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Hello, geeks!

Welcome back! I hope your week has been less manic than mine!

The summer holidays seem like a distant memory already.

The Christmas break can’t come soon enough, for me!

Annnnnyway…

Two of the world’s biggest social platforms held major product launch events this week:

Meta’s Connect 2025 and YouTube’s ‘Made On’ Events.

This means there are a LOT of new AI tools, platform features, and hardware to dig into.

Also, in this week’s Geekout…
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📱 Trump claims a deal’s done to keep TikTok in the U.S… But lawmakers aren’t convinced it fixes the national security concerns that kicked all this off!
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👓 Zuck launched AI smart glasses with a Minority Report-style neural wristband… But the live on-stage demo failed — somewhere, the old Google Glass team were quietly laughing.

___________

BUT before we dive… These are good! 👇
-

📊 How do your Instagram engagement compare to McDonald’s, KFC, Dominos? — See where you rank. [ad]
-

❤️ This is one of the best media newsletters I read every week

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SPONSORED - INSTAGRAM - NEW 2025 INSIGHTS
The Fast Food Brands Crushing Instagram in 2025 — And The Tactics You Can Steal

Ever wonder how brands like McDonald’s, Dominos, and KFC always seem to smash it on Instagram?

Measure Studio analysed MILLIONS of Instagram posts from the world’s most-loved fast food brands to uncover their social strategy secrets.

This FREE report reveals which fast food giants are crushing it (spoiler: it’s not who you think!)

… And the tactics working for them right now.

Sneak peek at some of the insights:

• 🍔 McDonald’s Reels are pulling 7M+ views

• 📉 Starbucks + Dunkin’ post the most… but don’t rank highest

• 💸 75% of paid collabs beat the brand’s usual performance

• 📈 Reels = 54% of content… and the MVP by miles

And inside the FULL playbook you get:

• 📊 Benchmarks to rank your IG posts vs. McDonalds, KFC, Dominos

• 📱 Tips to optimise Reels without a production crew

• 💡 Ready-to-steal IG tactics that actually move the needle

• 🔁 Scroll-stopping post formats you can test this week
  …and more!

This FREE report is an insights goldmine for social teams.

Where do YOU rank? 🫣

How does your Instagram stats stack-up vs. McDonald’s, KFC, Dunkin’?

⤷ 👀 See where you rank. 

.

🔥 GEEKOUT HOT 5

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

2. U.S. Congress to question Discord, Reddit, Twitch, and Valve over their role in Charlie Kirk’s killing [BLAMING]

3. Meta unveiled $800 ‘Ray-Ban Display’ AI smart glasses and more at Connect 2025 event [SPECTACLE-ING]

4. Facebook started rolling out Cambridge Analytica settlement payments in the US [COMPENSATING]

5. YouTube’s launched next-gen AI tools for creators at ‘Made On’ event [UPGRADING]

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The Newsletter Media Insiders Read — Before Their Bosses Do

Sick of getting your news secondhand? 

Semafor Media takes you straight to the source, uncovering the political, cultural, and financial forces that shape the media landscape.

Penned by industry veterans Ben Smith (ex-BuzzFeed News) and Max Tani, who have a combined 20+ years reporting in the trenches.

Semafor Media isn't just news – it's the inside track on how news gets made. 

Expect sharp analysis, the occasional juicy scoop, and insights you can leverage in your own social strategy.

⤷ Subscribe for FREE – and get ahead of the narrative.

.

🚨 EVERYONE’S TALKING ABOUT
-
Is a TikTok U.S. deal FINALLY done…?

Well, well, well… Do we finally have a real US TikTok deal that China will want ByteDance to sign? It appears so.

Under the outline of the deal (which still needs to be firmed up) a new TikTok US company would keep the prized algorithm via a licensing agreement. An American consortium led by Oracle, Silver Lake, and Andreessen Horowitz would control 80% of the new business, with ByteDance maintaining a 20% stake.

Given the scale of the US market, TikTok US could be a huge business on its own.

But there’s a catch. American users will be forced to move over to a brand new app, separate from the one used around the rest of the world outside China.

At the very least, this could be havoc for marketers, who will need to split budgets between two different apps, which might well diverge in terms of features over time.

And still completely unanswered by ANYONE (we’ve been bringing this up in Geekout over and over for years!) is whether international users will lose access to American creators, and vice versa. That’s a pretty massive unanswered question that American coverage has ignored.

As for China, it’s calling the deal a win. ByteDance will still control the algorithm even if the US can use it, and unspecified “Chinese characteristics” will be allowed to remain in the new app.

Not all US lawmakers are keen on the deal’s Chinese involvement, which means there could be friction and controversy about the new app in the future.

But the agreement could still all fall apart. The US said they could kill the deal unless a tariff dispute is resolved. Talks are taking place today in an attempt to find a solution.

It could take another month to work out all the details, so it’s a good thing Trump has extended the deal deadline for a fourth time.

Let’s hope it’s the last!

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✨ NEW & NOTEWORTHY

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

Meta / Facebook / Messenger 👥

• Messenger now lets you set your mood by choosing up to three emojis in Notes

• Meta is in talks with outlets like Fox, News Corp, and Axel Springer to license news for AI tools

• Facebook finally added Insights to Pages’ broadcast channels, giving admins access to analytics and performance data to better track engagement and reach

• Facebook now lets you share Reels directly to WhatsApp Status

• Facebook added more options for page admins to filter notifications

• Facebook now gives creators the option to enable or disable ads on their videos

• Facebook now labels Story viewers on Pages, showing whether they are followers or non-followers

• Messenger now lets you message yourself, like WhatsApp

__________

Instagram ✨

• Instagram rolled out its ‘Shots’ quick image sharing feature to more regions

• Instagram is working on the ability to customise the app icon

• Instagram could be testing a new ad format with Post previews

• Instagram says it has fixed a bug that was giving Stories less reach if you posted lots of Stories in a day

• Instagram added a new ‘Automations’ section to help manage lead detection in messages

• Instagram is testing a new feature in Notes that displays what you’re watching

• Instagram Stories drafts will now only be available for seven days

• Instagram added an option to use audio you liked in Edits, directly from the audio page on Instagram.

• Instagram now lets you filter comments to only see ones from people you follow or from verified accounts

• Instagram Edits now has overlays, fade control, and saved sounds

• Instagram is working on the ability to use different fonts for Notes

• Instagram is working on the ability to draw anywhere in DM chats

• Instagram is testing two new buttons for creating Reels: ‘Save’ and ‘Save draft’

• Instagram on the web now better supports widescreen monitors with more columns

__________

Threads 🧵

• Threads’ Markup feature has learned some new tricks, including new highlighter colour options

• Threads is experimenting with Communities to spark topical engagement, similar to X’s Communities

• Threads now lets anyone DM anyone—no mutual follow needed. A new toggle allows messages from strangers, which arrive in a separate inbox

• Threads is working on a feature that lets you take control of your feed by simply tagging @threads.algo in a post. A ‘your algorithm’ page has also been spotted

• Threads added new layouts for posts you share to your Instagram Stories

__________

 WhatsApp 🟢

• WhatsApp may be close to launching a long-awaited message ‘Remind Me’ feature to help users avoid ghosting chats with friends

• WhatsApp now lets you add verified profile links (previously spotted in beta app earlier this year)

• WhatsApp now lets brands run click-to-message promotions in Status updates

• WhatsApp is testing a feature that allows users to quickly manage Status privacy settings through a new interface

• WhatsApp added new tools for Indian businesses, like in-app purchases via QR codes and one-tap voice and video calling

• WhatsApp is testing a feature that allows users to mention everyone in group chats (this could quickly get annoying if overused!)

• WhatsApp is testing a feature that introduces a unified calling system in group chats

• WhatsApp is testing a new way to forward multiple messages in app

• WhatsApp Status has an Easter egg for Ed Sheeran fans

__________

Twitter (‘X’) 🤡

• X launched a ‘Boost’ feature which allows Premium subscribers to pay to force their posts into more user’s feeds… This won’t be abused by scammers / spammers at all 🙄

• X started merging old messages into the new Chat

• X is relaunching its NFL Portal with new features for the 2025–26 season, like custom game feeds, real-time scores, and player stats

• xAI laid off more than 500 generalist AI tutors who trained its chatbot Grok, as it shifts toward specialist roles

• Elon Musk’s Grok AI bot falsely suggested police misrepresented footage of far-right rally in London

__________

TikTok 📱 / YouTube 📺

• TikTok cloned Instagram’s Blend with its own ‘Shared feed’ feature spotted in the wild

• TikTok is testing a ‘Hatch a Streak Pet’ for TikTok DMs

• TikTok's ‘Comment with image' option is rolling out to more users, and you can now combine up to six photos and videos in single Layout post

• TikTok Shop launched ‘Golden Weekend Live’ to drive US adoption of weekend livestreaming

• TikTok added an option to auto-rotate landscape videos

• TikTok is testing a new ‘Shared collections’ feature

• TikTok’s Fan Club (formerly Subscription) has been spotted in the wild

• TikTok added a new feature called PhotoSwap, where you can only see your friend’s pic after sending yours

• TikTok now gives you insights into trending search activities with demographic data and potential related topics to help your content

• TikTok is doubling down on football, renewing its content partnership with Spain’s La Liga

• TikTok and Spotify launched a U.S.-only ‘Big on BookTok’ pilot hub for audiobook fans

__________

YouTube 📺

• YouTube Live received a major update, with dual-format streaming, minigames, practice mode, live reactions, side by side ads, and more

• YouTube will let creators swap out brand ads in long-form videos with dynamic ad slots

• YouTube announced a new collab tool allows up to five creators to co-publish one video, expanding reach while centralising revenue to the original uploader

__________

LinkedIn / Snapchat / Pinterest / More… 👔

• LinkedIn now lets you display verified Duolingo language scores on your profile

• LinkedIn is expanding its company page verification programme beyond Premium subscribers

• Snapchat added infinite message retention and streaks for group chats

• Snap unveiled Snap OS 2.0, a major update to its Spectacles AR glasses ahead of their first consumer release in 2026

• Snapchat is bringing the legendary home of New Romantics, the Blitz Club, back to life with AR at London’s Design Museum

• Mastodon is bringing quote posts to the fediverse

• Reddit added six-second video view optimisation for advertisers to boost ad performance

• Pinterest boards have a new look

• Pinterest launched the Educators’ Fund, to support creators sharing educational content

• Google Search will put posts from creators on X, YouTube Shorts and Instagram in your Discover feed

• Twitch now requires UK users to verify their age with a face scan

__________

🔥 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:

YouTube unveiled a load of new AI-powered features this week, including the ability to turn podcasts into video clips, even if they're audio-only…

Also spotted this week 👀

• YouTube will let creators animate still images, apply styles like origami or pop art, and drop in props with just text. A new Speech-to-Song remixing tool lets users turn video dialogue into musical soundtracks

• YouTube Studio’s new likeness detection lets creators flag videos using their face to remove unauthorised copies

• YouTube’s new ‘Ask Studio’ AI chatbot answers creator questions, offers analytics insights, and guides growth strategies

• YouTube is officially launching auto-dubbed videos, with synced lip movement for realism

• YouTube Shorts now supports AI-generated stickers, letting creators turn ideas into visuals with text prompts

• Instagram Edits is rolling out its AI-powered ‘Restyle’ feature more widely

• LinkedIn will start using your posts to train its AI a—unless you say no

• LinkedIn is rolling out a new AI-powered mock interviews feature that generates tailored questions based on job descriptions

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💬 YOU CAN QUOTE ME ON THAT

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

After controversial far-right activist Tommy Robinson led a large protest in London last weekend….

…I shared my analysis with The i Paper about how platform-level promotion of Robinson isn’t so much a glitch, more an algorithmic intention created by X…

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🕶️ TOP GLASS

All the news you need to know from Meta Connect 2025:

• Meta revealed its new $800 ‘Ray-Ban Display’ AI smart glasses with AR display and wristband controller

• Meta unveiled new $499 Oakley Meta Vanguard smart glasses for athletes

• Meta’s new Ray-Ban Gen 2 glasses double the battery life and add 3K video

• Meta previewed a revamped Horizon OS UI with a sleeker, more spatial design

• Meta opened its AI glasses to developers with a new toolkit enabling app integrations. Twitch and Disney are early users

• Meta launched its new Horizon Engine, replacing Unity for faster, smoother VR experiences

• Meta’s new Conversation Focus bon smart glasses boosts voices of people you're speaking with in noisy spaces

• Meta is bringing an all-in-one movie and TV streaming hub to Quest headsets

• Meta says Discord will launch as a native app on Quest in 2026

• Meta smart glasses will integrate with Garmin watches for workout stats

• Meta’s new Hyperscape feature lets Quest 3 users scan their room and turn it into a virtual world

.

🌡️ VIRAL

AI-made slapstick videos mocking Trump are dominating YouTube with over 2.2 BILLION views!

Example so you get the vibe:

One skit shows “an AI-generated Vladimir Putin and Ali Khamenei setting a pack of pseudo-cartoon bears on Donald Trump and Bibi Netanyahu after Trump and Netanyahu push Khamenei out of a plane.” 🫨

Also going viral this week: 🔥

• Saddam Hussein meme edits are hijacking sports TikTok

• Microdramas are TikTok turned up to 11, and they’re coming for your time and money

• Anti-Trump influencers flooded the White House’s new TikTok Account. The comments are brutal.

.

🪧 BRANDS

“As Discord steps up its pitch to advertisers, brands are increasingly approaching the platform as an influencer marketing play, sponsoring niche Discord servers to reach particularly engaged consumers.”

More brand news this week: 👀

• The playbook behind Nike’s billion-impression social media machine

• Big-name brands like Crocs and Pacsun are powering TikTok Shop’s livestream bet — but US shoppers still favour short videos

• Walmart announced Walmart Creator Collabs, a program connecting creators with hundreds of brands in Walmart’s Marketplace

• Ben & Jerry’s co-founder Jerry Greenfield quit the company this week, via a post shared to X by his fellow co-founder Ben Cohen. He’s angry that parent company Unilever has put a stop to the brand’s social activism

.

🙊 WHAT DID YOU SAY?!

“We missed an opportunity for legendary status.”

- Meta CTO Andrew ‘Boz’ Bosworth reflects on an epic tech breakdown at Meta Connect, where a rare bug and overloaded WiFi ruined two onstage demos

-
Also overheard this week: 👂

• “I can't emphasise enough the damage that social media and the internet is doing to all of us… Some of the most powerful companies in the history of the world have figured out how to hack our brains, get us addicted to outrage — which is the same type of dopamine, the same chemical you get from taking fentanyl — and get us to hate each other."

  -

  – Utah Governor Spencer Cox  says social media companies share the blame for the killing of Charlie Kirk

  -

• “I run the company through text messages”

  -

  – Mark Zuckerberg says he frequently sends work messages via WhatsApp from Meta’s new Meta Ray-Ban Display AI smart glasses

  -

• “Seats on the boat are precious”

  -

  – Mark Zuckerberg on why he has a small but carefully selected team working on ‘superintelligence’

.

👀 MY FAV READS

Is social media dying? I don’t think so. It’s just evolving. But this is an interesting read regardless…

“Social media promised connection, but it has delivered exhaustion.”

.

😮 WTF?!

To fair, this would be a ‘WTF?!’ news story for anyone EXCEPT Elon Musk… 

For him, it’s just another day at the chaos factory…

“Diego Pasini graduated from high school in 2023. He took over xAI's data annotation team earlier this month.”

Also WTF this week: 👀

• Meta launched a California-only super PAC solely controlled by Mark Zuckerberg, letting him use corporate funds to back handpicked candidates and politically kneecap AI rivals

• A former Facebook lobbyist is now in charge of the EU's Facebook regulator

.

🤦‍♂️ FAIL

CRINGE ALERT: Watch Zuck blame "the WIFI" as LiveAI fails its first demo… 🫣

Also: 

• The Australian government’s $6.5 million trial shows social media age checks fail most for teens they claim to protect

• MrBeast failed to disclose ads and improperly collected children’s data, according to a watchdog group

• YouTube says ad blockers may be skewing video stats for creators. Creators have reported major view drops since mid-August, with desktop views down by 50%.

• TikTok pulled antisemitic shirts featuring Nazi symbols and offensive Jewish caricatures. The items were sold for over a week before being yanked from sale

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📺 WATCH THIS

With Meta Connect taking place this week, Mark Zuckerberg has been busy on the podcast interview trail.

He spoke to Rowan Cheung for a deep dive, which is well-worth checking out:

Zuck also spoke to former Verge reporters Alex Heath and Ellis Hamburger on their new podcast, Access

Alex also pulled together some highlights in his NEW ‘Source’ newsletter (which is worth subscribing to.)

.

👔 YOU’RE HIRED!

Hot new social media jobs worth checking out this week:

I’ve praised ALDI’s UK social media output a lot over the years, and now they’re looking for a Social Media Manager [Atherstone, Warwickshire, UK]

More top social media jobs spotted this week 💼

• Sprout Social needs a Director, Social Media Marketing [Remote, USA]

• Dropbox is hiring a Director, Social Media and Content Strategy [Remote, USA]

• The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) wants to recruit a Strategic Social Media Manager [Hybrid, Poole, UK]

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👌 PRO TIPS

Make sure you’re making the most of LinkedIn’s ad features, with 6 pro-tips…

.

📊 SOCIAL STATS

1 TRILLION

– The number of selfies Snapchat users snapped in 2024.
That’s more than double the 500 billion selfies taken with the iPhone camera app globally in 2024.

Even more social stats: 📈

• I WANNA X YOU UP: X claimed its biggest download week in its history as people sought news following the killing of Charlie Kirk, with its App Store ranking climbing 80 spots (105 to 25)

• BIG BUCKS: YouTube says it has paid $100 billion to creators, artists and media companies over the past four years

• SPORTS: Meta now drives 17% of all sports content consumption—just behind YouTube and streaming giants

• GROK THIS: Elon Musk’s xAI says Grok now has 64 million users

• WITH KIDS: 80% of parents use more social app features after having kids, and 58% buy more through social media, according to Snap

• SHEER(AN) POPULARITY: Ed Sheeran’s Brooklyn TikTok LIVE drew 2.3 million global viewers, breaking 2025’s artist record

.

📈 CHARTED

The leading sources of data for LLMs… A strong showing Reddit and other social platforms.

Reddit’s AI deal with Google is paying off…

More charted social insights spotted: 👀.

• MEANING OF LIFE: What do US adults think social media is for?

.

💥 EVEN MORE SOCIAL MEDIA NEWS & UPDATES

• California’s age verification bill backed by Google, Meta and OpenAI has gone to governor Gavin Newsom, who has until 13 October to pass it into law. [Politico]

• New York state is pushing for strict age checks for TikTok, YouTube, Instagram. [The Verge]

• Meta is struggling to cut China out of its smart glasses supply chain after Goertek seized control of Meta’s optics pipeline with key takeovers. [Financial Times $$$]

• UK Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy says the UK is ready to force YouTube to feature BBC, Channel 4, and other PSBs more prominently. [Deadline]

• TikTok UK moderators warned users may be at risk after the company announced plans to lay them off. [Sky News]

• Meta's performance review system punished WhatsApp's former security head for speaking up about privacy risks, he claims. [Business Insider $$$]

• Meta acted unlawfully when it removed p**n actress Esperanza Gómez’s Instagram account, Colombia’s top court ruled. [BBC News]

• Australia’s social media ban is set to allow some age-check errors. [Bloomberg $$$]

• Discord denied that the suspect accused of killing Charlie Kirk used the platform to discuss his crime, after it was mentioned by law enforcement. [The Verge]

• Sweden demanded a fast EU crackdown on social media for kids. [Politico]

More updates and tests:

• Meta updated the support section for Meta Verified subscribers. [@theahmedghanem]

• Instagram added more notification controls for broadcast channels, along with support for dubbed Reels translated by Meta AI. [@theahmedghanem]

• Facebook added Notifications Timing, giving you the option to choose how long popup notifications stay visible in the app. [@theahmedghanem]

• WhatsApp moved the Settings page to the main screen in the latest Android beta. [@yabhisghekhd]

• TikTok redesigned its side menu. [@jonahmanzano]

• TikTok is testing a simplified ‘Add to music app’ button. [@oncescuradu]

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📰 WEEKEND READS

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

Charlie Kirk has been all over the news for over a week, since he was killed.

Here’s a look at the impact his right-wing tactics had on politics in the social media age…

More great weekend reads:

• Apple, Google and Meta are trying to perfect a science fiction gadget: The universal translator

• Mark Zuckerberg has begun his quest to kill the smartphone

• The mysterious demise of a $1 billion social shopping app

• Meta reframes their reality: They're trying to back AI and Smart Glasses into the 'Metaverse'

.

😳 AND FINALLY…

It’s always fun when celebrities get in on an online joke about themselves.

How many of these do you remember…?

.

📅 BACK NEXT WEEK…

That’s all folks!

I’m heading off to begin my annual pilgrimage to the Apple Store to swap out my iPhone 16 for one of the new marginally improved devices. (Air / Pro Max)

Despite working in tech for over 20 years, I still somehow almost lost my entire 20GB WhatsApp backup last year during the upgrade.

Thank god i knew someone at WhatsApp who recovered it (somehow).

Quick heads up… 

I’ve been given FIVE copies of a hilarious new ‘Dictionary of LinkedIn’ book, to giveaway to Geekout readers…

…More details in next week’s newsletter.

Goodbye geeks

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