Europe and LinkedIn takes a breath of relief… will this AI transparency act work? Will we get rid of AI flyers and billboards? Will LinkedIn achieve an AI slop-free state? I hope so.
Before you go further, Attention is like money – you can waste it or invest it. If you invest it in my paid newsletter, you'll get dividends for years.
The Social Juice+ (more of what matters)
AI labels to be compulsory on authentic-looking content under EU rules.
X settles WFA lawsuit, will ‘reset’ relationship on condition WFA will not ‘form or restart GARM or a similar initiative.’
You can now call out LinkedIn AI slop using a new button.
Meta Q2 ad revenue jumps to $59.4 billion as AI lifts performance.
Meta’s expenses are growing faster than its revenue, thanks to lawsuits and AI.
Snapchat brings music sharing to Snap Map with “Now Playing” feature.
Reddit shares sink 11% on ‘choppy’ search referrals even as results blow past estimates.
Reddit’s new push for making people sign-in first is the dumbest ever. Have they learned nothing from Quora’s decline into irrelevance, thanks to its bad user flows?
It’s not just you: This fundamental Google Search feature is broken worldwide.
A nightmare scenario for me as I always use the recent search filter for newsletter.
HBO Max is the newest member to join the vertical video feed club.
Reddit CEO says Google’s AI Overviews can’t replace ‘10 blue links’ for referral traffic.
AMC global media streaming revenue rises 6% in Q2, U.S. ad sales down 11%.
The looting of science fiction.
Snapchat no longer rewards fully AI-generated Spotlight content.
Artists are lawyering up against AI slop, and some are even winning.
Actors are losing roles to AI knockoffs of themselves.
Google yanks Google Earth AI image tool a day after launch over deepfake fears.
Some of you already know it, some don’t.
When I announced this news on Instagram, I mentioned the possibility of selling my Instagram page to raise funds for this new venture. After reading all the responses, I decided not to sell, although the number of people who reached out to buy the page was higher than the number of people sponsoring me or hiring me to work with their brands. That tells you a lot about the state of advertising spend and the job market.
To support my journey as I build this startup, spoiler: it’s anti-AI... there are two options… and a third, cheaper one:
I am open to work… happy to do brand strategy reviews and consult on a few projects. No calls though, chat w/me.
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New court docs show how MrBeast woos brands like Slack and Walmart.
AI Slop is fooling advertisers’ verification tools.
Tons of peoples’ Claude chats and creations are exposed on Google.
Is the death of millennial wedding culture upon us?
Microsoft Word now contains ads to ‘supercharge your AI experience’ even if you pay for it.
Australia expands demand that big tech pay for news stories.
Time has started serving ads to AI agents.
More typos, fewer em dashes: Writers are creating an anti-AI ‘literary counterculture.’
Etsy is in its flop era, and sellers are fleeing.
Meta and Google’s AI can create ads without asking—how to guard against rogue agents.
Will Berlin seize apartments from big landlords?
Suno AI loses copyright infringement lawsuit brought by GEMA in Germany.
The highest-paid podcasters of 2026.
Steven Bartlett’s Diary of a CEO set to topple world’s No 1 podcast.
FTC sues Hims & Hers for sending user health info to Meta, Snap
Apple’s final Tim Cook quarter ends strong.
Walmart and Amazon are battling for streaming TV budgets. Here’s how their offerings break down.
BuzzFeed, HuffPost and Tasty to lay off 180 staffers.
Sam Altman suggests parents generate AI podcasts about their kids.
In China, people are renting out their faces to AI.
Microsoft jumps 8% as it boosts capital spending plans, citing demand.
Bing Ads revenue was up 10%, meanwhile Azure passed $100 billion annually.
YouTuber Hank Green is facing a fan revolt over his AI use.
Inside an AI TikTok Shop slop factory that shills supplements recalled by the FDA.
ByteDance’s Seedance 2.5 generates 30-second video clips with built-in audio.
TikTok removes council’s account fearing it a fake.
Why TikTok’s algorithm keeps you trapped in a breakup loop.
iHeartRadio and TikTok LIVE premiere with Alex Warren.
🪫 Report Break: According to Sensor Tower's H1 2026 Gaming Digital Market Index report, which showed that gaming digital ad spend grew 8% to $7bn, with ad impressions up 14% to 1.4 trillion.
Mobile in-app purchase revenue totalled $40 billion worldwide during the first half of 2026, down 2% year-over-year. It was a smaller decline than was seen in downloads, down 12% to 24bn.
Meta says it has scanned every single public instagram post with its AI.
Instagram, Facebook ran AI ‘nudify’ ads from China, report says.
Which screen is the ‘Good Screen’ now?
Your screentime on Instagram is growing, thanks to Meta’s AI push.
"This drove a 15 basis point increase in sessions on Instagram, with particular strength in reshares and time spent, which are both strong indicators of better content-to-user matching," Zuckerberg added.
Threads users can now chat with Meta AI in their DMs.
🍅 Report Break: More than two-thirds (35 percent) of US advertisers surveyed by the Association of National Advertisers (ANA) say marketers are in-housing more than ever, with just seven percent saying marketers are pulling back from in-housing.
Meta signs the EU AI Act code of practice on transparency of AI-generated content.
5 things to know about Meta’s giant data center in Louisiana.
WhatsApp introduces web calling, transfer calls between devices, waiting room for group calls, and more features.
Meta disregarded its own research on teen harm, Tennessee lawyers tell jury.
Meta is ‘throwing spaghetti at the wall’ with its AI strategy, one analyst warns.
India summons Meta executives over briefly restricted Modi Facebook post.
Zuckerberg: The AI future is for everyone.
Mark Zuckerberg says US should not ban Chinese AI.
Facebook parent Meta signs AI licensing agreement with Newsmax.
WhatsApp is testing a new folder for messages from large businesses.
Sponsor this newsletter (media kit)
YouTube bans popular ASMR artists, accusing them of making ‘sexually gratifying’ content.
YouTube Premium expands NBCUniversal partnership to give subscribers access to ad-supported Peacock Premium streaming.
YouTube views rose while long-form ad revenue fell, data shows.
YouTube is on a major decluttering mission.
Google publishes its first dedicated guide for YouTube audio ads.
Google adds Top Stories links to many news-related AI summaries.
Google testing a way to ease email signups.
Google introduces Passkey authentication requirement for the Ads API.
Google Ads adds target-based bidding for ecommerce campaigns.
Google Local Service Ads to require D-U-N-S numbers for some.
The Voice of Google.
Google Analytics adds campaign diagnostics for missing aggregate identifiers.
Report Break: AM / FM radio on all devices still leads ad-supported listening, claiming 39% of that time yesterday. Following in second place, 25% of ad-supported time went to music on YouTube or YouTube Music, while 24% was spent with streaming services like Spotify.
Google Ads AI-generated images with upload image feature.
Google tests AI-generated descriptions in Shopping ads.
Google opens Search Console social reporting to everyone.
Google Ads appears to separate Target CPA and Target ROAS bidding strategies.
Google is aiming to close feature gaps on Gemini desktop.
Sensor Tower collaborates with Google Ads to integrate social creatives into cross-platform campaigns.
Google’s Open Knowledge format adds five trust signals.
Google launches Structured Data Files v10.1 for Display & Video 360.
xAI adds character references and 1080p to Imagine Video 1.5.
AI slop melodramas are taking over X—and their creators are cashing in.
SpaceXAI launches Grok Voice Think Fast 2.0 on Agent Builder.
Elon Musk’s X Money app is rolling out in the US.
Grok images of MP Jess Asato are ‘gross violation’, court told.
X is adding an “All” option to the post feed on profiles.
Snapchat shores up lead gen ads with new HubSpot integration.
Tinder pauses AI tool after it gave some daters unsolicited makeovers.
Audible opens new marketing channel for podcaster’s audiobooks.
Spotify rolling out ‘User Notes’ and ‘Running Mode’ features – here’s what they do.
Spotify adds a ‘Campaign Lift’ metric for its Discovery Mode.
‘I never thought I’d fall for a scam’: the fake Spotify emails that put you at risk of fraud.
Patreon is upping its RTO mandate after laying off 20% of staff.
Apple says gaming slowdown and App Store changes hurt services growth.
Apple is reinventing itself as the world’s biggest subscription provider.
Is this Reddit’s moment for local news?
👀 Report Break: YouTube recorded a platform-best 13.8% of TV watch-time in May to maintain the largest share of television among all distributors for a third consecutive month.
Among media distributors, Disney maintained the second largest share of TV in May with 10.0% of total watch-time. ESPN was up 16% and owned the top six cable telecasts in May, driven by its coverage of the NBA Playoffs.
Sports and Summer season drive streaming to record 48.6% of TV viewership in May.
Disney expected to sell 50% stake in A+E to hearst for more than $1 billion.
Disney overhauls streaming services to jumpstart subscriber growth.
User data convinces 3SS that in-car TV screens can displace phones for streaming.
Fox, iSpot aim to deliver faster data tying ads to business ‘outcomes.’
ChatGPT, Roblox to fall under strictest EU digital rules.
TF1’s digital strategy gains momentum as TF1+ advertising jumps 19% despite market headwinds.
Bloomberg responds to potential IPO reports, says founder has ‘no plans to sell.’
SiriusXM posts mixed Q2 ‘26 financials and record-low churn.
SiriusXM announces “SiriusXM Sports Pass,” a new all-in-one audio subscription.
ProSiebenSat.1 brings HbbTV-based Pause Ads to live television.
The ‘Bad Blood’ between Polymarket’s Shayne Coplan and Kalshi’s Tarek Mansour.
ITV posts 3% growth in H1 ad revenue despite £20m hit from LHF.
Dutch Minister warns social media ID mandates track dissidents, not just trolls.
People Incorporated explores sale of The Daily Beast again.
Russia charges Telegram founder Durov with aiding terrorism, he gives Moscow the finger.
OpenAI’s rogue models roamed the internet for 4 days and staged a second attack.
OpenAI aligns safety practices with EU AI Act’s GPAI Code.
As AI content floods the internet, Pangram raises $9M to detect it.
Amazon overhauls its AI strategy, winding down most flagship models.
Situational Awareness got the future right but misread the past.
Apple struggles to keep pace with AI ‘bug’ hunters.
Artist sues AI meme generator for selling deeply personal comic as ad template.
Misleading AI-generated doctors pose ‘huge danger to public safety.’
Lilian Weng flips from Thinking Machines to OpenAI after saying the startup’s pace hurt her health.
OpenAI cuts prices for two of its GPT-5.6 AI models as companies grow sensitive to costs.
Atlassian tightens tracking of staff AI use as other technology firms encourage ‘tokenmaxxing’.
Young adults are letting AI do their talking for them—even in person.
Cursor launches Start plan in India for ₹649 per month.
Journalist response platform plays ‘whack-a-mole’ against AI deluge of PR content.
Anthropic says its A.I. systems broke into computers at 3 organizations.
Adults have struggled to set rules for AI in school. These teens figured it out.
AI is not destroying jobs, despite what 4th graders might think.
Disney is ditching Microsoft’s GitHub Copilot and adding OpenAI’s Codex.
Friend, the lonely AI wearable, returns with a new voice and a much bigger price tag.
Microsoft launches MAI-Cyber-1-Flash cybersecurity AI model.
LinkedIn won’t be expanding its data centers in the next year.
Microsoft Ads predictive matching moving to search term matching.
Microsoft faces UK probe over Copilot-linked price hikes.
Microsoft Ads adds Ad Preview Hub to Performance Max.
🧟♂️ Report Break: Most of Spotify’s music streaming audience is not available to advertisers. 78% of total time spent with Spotify goes to the ad-free subscription service among adults 25-54.
Marketers and media agencies need to “take the me out of media,” believing Spotify has a 25% audience share of audio. In reality, ad-supported Spotify only has a 6% share. AM/FM radio’s audience share is 10X larger than Spotify’s (62% versus 6%).
IAB Tech Lab releases AAMP 2.3, bringing enterprise-grade infrastructure and privacy diligence to agentic advertising.
Fifty5Blue to take minority stake in Origin, enters talks with Isba.
FreeWheel adds show-level reporting to tackle streaming’s transparency problem.
THG Ingenuity adds AI Stylist to Google Cloud Marketplace, drives higher conversion.
StackAdapt rethinks DSPs for the post-dashboard world.
WPP Media debuts ‘Made Together’ content series, first episode plugs Trade Desk.
Nielsen launches Ad Intel AI.
Podcast measurement proposal claims standardisation could unlock $1bn in ad spend.
RainFocus launches sales module for event-driven selling.
Interbrand and Clootrack partner to launch the AI-native brand experience.
Constant Contact launches real estate marketing solution.
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