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Crisis averted. Happy Monday, Future Party people. With the 95th Academy Awards just two weeks away, the Academy’s executive producers are taking extra steps to ensure the show runs as smoothly as possible. Dubbed the “crisis team,” its new security measures will help deter and intervene if any slapping occurs.
Here’s to hoping the only drama we see this year is if Andrea Riseborough wins Best Actress. IYKYK.
In other news… Big Social rolls out paid profiles, false advertising lawsuits are on the rise, and “de-influencers” take over TikTok.
Top Trends
YouTube → “TQG” - KAROL G, Shakira
Twitter → Ziyech
Google → NAACP
Reddit → Nokia
TikTok → “Who Am I (What’s My Name?)” - Snoop Dogg
Spotify → “Die For You (Remix)” - The Weeknd, Ariana Grande
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BUSINESS
Finally, you can pay for social media // Illustration by Kate Walker
Can social media make you pay?
The Future. The combination of Apple’s 2021 data privacy changes and the recent economic contraction has reduced digital ad spending and hurt social media platforms. Many of them are trying to make up for the loss by introducing paid monthly subscription programs and degrading the free versions of their sites. But with interest in traditional social media falling, paid tiers might just make social media more enemies.
Pay to playSnap, Meta, and Twitter are all rolling out monthly premium options with advantages over their free versions.
Meta Verified for Instagram and Facebook will cost $11.99 online or $14.99 through mobile app stores. Users get increased visibility, customer support, and a verified badge that disappears if they unsubscribe. Badges for Instagram and Facebook must be purchased separately.
Twitter Blue will cost $8 on the web and $11 on mobile. Premium users get the blue check mark, more visibility, early access to new features, SMS verification, the ability to retract or briefly edit published tweets, and a 4,000-character limit instead of the non-subscriber’s 280.
Snapchat+ ($3.99) will offer various customization features, like personalized wallpaper and notification sounds for friends, and the ability for users to see how many people have rewatched their stories.
Meta Verified doesn’t remove or reduce ads on either Instagram or Facebook, but Twitter Blue users will get 50% fewer ads.
Better than worseSome of these features sound like genuine perks, but they also worsen the free versions of the apps by nixing unpaid verification, hurting unpaid users’ visibility, and more. (Not to mention that Twitter’s blue check mark is arguably less credible, as it no longer requires an ID check.)
So far, Twitter’s premium tier hasn’t been very successful — of its current 230 million users, outside analysts estimate that only 300,000 pay for Twitter Blue. It’s possible that these platforms could turn things around in the future, but when Meta Verified costs more than a Netflix subscription, why not keep using it for free?
BUSINESS
Contains: false advertising // Illustration by Kate Walker
More consumers are suing brands for false advertising
The Future. Consumers have brought more false advertising lawsuits against brands lately. While there may be many factors behind the increase — bolder and savvier consumers, increasingly dishonest advertising — one thing is clear: brands might have to be more careful about what they say.
You said what?Customers are taking brands to court for a wide variety of false or misleading claims.
The most severe lawsuits allege that products have dangerous undisclosed ingredients, like a banned chemical compound in Olaplex’s hair-loss treatment or toxic bacteria in Unilever’s Laundress brand detergent.
Milder cases revolve around the places where companies claim to manufacture their products. Barilla and Godiva have both been sued by customers for stating that their US-made goods are produced in Italy and Belgium, respectively.
Food and beverage brands are also getting more flak from consumers for dishonest or misleading ingredient lists, like alcoholic drinks that pass off malt liquor as genuine tequila or whiskey.
What gives?Social media makes it easier to call out brands because users are more likely to find others to back them and echo their complaints. Consumers might also be getting wise to marketing tactics after decades of internet use.
But more lawsuits probably do mean more lies. Companies know the difference between exaggeration and lying — their legal departments have to — so it’s concerning that their advertising is getting less honest. Maybe it’s good we’re getting less tolerant of them.
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BUSINESS
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De-influencing is the new influencing
The Future. While people have discussed the pitfalls of overconsumption and inauthenticity on social media for years, they’re going viral with honest product reviews now that “de-influencing” has taken off on TikTok. Because the realness associated with de-influencing gives creators more social cred, brands may need to overhaul how they use influencer marketing to promote their products.
#tiktokmademebuyitTikTok and commerce go hand in hand, according to the ad agency Mekanism.
75% of marketers use influencer marketing to promote products — a number expected to reach 89% by 2026.
50% of TikTok users turn to the platform to research a new brand or product.
Consumers are twice more likely to buy directly from TikTok than other platforms “because it’s entertaining.”
Once a hater, now a de-influencerThe realization that TikTok’s “authenticity isn’t always authentic” has led creators to film their (sometimes brutally) honest opinions on products.
Shoppers generally want to know what products they should buy instead, so many de-influencers recommend “dupes” (cheaper, similar alternatives).
“Detractors are costing brands a lot more money than promoters bring in. People believe negative information more than they believe positive information,” says Ronnie Goodstein, a marketing professor at Georgetown, who foresees some brands offering to pay influencers not to talk about their products.
Built-in BS detectorDe-influencing isn’t a total downer, though.
While it's staying power remains TBD, de-influencing benefits the TikTok ecosystem by shining a light on how influencing works — and helping creators be more thoughtful about how they monetize their communities.
Highlights
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Generative AI is lawless territory
Do companies have the right to use the data that trained their AI systems? If works entirely generated by a machine can’t be copyrighted, can human/AI collaborations? Who’s responsible if an AI engine regurgitates slander or misinformation? For now, these questions are being addressed through existing law, as new AI laws haven’t been drafted in most of the world yet. Still, “the more money that flows in, the faster people are moving the goalposts and removing the guardrails,” says Matthew Butterick, an attorney whose firm is involved in several generative AI lawsuits. In other words, companies will exploit the wild frontier for as long as they legally can.
Read More → axios
People are buying less fake meat
Beyond Meat’s sales were down by $20.7 million (or 20.6%) at the end of 2022, as consumers turned away from plant-based meat substitutes due to inflation and reduced buying power. The company reported a net loss of $366 million in 2022, compared to $182 million in 2021. According to CEO Ethan Brown, the industry’s major obstacles are taste, understanding of health benefits, and price. “My belief is that as we continue to get taste right and continue to get the health message right and then reduce that price barrier, it will grow the category,” he says. Despite the decline in sales, Beyond still beat Wall Street expectations.
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Most media companies aren’t turning a profit
Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) reported a net loss of $2.1 billion at the end of 2022 despite the success of The Last of Us (which averaged 15 million viewers) and Hogwarts Legacy (which made $850 million in retail sales). The company also failed to beat subscriber estimates, adding 1.1 million subs across HBO, HBO Max, and Discovery+ rather than the projected 1.6 million. While the new addition of HBO Max subscribers was mainly driven by the streamer’s return to Prime Video Channels and the debut of popular shows like the second season of The White Lotus, HBO Max and Discovery+ have yet to become profitable. Netflix, on the other hand...
Read More → techcrunch
You can now use TikTok in your Benz
Last week, Mercedes-Benz introduced its 2024 E-Class vehicle that features a giant touchscreen extending across the passenger side — with TikTok, Angry Birds, and Zoom on the display. While Teslas and some other Mercedes models already let drivers surf the Internet, the upcoming E-Class will also allow the person in the front passenger seat to do it. Drivers can attend Zoom meetings when parked, thanks to a selfie and video camera. The first batch of cars is expected to debut in the US this fall, and prices could start at $56,000. A person can dream...
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China is cracking down on ChatGPT
While ChatGPT never officially launched in China, it’s still available to Chinese users who have worked around the firewall with private networks and international phone numbers. Now, government regulators are blocking off those inroads, too. Companies like Tencent and Alibaba have been instructed to remove any access points to ChatGPT from their platforms. If China’s tech giants want to compete in the global AI race, they must operate within party lines, which means developing homegrown and government-approved substitutes.
Read More → fastcompany
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Today's email was brought to you by Luke Perrotta and Kait Cunniff.Editing by Nick Comney. Publishing by Sara Kitnick.