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| | | | | | Hello, geeks! | Welcome to this week's slightly glowed-up edition of Geekout. | I've made a few design tweaks to improve your reading experience… | – New header images to make skim-reading easier | | – Clean white section backgrounds for improved clarity
– Improved and more consistent text size, spacing, formatting
– Fewer boxes. Less visual chaos. | Do you prefer the old Geekout design, or this 2026 refresh? | Hit reply and let me know. | __________ | Geekout Q&A with Instagram Edits exec — What should we ask him? | | Ever wanted to grill an Instagram product manager? | You're in luck! | In a couple of weeks, I'm chatting to Matt Simari, Director of Product Management for Instagram's Edits app (aka Meta's CapCut challenger). | We'll discuss:
– Why Instagram built a dedicated creator app
– How top creators are actually using it
– Pro-tips from power users
– Sneak peeks at upcoming features
…and more. | WIN an Instagram Swag Bundle 🎁 | Instagram has given me 5x Instagram swag bundles to giveaway. | Want me to ask Matt Simari something spicy or specific? | Hit reply on this email, or drop me an email with your Instagram Edits-related question. | The FIVE people who send in the best questions will each win a IG swag box. | The full interview will be published in Geekout in March. | __________ | Look Mum, I'm on TV…! |  | [Battle of the Brands on Channel 4 UK] |
| This might be one to watch (or avoid!)
Last July, I spent a day filming in London for a new Channel 4 documentary about some of the UK's most-loved brands, including McVities, Cadbury's, Primark, John Lewis, Aldi, M&S..
The four-part series kicks-off on Tuesday 3 March at 8pm on Channel 4 (UK), starting with Nandos vs. KFC.
I'll be watching (cringing) with my kids… who can't wait to mock me. 🫣
Watch some behind the scenes clips of my day filming in London. | __________
| 2 cool things 👀 | |
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| | SPONSORED ▶︎ PAID SOCIAL ▶︎ GUIDE | Meta Ads Burning Out in 10 Days? It's NOT the Algorithm | | Are you still sourcing one ready-to-post video per creator? And wondering why creative fatigue hits so fast? 🥹 | Brands nailing paid social in 2026 are doing it differently. | They're briefing creators for diverse, mix-and-match raw footage: | 🎥 Multiple hooks 🧠 Different angles 📣 Variations of CTAs 🎬 Extra b-roll
| So you can remix dozens of ads from just 1 creator collab. | Why it works: | ✅ Lower production costs ✅ Faster creative testing ✅ More control in-platform ✅ Better scaling without burnout
| To help you brief creators the right way, Insense just released a FREE brief template. | 👉 Download FREE Creator Brief Template < Worth downloading! | Brands like Wonderskin, DRMTLGY, and SmileSet already use Insense to run scalable creator campaigns worldwide. | P.S… If you book a FREE call with Insense by March 13 and get $200 credit towards your first campaign. | |
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| | | | | | | | | WhatsApp rolls out Status ads and promoted Channels worldwide [MONETISING] Instagram to alert parents if their kids search for self-harm and suicide content [SAFEGUARDING] Discord delays global age-verification rollout over user ID fears the company says are a misunderstanding [BACKTRACKING] Reddit hit with a £14m fine in the UK for failing to protect under-13 users' data [ENFORCING]
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| | SPONSORED ▶︎ 2026 SOCIAL INSIGHTS | New 2026 Social Intel. Without LinkedIn Thought-Leader Junk 🕵️ | | If you're leading a social team right now, you know the pressure… | Platform & algorithm shifts, staying on top of trending formats, optimizing creator partnerships to work for your brand, and so much more! | If you're tired of testing random content ideas hoping one takes off… check out Caliber's quarterly insights guide — The Drop. | Caliber is trusted by some of the world's largest brands including Amazon, Movember, and Walmart… | …And The Drop gives you the social intel to supercharge your social strategy. | In this issue you'll find: | 🔥 30+ high-performing content formats you can test next week 🤝 Creator x brand integration frameworks that you can steal 👀 The latest IG, TikTok & YouTube updates… and what to do about them 📒 Serialized content case studies that drive retention… with production notes! 🏀 A sports industry deep dive ahead of 2026's major global events
| It's basically a cheat sheet for what's actually working in social right now — and how to execute it. | 👉 If you run social, this is super-useful.…. Get The Drop | |
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Is it a bad idea to verify your identity?
| | You could be forgiven for not having heard of Persona, but the ID verification software company has recently developed a reputation for being shady. Is it actually justified? | Persona has popped up in a couple of stories this week. Most notably around Discord, which has delayed plans to age-gate certain features behind an ID check worldwide. | Discord had been using Persona to do these age checks in an initial test. Persona can use things like a face scan on your phone and a check of government-issued ID to confirm your age and identity. | But the move proved unpopular, even if Discord says users didn't quite understand what was going on: | "The way this landed, many of you walked away thinking we're requiring face scans and ID uploads from everyone just to use Discord. That's not what's happening, but the fact that so many people believe it tells us we failed at our most basic job: clearly explaining what we're doing and why. That's on us. "On top of that, many of you are worried that this is just another big tech company finding new ways to collect your personal data. That we're creating a problem to justify invasive solutions. I get that skepticism. It's earned, not just toward us, but toward the entire tech industry. But that's not what we're doing."
— Discord CTO Stanislav Vishnevskiy
| Discord will now rethink how it rolls out age verification. | Meanwhile, Persona has denied it keeps LinkedIn account verification data for AI training following a viral user backlash. | You might have seen a post this week that raised alarm at what Persona is doing when it scans your face and makes a copy of your ID. The number of companies the data is potentially shared with according to Persona's own documentation might concern you. | Persona's CEO has been trying to set the record straight in LinkedIn comments, saying "All biometric personal data is deleted immediately after processing. All other personal data processed is automatically deleted within 30 days. Data is retained during this period to help users troubleshoot." | The problem is, a notification that your personal data has been deleted is all well and good, but we can't be SURE that it really has. And trusting big tech companies is difficult these days. | Demand for ID verification is only going to increase as teen social media bans are introduced, so we're going to have to get used to being asked to prove who we are. | But the platforms, and companies like Persona, need to do a LOT more to prove they can be trusted with our most personal data if they want to avoid freakouts like we've seen lately on Discord and LinkedIn. | After all, if we can't trust the platforms we use, we might just walk away. |
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| | | | | | Meta  / Facebook  |  | Mark Zuckerberg sporting a pair of Meta Ray Ban smart glasses | Credit: Meta |
| Meta is rumoured to be set to launch Prada-branded AI smart glasses, after Zuck was spotted in the front row at Prada's Fashion Week show in Milan this week Meta signed big AI chip deals with AMD and Google after it scrapped its most advanced in-house AI training chip due to design struggles Meta is fighting an almost $16 billion tax bill, after the IRS claimed the company undervalued IP shifted offshore in 2010 Meta is pitching a new 'Agency Growth Collective' to independent agencies to deepen platform adoption Meta plans to get back into crypto by rolling out stablecoin payments across Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp in late 2026 Adult-film studios suing Meta claim an employee secretly deleted 9TB of torrented videos tied to the case. The National Parent Teacher Association has broken ties with Meta amid child-safety trials following a report accusing the company of using PTA partnerships to shape public opinion on youth safety
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| | | | Instagram  |  | Instagram testing 'Story Spotlight' premium subscription perk | Credit: @alex193a |
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| | | | X / Twitter  |  | Elon Musk's X challenges EU over its €120M fine | Image: Beehiiv AI |
| X is challenging its €120M EU fine, arguing the EU's decision resulted from "an incomplete and superficial investigation" X is close to launching a fully rewritten search system, replacing legacy Twitter code that had become spammy and unreliable X has been spotted introducing its own version of 'starter packs' on iOS X is trying to woo advertisers by letting them reuse ad creative made for other platforms The FBI has secured a warrant forcing X to surrender Grok AI prompts in a stalking case xAI signed a deal letting the Pentagon use Grok inside classified systems xAI's trade secret lawsuit against OpenAI has been dismissed. xAI is allowed to try again
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| | | | TikTok  / YouTube  |  | TikTok unveils its 2026 Discover List of top creators | Credit: TikTok |
| TikTok has unveiled a 50-creator Discover List spotlighting top global creative talent in 2026 TikTok Shop could surpass Walmart and become a top-three global retailer by 2030, according to a new report TikTok now allows users to request to opt out of visual search tags TikTok has been spotted using a refreshed design for the bottom menu bar icon on iOS TikTok and Major League Baseball have expanded their partnership after #MLB posts grew 60% in 2025. A new in-app MLB Hub is being introduced YouTube is rolling out voice replies to all creators, expanding a feature first tested over a year ago YouTube's cheaper Premium Lite subscription is getting background play and downloads YouTube is testing a redesign on TVs that buries the chronological Subscriptions feed
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| | | | | | | | X is developing a "Made with AI" label for synthetic or manipulated posts. | …But they rely on users to be honest about their content, which seems like a stretch! | | __________ | Also spotted this week… | |
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| | | | | | | A newly unsealed deposition in a US federal lawsuit shows prosecutors pressed Adam Mosseri on why Meta waited six years to release a nudity filter for teens | Internal emails from 2018 acknowledged Instagram DMs could expose minors to sexual exploitation risks | Internal Instagram data showed 19.2% of teens saw unwanted nudity + 8.4% encountered self-harm content | | A young woman testified that Instagram and YouTube consumed her childhood. The plaintiff in the LA trial linked her heavy social media use to anxiety, depression, and self-harm. Unsealed internal Meta docs in a West Virginia lawsuit reveal staff warning that default Messenger encryption would hide millions of annual CSAM reports Facebook designed an app for teens called Bell in 2018 but never launched it, court reocrds reveal
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| | | | | | I spoke to BBC News about Reddit's £14 million fine and UK regulators ramping up enforcement… | | | Also this week… New Podcast | I joined Sked Social to discuss the truth about social media in 2026 and more on their #Seen podcast. | We discussed a whole bunch of stuff, including… | • ADHD and why social media attracts neurodivergent brains
• Burnout, boundaries, and shaping work around how you actually operate
• Using AI as your wingman — not your creative director
• The shift from rented reach to owned community
• Repeatable, episodic content and building formats people come back for | Watch or listen to the episode on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts. | Here's a clip… | |
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| | | | | | | | | | | Remember HBO sitcom Silicon Valley? A new viral trend imagines it was set in 2026, with users calling it "the most realistic show ever." | An AI-generated intro has updated the credits with crypto disasters, X replacing Twitter, and AI dominance. | Fans say the jokes still match real headlines and are calling for the show to be revived for a seventh season. | Tap through to watch the video 👇
- | | __________ | More viral news this week: | |
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| | | | | | | Gucci is under fire for promoting its Milan Fashion Week show with AI-generated images on social media. | | __________ | More brand news and views: | |
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| | | | | | | "I wanted to be on it all the time… If I wasn't on it, I felt like I was going to miss out on something." | | | | – "Kaley G.M.", the 20-year-old woman at the centre of the LA social media addiction trial describes the effect she says social media had on her |
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| __________ | Also quoted this week: | "The idea that this can be fixed with better parenting or more guidance is a convenient fiction. You can't out-parent a business model built on addiction." | - Mumsnet founder Justine Roberts is very much in favour of a UK teen social ban |
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| | | | | | | This is an interesting read: | "The future of social media is being shaped less by new platforms and more by shifting behavior, fragmentation, and AI-mediated discovery." | |
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| | | | | | | U.S. late night TV host John Oliver is no fan of Elon Musk, and on his US TV last weekend he gave a clear summary of why: | He said X is now: | "…shaped in the image of its poisonous owner, and Musk's brain has been "cooked by the garbage he consumes…" on his own platform. | This will not news to most readers of this newsletter, but as ever, John puts it perfectly. | Tap through to watch 👇 | |
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| | | | | | | FanLock is a new platform built to fight AI deepfakes targeting creators. | It scans over 4 million websites, including Telegram, to detect stolen or synthetic content. | | __________ | Also: | |
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| | | | | | | It's not just Instagram users who have finstas, Instagram ITSELF does too. | Instagram confirmed to Rachel Karten that it quietly launched a chaotic finsta account, notfit4main, a few months ago. | The account posts intentionally "ugly," 2014-style inspirational shitposts and celebrity takeovers. | Meta employees accidentally exposed it by following en masse. Oops! | Read more here 👇 | | More WTF this week: | |
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| | | | | | | 🤦♂️ US investigators say Meta's AI is blasting them with unusable child-abuse tips that waste time and stall urgent cases. | |
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| | | | | | | | | | When should you post on TikTok for the best impact? | Buffer has been looking at the data… | | __________ | More pro tips: | |
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| | | | | | | $1 TRILLION | | | | – TikTok Shop's projected sales in 2030, according to a new report from commerce agency Flywheel. This would see the company overtake Walmart as a top-3 global retailer |
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| More stats: | CREATORS IN 2026: Nearly half of creators earned under $10K annually in 2025, a new study revealed: … 51% of creators say their income has grown, and 45% now earn between $10K and $100K. … However, nearly half of creators earn under $10K annually, and only 5.7% earn more than $100K. … 56% say AI will significantly transform creator workflows in coming years. … Read more in the 2026 Creator Economy Report OVER THE HORIZON: Meta confirmed its Horizon+ subscription product has crossed 1 million active subscribers as it expands to 100+ games FAKERY: Research identified 18,784 coordinated fake profiles boosting Nicki Minaj's pro-MAGA content NEWSTUBE: In the first half of 2025, viewers watched more than 15 billion hours of news on YouTube TIKTOK SEARCH: Adobe data shows 49% of US consumers have used TikTok for search, up from 41% in 2024 TIKTOK EATS: 97% of TikTok users say TikTok influences what they eat SLOPPY WORK: The NYT found over 40% of Shorts recommended after kids' hits appeared AI-generated. SCAM CITY: Nearly 1 in 3 Meta ads in the UK and EU point to a scam, phishing, or malware, according to a new report BYTE THIS: TikTok's non-US parent company ByteDance is reportedly valued at $550 billion in a share sale THE BIG SHORT: Microdrama apps like ReelShort now beat Netflix, Prime Video, and Disney+ in daily mobile watch time. ReelShort users average 35.7 mins/day vs Netflix (24.8), Prime Video (26.9), and Disney+ (23)
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| | | | | | | | | Also Spotted this week… | Meta worked with UK and Nigerian police to dismantle an alleged fraud ring targeting British residents with crypto scams. [Meta Newsroom] Meta has filed lawsuits against scam advertisers in Brazil, China, and Vietnam. [Meta Newsroom] Meta, xAI, Amazon, Google, and others will sign up to a White House initiative to build their own electricity supply for AI data centres. [Fox News] Poland plans to ban social media for children under 15. [Bloomberg $$$]
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| | | | | | | This is an interesting take on how important live-streamers have become to the social economy. | "In recent months, [live streaming] seems to have broken containment, morphing from a fringe format into a bona fide kingmaker…" | "…A channel that formerly felt like the provenance solely of gamers and its Gen Alpha acolytes has lately crossed into the mainstream." | | Also: | |
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| | | | | | | I've heard of 'inbox zero', but this is extreme. | Meta's director of AI safety, in a rush to try out the latest wave of AI agents Silicon Valley is going crazy for, accidentally allowed one to delete her entire email inbox. Oops. | Not a good look when you're a top exec leading AI initiatives at one of the world's biggest tech companies…! | |
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| | | | | | | You've reached the end of this week's Geekout. | I hope the newsletter design tweaks made this week's scroll easier, more enjoyable. | I'm still tinkering — so hit reply and tell me what you like/dislike. | It's still a work in progress, so I'd love your feedback to optimise it further. | __________ | Alright, folks… | I'm heading off to psych myself up a brutal roasing from friends and family when they gather round the TV to watch my Channel 4 appearance. | I'll try to capture a few freeze-frame stills of my most awkward and unflattering facial expressions, to give you a new meme to play with! | | Goodbye, geeks! | | P.S. This newsletter is edited by Martin SFP Bryant |
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