Instagram Dismisses Rumor It Deliberately Downranks Posts Tagged As Sponsored Content

The head of Instagram is debunking a very popular myth that accuses the app of downranking all sponsored content.

As a part of his latest array of informative posts, Adam Mosseri shared how there is zero truth to that notion. This includes how Meta never forces brands to pay to get a desired reach.

Mosseri adds that anything marked sponsored is treated in the same way as a usual post. Identifying posts with tags just helps the platform understand what content is sponsored. Therefore, no creator should ever fear that their posts would deliberately be downranked so it complies with local rules around the globe.

The common theory that most people have these days is how the app is making the most by downranking such posts as it’s another means to make sure both brands and partners pay for extra reach.

Some did point out how the app’s sponsored posts showed less engagement than those without the tag. The reason being is simple. Users just scroll on and treat it like it’s some kind of ad. As a result, it weakens reach and engagement.

So it’s likely that the tag reduces reach and it’s not simply a thing linked to Instagram as no efforts are made by the app to limit reach. Mosseri continued to justify the algorithm that does not take part in such behavior.

This is the latest of a new part of video posts arising from Adam Mosseri. He wishes to provide more data around specific elements of the app which users often have queries about.

In the past month, we saw Mosseri explain how adding brand logs to Reels will not result in it getting penalized. However, Reels featuring TikTok and YouTube watermarks do hit a reach penalty eventually.

We have to agree that the Instagram Chief’s comments are certainly valuable as they help to put a lot of myths to rest that creators feared for years. We don’t really blame creators either as Tech giant Meta does not have the best reputation for handling business accounts when it comes to organic reach.

In other news, Instagram is working with new options that make it simpler to produce AI variants of profile pictures. This gives rise to more stylish and artistic depictions of the user on the app.

One image shared by social media researcher Alessandro Paluzzi shows the app working on giving users the chance to produce an AI Profile Picture via direct edition options on their profile. With a few clicks of the button, you can use Meta’s AI picture generation tools to update images.

It’s going to be new for the app but isn’t too new for users on social media. We’ve seen Facebook already trial this option in the past and the same goes for both TikTok and Snapchat. So we can see how the feature would ensure Instagram is up to date with other arch-rivals in this regard.

Some feel the option is disingenuous. For so long, users on social media complained about things like bots and fake profiles impacting user experience. Now, you’re rolling out doctored pictures and false depictions of people who are real.

Meta already reported getting rid of more than 900 profiles using fake AI headshots to show them as real and now this.

AI headshots do use a lot of creativity and try to make it appear like a user’s image has the perfect artistic touch. Whatever the case might be, it’s still not you so that’s a point worth mentioning.

Read next: Gen-Z Tops Media Consumption, Spending 7+ Hours Daily and $97 Monthly on Content
by Dr. Hura Anwar via Digital Information World

Gen-Z Tops Media Consumption, Spending 7+ Hours Daily and $97 Monthly on Content

According to a survey of 2,000 Americans by Talker Research, Gen-Z consumes more content than any other generation, with average seven hours spent on social media and online content daily. The time spent on media consumption by Gen-Z can even exceed 15 hours a day in some cases. All in all, Americans consume 6 hours of content daily, which makes 42 hours per week or 91 days in a year. The survey also covered how much Americans spend on media consumption.

The data from the survey revealed that on average, Americans spend $66.60 per month on media consumption. Subscriptions on social media, streaming services and audio apps all take part of some of Americans’ finances. This totals up to $800 annually. Gen-Z spends $97.70 on media per month. On the other hand, $35.60 is spent by Baby Boomers on media per month.

This doesn't mean that Americans are happy with spending this much on the media. 33% say that they will end their subscription if its prices are raised by 10% in the upcoming year. Millennials are the generation that spend the most on streaming services ($40 per month), followed by Gen-Z ($39.29 per month) and Gen X ($32.30 per month). Gen-Z spend the most on social media apps ($29.10 per month), followed by Millennials ($25 per month). These two generations also spend the most on audio apps, with Gen-Z spending $29.4 per month and millennials spending $26.7 per month.

Baby Boomers and Silent Generation Americans are the ones who spend the least money on media. 42% of the Americans who were surveyed said that they feel like they consume too much media, with 36% admitting that media can turn their mood negative. Surprisingly, Gen-Z (66%) were most likely to admit consuming too much media. On average, Americans feel guilty 3.1 times every month because they are consuming too much media.

When it comes to social media usage, "Facebook remains the most popular social media platform overall, Gen Z diverges from this trend, favoring YouTube (82%), Instagram (68%), and TikTok (57%) instead.", highlights the report, Adding further, "Notably, Gen Z is the only generation to rank TikTok among their top three favorite social media platforms."

Read next: 76% View Journalism as Essential for Combating Misinformation, with Social Media Seen as Top Culprit
by Arooj Ahmed via Digital Information World

Google Chrome’s New AI Is Here to Make Your Browsing Safer and Smarter

Tech giant Google just silently updated one of Chrome’s security features called Enhanced Protection. This will now be powered by AI technology and will arrive in a future update.

For now, it’s not too clear what has altered. However, from what was mentioned by one researcher Leopeva64 on the X app, Google is making the change to the Chrome Safe Browsing feature. Soon, we’ll see it powered with AI to give greater protection in real-time. This means saying hello to enhanced security against dangers online and also keeping downloads and extensions safe.

In the past, we used to see the feature be better known as a more proactive protection. It’s not altered to include AI to better protect and warn others about dangers linked to harmful platforms. This is the case even for those places that the Chrome browser failed to identify in the past.

With this new enhanced protection switched on, Chrome would like to take part in scanning on a deeper level with more downloads and better protection across all of Google’s services when users sign in. However, this might involve increased data collection from users' browsing activity, as Chrome deepens its scanning efforts.

In other news, Chrome’s Enhanced Protection is not the only feature getting the AI makeover across Chrome. As shown by Leo, Tabs on Chrome Canary will also get a revamp. Before, they would arrive with suggestions to ‘Check for Suggestions’. Now, it’s going to be called Group Tabs with AI which assists in organizing tabs with AI to ensure they’re better sorted.

The name and description of the "Group tabs" and "Close unused tabs" sections of Chrome's Tab search bubble have been updated in Canary, they are now "Group tabs with AI" and "Review inactive tabs" respectively:https://t.co/GQNVPRDUkF
.https://t.co/IYmgCD1Svn pic.twitter.com/ihuGWTcf2I

— Leopeva64 (@Leopeva64) November 8, 2024

Meanwhile, another similar change is the Close Unused Tabs feature. It’s going to be called Review Inactive Tabs. Instead of just shutting down the tabs, the offering allows users to review them, in case they’re inactive for a week or more.

For now, the search engine giant is still in the testing phase for all of these AI branding changes on Chrome Canary. But we do hope to see this rolling out to anyone and everyone very soon.

Read next: X Expands Grok AI Access to Non-Paying Users, Testing New Paths for Growth and Engagement
by Dr. Hura Anwar via Digital Information World

X Expands Grok AI Access to Non-Paying Users, Testing New Paths for Growth and Engagement

Social media giant X is making a bigger push for its Grok AI chatbot, giving some non-paying users full access.

While the process is still in the developmental phase, it does hope to launch the limited but free version to more users very soon. As expected, this would significantly boost the usage of the popular AI tool.

Image: Lohan Simpson / X

For now, a limited number of people have access to it, and those that do belong to the Premium category of subscribers. Today, there are just 1.3M users who pay for the app which is just 0.26% of the overall user base. This is evidence that usage is very limited.

Therefore, there are also not a lot of insights in terms of how valuable this addition could be as the usage is limited to a tiny fraction of the whole audience. Moreover, a free variant would give those who didn’t get access before the chance to try now. What better way to lure users into signing up for Premium than this, right?

It also depends on the number of people keenly interested in adding pictures to their posts or replying through answers generated via the AI chatbot. We will only know after this decision comes into play. It would provide a correct assessment of the real potential that it holds after getting feedback from the masses.

• Also read: Elon Musk's X Witnesses Its Biggest Month So Far As Mobile Revenue Soars To Record High Figures

We could also see how this might assist X Corp attain a major investment into the xAI offshoot.

xAI was Elon Musk’s answer of revenge to OpenAI which he played a major role in terms of its initial stages. This was right before he was kicked out of the leadership team. Hence, Musk thought the perfect way to take revenge was this.

It’s a key challenger for rivals and already attained nearly $6B in terms of funding. There are also views about the app propping up itself and signing deals related to data supply with the app. This could funnel some of the funds between the two of them.

A lot of the success of xAI has to do with the platform itself. Now, that still struggles in terms of getting business to where its leader had once imagined it to be. Therefore, it’s a smart move if you ask us.

Read next: New Study Shows Generative AI Hallucinates When it Faces Real World Problems
by Dr. Hura Anwar via Digital Information World

New Study Shows Generative AI Hallucinates When it Faces Real World Problems

According to a new study by researchers from Harvard University, University of Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), University of Chicago and Cornell University, AI models are highly likely to hallucinate if you give them real life scenarios. One example of it is asking an AI model to navigate New York. It can do so with excellent accuracy but if we add detours and close some streets, it starts hallucinating and imagining things. This shows that AI models can show great capabilities in doing daily tasks but they do not have any understanding of real life scenarios.

For the study, the backbone of many LLMs, “transporter”, was analyzed. When a lot of detours were added to New York’s map, the transporter failed miserably. If only 1% of the street was closed, the accuracy decreases from 100 to 67.

According to MIT, this hallucination of an AI model made the map of New York start looking like a made-up map where there was no sense of streets and flyovers. The researchers also said that these results were just for navigation as the same type of hallucination was also seen in games and puzzles. The paper says that AI models aren't reliable in solving real world problems as sometimes they say things that do not make sense at all.

Image: DIW-Aigen

Read next: Small Businesses Slash Budgets Amid Inflation, 52% of Consumers Reduce Spending
by Arooj Ahmed via Digital Information World

Small Businesses Slash Budgets Amid Inflation, 52% of Consumers Reduce Spending

According to a study from Constant Contact and Ascend2, most of the small business owners are cutting back on their expenses because of rising inflation. 46% out of 16,00 small business owners and marketers who were surveyed said that they are impacted from the inflation and that's why they are budgeting their expenses accordingly.

The respondents of the survey also said that they have increased their prices due to inflation (39%). Other measures these small business owners have taken to mitigate inflation are improving operational efficiency (24%), focusing on customer retention and loyalty programs (22%) and diversifying new products and services (19%). These are measures taken by SMBs (firms with 250 or less than 250 employees).

52% of the consumers also said that they have cut off their spendings at small businesses this year because of inflation. 10% said that they have increased their spendings to help support small businesses. 34% said that they spend the same amount as before even amidst this inflation and 4% consumers do not spend on small businesses at all.

The SMBs with 2-10 employees are more impacted with this inflation. 51% of the small businesses with 2-10 employees have cut their expenses and 41% of SMBs with 11-99 employees have increased their prices.SMBs with 100-250 employees have diversified with new products while 36% of them have focused on customer retention and loyalty programs.

Read next: Smart Creators Are Using These 2024 Tips to Make Millions—Find Out How You Can Too!
by Arooj Ahmed via Digital Information World

76% View Journalism as Essential for Combating Misinformation, with Social Media Seen as Top Culprit

Trust is in demand. Three-quarters of Brits value trusted journalism now more than ever. Why? Fake news floods social media, government power faces little resistance, and regions are gaining new control – a reality that makes journalism indispensable.

In this survey of 2,000 people, over 70% identified social media as a breeding ground for misinformation. Not surprisingly, they want action. Nearly eight in ten believe tech firms should face hefty fines if they allow fake news. Sixty percent think advertisers should pull back, or even stop, if these platforms don’t step up.

Jo Allan, Newsworks CEO, sees this as heartening: people are waking up to journalism’s irreplaceable role in their lives. With politics topping both national and global agendas, journalism remains the check against unchecked power. And in a world where facts are blurred, credible news sources stand stronger than ever.

There's another issue: tech companies and AI. Six in ten respondents want copyright protections preserved, requiring clear permission before using journalism to train AI. Owen Meredith, NMA’s chief, believes this is a pivotal moment. Copyright laws that have fueled the UK’s creative strength must stay robust.

Following Labour’s landslide win in July, nearly two-thirds say journalism’s role in scrutinizing power grows crucial as the majority grows. And with more powers moving to local authorities, 66% of respondents see local journalism becoming essential to represent communities fairly.

This survey, by Newsworks with OnePoll, brings a simple truth to light: Britons value journalism because it holds up a mirror, a watchdog, and a steady hand in a turbulent world.

Read next: iPhone 15 Dominates Q3 2024 Sales as Apple and Samsung Compete for Premium Market Supremacy
by Arooj Ahmed via Digital Information World