Curated Guide to Research
MediaPost's comprehensive guide to current research in the marketplace.
Search results for "content issues"
- Despite a range of recently launched child-safety tools, Roblox may be a dangerous platform for children. New research depicts "deeply disturbing" evidence of adults easily preying on underage users.
- Following Microsoft and Meta into the unknown, AI startup Anthropic - maker of Claude - has a new technique to prevent users from creating or accessing harmful content - aimed at avoiding regulatory actions against the company, gaining investment funding, and convincing advertisers and other types of businesses it is safe to adopt its models.
- If Google adds filters to Gemini that allow users to control what they see in results, it could make it more difficult for advertisers, brands and publishers to reach target audiences through AI.
- Fifteen percent of streaming users borrow passwords, while 7% watch pirated shows or movies and 4% do both.
- The nonprofit research organization Center for Countering Digital Hate on Friday urged a federal appeals court to reject a bid by X Corp. to revive its lawsuit against the group.
- Google DeepMind researchers released a report that warns misuse of AI in "mass production of low quality, spam-like and nefarious synthetic content" may promote distrust of all digital information.
- The Google Political Content Policy now has new settings and policies for digitally manipulated or synthetic content in audio, pictures, and videos, as ad platforms and agencies release partnerships, services and technology to support campaigns.
- Frustration over the process of content discovery is an ongoing problem. A new report finds 51% of viewers experience difficulties when searching for content.
- Meta is shutting down CrowdTangle, a data insights tool often used by academics, researchers and journalists to track conspiracy theories and viral content on Facebook and Instagram. CrowdTangle CEO Brandon Silverman criticized Meta's decision on Thursday, writing in a blog post that shutting down the tool so close to the U.S. Presidential election was "incredibly irresponsible," adding that he hopes the tool's legacy will "inspire a permanent set of regulations that make real-time access to public data a legal requirement and an ongoing part of how we manage the internet responsibly & collaboratively."
- The EU's investigation of TikTok's compliance with the newly enacted Digital Services Act will focus on "the protection of minors, advertising transparency, data access for researchers, as well as the risk management of addictive design and harmful content." The DSA went into effect last week and applies to thousands of digital platforms and services in the EU.
- Researchers set out to answer the question of whether search results are worse now than ever before. They predict a long-term increase in spam and a decline in overall quality.
- Prices of LinkedIn ads -- which are sold by auction and set by market demand -- have increased as much as 30% over the past year, one exec told the "Financial Times." Some marketers have reported premium LinkedIn campaigns costing $300 per 1,000 impressions vs. the same caliber of ad costing between $10 and $15 on Meta, with some media buyers reporting an ROI as high as 20%. Meta and Google still control a much higher percentage of the ad market, with LinkedIn covering about 1.5% of digital ad spending in the U.S., while Meta and Google cover 21% and 27%, respectively.
- About 10,000 of 50,000 channels presenting themselves as CTV channels were found to consist of content such as ad-supported screensavers, white noise generators, game channels and mobile apps posing as CTV.
- X Corp. has made "troubling decisions that appear calculated to harass, silence, and suppress research and accountability" for extremist content, hate speech and other objectionable material on the platform, three lawmakers say in a letter to Musk and Yaccarino.
- X Corp. (formerly Twitter) late Monday followed through on its threat to sue the nonprofit Center for Countering Digital Hate over reports about objectionable speech on the platform.
- The Platform Accountability and Transparency Act would require large social platforms to share ad libraries, statistics about content moderation, and other data with researchers.
- Creating more positive environments in brand messaging leads to new opportunities for marketing and promotion efforts, a survey by Morning Consult and Pinterest shows. Pinterest calls itself "an oasis" and says spending a few minutes a day on its app can buffer against burnout, stress and social disconnection among younger users, according to research done in partnership with UC Berkeley's Greater Good Science Center.
- Citizen Lab analyzed eight popular search platforms in China for censorship rules controlling content, which may be doing more harm than good outside the country.
- "My feeling is it's a blip and we'll see that stabilize in the next wave," predicts Advertiser Perceptions' Sarah Bolton, who has been tracking ad exec concerns about trust in advertising and misinformation.
- "Ad environments that fall into grey areas require careful judgment calls be made by brands and their agencies," notes Joshua Lowcock, global chief media officer at UM.
- More than half of marketing decision-makers said social media content is valuable, though there are differences in individual industries.
- Think positive. Stay calm. Be happy. That's how Pinterest wants its creators to think and feel.
- The increasingly fragmented streaming environment has accelerated an already serious problem.
- The index is a collaboration of misinformation ratings service NewsGuard, and Pulsar, a research company utilizing proprietary methods analyzing the type of content brands show up in.
- "Algorithms are profiling children and teens to serve them images, memes and videos encouraging restrictive diets and extreme weight loss," Fairplay says in a new report.
- Insights agency Opinium found that 17% of users hold social media companies responsible for managing users' mental health on platforms like Instagram, and 79% say social media companies should take action to address the negative mental-health effects their products have on users and 55% called for social media companies to do more to remove offensive and toxic content.
- OpenWeb on Thursday announced a partnership with NewsGuard to help OpenWeb combat disinformation and ensure it only partners with publishers publishing quality, reliable news.
- Key takeaways of the study include users' increased screen time over the past year and their need for more authentic, relatable, and positive content.
- Pew's analysis covers areas including privacy, on-platform abuse and Republicans' and Democrats' differing views on Twitter's major issues and overall impact on democracy.
- Facebook's major rebrand to Meta is distracting. Media Matters for America, a nonprofit media watchdog, wants the public to be aware of what the Facebook Papers made clear just days ago: the social media platform puts profits ahead of ethics.
