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☆ Jim Cramer says Reddit's surge is about 'raw user power,' calls it 'holy grail' for advertisers
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-30 | by ( Morgan Chittum | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Reddit stock skyrocketed more than 40% higher on Wednesday — a stunning market reaction Jim Cramer suggested was warranted given the company's blowout third-quarter earnings results . Cramer touted the social platform for its growth prospects around ad revenues, calling it the "holy grail" for advertisers. "Reddit is a place where advertisers need to be," Steve Huffman, CEO and co-founder of Reddit, said on Tuesday's "Mad Money." Reddit also has a massive amount of user data that it can monetize to train artificial intelligence models. If you like this story, sign up for Jim Cramer's Top 10 Morning Thoughts on the Market email newsletter for free .

Persons: Jim Cramer, Reddit, Cramer, Steve Huffman, Cramer's, Jim Cramer's Organizations: Cramer's Charitable Trust, CNBC

This article is part of “Dealing the Dead,” a series investigating the use of unclaimed bodies for medical research. Texas Senate Media ServicesThe Health Science Center did not comment on Parker’s plans for legislation. The Health Science Center suspended its body-donation program, fired the officials who led it and said it would stop accepting unclaimed bodies. The University of North Texas Health Science Center suspended its body-donation program and fired the officials who led it. Dallas County officials have said moving forward they won’t provide unclaimed bodies for research unless survivors choose to do so.

Persons: Sen, Tan Parker, Parker, “, ”, Andy North, Shelby Tauber, Alisa Simmons, Brenda Cloud, Victor Honey, Maddie McGarvey, NBC News Cloud, ” Cloud, ” Terrence Hayes, “ Mr, Honey, Al Sharpton, MSNBC’s, ” Sharpton, Thomas Champney, ” Champney, Eli Shupe, Tarrant, ” Shupe, Louisa Harvey, Michael Coleman, Michael, ” Harvey, Louisa Harvey ., Louisa Harvey Harvey, Harvey, she’s Organizations: NBC News, Republican, NBC, Fort, University of North Texas Health Science Center, Army, Texas, Media Services, Health Science Center, Dallas, Fort Worth National, U.S . Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans, Health Science, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, University of Texas Locations: Texas, Dallas, Tarrant, Fort Worth, North Texas, Mississippi, United States, Arlington

☆ British government had 'constructive' talks with Musk's X over disinformation, minister says
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-13 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Musk is the owner of X, the social media platform formerly known as X. Aytug Can Sencar | Anadolu | Getty ImagesLONDON — The U.K. government has had "constructive" talks with Elon Musk's social media site X over the spread of misinformation and other harmful content, technology minister Peter Kyle told CNBC Friday. Multiple social media users at the time spread false information about the alleged perpetrator, who has since been charged with murder and attempted murder, claiming he was an asylum seeker. The minister also told CNBC he is assessing whether he needs additional powers to regulate social media companies over the dissemination of harmful content online. A government spokesperson told CNBC earlier this year that its "immediate focus is getting the Online Safety Act implemented quickly and effectively." However, this spokesperson added, "our message to social media companies remains clear: There is no need to wait — you can and should take immediate action to protect your users."

Persons: Elon Musk, Peter Kyle, Kyle, CNBC's, hasn't, Musk, Taylor Swift, Keir Starmer, Keir, Dawn Butler, Chi Onwurah, Labour's Kyle Organizations: Anadolu, Getty, Elon, CNBC, Citizens, Financial Times, Labour, SpaceX, Ofcom, OSA Locations: United Kingdom, England

☆ Australia drops legal fight against X over church stabbing video
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-05 | by ( Hilary Whiteman | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

Brisbane, Australia CNN —Australia’s eSafety commissioner has dropped her legal bid to force Elon Musk’s social media site X to hide a violent video of a church stabbing in Sydney from global users. The eSafety commissioner had wanted X to hide the video for users beyond Australian borders. The incident set off a riot outside the church that authorities said was stoked by the rapid distribution of the video online. “The Video is, and at all material times has been, widely accessible to persons in Australia other than on the X platform, including in its full form on other social media services and various websites,” court documents said. The Assyrian Orthodox cleric was quoted in court filings as supporting the distribution of the video as an exercise in free speech.

Persons: Australia CNN — Australia’s, Elon, Julie Inman Grant, X, Inman Grant, ”, Musk, ’, Joanne Gray, ” Gray, it’s, Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel, eSafety, she’d Organizations: Australia CNN, University of Sydney, Good Shepherd, Australian Jewish Association, Australia’s, ABC Locations: Brisbane, Australia, Sydney

☆ DJT stock: Truth Social keeps shrinking despite the Trump trial and looming election
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-03 | by ( Matt Egan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Yet new data shows its main product — the conservative-friendly social network Truth Social — remains a very tiny player in its industry, and it’s getting even smaller. “If your entire social circle is on a social media platform, that’s a strong pull to sign up. ‘Meme stock’ argumentTrump recently received another 36 million shares of Trump Media as part of a bonus known as earnout shares. Including those new shares, Trump owns 114.75 million shares of Trump Media — a stake valued at $5.6 billion. Of course, Kennedy notes that there is a counter argument that Trump Media is not a typical social media stock, and so traditional metrics like growth and revenue don’t really matter.

Persons: Donald Trump, it’s, ”, Matthew Kennedy, Kennedy, “, Trump, Shannon Devine, ” Devine, Similarweb, Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta, Gettr, Tom Liu, Musk, ” Kennedy Organizations: New, New York CNN, Trump Media & Technology, Trump Media, CNN, Trump, Truth, Renaissance, Social, ” Trump Media, Elon Musk Locations: New York, Similarweb

☆ Read the 19-page pitch deck ex-Meta staffers used to raise $1 million for their comedy startup
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-13 | by ( Sydney Bradley | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Danny Frenkel, the CEO of comedy startup PunchUp Live, said the industry had a pretty standard path to success. Comics would aim to score a special on Comedy Central, Netflix, or HBO to become a big headliner at large venues. But Frenkel said the problem was comedians were '"renting" those audiences from social-media platforms. PunchUp helps comedians navigate social-media platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube. Check out PunchUp Live's 19-page pitch deck:Note: PunchUp redacted financial projections originally included in the deck.

Persons: Danny Frenkel, Frenkel, Alex Dajani, Steve Byrne, Sam Morril, Rachel Feinstein, Mark Norman, PunchUp, Morril, he's, " Frenkel, Meta Ray, Heracles Capital Organizations: Comedy Central, Netflix, HBO, Business, YouTube, Meta, Reality Labs, Heracles, Hustle Fund, Evil Twin

☆ TikTok's growth rate has collapsed. 'Life' may be getting in the way for its younger users.
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-12 | by ( Alistair Barr | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

This is especially true for young users who are now entering a new busy time of life known as adulthood. AdvertisementAfter demolishing the competition from 2020 through the first half of 2022, TikTok's DAU growth rate has collapsed. One interesting theory is that TikTok users are growing up and taking on new responsibilities that leave less time to watch videos. If some of TikTok's core users can no longer afford to spend an hour a day on the app, that's not good for business. This is not just meThe Wall Street Journal recently interviewed a few TikTok users in their 20s.

Persons: —, TikTok, it's, Brielle, There's, I'd, she'll, Keilah Bruce Organizations: Service, Evercore, YouTube, Facebook, Street Journal, Intelligence, Street Locations: TikTok

☆ Here’s why a SCOTUS ruling on social media rules matters to so many people
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-27 | by ( Brian Fung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

It’s obvious enough that the legislation would affect those social media giants, who are challenging the laws’ constitutionality through industry trade associations. But in scrutinizing the laws’ scope and First Amendment impacts, justices from both sides of the ideological spectrum worried Monday that the legislation’s effects could spill far beyond major social media platforms. “We’re talking about the classic social media platforms, but it looks to me like it could cover Uber. Social media applications are seen on an iPhone in this photo illustration taken on 10 November, 2023 in Warsaw, Poland. (Photo by ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS / AFP) (Photo by ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images) Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP/Getty ImagesThat law permits social media users to try to sue platforms for violations.

Persons: CNN — Uber, —, Henry Whitaker, “, ”, Amy Coney Barrett, Sonia Sotomayor, Whitaker, Jaap Arriens, ” Whitaker, Sotomayor, Ketanji Brown Jackson, “ I’m, ” Jackson, Uber, Aaron Nielson, Barrett, ” Sotomayor, ” Nielson, ” Chris Marchese, ANDREW CABALLERO, REYNOLDS, Andrew Caballero, Reynolds, Neilson, ” Barrett, you’ve, Elena Kagan, you’re, Kagan Organizations: CNN, Facebook, YouTube, Web, LinkedIn, NetChoice Litigation, AFP, Getty, Texans, PayPal Locations: Texas, Florida, Warsaw, Poland, ” Texas, ”, Washington , DC, AFP, El Paso

Facebook and Instagram users will start seeing labels on AI-generated images that appear on their social media feeds, part of a broader tech industry initiative to sort between what’s real and not. It could be “quite effective” in flagging a large portion of AI-generated content made with commercial tools, but it won't likely catch everything, she said. Meta already puts an “Imagined with AI” label on photorealistic images made by its own tool, but most of the AI-generated content flooding its social media services comes from elsewhere. A number of tech industry collaborations, including the Adobe-led Content Authenticity Initiative, have been working to set standards. A push for digital watermarking and labeling of AI-generated content was also part of an executive order that U.S. President Joe Biden signed in October.

Persons: Meta, “, ”, Gili Vidan, Nick Clegg, didn’t, Joe Biden, Clegg, Neal Mohan, what's, Cornell's Organizations: Cornell University, Meta, Google, Microsoft, Adobe, YouTube

☆ Meta, TikTok and Other Tech Chiefs to Face Lawmakers on Child Safety Online
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-31 | by ( David Mccabe | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Five of the most prominent chief executives in tech will face questions on Wednesday from a powerful Senate committee about an issue that has drawn rare bipartisan scrutiny: the dangers that children encounter online. Members of the Senate Judiciary Committee will grill the leaders of Meta, TikTok, Snap, Discord and X on topics including the spread online of child sexual abuse material and the companies’ efforts to police it. They’ll also examine social media’s broader impact on children’s safety and mental health. A growing chorus of lawmakers have recently called for measures to crack down on the spread of child sexual abuse material online and to hold the platforms responsible for protecting young people. Online safety laws have been approved in the European Union and in Britain.

Persons: They’ll Organizations: Meta, Tech, European Union Locations: Britain

☆ Zuckerberg says Threads will dip its toe in the 'fediverse' as it opens to Europe
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-14 | by ( Kevin Collier | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Meta will begin testing a system that allows posts from its microblogging platform Threads to appear on other social media services, CEO Mark Zuckerberg said Wednesday. The fediverse is still tiny compared to Threads, with about 11 million users, the vast majority of them on Mastodon. Adam Mosseri, head of Instagram, wrote on Threads that the platform is starting with the ability to follow Threads users from other ActivityPub platforms, adding that the ability for Threads users to follow accounts from other platforms is in the works. If Threads goes through with full ActivityPub integration, people will be able to follow Threads users and see their posts without having to join the platform (Threads currently forces users to sign up through an Instagram account). Similarly, Threads users will be able to follow users and see posts from across ActivityPub's network.

Persons: Mark Zuckerberg, Zuckerberg, Evan Prodromou, It's, X, Adam Mosseri, Instagram, Mike McCue, Flipboard, Christine Lemmer, Webber Organizations: Meta, Mozilla Locations: Europe, United States, Israel

Meta and Facebook logos are seen in this illustration taken February 15, 2022. The ban on such advertising, which targets users by harvesting their data, is a setback for U.S. tech giant Meta Platforms (META.O), the owner of the two social media services, which has opposed efforts to curb the practice. The Norwegian data regulator, Datatilsynet, in September said it had referred the ongoing fine to the European regulator, as its fine was valid in Norway only and due to expire on Nov. 3. Norway is not a member of the EU but is part of the European single market. The decision affects some 250 million Facebook and Instagram users in Europe, Datatilsynet said.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, EDPB, Datatilsynet, Gwladys Fouche, Terje Solsvik, Tomasz Janowski Organizations: Meta, REUTERS, EU, Facebook, European Union, European Economic, European Data Protection, Reuters, Economic, Big Tech, Thomson Locations: Norway, Ireland, Norwegian, Europe

☆ Omnicom Buys E-Commerce Shop Flywheel Digital for $835 Million
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-30 | by ( Megan Graham | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Ad holding company Omnicom says it expects Flywheel Digital to make it more competitive in e-commerce and retail media services. Photo: Omnicom GroupAdvertising holding company Omnicom said it has agreed to acquire Flywheel Digital for a net cash purchase price of approximately $835 million, in what it says is its biggest acquisition ever. Flywheel is the digital commerce arm of Ascential , a U.K.-based business-to-business media, events and analytics company that owns the Cannes Lions advertising festival. Flywheel offers services designed to help brands sell on digital marketplaces operated by companies including Amazon .com, Walmart and Alibaba .

Persons: Omnicom Organizations: Cannes Lions, Walmart Locations: U.K

The Consequences of Elon Musk’s Ownership of XNow rebranded as X, the site has experienced a surge in racist, antisemitic and other hateful speech. Research conducted in part by the Institute for Strategic Dialogue concluded that anti-Semitic tweets in English more than doubled after Mr. Musk’s takeover. Keeping X at the center of public debate is exactly Mr. Musk’s goal, which he describes at times with a messianic zeal. Even worse, the article argued, Mr. Musk’s changes appear to be boosting the engagements of the most contentious users. A month into Mr. Musk’s ownership, the platform stopped enforcing its policy against Covid-19 misinformation.

Persons: Elon Musk, ”, “, Musk’s, —, Musk, Tim Chambers, ” Mr, Chambers, Tesla, lockdowns, Thierry Breton, Mr Organizations: Elon, Twitter, “ Twitter, Hamas, Dewey, Group, Defamation, Research, Institute for Strategic, Commission, Kremlin, Pentagon, Tufts, Rutgers, Montclair, 4chan, Harvard Kennedy School, Covid, Media, Mr, Commission's Digital Services, Services, Defamation League, European Union Locations: Musk’s, Russia, China, Israel, Ukraine, Iran, guardrails

What does Google say? Even though they do not operate general-purpose search engines, Google argues that they are rival destinations where consumers go to find products or content that bypasses Google entirely. Consumers have a choice to use other search engines, it argues, but choose Google because they find it most helpful. The government has to show that Google has monopoly power over the areas of the economy at issue in the case. The wider the market, the easier it is for Google to argue that it does not have monopoly power.

Organizations: Google, Consumers

However, the delays affected the sites for rival platforms, as well as news outlets that Twitter owner Elon Musk has previously criticized. Will Dormann, a cybersecurity researcher, plugged the New York Times website into a basic command program on his Mac and compared the loading time for that website with that of a dummy website. The load time for the New York Times site was about 4.5 seconds longer, Dormann told CNN Tuesday. X, like other platforms, uses a link-shortener service to collect information on users who click on links shared on the platform. Reuters said in a statement that it was aware of reports “of a delay in opening links to Reuters stories on X.

Persons: Musk, Elon Musk, Will Dormann, Dormann, ” Dormann, Mark Zuckerberg, Zuckerberg, ” “ Elon won’t, ” Zuckerberg, cofounders Chris Best, Hamish McKenzie, Jairaj Sethi, ”, cofounders, ” Bluesky, X, Jon Passantino, Oliver Darcy Organizations: New, New York CNN, Twitter, New York Times, Reuters, Facebook, CNN, NBA.com, Target, Hacker, The New York Times Locations: New York

☆ Adtech firm Aleph withdraws IPO filing
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

July 18 (Reuters) - Aleph Group Inc said on Tuesday it had filed to withdraw its IPO plans, citing "public interest and the protection of investors," more than a year after the digital advertising firm submitted paperwork to go public. Emerging markets-focused Aleph, which helps large digital platforms connect with advertisers and customers, counts Meta Platforms (META.O), Spotify Technology (SPOT.N) and Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O)-owned LinkedIn among its customers. Founded in 2005 as IMS Internet Media Services, Aleph was valued at $2 billion in 2021 after private equity firm CVC Capital Partners bought a stake worth $470 million. U.S. initial public offerings have seen a recent spurt after more than a year of lull as hefty interest rate hikes and worries of a recession dented investor appetite for new listings. Reporting by Mehnaz Yasmin in Bengaluru Editing by Vinay DwivediOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Mehnaz Yasmin, Vinay Dwivedi Organizations: Spotify Technology, Microsoft Corp, IMS Internet Media, Capital Partners, U.S, Thomson Locations: Bengaluru

☆ Analysis: Meta's 'friendly' Threads collides with unfriendly internet
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-07 | by ( Katie Paul | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Maintaining that idealistic vision for Threads - which attracted more than 70 million users in its first two days - is another story. To be sure, Meta Platforms (META.O) is no newbie at managing the rage-baiting, smut-posting internet hordes. For starters, the company will not extend its existing fact-checking program to Threads, spokesperson Christine Pai said in an emailed statement on Thursday. Asked by Reuters to explain why it was taking a different approach to misinformation on Threads, Meta declined to answer. INTO THE FEDIVERSEFurther challenges in moderating content are in store once Meta links Threads to the so-called fediverse, where users from servers operated by other non-Meta entities will be able to communicate with Threads users.

Persons: Mark Zuckerberg, Elon Musk, Zuckerberg, Christine Pai, Pai, Adam Mosseri, Instagram, satanists, Donald Trump, Meta's Pai, Alex Stamos, Solomon Messing, Katie Paul, Kenneth Li, Matthew Lewis Organizations: YORK, Meta, Reuters, New York Times, West Bank, Conservative, Stanford Internet Observatory, Center for Social Media, New York University, San, Thomson Locations: San Francisco

☆ Louisiana law would require parental permission to use social media
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-08 | by ( Lauren Feiner | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Still, the unanimous vote in both chambers of the Louisiana state legislature underscores the popularity of legislation aimed at protecting kids from online harms. NetChoice, a group that represents internet platforms including Amazon , Google , Meta and TikTok, said it opposes the Louisiana bill and hopes the governor will veto it. NetChoice Vice President and General Counsel Carl Szabo said in a statement that the Louisiana bill would also violate the First Amendment. Anonymity can be important for individuals using social media services for things like whistleblowers, victims, and those identifying crime in the neighborhood who fear backlash," Szabo said. WATCH: Sen. Blackburn says safety should come first on social media 'children have lost their lives'

Persons: NetChoice, Carl Szabo, Szabo, John Bel Edwards, Sen, Blackburn Organizations: Liberal, Google, Democratic Gov, CNBC, YouTube Locations: Louisiana, Utah, Arkansas, California, Virginia, Florida

☆ Everyone in the OTT space is suffering, says Hightower Advisors' Stephanie Link
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-26 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailEveryone in the OTT space is suffering, says Hightower Advisors' Stephanie LinkStephanie Link, Rob Sechan, Jenny Harrington, and Jim Lebenthal join 'Halftime Report' to discuss investments in over-the-top media services, the decision to sell Disney, and the future of entertainment stocks.

Persons: OTT, Hightower, Stephanie Link Stephanie Link, Rob Sechan, Jenny Harrington, Jim Lebenthal Organizations: Disney

☆ Extremism Finds Fertile Ground in Chat Rooms for Gamers
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( Steven Lee Myers | Kellen Browning | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

There are rules people must agree to before joining Unloved, a private discussion group on Discord, the messaging service popular among players of video games. They share some harmless memes but also joke about school shootings and debate the attractiveness of women of different races. Users in the group — known as a server on Discord — can enter smaller rooms for voice or text chats. The name for one of the rooms refers to rape. In the vast and growing world of gaming, views like these have become easy to come across, both within some games themselves and on social media services and other sites, like Discord and Steam, used by many gamers.

CNN —Mage won the 149th Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky, on Saturday. “It took me a little while to get there, to finally get it.” The victory was the first at the Kentucky Derby for Castellano in 16 attempts. Albert Cesare/USA Today/ReutersPrior to the Kentucky Derby, Mage only had one victory in three career starts. He’s the second horse to die today at the track, making it an appalling seven deaths in advance of the Kentucky Derby. They should play ‘Taps’ at the Derby instead of ‘My Old Kentucky Home.’”Correction: A previous version of this story misstated the location of Churchill Downs.

CNN —Two more horses have died at Churchill Downs, the home of the famed Kentucky Derby, officials from the track announced on Saturday. A total of seven horses have now died at the racetrack in the week-long lead up to the race. On Friday, racehorse trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. was suspended indefinitely by Churchill Downs following the “highly unusual” deaths of two of his horses, Parents Pride and Chasing Artie. Three other horses – not trained by Joseph – also died in recent days. According to Churchill Downs, Wild on Ice, a Derby contender, was hurt while training on Thursday and Take Charge Briana was injured in a race on Tuesday.

☆ Arkansas governor signs sweeping bill imposing a minimum age limit for social media usage
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-12 | by ( Brian Fung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Sarah Huckabee Sanders has signed a sweeping bill imposing a minimum age limit for social media usage, in the latest example of states taking more aggressive steps intended to protect teens online. The legislation, known as the Social Media Safety Act and taking effect in September, is aimed at giving parents more control over their kids’ social media usage, according to lawmakers. It defines social media companies as any online forum that lets users create public profiles and interact with each other through digital content. The confusion over YouTube appears to stem from the carveout for businesses that offer cloud storage and that make less than 25% of their revenue from social media. “The purpose of this bill was to empower parents and protect kids from social media platforms, like Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and Snapchat,” Dees said in a statement.

☆ Potential TikTok ban sends advertisers scrambling
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( Sheila Dang | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

In recent discussions with ad buyers, TikTok representatives have stuck to the company's current talking points. TikTok employees have played up ongoing plans to separate the user data of Americans and store it in the country. In a section of the email titled "Can the Chinese government request TikTok U.S. user data?" Even with talk of a ban, most advertisers have not changed their spending plans on TikTok, media buyers said, because discussions of a ban have lingered since 2020 without any result. "A ban isn't a ban until it's a ban," he said.

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