 👂

• “I will say, when I didn't separate my life from my work, I succeeded far more in my role. That's a hard truth."

  – Duolingo’s former social media manager Zaria Parvez discusses the heavy workload that drove success… and burnout

• “It’s like having a crazy uncle who decides to be the cops.”

  – A US government auditor describes DOGE’s rogue social media efforts at the Small Business Administration

• “Nigel Farage risks failing a generation of young women with his dangerous and irresponsible plans to scrap online safety laws. Scrapping safeguards and having no viable alternative plan in place to halt the floodgates of abuse that could open is an appalling dereliction of duty… It’s time for Farage to tell women and girls across Britain how he would keep them safe online.”
  
  – UK Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner hits out at Reform UK leader Nigel Farage’s call to scrap the Online Safety Act

• “No one a year ago believed that you could redesign the digital world so it didn’t splurge self-harm, suicide and pornography at a particular demographic,” said Baroness Beeban Kidron, a longtime child-safety campaigner in the House of Lords. “Guess what? We can.”

  
  – Child safety campaigner Baroness Beeban Kidron is a fan of the new age checks brought in with the UK’s Online Safety Act

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😮 WTF?!

First he wanted to fight him… then he wanted his help?

“Elon Musk… asked Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg to help him finance a $97.4 billion takeover of OpenAI in early 2025, court filings on Thursday revealed.”

The proposal never went anywhere, but it puts the earlier cage match stuff in a new light…

Also WTF this week: 👀

• xAI’s Grok exposed the underlying prompts for its AI personas, including ‘gems’ like “EVEN PUTTING THINGS IN YOUR ASS” 😱

• An investigation has been launched into the 'horrifying' death of French streamer Jean Pormanove, who died mid-stream after months of violent, sleep-deprived content. Investigators say his death was “not due to trauma”

• A network of 88 TikTok accounts used AI-generated avatars of top Latino journalists to spread viral Spanish-language disinformation

• The sketchy growth hacking behind viral ‘women’s safety’ app, Tea

• TikTok’s AI avatars turn real people into ad machines — with no royalties

• ‘Cheapfake’ AI celeb videos are rage-baiting people on YouTube

• The US Army is paying influencers to promote military life on Instagram.

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🤦‍♂️ FAIL

It was launched to huge fanfare earlier this year, but the Meta AI app hasn’t been well received by users, adding to Meta’s AI-related woes.

It’s been described as glitchy and unreliable, but I wouldn’t know the app is still solely designed for setting up Meta smartglasses in the UK. Seems like that’s for the best!

Also:

• xAI exposed over 370,000 Grok chats—many without user knowledge—making them Google-searchable. Users got zero warning that “share” meant public. Despite mocking OpenAI’s share debacle, Grok was doing the exact same thing—quietly.

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📲 NEW APPS

Veteran YouTuber Hank Green has launched a new app called Focus Friend. It features a smiling cartoon bean who encourages you to boost your productivity.

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👔 YOU’RE HIRED!

Hot new social media jobs worth checking out this week:

The Wikimedia Foundation is looking for a Social Media Specialist [Remote, worldwide]

More top social media jobs spotted this week 💼

• Calendly needs a Senior Social Media Marketing Manager [Remote, USA]

• Alzheimers Research UK is hiring a Senior Social Media Manager [Great Abington, Cambridgeshire, UK]

• The Imperial War Museum is recruiting a Social Media Producer (Video) [London, UK]

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🪦 RIP

Social media features heading for the graveyard:

Does your job take you deep into Meta’s advertising options? Here’s a heads up that the company will stop ads from using certain detailed targeting options as of 15 January 2026….

Also:

• Meta will deprecate the impressions and page fans metrics from the Page Insights API on 15 November 2025

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👌 PRO TIPS

Looking to go deeper on Reddit? This could help…

More pro-tips worth checking out ✨

• Reddit has published a new sports playbook for brands and advertisers

• X has published a guide to NFL engagement and opportunities on its platform

• 5 trends shaping social media marketing so far in 2025

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📊 SOCIAL STATS

$7.2 BILLION

– How much OnlyFans took from subscribers in 2024 (up from $6.6bn). It paid out $5.8bn to its creators in 2024 ($500mn more than the previous year)

Even more social stats: 📈

• BIG ZUCKS: Meta spent over $27 million protecting Mark Zuckerberg in 2024—more than six major tech firms combined

• HARMFUL: 97% of Instagram Reels and 96% of TikTok suggestions were deemed harmful, in a study of dummy teen accounts by the Molly Rose Foundation

• FAKEDIN: A study found 54% of long-form LinkedIn posts were AI-assisted

• DISTURBING: 70% of UK children are exposed to p**n online by age 18—up from 64% in 2023. 27% said they saw it by age 11, often accidentally, with X now the most common access point

• BRIT-TUBE: A new YouGov survey shows 28% of UK users watch YouTube more than last year

• PIN-TAGE STYLE: Gen Z is leading Pinterest’s Fall 2025 trends, sparking a 1,074% surge in “vintage fall aesthetic” searches

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📈 CHARTED

TV use by platform and streaming service, showing YouTube’s dominance

More charted social insights spotted: 👀.

• TOP GLASS: How Meta is crushing its rivals as the smart glasses market doubles

• FUNNY BUSINESS: Ticket sales for stand up comedy, charted by social platform

• X DEMAND: New X downloads on mobile by month

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💥 EVEN MORE SOCIAL MEDIA NEWS & UPDATES

• A former Meta product manager alleges that the company misled advertisers over the financial performance of its Shops Ads. [Financial Times $$$]

• Meta has quietly expanded value rules to all campaign objectives, not just Sales and App Promotion. [Jon Loomer]

• Some publishers think Meta might be planning to pay for premium content for AI training. [DigiDay $$$]

• Meta received a 48 hour warning over illicit gambling ads in Brazil. [ReadWrite]

• Meta CTO Andrew ‘Boz’ Bosworth confirmed Quest 3’s “Augments” mini-apps are still in development. [Upload VR]

• Meta has hired yet more AI talent from Apple. [9to5Mac]

• Anti-vaccine myths surged on social media ahead of the CDC shooting in August. [NBC News]

• Key stakeholders in Australia’s social media age assurance trial have been frozen out amid media leaks and resignations. [The Guardian]

• Neil Young has quit Facebook over Meta’s controversial AI guidelines for kids. [Rolling Stone $$$]

New features and tests:

• Facebook is testing a new centred UI for the Story composer. [@oncescuradu]

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📰 WEEKEND READS

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

“As Australia rolls out a ban on social media for kids under 16, tech companies face steep fines and teens face life without TikTok, Instagram, and other platforms. Will it work?”

More great weekend reads:

• Making cash off ‘AI slop’: The surreal video business taking over the web

• Meet the man selling ‘doom’ to Zuckerberg and the Tate brothers

• Palestine was the ‘problem’ with TikTok

• What's behind the Trump administration's immigration memes?

• Social media is dead. Meta has admitted as much. What now?

• Kids are addicted to social media. No one can agree on a solution

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😳 AND FINALLY…

If you’ve been happily trying to avoid faddy words like ‘skibidi’ and ‘delulu’, I’m sorry to tell you they’re now a formal part of the English language…

…at least according to one dictionary.

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📅 BACK NEXT WEEK…

…aaaaaaand you’re all caught up with the world of social.

You can now impress everyone in your life with your detailed knowledge of important social industry news and obscure app feature tests alike. 🙌

And with that, I. AM. OUTTA. HERE. for a week away with my family. ☀️

Remember: there will be no Geekout next Friday.

But I’ll be back in your inbox on 5 September!

Goodbye, geeks!

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