Digital Digest #44 - Forbes MFA site; TikTok's Instagram competitor; AI persuasiveness

Hi everyone,

Hope you had a great weekend!

In this week's edition of Digital Digest: TikTok's Instagram competitor is confirmed, a report suggests AI models are now as persuasive as humans, MPs tell the UK government that it needs to get on TikTok to combat misinformation, and Google is testing blocking Californian news for users in the state.

But first, news of controversy around Forbes' own "made for advertising" website.

1. Forbes 'made for advertising' site generates controversy

Controversy emerged last week after Adalytics?revealed that Forbes was running a 'made for advertising' subdomain where reading a single story generated up to 20x the number ad impressions of a typical Forbes story, with most traffic generated via paid ads on services like Taboola and Outbrain. (Adalytics, Adexchanger, Wall Street Journal)

• Why it matters: While this type of site is common, it's less common from a reputable media outlet. In this case, controversy was in part driven by the fact that advertising was allegedly serving ads that were bought with "with the understanding that they would appear on Forbes.com," and not its sub-domain.

2. TikTok Notes confirmed

TikTok confirmed this week that it is planning to launch an image-sharing platform - TikTok Notes - that would compete with Instagram. (TechCrunch)

• Why it matters: As Facebook faces an ageing user base and younger users shift to other platforms, Instagram has become an ever-more important part of Meta's portfolio that has maintained a younger base of users. The emergence of a competitor from TikTok - which has grown ever more popular with younger users in recent years - could threaten that dynamic.

3. AI models gaining persuasiveness

Anthropic released a study of the persuasiveness of language models used in generative AI systems, finding that its latest model (Claude 3 Opus) produced results that were not statistically different in their persuasiveness than arguments written by humans. (Anthropic, Axios)

• Why it matters: In conversation after conversation, I hear people arguing that AI tools are inferior because they can't match up to people in creativity or persuasiveness. My answer is typically that they should compare where these tools were a year ago with where they are now, and then think 2-3 years into the future. I was wrong. The timescale seems to be much shorter.

Also in generative AI

• More than half of Generative AI adopters use unapproved tools at work. (Alternative title, for those who said they don't need to train people on appropriate use when only certain tools are permitted at their companies: "Told you so.") (Salesforce)
• OpenAI makes GPT-4.5 Turbo available to paying subscribers, trained on data up to December 2024 and with "improved capabilities in writing, math, logical reasoning, and coding." (TechCrunch, Mashable, BGR)
• Axios Sees A.I. Coming, and Shifts Its Strategy. Clutch quote: "One of the big mistakes a lot of media companies made over the last 15 years was worrying too much about how do we get paid by other platforms that are eating our lunch as opposed to figuring out how do we eat people’s lunch by having a superior product." (NYT)

4. Fish where the misinformation is

MPs in the UK recommended this week that the government needed to adapt its communication to apps and platforms that appeal to young people (like TikTok), and call for more use of "trusted voices" like scientists and doctors to combat conspiracy theories. (The Guardian)

• Why it matters: This highlights a tension in the landscape. Governments (and some companies) are outlawing the use of TikTok on their devices for security (or geopolitical) concerns, but in doing so are limiting their access to younger audiences. I recently spoke with a company and asked if they were prepared if an issue went viral on TikTok; their response was that they couldn't even access the platform. Not ideal.

5. Google tests blocking news in California

The war between news publishers and digital platforms continues - this week, Google began blocking access to news outlets in California for some users in the state. This "test" comes in response to proposed legislation that "would force the company to pay some publishers for their content." (Gizmodo)

• Why it matters: The battle over this type of legislation has been going on for years - and Google has made this kind of move in countries like Canada, Australia and India in response. This time, the fight has come to their home market - which happens to also be home to the world's fifth-largest economy.

Bonus reads!

• It’s time to be real about my fake ads (The Drum)
• Dyson’s brilliant new AR app shows you where you vacuumed (I love this!) (BGR)
• Hundreds of creators sign letter slamming Meta’s limit on political content (TechCrunch)
• X is removing the ability to hide checkmarks for premium users (TechCrunch)

Have a great week!

Dave