Study lays bare Meta’s intrusive data gathering for targeted ads
Facebook has anything but a clean record when it comes to the intrusive data gathering of its consumers. Now, data watchdog Consumer Reports has revealed that tens of thousands of companies send Facebook data on single users. Your phone isn’t actually listening to you, don’t worry about turning your mic...
Current in Social
X launches new AI tool called ‘Grok’ for US-based users
Allegedly modelled after the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, it is designed to answer questions and help content creators generate creative and engaging tweets. With the turn of the new year, Elon Musk has introduced a new feature to the platform he acquired a little over a year ago. You...
Search engines are amplifying misinformation
A study published in Nature last week has uncovered that using online search engines to vet conspiracies can actually compound the probability that someone will believe it. In November, UNESCO’s Director-General Audrey Azoulay sounded the alarm on the intensification of misinformation and hate speech online, which she said poses...
Opinion – Life online is losing its appeal
As we review the digital habits of the last few years and question what they might look like going forward, several factors point to a future in which we aren’t quite so wrapped up in the virtual world. Isn’t it strange to recall a time when social media didn’t exist? For...
Will AI-generated influencers dominate social media’s future?
If Instagram is the place where the world’s most beautiful people can easily garner global attention, followers, brand deals, and immense wealth – is it not the perfect playground for influencers generated by AI to succeed? Would you buy a product promoted by a person who wasn’t real? It’s possible...
Flip is a ‘shopping social network’ which could crack Gen Z
Those of us who purchase products on TikTok almost habitually have Trustpilot open in another tab. Can emerging ‘shopping social network’ Flip cut out the middleman by combining authentic video reviews and in-app ecommerce? When you’ve a captive audience boasting $360bn in spending power but markedly declining attention spans, what...
‘Lapse’ emerges as the latest Gen Z photo-sharing platform
Stepping onto the digital scene with the slogan ‘friends, not followers’, can the new photo and status-sharing app Lapse hold our attention in a way that BeReal couldn’t? It’s starting to feel like the reign of social media is collapsing. Twitter’s engagement is at its lowest ever after rebranding to X under Elon Musk. Facebook – um, what even is that? Instagram has become a marketplace / TikTok rip-off where our...
Omegle shuts down after 14 years over sexual abuse controversy
The once-hyped social site is shuttering after years of controversy. Its death is a sign of the times. Long before the advent of Instagram or TikTok, socialising online meant updating your Facebook status or booting up Omegle. Launched in 2009, the latter was unique in that it allowed users to engage in anonymous, one-on-one video or text chats with strangers no matter their age or location. While many teens dreamt of stumbling...
UNESCO unveils action plan to regulate social media platforms
According to a new survey, more than 85 per cent of people are worried about the impact of online disinformation and 87 per cent believe it has already harmed their country’s politics. On Monday, UNESCO’s Director-General Audrey Azoulay sounded the alarm on the intensification of disinformation and hate speech online, which she said poses ‘major risks to social cohesion, peace, and stability.’ Her warning comes on the back of a UNESCO-commissioned...
Is banning suicide forums an effective means of mental health support?
A recent BBC investigation puts pressure on UK authorities to shut down an online forum that freely discusses suicide. Is it the right call, or is it placing too much attention on a symptomatic cause rather than the root problem? TW: This article discusses mental health issues and suicide. If you are in need of urgent help, please refer to the NHS website here for a...
