Hello, geeks!

It's been some week for Meta.

Turns out it cares deeply about teen safety after all. It said so this week, right after being made to.

Meta has agreed to pay roughly $17 billion to settle a landmark US lawsuit accusing it of designing Facebook and Instagram to addict teens and harm their mental health.

No wrongdoing admitted, obviously. Just a wedge of cash and a stack of new safety controls, handed over entirely voluntarily. 🙃

Sounds enormous, until you see the receipts. Meta made nearly $201bn last year. This is barely a month's earnings.

Less a punishment, more a subscription fee to keep doing WTF it wants.

Then the twist: nearly a third of the payout, around $5bn, only kicks in if TikTok and YouTube accept the same rules and fines.

Meta's turned its own defeat into a weapon against its rivals, then took out full-page ads in the NYT, Washington Post and LA Times rebranding the whole thing as a "new industry standard."

A courtroom loss, repackaged as leadership. Bold.

I guess that's The Social Network 3 sorted.

Full breakdown of what it means for Facebook and Instagram coming up in a moment.

Now, from one villain's origin story to another… 🦇
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The Batman: Part II is filming in Glasgow, the city redressed as a snowy Gotham.

So naturally, locals have been sneaking cans of Irn-Bru onto set, hiding Scotland's finest in bins and hot dog stands to land one in shot.

Security now sweep the set nightly to root out the iconic orange cans, which would look seriously out of place on the streets of a dark and moody Gotham City.

I popped up on BBC Radio Scotland's Breakfast Show this morning to explain how a can of soft drink became the week's daftest viral win.

Skip to 2hrs 56mins 25 secs if you can access BBC Sounds

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1 cool thing…

🔥 8 Claude Skills For Social Media Teams: Ready-to-use AI prompts + workflows to save you hours. I built this → [Download Skills]

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Check availability → Q3+Q4 slots are filling up. [More info]

2. X kills open-source Nitter that enabled users to read posts without logging in [PAYWALLING]

3. Meta closed a loophole that allowed people to record with their smart glasses' light covered [BLOCKING]

4. TikTok to pay $400m to the US in one of the largest child privacy settlements [SETTLING]

5. UK Prime Minister backs ‘tough action’ if social platforms fail to remove viral dangerous driving posts [THREATENING]

Has Meta pulled a genius move on teen addiction?

Social media giants settle lawsuits all the time, and it’s rarely very exciting news. This one was different, and it could have an impact across the world.

The landmark social media addiction trial saw US states seeking roughly $200 billion from Meta. In the end, the settlement turned out to be under $17 billion, but Zuck and co have not only saved money, they might have played a shrewd hand that puts them in a winning position.

Without much at all in the way of punishment for past actions, Meta has put itself in a position where it could shape teen protections for the whole industry.

What will Meta be doing? It will be building a bunch of new features:

• Usage cap: Teens get two hours daily across Facebook and Instagram, parent-adjustable.

• Alt accounts: Limits cover detected alternate accounts and reset at midnight daily.

• Night mode: Most access is blocked midnight to 6am, but messaging remains.

• School mode: Notifications stop 8am to 3pm, except messages and safety alerts

• Scroll prompts: Nudges every 15 minutes can suggest new topics or recommendation reviews.

• Usage exceptions: Messaging, settings and media over 22 minutes do not count.

• Autoplay control: Teens can disable autoplay and manually advance photos or videos.

• Feed choice: Teens can switch from personalised recommendations to a non-personalised feed.

• Like counts: Facebook and Instagram hide likes and reactions for teens by default.

And now Meta is publicly calling on TikTok and YouTube to adopt the same framework, including full-page ads across three major US newspapers. Funny that it doesn’t mention Snapchat, a real diss to Evan Spiegel there!

By publicly pressuring other companies to do something that will widely be perceived as a good thing, Meta knows it’s pushing its rivals into something that might affect them more than Meta. Never bet against Zuck to be the most cutthroat man in social media.

A few questions that still need answering:

• Is age verification tech good enough to be reliable? Experience from Australia’s teen social ban and age restrictions in the UK would suggest not.

• Is letting Meta potentially write the rules of the road for the whole industry a wise move? That’s especially important, as these changes are likely to roll out internationally, something the UK government has already called for.

In the US, independent auditors will check that Meta follows the requirements of the settlement, but not whether the protections actually improve safety. If these changes turn out to be completely ineffective, Meta’s in the clear… at least until the next landmark lawsuit.

…And there are plenty of other addiction and child safety court dates already in Meta’s calendar.

Finally, check out this video shared by Taylor Lorenz…the kids get what’s going on here!

Meta   /  Facebook 

• Meta announced two new subscription tiers for its AI tools, bundling in Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp Plus features

• Meta filed a patent application for a physical kill switch for smart glasses sensors

• Meta was accused of a ‘hook, hold, harvest, and hide’ strategy in the first week of the landmark addiction trial

• Meta is now promoting the Meta Essential subscription by placing an empty verified badge on profiles.

• Meta is testing automatic DMs triggered by ad comments

• Meta now allows users to subscribe to Meta One or Facebook Plus through Messenger

• Meta Business Suite is now testing Auto-Invite, which can automatically invite people who engage with your Page content to follow your Page

• Meta Business Suite now has a dedicated hub to help businesses manage verification and advertising requirements in one place.

• Facebook is making it easier and less hassle to log in

• Facebook has introduced Broadcast Channel Insights, giving you performance data to understand how your podcast channel is performing

• Facebook is finally working on a redesigned iOS app with support for Apple’s Liquid Glass

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Instagram 

• Instagram Edits refreshed its Insights tool, allowing creators to track views over time and more

• Instagram Story effects are rolling out to more users

• Instagram is promoting the ability to add links to posts to drive Meta One subscriptions

• Instagram’s new ‘Watch While’ campaign features four creators using its TV app with friends and family

• Instagram is testing displaying the lyrics of your profile music track when it is played on your profile

• Instagram Edits is testing a new Vibes section in music search

• Instagram Edits is working on new Quality Recommendations that notify you when you’re exporting a video at a higher resolution than the original source

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WhatsApp   /   Threads 

• WhatsApp is getting a big security upgrade, with support for full passwords and multiple passkeys

• WhatsApp could be preparing to expand support for payments to more markets

• WhatsApp is giving iPhone chats animated wallpapers and a big visual makeover

• WhatsApp is rolling out admin profiles for Channels

• WhatsApp is working on scheduled posts for Channels

• WhatsApp Business is working on a new way to send paid broadcast messages, allowing businesses to use their monthly messaging credit limit included with Meta Verified instead of purchasing credits

• WhatsApp Business is testing a new way to request payments through third-party services

• Threads is testing automatic transcripts for podcast clips

• Threads is adding improved Insights, with visualised key metrics and deeper insights into your audience and content performance

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X / Twitter 

• X launched ‘NFL Gametime,’ a dedicated football feed for fans

• SpaceXAI is being sued over claims it used CSAM to train Grok

• X lost its bid to block New York’s disclosure law, which requires platforms to explain how they moderate hate and misinformation

• X is bringing back Twitter’s Lead Gen Ads

• X now allows users to see Premier League match results and share an upcoming match on the For You feed

• X is rolling out a new toggle in the post composer that lets you choose between embedding the full post or sharing just the video

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TikTok 

• TikTok launched Creator Cut, a new newsletter for creators (and social media managers)

• TikTok now lets you nominate a Legacy Contact to manage your account after you pass away - or choose to have it deleted after death

• TikTok is rolling out the new ‘Repost Notes’ feature, letting you add your thoughts when reposting content

• TikTok is reportedly profiting from drug dealer ads for cocaine, opioids and Xanax

• TikTok makes it surprisingly easy to accidentally DM videos to people, with a long press of the share button

• TikTok could be influencing what Gen Z wants to eat, according to a new study

• TikTok’s Activity Centre now lets you view your Ad Activity History

• TikTok seems to be positioning ‘Microseries’ as its own entertainment category, instead of Drama

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YouTube 

• YouTube now lets creators tag Amazon products and earn commissions from purchases

• YouTube is being probed by the FTC over whether

  it misled users about what content its policies allowed.

• YouTube is expanding its 24/7 ‘Stations’ experiment, letting select creators, media brands, podcasters, and musicians turn collections of videos into always-on streams

• YouTube pledged £3 million over three years for UK talent development as it pushes against a proposed law that would favour public service broadcasters on its homepage

• YouTube is letting more users try its option to create multiple custom feeds

• YouTube looks set to get a Liquid Glass redesign on iOS

• YouTube is testing a clearer way to skip to the best bits on videos

• YouTube is increasing the price of a Premium subscription in parts of Europe and Asia, following a recent US price hike

• The BBC will pay £50,000 for YouTube-first documentaries aimed at young audiences

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Telegram    /  Bluesky 

• Telegram added new features, including welcome messages for groups and channels, new custom interactive buttons for developers, and more

• Bluesky now lets you opt out of being featured in the Discover feed if you’d rather not go viral

• Bluesky officially launched support for 10-minute-long videos

A leaked internal Meta memo has revealed what its forthcoming AI agent Hatch can do.

It has “its own computer” that lets it shop, book restaurants, research, manage email, and access Instagram on your behalf.

Hatch remembers users, works while closed, and asks permission before taking sensitive actions.

And it could arrive within weeks, reportedly costing up to $200 per month!

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Also spotted this week…

• Meta now lets you chat with Meta AI without leaving the Facebook app

• Meta’s AI can now test and debug Quest games

• Instagram is rolling out First Draft, a feature that automatically trims your Reels clips, then stitches the strongest sections together into a ready-to-edit Reel

• WhatsApp is testing a new ‘AI Label’ feature for updates created in broadcast channels

• WhatsApp is testing on-device AI scam warnings

• Messenger added a new option to customise your chat theme using AI

• Messenger is giving you more control over how your conversations are shared with Meta AI

• YouTube started to roll out a ‘Get Feedback’ tool for YouTube Shorts, giving creators actionable tips

• X is letting brands build AI agents that customers can DM for bookings, orders and service queries

• X launched an MCP server for advertisers, to help surface campaign analytics and help guide optimisation

• SpaceXAI added a Grok Build tab on the Grok mobile apps

• SpaceXAI added an option to reset your Grok usage limit. You get one reset per month

• Threads is rolling out AI-powered summaries for Post Insights

• TikTok’s parent company ByteDance is turning Doubao into an AI super-app

• ChatGPT can now make custom stickers for iMessage and WhatsApp

• Adobe Firefly can now generate music, speech and sound effects

• Adobe is adding more AI to Photoshop, including an optional AI Assisted Editor interface in beta

As Harry and Meghan return to the UK, I helped The Guardian make sense of their challenge in keeping up with the attention economy.
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Also this week:

• I spoke to The iPaper about why Meta might not be keen to extend its forthcoming teen protections in the US to the whole world

• I helped Business Insider make sense of the viral success of a parody Canada trade-war anthem this week

• I popped up on BBC Radio 5 Live to give my thoughts on Meta’s $18 billion US teen safety lawsuit settlement — [skip to 1hr 09mins]

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A viral 'Cat in the Hat' TikTok trend has sparked fun fake videos... but also real fear!

AI-generated clips and costume videos convinced some teenagers the character was real.

One TikTok post reached 14.6m views, while a related X post hit 10m.

Police in Wexford and South Yorkshire were put in the ridiculous situation of having to publicly debunk supposed sightings and attacks.

Some posts escalated into fake police notices and risky meet-up invitations…!

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Also viral this week:

• Tributes to Dolly Parton took over the internet as it was announced the legend had died at the age of 80

• A deadly TikTok motorway trend is risking lives in Ireland, too. Yep, it’s not just a problem in the UK.

Having a gut feel for how your content will actually be received, no matter how you intended it to look, is essential in marketing.

The alternative is a week like golfing YouTube giant Good Good has suffered…

The 2.3 million subscriber YouTube brand has lost major deals after a controversial ad that showed co-founder Garrett Clark shoving female colleague Alexis Miestowski.

It has now deleted the ad after a huge social media backlash from people who saw it as encouraging violence against women.

Golf brand Callaway has now dumped a deal with Good Good and pledged $1m to anti-violence organisations.

Good Good has also lost its PGA Tour sponsorship and the Golf Channel cancelled its show.

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More brand news and views:

• Brands are chasing fandom because attention alone isn’t enough anymore

• Creator fit now matters more to brands than follower count

• Brands increasingly want creators to help shape culture and strategy, not just rent their audience

• Grand Theft Auto VI publisher Take-Two Interactive has requested DMCA subpoenas targeting Discord, Microsoft, X and YouTube, to identify users leaking pre-release details of the game

• Apple’s ‘Surprise and Shine’ hashmoji is already live on X ahead of its iPhone event on 9 September

• Pamela Anderson has a wholesome new TikTok account, likely to promote her Sonsie vegan skincare brand

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Also quoted this week:

“Anybody who glorifies dangerous driving is doing something that is truly reprehensible and unacceptable.”

- UK prime minister Andy Burnham calls out people who post videos of dangerous driving on social media

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“I was not happy with the limited freedom that the team was given to actually devise and test and launch features that were actually moving the needle and helping teens.”

- Meta whistleblower George Volichenko testified in court this week that Meta’s leadership were not exactly champing at the bit to improve teen safety

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“There are no silver bullets for problems like this.”

- Adam Mosseri testified in court on the challenges of teen safety

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"The equivalent of saying: ‘Well you can smoke as many cigarettes as you can in two hours a day’. It doesn’t make the cigarettes any safer."

- Meta whistleblower Arturo Béjar says usage limits don’t address Meta’s underlying product design

If you’re like me, you can’t wait to see how ‘The Social Reckoning’ fares as a sequel to ‘The Social Network’.

Now we’ve got a trailer that gives us a glimpse of Jeremy Strong’s portrayal of Mark Zuckerberg.

The voice is spookily on point!

Not too long to go now… the film debuts in cinemas on 9 October.

A study of 715 US users of X found feeds often amplified posts that clashed with users’ stated values.

The reason? People reply more often to posts they disagree with.

X’s algorithm appears to weight those replies more heavily than the many posts people simply like.

So arguing with a post can accidentally teach the algorithm to show you more of it.

The lesson: outrage engagement doesn’t just reward the post. It can reshape your own feed.

Twitter is back. Sort of. I wonder how this will go?

A startup called Operation Bluebird has launched Twitter.now, claiming Elon Musk’s X gave up the name

It argues X abandoned the Twitter name, “tweet” trademark, and bird logo. A judge tentatively agreed on some claims, but hasn’t issued a written ruling yet.

The new network has hundreds of users and includes replies and retweets.

Oh, and every “tweet” gets automatically fact-checked by a Gemini-powered AI tool!

You’ll have to pay at least $20 to give it a go, though…

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More WTF this week:

• X says it uncovered a massive Chinese bot farm targeting America’s AI debate

• YouTube is suffering a blight of fake Dolly Parton images following her death this week

• The pushback against Meta’s smart glasses is now so strong that there are apps to detect Meta AI glasses nearby

• Influencers are buying empty luxury boxes to fake a more successful lifestyle online

• Elon Musk's former right-hand man at X will give you 30 minutes of business advice for $15,000

• Major YouTube creators are facing backlash for accepting AI money

• Social media anxiety is becoming a literary genre of its own: authors are turning algorithm pressure, online personas, and creator burnout into the plots of new novels.

China’s answer to YouTube is going global…

Bilibili has relaunched its international app and plans an English-language website.

It’s hiring community teams across the US, UK, Europe, Latin America and Japan.

The platform already has 376 million monthly active users on its main Chinese service.

Bilibili is also courting Western creators and building a brand sponsorship marketplace.

MrBeast is among the prominent Western creators already posting there.

Hilton is hiring a Designer/Social Media Creative [Remote, USA]

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More social media jobs:

• The NBA is looking for a Project Employee, NBA Social Content Publisher [Remote, USA]

• Visit Britain needs an international Social Media Executive [Hybrid, Birmingham, UK]

• John Lewis is recruiting a Social Community Executive [Hybrid, London, UK]

How can you get more followers on Instagram in 2026?

Buffer analysed 52m+ posts across 200k+ accounts.

The insights revealed Instagram creators should:

• Post 3–5 times a week to grow followers roughly 2× faster

• Use Reels for discovery, +36% more reach than other formats

• Use carousels to keep followers engaged, generated +12% engagement

• Add searchable keywords to your bio so new people can find you

• Reply to comments, which can lift engagement +21%

Consistent, useful content grows followers better than chasing viral hits.

Read more here:

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Also this week:

• Instagram says captions are more important than many creators realise, and shared some tips to help you make more of them

• What Reddit's ChatGPT citations collapse means for marketers

• LinkedIn shared a look at how its algorithm uses AI to recommend the best people to follow

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More social stats:

• BOOMERANG: Eight months after the teen social ban rolled out in Australia, 26% of 13–15s are back on TikTok. That’s just 1% below the level before the restrictions began

• SLIM CHANCE: Only 1% of creators make more than $250,000 annually

• HIT DRAMA: Microdrama apps hit 1.45 billion downloads in H1 2026, up 95.5% YoY

• MANYFANS: OnlyFans now has more than 5,000 creators who’ve earned at least $1 million

Who are the UK and US news publishers on Instagram with the biggest follower growth in 2026?

• GB News is the fastest-growing major UK/US news publisher on Instagram.

  • Its followers grew from 312K to around 1.3M since August 2024, up 317%

• The Daily Mail grew 129%, while the New York Post rose 117%.

• CNN added the most followers, gaining 3.4M.

• BBC News remains most followed publisher overall with 30.6 million Instagram followers
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• EXTRA: Here are their absolute changes in followers since 2024 👀

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Also spotted this week…

• Meta explored slashing the size of many teams by as much as 60% in a bold AI-first plan that backfired. [LINK]

• New York now requires advertisers to disclose photorealistic AI-generated performers in ads. [Mashable]

• UK creators are fighting plans to boost the BBC in YouTube algorithms. [The Guardian]

• The state of Pennsylvania alleges Snapchat encourages compulsive use through features such as Snap Streaks. [The Hill]

• Poland has asked the EU to fine Meta €250 million over scam ads. [Politico]

• California is moving to ban “addictive” social media features to protect teens. [Washington Post $$$]

• Twitch and Amazon are being sued over AI training with streamer content. [Engadget]

• TikTok owner ByteDance has been fined $29.9m over children’s data, including guest sessions, in Brazil. [TNW]

• EU officials were targeted by foreign governments on WhatsApp, an internal document shows. [TNW]

• New Zealand joined the global push for teen social media bans, with a proposed new law. [Bloomberg $$$]

• Brazil is suing Discord for $97m over alleged child-safety and age-verification failures. [TNW]

• Flipboard now owns Graze, the tool for building your own social algorithm. [TNW]

• Facebook and TikTok algorithms reportedly amplified child-soldier recruitment content in Colombia. [TechTimes]

• TikTok is giving Alex Warren’s new album the full platform treatment. [TikTok Newsroom]

• TikTok is spotlighting Bella Kay’s rise and the fans behind her breakout. [TikTok Newsroom]

New features and tests:

• TikTok Short Dramas are now available on desktop. [@jonahmanzano]

• TikTok has six new partners to expand Out of Phone placements across five European markets. [Social Media Today]

• Instagram has moved Effects to the Tools menu on the left side of the Story creation screen, making it easier to access while creating Stories. [@theahmedghanem]

• Meta Business Suite is working on a new navigation bar for its iOS app, offering a redesigned way to navigate between its key features. [@theahmedghanem]

• Patreon is overhauling its algorithm to help smaller creators get discovered. [The Verge]

• Substack rolled out a big batch of new tools for creators. [On Substack]

“After the metaverse bust, Zuckerberg is spending billions to reinvent Meta as an AI giant.

“First, he’ll have to translate his vision of “personal superintelligence” into products people actually want.”

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Also worth a read:

• The Secret Behind Your Social Media Feed: The unassuming links that fill innocuous posts can mean big money for enterprising creators

• Andy Burnham has to shape the UK’s social media ban. Australia and France could show him how

Ali G is back, and apparently he’s discovered TikTok…

Sacha Baron Cohen is reviving the character after 20 years for a new movie out this October, ‘Ali G: Who Iz I?’

One scene has Ali G doing ASMR stunts during an interview about Iran… which sums up a lot of online content these days!

That’s a wrap, folks.

I’m heading off to get excited about my upcoming Ibiza break.

My bank balance is being hidden from my fiancee Sarah. She’d lose her s**t if she saw how much it cost.

I’m blaming her. 😁

She poured me the extra glass of Sauvignon Blanc that tipped me over the edge, and led me to hit the ‘Book’ button on loveholidays.com.
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Goodbye, geeks!

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