Brand Management: Meta tests crowd-sourced fact checking, Lawsuit accusing Elon Musk of Defrauding former Twitter Shareholders
meta
Social Networking Service: Meta has started testing a crowd-sourced testing method for fact-checking as they move away from third-party fact-checkers. CEO Mark Zuckerberg said the move was due to the fact-checkers becoming “politically biased.” The community notes will be used on Facebook, Instagram, and Threads. The testing will allow users to write and rate notes on content across Meta’s platforms.
Instagram is introducing a new School Partnership program that will allow educators to report potential risks in teen safety. The program comes after the introduction of Instagram Teen Accounts, designed to keep Instagram age-appropriate. The program comes with an effort to help educators report issues such as bullying directly to Instagram. Schools that sign up to become partners on Instagram will have access to prioritized reporting, educational resources, and profile banners.
Meta is updating the Friends tab on Facebook. The Friends Tab will only show content from Facebook Friends, and recommended content will no longer be seen under the Friends Tab. The update comes with an effort to bring back several “OG” Facebook features in order to make Facebook similar to when it first started.
youtube
Online Video Platform: Amber Alerts can now be viewed on TikTok. Now, when an AMBER Alert is issued, users in the area will see the alert in their For You feed. Users will see the name, description, and date the child was last seen. TikTok is partnering with the creator, Sarah Turney, the host of The Voices for Justice Podcast, to inform users of this update.
YouTube is changing how YouTube Shorts views will be counted. Now views will be counted the number of times Shorts start to play, instead of a minimum watch time. However, the change will not impact creators’ earnings or eligibility for the YouTube Partner Program.
X
Industry: A U.S. judge rejected Twitter CEO Elon Musk’s bid to dismiss a lawsuit alleging he defrauded former Twitter shareholders by waiting too much time before disclosing his initial investment in X. U.S. District Judge Andrew Carter said that Musk, now a key adviser to President Donald Trump, deliberately attempted to commit fraud through improper regulatory filing, misleading tweets about Twitter's future, and a secretive plan to quietly increase his stake in the company. Musk ignored the SEC deadline of March 24, 2022, to reveal he bought 5% of Twitter’s shares, according to plaintiffs led by the Oklahoma Firefighters Pension Retirement System. The plaintiffs said Musk waited even longer to reveal his 9.2% of Twitter shares. According to the plaintiffs, the failure to disclose his intent to buy Twitter harmed them because they sold Twitter shares for artificially low prices.
deloitte
Special Report: A report from Deloitte highlights social platforms becoming the biggest competition for studios and streaming services in media. While people still want traditional media such as TV and movies, social video platforms like TikTok are stiff competition. As the report highlights, video entertainment is being disrupted by user-generated content. While streaming on-demand video can translate to thinner margins, streaming video is starting to set the standard for entertainment content.
Despite the steady decline of cable and satellite television, they continue to be important players in media. According to Deloitte, “We found that 49% of consumers surveyed currently have a cable or satellite TV subscription, down from 63% three years ago.” However, as SVOD services are provided live sports and news, a common reason for the purchase of cable and satellite television, this contributes to the market falling. Younger cable owners are more likely to end their cable or satellite TV subscriptions, which on average are more expensive than 4 different streaming services. However, despite cable and satellite subscriptions declining, 43% of younger generations are more likely to spend more on subscriptions that include live programming.
2025 percentages of SVOD subscribers who have at least one ad-supported tier of a paid service
While many consumers say SVOD subscriptions are their most used paid media services, many also say the price for SVODs is not worth it. Around 47% of consumers say they spend too much money on subscription services. The current average price for a premium, ad-free SVOD service is around $16 per month. However, the rising prices of subscriptions may be related to the churn rate of consumers. According to a survey by Deloitte, around 39% percent of consumers have canceled one paid SVOD service in the last six months, with the percent being 50% for Gen Zs and Millennials.
Studios are competing for attention time, subscription fees, and advertising dollars. This has led to major SVOD services introducing lower prices and ad-supported tiers, with more than half of the surveyed users saying they have an ad-supported service. Two-thirds of younger generations surveyed subscribe to free ad-supported TV, free of cost and fully maintained by advertising. However, a large part of the younger generations has said that social media ads are more relevant to them than ads on other platforms.
Younger consumers surveyed show interest in following their favorite online creators to more traditional content
A big appeal of social video platforms is the creators who develop a stronger connection to their audiences than traditional TV or movie actors. While studios are spending top dollar to produce content, video content is mostly produced by individual creators. AI tools help creators create content and connect with brand sponsors. Many creators use their social media fame to jump to network television or other major video platforms with mixed reviews.
In order to continue their presence in the entertainment market, Deloitte suggests gathering larger audiences, adopting technology faster, and using social video platforms in order to reach younger audiences.
