Ads for Explicit ‘AI Girlfriends’ Are Swarming Facebook and Instagram

However, 3,000 ads for “AI girlfriends” and 1,100 containing “NSFW” were live on April 23, according to Meta’s ad library. WIRED’s initial review found that Hush, an AI girlfriend app downloaded more than 100,000 times from Google’s Play store, had published 1,700 ads across Meta platforms, several of which promise “NSFW” chats and “secret photos” … Read more

A TikTok ban could be ultimate tailwind for Meta’s Facebook, Instagram

Congress is inching closer toward a TikTok ban in the U.S. – offering another reason to stay invested in Club holding Meta Platforms after a year-and-half of strong stock gains. Meta’s Facebook and Instagram stand to gain if TikTok is cut off in the U.S. and users of the popular short-form video app are forced … Read more

Trump’s Truth Social won’t capture serious market share, Sorrell says

Anna Barclay | Getty Images News | Getty Images Advertising guru Martin Sorrell has questioned the prospects of Donald Trump’s newly public Truth Social platform, saying it was currently “unfathomable” that clients would want to buy ads on the site. The British businessman told CNBC on Wednesday that the former U.S. president’s social media platform … Read more

Kim Kardashian’s Skims makes bride-to-be Alex Cooper its wedding star

NEW YORK, NEW YORK – NOVEMBER 08: Alex Cooper (C) performs a wedding ceremony during “The Unwell Tour” at The Theater at Madison Square Garden on November 08, 2023 in New York City. (Photo by Gotham/Getty Images) Gotham | Getty Images Entertainment | Getty Images Kim Kardashian’s shapewear label Skims has tapped podcaster Alex Cooper … Read more

DOJ sues Apple over iPhone monopoly in landmark antitrust case

The Department of Justice sued Apple on Thursday, saying its iPhone ecosystem is a monopoly that drove its “astronomical valuation” at the expense of consumers, developers and rival phone makers. The lawsuit claims that Apple’s anti-competitive practices extend beyond the iPhone and Apple Watch businesses, citing Apple’s advertising, browser, FaceTime and news offerings. “Each step … Read more

Reddit IPO Filings Reveal the Company’s Hopes—and Fears

The amount of time Reddit reports that users spend with its service hasn’t significantly budged either. In September 2021, the company said that US users on average engaged for 28 minutes a day. It ticked up to 30 minutes that December. In December of 2023, the company specified a figure only for “logged-in” US users, … Read more

Four reasons Walmart wants to buy smart TV maker Vizio

A worker walks past televisions, including the Vizio brand, on display in a Walmart Supercenter on February 20, 2024, in Hallandale Beach, Florida.  Joe Raedle | Getty Images Walmart is doing some shopping of its own. The retail giant announced last week that it plans to buy smart TV maker Vizio in a $2.3 billion … Read more

How a Small Iowa Newspaper’s Website Became an AI-Generated Clickbait Factory

In his spare time, Tony Eastin likes to dabble in the stock market. One day last year, he Googled a pharmaceutical company that seemed like a promising investment. One of the first search results Google served up on its news tab was listed as coming from the Clayton County Register, a newspaper in northeastern Iowa. … Read more

The way AI will be sold to a skeptical public is becoming clear

Many AI companies struggle with customers understanding how the product won’t take away their ability to think for themselves. A few took the opportunity of the Super Bowl to change the narrative. There’s no greater opportunity to reach 123 million live viewers at once and get massive press buzz, even if it cost $7 million … Read more

Mini Is Making Car Ads Fun Again

Mini recently unveiled its next-generation F66 Cooper and though I am already a Mini fanboy, when the latest Mini ad campaign came up on my Instagram feed, it genuinely excited me. Car ads used to be funny, irreverent, and bold, but modern car ads seem to have migrated into the realm of serious, stodgy and … Read more