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Hello, geeks!

Well… What a week it has been.

I just escaped from jail… Instagram jail 🚨

More on that in a moment. But first…

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I wonder if Instagram overlord Adam Mosseri wished I would shut the f**k up this week.

For some time now, both Threads and Instagram users have been complaining about increasingly questionable, and sometimes bizarre, content moderation decisions being made by Meta’s automated systems.

And this week, I too found myself in Instagram jail for a crime I did not commit. And when I appealed the judgement, Meta automatically rejected it within seconds! 🤬 

Going forwards, all my IG and Threads post would be downranked. And my posts would no longer be shown to non-followers. To say I was pissed would be an understatement!

And my experience this is far from an isolated case.

Keep scrolling for the full Meta content prison break story below 👇

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🔥 GEEKOUT HOT 5

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

2. Facebook launched a big Gen Z-focused redesign [REFRESHING]

3. TikTok sued by 14 U.S. states alleging its addictive features harm kids [SCAREMONGERING]

4. Brazil lifted ban on Elon Musk's X after it paid a $5 million fine [REINSTATING]

5. Meta launched ‘MovieGen’ advanced A.I. video generator [INNOVATING]

FREE ‘GET OUT OF INSTAGRAM JAIL’ CARD 🎟️

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🚨 EVERYONE’S TALKING ABOUT…

Threads’ growing pains

It’s awkward when you spend your life sharing and talking about the news, and then you become part of the news.

That happened to me this week, after the automated moderation built into Threads decided I needed to have my reach to non-followers cut off. Why? I shared a post about a hoax. My post made very clear it was a hoax and was meant to help make sure people didn’t fall for it.

But that nuance wasn’t enough for the AI which also seemed to think there was a copyright infringement involved too?! Very odd.

Anyway, moderation problems like this have been been going on for weeks, with users complaining to Threads boss Adam Mosseri to no avail. So I felt a little uncomfortable when he responded to my post to say he was looking into it.

Moderation issues are just one of Threads’ problems right now. It appears to be struggling as it experiences steady growth in users.

Engagement bait continues to be a real problem (as Mosseri admitted this week), and some popular accounts are complaining about engagement levels dropping off.

No wonder Bluesky is seizing the moment to launch a Threads account in a bid to coax people over to its own platform.

Threads will hopefully fix these problems soon. Having AI moderation that goes all Robocop on you for nothing means Threads is a risky place to make your home as a creator.

As for my problem, I had to use Google to find the post in question to delete because Threads search is STILL so terrible.

But it turns out I didn’t need to. My appeal (which Threads had told me was instantly rejected) was actually accepted, according to Mosseri.

So a happy ending for me… but for the likely hundreds of thousands of other creators who depend on Meta’s platforms to make a living, and don’t have the luxury of Mosseri’s personal attention, these moderation mistakes can be catastrophic for their careers.

I hope the news spotlight on the issue this week is a turning point and Threads turns that content moderation dial down a notch. 🤞

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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, all in one place:

• Meta has launched instant AI video generator ‘Movie Gen’ that creates convincing AI video clips 🎬

• Meta is bringing AI-edited video ads to Facebook and Instagram

• Facebook has launched Groups AI Assistant to help members of groups find answers to questions

• Messenger has added the “Create with AI” theme.

• Meta Horizon now lets you generate a new Meta avatar from a selfie

• TikTok has launched a new AI-powered ad tool for marketers, called Smart+

• Pinterest has expanded its campaign AI automation offering

• Adobe has a new tool to protect artists’ work from AI

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😆 LOL

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📈 MEMES

When Elon Musk took to the stage to support Trump (can you imagine the outcry if Jack Dorsey had done that for Biden in 2020?!) he instantly clocked up another meme for himself with his weird jump-dance thing.

And the unflattering photo memes didn’t stop there…

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🌡️ VIRAL

THAT dolphin face meme was the viral success of the week. Although apparently it’s actually a porpoise. I’ve always wanted a real porpoise in life…

Also:

• What’s in the rug? How TikTok got swept into a real-time true crime story 

  …it wasn’t a dead body, police say
  

• Dua Lipa's bizarre Diet Coke cocktail is dividing the internet 🤢
  

• Who is Natalie Nunn? The star behind viral 'Baddies, pose for me' TikTok song

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🙊 WHAT DID YOU SAY?!

“Shut the f*ck up”

– Adam Mosseri became a mini-meme on his own platform this week after this quote got shared widely (sorry Adam!). Fact check: it was actually just about cable ties, of all things.

• LinkedIn: “If our AI gets something wrong, that's your problem”

• Mark Zuckerberg once boasted to Peter Thiel about being bigger than Taylor Swift

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👌 PRO TIPS

If you’re not in Threats moderation jail… 😬

Here are some tips to grow your presence on platform.

ALSO…

• 21 of the best social media analytics tools for 2024

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😮 WTF?!

• Just Mark Zuckerberg leg pressing chicken nuggets

• People thought YouTube was hiding the skip button on ads …but YouTube says it’s not true

• The US Navy is looking for submarine recruits on Reddit. Nioj Eht Yvan!

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🤦 FAIL

How TF does this even happen, Elon?! 😆

“Citing Friday court filings, Reuters reports that X says it’s paid the fines and requested to have services restored.”

“But, Justice Alexandre de Moraes said the funds went to the wrong bank.”

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👔 YOU’RE HIRED!

Hot new social media jobs worth checking out this week:

• OpenAI is looking for a Head of Internet Creators [San Francisco, CA, USA]

• CBS Sports is hiring a Social Media Producer [New York City, NY, USA]

• Garmin needs a Social Media Specialist [Southampton, UK]

• Which? wants a Social Media Producer [London, UK]

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📊 SOCIAL STATS

80%

– The percentage of LinkedIn users who play one of its puzzle games on a given day and then return to play again the following day. LinkedIn Games are addictive!

• 61% of PR professionals plan to increase their LinkedIn use, while only 15% plan to focus more on X and 11% on Facebook

• MrBeast’s audience is in decline as controversies and backlash continue

• LinkedIn says 10 million people have signed up as freelancers on its Services Marketplace

• On X, Accounts backing Republican candidates spent 3x as much on political ads than those backing Democrats from March 6 to Oct. 1 — $3m vs. $1m

• TikTok is part of the reason that Google’s share of the US search ad market is expected to drop below 50% next year

• Pinterest says users are leaning into pop culture for Halloween this year, with searches for “it girl Halloween costumes” up 170% since last year”

• OnlyFans says it paid $20 billion to 4 million creators since 2016

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📈 CHARTED

The majority of accounts followed by U.S. adult TikTok users are creators, influencers and internet celebrities, according to a new Pew Research study. 📲

The 'typical U.S. adult' follows no politicians or journalists on TikTok…

• Even more U.S. TikTok user insights

• TikTok Growth is slowing for brand TikTok accounts as platform matures

• Instagram is the most used app among US teens

• Reddit is super-popular with millennials

• Meta bulls are overvaluing Zuckerberg’s vision

• Threads traffic is still growing in the US

• LinkedIn and Meta continue to dominate B2B social ad spending in 2024

• Mentions of deepfakes are surging on underground markets hosted on Telegram

• The influencer middle class is feeling the pain as marketers turn toward superstars

• The most downloaded apps in the world in September

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• Instagram is helping Brazilians dodge a national sales ban on vapes. [Rest of World]

• Germany’s antitrust authority has forced Meta to make significant changes to how it handles Facebook and Instagram user data. [TechCrunch]

• Meta still hasn’t released a WhatsApp app for iPad, a year after it was announced. [9to5Mac]

New features and tests:

Facebook:

• Facebook now lets you invite people who reacted by liking your page under the Professional Dashboard. [@jonahmanzano]

Instagram:

• Instagram now shows creators tips on how to improve their broadcast channels. [@theahmedghanem]

• Instagram now showcases trending songs in the ‘For you’ and ‘New releases’ feeds through a new symbol. [@oncescuradu]

Messenger:

• Messenger has added a shortcut to Message Requests in the main inbox. [@theahmedghanem]

Threads:

• Threads will now notify you when you’ve caught up with all your activity and encourage you to see what others are talking about on the Home feed. [@lindseygamble_]

WhatsApp:

• WhatsApp Business now allows you to manually remove the verification badge if your business doesn’t want it. [@jonahmanzano]

• Google Ads is testing variations of its Click-To WhatsApp Messages feature. [Search Engine Roundtable]

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

• The Meta Quest Link PC app now Has casting and remote desktop built in. [Upload VR]

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• X has had its appeal rejected X by the Supreme Court over a spat with the DoJ about a secret Trump warrant. [Bloomberg $$$]

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💥 EVEN MORE SOCIAL MEDIA NEWS & UPDATES

• Truth Social users are losing ridiculous sums of money to scams. [Truth Social]

• YouTube is fixing its recent wave of accidental spam bans. [Android Police]

• Twitch has made its complicated rulebook easier to follow. [Engadget]

• A new study from Tulane University explains why rage clicking is so common, especially when it comes to politics—it’s called the ‘confrontation effect.’ [Fast Company $$$]

• Some current teens could be spared Australia’s controversial age restrictions on social media. [The Guardian]

• Russia has blocked Discord for violating Russian law. [Reuters $$$]

• …and Turkey has also blocked Discord, for refusing to co-operate with authorities. [Reuters $$$]

• Wall Street is warming to Pinterest. [Bloomberg $$$]

• US states are targeting social media companies over kids' health and safety as Congress hesitates. [Axios]

• Neo-Nazis are fleeing Telegram for encrypted app SimpleX Chat. [Wired $$$]

New features and tests:

• YouTube on Android TV now has a better way of handling multiple profiles. [Android Authority]

• Snapchat has updated its music sticker to display in various styles, including showing song lyrics, similar to Instagram. [@theahmedghanem]

• Lemon8 has added a ‘Share Profile’ button. [@lindseygamble_]

• Clubhouse is working on an improved hand raising option for rooms. [@alex193a]

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📰 WEEKEND READS

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

• Can Facebook win back Gen Z?

• How GenAI makes foreign influence campaigns on social media even worse

• Advertisers are scrutinising the value of AI tools as some early efforts fall flat

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😳 AND FINALLY…

When you’re one of the world’s richest people, buying your wife a Porsche minivan–when a Porsche minivan doesn’t exist–is just something you ask your staff to sort out…

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📅 BACK NEXT WEEK…

… And that’s pretty much EVERYTHING you need to know this week, folks! ✅

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Before you go…

I will be speaking at a bunch of events around the world in the next 3-4 months.

If you live in any of these locations, let’s have a Geekout IRL meetup! 

• Kosovo | Growth Tank Event | November 8th, 2024

• Brussels | BAM Marketing Congress | December 5 - 6th, 2024

• Dubai | One Billion Followers Summit | January 11th - 13th 2025

The first drink’s on me. Just hit reply to this email if interested 🍻🍻

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Alrighty… I’m heading off to celebrate my Instagram jail freedom.

Goodbye, geeks!

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