Microsoft's Three Mile Island renewal draws mixed reception
Three Mile Island is back in the news, though fortunately not for any kind of nuclear disaster this time. The site of the US's most infamous nuclear accident is making headlines because of Microsoft's proposed partnership to reopen one of its reactors and power its artificial intelligence efforts.
The move has drawn significant attention from the media, with more than 2.5k articles published so far. Much of the public's attention has gone to local news reporting in the area around the plant, with Pennsylvania's own WNEP having the most engaged article overall so far. The majority of reporting was reasonably neutral, mostly reporting the facts of the plant's reopening.
The reaction on social media has been more mixed, and has resulted in the tech giant being pulled into a number of different conversations. Is AI worth the potential environmental cost? Is nuclear energy properly categorized as clean energy? Why choose nuclear rather than solar power or other forms of clean energy instead? Should regulators allow such a deal to exist in the first place?
All of these now become potential topics for the company to engage with, and questions their comms team will no doubt face, as their association with the power plant is now almost certain to cause people to associate Microsoft with these broader societal questions.?
There's more to life than pumpkin spice
The autumnal equinox offically took place last Sunday, marking the first official day of fall. But for some of us (myself included) the fall aesthetic has been in full swing all month long.
Food brands are no exception — many have already embraced the season, rolling out new fall-flavored items to their menus. We know that pumpkin is the obvious choice, but there are several other flavors that have been earning attention, with banana, apple, and chocolate stepping out of the shadow.?
The above timeline shows public interest in all web coverage of each flavor, with pumpkin naturally taking the top spot in the last month. Chocolate, a perennial favorite, has made a splash this fall thanks to Blue Bell's release of a chocolate brownie truffle?ice cream that hopes to satisfy the cravings of those tired of all things pumpkin spice.
Apple and Banana received more attention from social posts spotlighting new menu items from brands. Liquid Death announced a limited-edition "Psycho Cider" that tastes of apple and cinnamon, and Krispy Kreme launched four new donut flavors,?including one with spiced apple filling. Both posts earned tens of thousands of engagements on Instagram.?
Banana may have earned less engagement in terms of web coverage, but the public did in fact go bananas for a few banana flavored items. The most notable of these was Chick-Fil-A's banana pudding milkshake, which made a big splash on TikTok through a Georgia branch account, earning 1.8M views. Baskin Robbins and Crumbl Cookies also turned heads on social with their new banana Oreo ice cream and banana bread loaf.
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As fall flavors go, pumpkin may reign supreme, but there's clearly plenty of room for new flavor indulgence.?
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