Happy Monday – and for those of you in the US, I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving weekend.
Welcome to this week's Digital Digest! A busy week this week – just four topics, but a whopping 19 stories across them. ?
In this week's edition: Digital content creators don't check their facts; almost all Gen Zers?are already using Gen AI at work; and Threads maintains its momentum as X continues to falter.?
But first, what happened when a journalist caught his catfish.
1. Catching a catfish?
This week brought another in a?fascinating 'series' (not really a series) of articles by various outlets recently, highlighting different facets of online safety. This week, a Welsh freelance journalist discovered his name and likeness had been stolen by a father of two in Warsaw. (The Guardian) ?
- Why it matters: ?The story highlights the deeply problematic lack of recourse that people have in the face of this kind of behavior – the social platform said it didn't violate their standards, while the police said they didn't have jurisdiction over someone who lived in another country. Not good.?
Also in digital safety news: ?
2. 2/3 of digital content creators do not check their facts ?
Two thirds of digital content creators do not check their facts before sharing, but want to learn how to do so, according to a new report (and accompanying training) from UNESCO. (UNESCO)?
- Why it matters: This was a startling statistic to read – almost as startling as the radio silence this study received from the marketing and comms-focused media. While this is hardly "new news," with the growing number of people trusting their own internet research as much as that of credentialed sources, and the shifting information ecosystem highlighted by this year's US election, this highlights an obvious area where non-partisan media training would be widely beneficial. ?
Also in misinformation-related news:?
- The UK government launched an investigation into the links between social media algorithms, generative AI and the spread of harmful content online, and indicated they would summon Elon Musk to testify (UK government, Engadget)?
- The UK government's news caused a bit of a stompy tantrum from Musk in turn who bizarrely threatened to summon UK MPs "explain their censorship and threats to American citizens". No,?I'm not aware of Musk having the power to summon anyone either. (Politico, The Guardian)?
- Australian government drops misinformation bill (TechCrunch)?
- Nina Jankowicz highlights the ongoing framing of disinformation research as "censorship" by right-wing media (Nina Jankowicz on Bluesky)?
3. Gen Z are all already using AI at work?
A new study from Google and The Harris Poll showed that 93% of Gen Z knowledge workers are already using two or more generative AI tools at work. (Axios, Google)?
- An aside: This topic was very much top-of-mind for me this week. Since 2017 I've participated in a post-graduate program advisory committee for a Toronto-based college, and last week I attended two different committee meetings – both of which focused on getting our counsel on the AI-related skillsets that the college should impart to students to help them succeed in today's workplace. ?
- Why it matters: Trends like this were one of several factors that led me to suggest that the college shouldn't try to teach the latest and greatest tools (plus, can you imagine curriculum approvers keeping up with the pace of change?). Instead, the?greatest?value may be educating students on ethical guardrails and critical thinking around these tools, rather than just getting people to pull up a keyboard and give them a try. ?
Also in generative AI-related news:?
- AI Ads Can Look Weird. Brands Like Coca-Cola Are Making Them Anyway.? (Wall Street Journal)?
- Will AI search suck the personality out of your brand? (The Drum)?
- OpenAI's Sora video generator was leaked by activist testers (TechCrunch, Ars Technica)?
- Canadian publishers take OpenAI to court (Mashable, TechCrunch)?
- Study of ChatGPT citations makes dismal reading for publishers (TechCrunch)?
- Confessions of an agency founder and chief creative officer on AI’s threat to junior creatives (Digiday)?
4. Threads continues to accelerate?
Threads has seen 35 million new users sign up for the platform since November 1, far eclipsing the total number of users on the entirety of Bluesky. (Axios)?
- Why it matters: There's plenty of breathless coverage of Bluesky right now – likely for the breath of fresh air that is the merest hint of someone displacing what X has become. However, when it comes to alternatives, it's worth remembering that Bluesky's numbers remain a minute fraction of Threads' – and the absolute growth numbers put Threads on a faster trajectory too.?
Also in social media news:?
- Australia bans social media for everyone under 16? (New York Times)?
- Facebook’s new views metric has little impact on social strategy, publishers say? (Digiday)?
- Reddit overtakes X in popularity of social media platforms in UK (The Guardian)?
- More than half of all posts on LinkedIn may be AI-generated (Wired)?
