Do the Robot
Nobody likes encountering bots on social media. But what about users who act like bots?
Well, that’s a different story.
404 Media reports on a new app called Impact that allows users to point people to a specific social media post and prompt them to flood the replies with AI-generated talking points.
People already do this sort of thing, of course. There’s even a term for it: astroturfing, which is when a political group or business disguises organized activity as natural engagement. It’s legal, but certainly frowned on as a form of spam.
But does Impact’s approach count as spam? If it were all bot activity, there would be no question. But because human-led accounts are the ones actually doing the posting, it’s unclear whether Impact would violate X’s official platform manipulation policy.
What’s the advertising angle here? Social media marketers already have a hard time telling real consumers from bots, which can muck up campaign metrics and waste ad budgets. Regardless of what it’s used for, an app like this is sure to make the distinction between authentic and inauthentic activity even murkier.
How a Bill Becomes A L**
Speaking of social media, you know what will get you flagged by a content moderation tool? The mere existence of politics as a theoretical concept.
In a recent column for The Washington Post, Geoff Fowler digs deeper into the way that Instagram, Facebook and Threads suppress content related to politics – whether it’s considered partisan or not.
As this newsletter previously covered, research from advocacy group Accountable Tech suggests that covering progressive topics, such as women’s health or LGBTQ issues, can lead to a drop in reach.
But it gets even wilder. According to Fowler, content with neutral educational themes, or even just posts that use the word “vote,” are getting penalized as well. (Good thing Schoolhouse Rock wasn’t subject to the same algorithms, or none of us would know what a bill is.)
Meanwhile, paid political ads are still acceptable under Meta’s current policies, although the company will enact even tighter restrictions between October 29 and November 5.
So you might want to rethink any organic election-themed social content you had planned for this month – or at least be prepared for a 40% smaller audience on those posts.
Subscription Fatigue
Complicated subscription cancellation processes have been … canceled.
On Wednesday, the FTC announced its final “click to cancel” rule aimed at making it just as easy to cancel a subscription as it was to sign up.
For digital subscriptions, users typically sign up with the click of a button, but sometimes have to contact a representative to cancel, at which point they’re confronted with a slew of offers aimed at keeping them subscribed. Sometimes, in order to continue reaping recurring payments, services make it purposely unclear how to cancel.
The new rule also takes aim at subscription services that activate payments when a subscriber fails to cancel a free trial membership, also called negative option billing” This problem became especially prevalent as subscriptions for digital services, such as streaming TV and paid apps, gained popularity.
Services must now explicitly state their terms for subscriptions and free trials so consumers know exactly what they’re signing up for.
Violators will be subject to civil penalties and may be required to offer refunds.
But Wait, There’s More!
Digital Direct Holdings, the parent company of Colossus, is in pretty dire financial straits right as of Q3. [tweet] (h/t Ari Paparo)
UK-based sports magazine The Athletic names Fubo as its first official streaming partner. [NYT]
Eric Seufert: Unpacking Uber’s $1 billion advertising business. [Mobile Dev Memo]
Marketers aren’t all that interested in the latest AI-powered search tools. [Digiday]
Silicon Valley is going all in on nuclear technology. [Marketing Brew]
You’re Hired
Media platform Lemma expands its US team with a new head of publishers partnerships and a new senior director of demand partnerships. [release]
