Analysis Shows Even though ChatGPT is Sending a Lot of Referral Traffic to News Websites, It Still Remains Small

According to data from Similarweb (via Pressgazette), referrals from ChatGPT grew to 14 top news sites to about 3.5 million in January from 435,000 in August. But ChatGPT still only made up 0.1% of the visits on those sites. Press Gazette compiled the report and there are some important points. The report found that traffic sent by ChatGPT on mobile and desktop grew eight times within six months but it still doesn’t make a big portion of websites’ overall traffic. In January, the New York report received 143.5 million total monthly visits. But only 760,000 visits there were from ChatGPT. Forbes and the Guardian saw good growth in monthly visits from ChatGPT, with 560,000 and 730,000 referrals respectively.

In January, Perplexity was leading the referral traffic to news sites. The most referrals were 139,000 to CNN, 146,000 to The New York Times, and 117,000 to India Times in January 2025. Overall in six months, ChatGPT led the referral traffic to news websites. Most of the traffic went to Forbes (1.7 million), followed by The Guardian and the New York Times (1.6 million each).

OpenAI has also introduced web search on ChatGPT which links and cites to publishers, but is optional. Perplexity didn’t have any consistent month-over-month growth even though it has sent referral traffic of 850,000 and 450,000 visits per month to same the 14 news websites as ChatGPT has.

Read next: Fake ‘Sadcore’ Posts on Facebook Monetize Sympathy Through Stars and Ads
by Arooj Ahmed via Digital Information World

Fake ‘Sadcore’ Posts on Facebook Monetize Sympathy Through Stars and Ads

Newslttrs report that there has been an increase in ‘sadcore’ posts on Facebook which are being used to earn profits from sympathies. These posts are AI-generated and tend to evoke emotions of sympathy and well-wishes in users. These posts can be about old people celebrating their birthdays all alone or someone posting about their father making something and saying that no one seems to like his work. Even though these kinds of posts are easy to detect as AI-generated by familiar people with AI, they still gain thousands of sympathy comments and even direct payments from the users.

Some of these posts earn revenue from Facebook’s star system where each star is worth a penny. Even though the star system doesn’t generate much on individual posts, it can collectively get real income through thousands of comments on hundreds of posts. Some posts also drive traffic to ad-heavy websites while some sell guest posts to spammers on websites like Fiverr. AI spam posts build a content page and when it is well received by users, they sell their services to other AI spammers. Facebook users who cannot differentiate AI-slope from real, are being exploited.

Image: newslttrs

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• New Analysis Shows Rankings on AI Overviews are More Unstable than Rankings on Traditional Google Search Results

by Arooj Ahmed via Digital Information World

New Analysis Shows Rankings on AI Overviews are More Unstable than Rankings on Traditional Google Search Results

According to a new analysis by Authoritas, the website rankings on Google AI Overviews are more unstable than rankings on classic Google searches. The study by this eCommerce SEO platform also found that 70% of the rankings on AI Overviews changed within two to three months. Even though Google’s organic search rankings have always been unstable, the rankings on AI Overviews seem more unstable, with a volatile score of 0.68 within 8 weeks and 0.73 within 13 weeks. On the other hand, the volatile score of Google's organic search ranking was 0.49 within 8 weeks and 0.55 within 13 weeks.

The analysis also mentioned that ranking in the top ten organic search results doesn’t mean that your website will also rank on AI Overviews. Both have different criteria and systems and are independent in the way they work. However, the analysis has found that the top ten results in organic search appear 60% of the time on AI Overviews, while a page that isn’t ranked in the top ten appears 40% of the time on AI Overviews.

The text snippets on Google AI Overviews are also unstable and tend to change over time, even though the sources that are cited there remain stable. Monitoring these changes is the best way to see the trends in user intent. It is important to monitor AI Overviews because it is here to stay, so keeping up with its changes is the best way to make your website get cited there. It is very different from traditional SEO, so monitoring AI Overviews for keywords you care about is a good move.

The volatility of AI-generated rankings varies across industries, with sectors like marketing, non-profits, and real estate experiencing the most fluctuation. Compared to organic search, generative results show consistently higher instability, highlighting the unpredictability of AI-driven visibility. Categories such as healthcare and finance exhibit comparatively lower volatility, suggesting more stable ranking patterns. Understanding these variations is crucial for businesses aiming to maintain search visibility in an evolving digital landscape.

Read next: Fewer People Clicking on Google Search Results Because of AI Summaries
by Arooj Ahmed via Digital Information World

X and Meta Under Fire For Approving Ads Targeting Germans with Violent Anti-Muslim and Anti-Jew Hate Speech

Both social media giants X and Meta are currently under fire for targeting users in the country of Germany with hate speech. This was specifically to include anti-Muslim and anti-Jew content as the country gears up for the election period.

The news was shared after a new research firm called Eko went public with its findings on the matter.

Researchers tested whether or not both platforms’ ad review systems could approve or reject submissions linked to ads featuring violent terminology and hate speech themes. The fact that they were targeting the minorities in the country before the election just goes to show how they are playing along with the theme of immigration which has been a subject of debate during this time.

When both platforms’ ad review systems were tested to see if they would approve or reject those submissions, the final result was shocking, to say the least. There were so many calls for migrants to get jailed inside concentration camps or gassed. Similarly, shocking AI pictures of holy sites getting torched were on the rise.

Most of these test ads went unnoticed and were approved without hours of their submissions in the middle of February. Moreover, the elections begin this Sunday so the timing appears to be strategic indeed.

The study showed how all 10 of the ads featuring hate speech under discussion were approved by X while Meta also approved half of them for its Facebook app. Thankfully, the latter rejected the other half. The reason could be related to political sensitivity that it felt might impact voting.

The five ads that Meta said yes to included hate speech linking Muslims to viruses and rodents and branding them as those involved in the assault. Meta also said yes to ads responding to synagogues being burned to prevent the rat agenda of the Jews perceived globally.

None of the AI pictures showing disturbing actions were labeled as AI by either social media app which again raises the question on the issue. Still, seeing Meta approve 50% of the ads even though its policy needs disclosure of use for AI images is again alarming.

The additional approved ads featured messages attacking immigrants as rodents who keep flooding the nation to steal democracy. There are similar anti-semitic slurs that suggest how more and more Jews keep lying about matters related to climate change to destroy the entire EU industry and economic powers.

What is surprising is how X owner Musk has also used his app to intervene and speak on the German elections. He wished to persuade his users in the country to show support to the far-right AfD party so Germany could be saved. And the fact that he has millions of followers again says a lot about his influence.

Image: DIW-Aigen

Read next: Apple Confirms its Advanced Data Protection Feature Won’t Be Available to UK Users
by Dr. Hura Anwar via Digital Information World

Apple Confirms its Advanced Data Protection Feature Won’t Be Available to UK Users

Tech giant Apple is raising eyebrows after confirming yesterday how UK users won’t be able to use its advanced data protection feature anymore.

The news applies to both new and existing users in the United Kingdom. As per the Cupertino firm, the security feature for encrypting iCloud data can no longer be offered and will be disabled soon.

The company says it's disappointed with the worrisome news, considering the growing number of data breaches and more threats linked to client privacy. In case you’re wondering, the decision comes after the British government shared that it would design a backdoor that gave UK authorities the chance to access user data stored inside the firm’s cloud servers. This is even though it was E2E.

The request was looked upon as unprecedented in modern times and really raised concerns with privacy advocates. They argued how the pattern would set the wrong tone for other nations to follow. As per the tech giant, the feature to switch on E2E for all iCloud backups via Advanced Data Protection is optional. But when active, it makes it impossible for anyone to view data present on iCloud by users opting in.

Meanwhile, one spokesperson for the British Home Office mentioned that it was not going to respond to comments. As far as Apple is concerned, they didn’t reveal more details about disabling this feature is going to work for those who switched it on before the news broke.

Many people, including those in opposition to the government’s decision, claim that the Home Office is depriving millions from getting access to this type of security offering. Therefore, many UK citizens are now at a higher risk than before of getting their personal data leaked into the hands of predators as well as criminals.

The iPhone maker did share how certain categories of data including health and messages stored through iCloud as well as sensitive payment details won’t be impacted by the change. They will remain encrypted for all. However, those in the UK cannot opt into E2E for various other data like pictures, notes, and more.

Those with ADP enabled claim they will provide customers with more information soon when it’s available, including the timeframe to disable it to ensure they’re using iCloud. Anyone located outside the UK will not be impacted through this change, Apple shared.

Plenty of media outlets including those in the UK like the BBC News shared that the feature was stopped for all new users starting at 3pm yesterday.

Image: DIW-AIgen

Read next: EU Gears Up To Charge Google For Violating Digital Markets Act
by Dr. Hura Anwar via Digital Information World

EU Gears Up To Charge Google For Violating Digital Markets Act

Google could soon be facing more charges in the European Union for violating the Digital Markets Act. The news comes after the company proposed more changes to its search.

The changes were outlined to be in violation of the DMA as per sources familiar with the issue. Many regulators were not happy with Google’s decision. Moreover, the big picture is the EU has been investigating Google since the start of March 2023.

The concerns had to do with Google favoring its own offerings including hotels, flights, and shopping, against other competitors in the industry for search. The Android maker made some recent tweaks to the results that were designed to address the concerns of both the industry and regulators.

Critics were seen arguing about how Google’s steps to make regulators happy were not good enough. However, the search engine giant tried to defend itself by claiming that this is the most that could be done as any further tweaks would get rid of useful offerings to users.

Between those lines, the regulators in the EU were said to be super frustrated by the company’s growing threats to switch basic search results to basic blue links, in cases when stricter demands were imposed.

Today, the DMA prohibits self-preferencing by companies and carries penalties of nearly 10% of the global yearly revenue. The changes are important because they signal a huge escalation in the region’s effort to overcome Google’s dominance. This may eventually give rise to serious fines.

In cases when the EU forces Google to alter ranking algorithms or portray formats, it could produce new opportunities for competitors to benefit from. Similarly, it would alter the existing placement for ads.

Stricter enforcement for this DMA is certainly going to make the playing field more leveled for many. It would reduce the company’s dominance in terms of ad distribution. There will be heavy reliance on the firm’s ecosystem. Experts want website owners to monitor the developments in a closer manner to adapt strategies in the right way.

Google’s fines are expected to arrive in the next few months. This is similar to the period when we find the verdicts for both Meta and Apple for similar fines. Their investigation began at a more advanced stage than this one.

Another leading probe into the firm will focus on whether it will restrict app developers from telling users about external offers outside the Google Play Store. We’re also seeing a lot of regulatory pressure faced by Google in the EU. these fines are going to set the precedent for how the law is enforced against big tech giants.

Image: DIW-Aigen

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• New Survey Shows Despite Many Online Safety Laws, Children Under 13 are Still Able to Use Social Media Accounts

• iPhone Pro Users Upgrade Faster, Driving Apple's Revenue Growth
by Dr. Hura Anwar via Digital Information World

New Survey Shows Despite Many Online Safety Laws, Children Under 13 are Still Able to Use Social Media Accounts

The eSafety Commission in Australia conducted a study which found that most of the kids under 13 often bypass social media age restrictions to use platforms like TikTok, YouTube and Snapchat. The study found that most of these kids use social media through their caregivers or parents’ accounts while 5% of them also use accounts of their friends or siblings. More than one-third of under 13 also said that they have their own social media accounts, while there were also kids under 13 who could access social media without having an account.

Even though there are many social media platforms that do not enable kids under 13 to make their own accounts, only 13% of the kids under 13 got their accounts deleted because they weren't of appropriate age. The study surveyed 1504 children between the ages of 8 to 15 to find out social media use among them, especially when the government of Australia is aiming for an under 16 social media ban by the end of 2025. The Online Safety Amendment bill has already been passed and 77% of the public is in favor of it.

Another report showed that 95% of the children under 16 have already used at least one social media platform, with 80% of these kids being between the ages of 8 and 12. The accounts focused in the report were YouTube, Reddit, Facebook, TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat, Twitch and Discord. When these platforms were asked about their age restriction policies, it was found that all platforms except Reddit ask for user age when a new account is being made. But there are no age reassurance tools on these platforms that can verify that the age being entered is true.

Only YouTube is the platform that allows a child under 13 to use the platform under their parents account. This shows that many children are able to access social media just because there is no tool that can access their ages and this is a matter of deep concern. But some tools like Twitch, TikTok and Snapchat use proactive language analysis technology to detect under-13 users. TikTok also uses AI for facial age estimation while YouTube uses classifiers on channels. If the platforms like Reddit, Twitch, Discord and Snapchat detect that a user is under-13, they immediately terminate the account while TikTok does a manual review of the user account to find out what could be the users’ age. Meta platforms also use some tricks to stop someone under 13 to make an account and also use facial age estimation AI called Yoti when there's need.

Image: DIW-Aigen

Read next: Meta Unveils Insights About Its New Community Notes Model and Here’s What Users Can Expect
by Arooj Ahmed via Digital Information World