Twitter shared data on 5,929 of the more than 88,000 accounts originating in Saudi Arabia that were permanently suspended late last year for violating its platform manipulation policies. The social network said in a blog post that its investigations traced the coordinated inauthentic activity to Saudi Arabia-based social media marketing and management company Smaat, which…
Facebook Removes 2 Unconnected Networks for Foreign and Government Interference
Facebook revealed late last month that it removed two unconnected networks of accounts, pages and groups for engaging in foreign and government interference–one originating in the country of Georgia, and the second in Vietnam and the U.S. Head of security policy Nathaniel Gleicher shared details on the two networks in a Newsroom post. For the…
This KFC Ad Shockingly Reveals How Santa Spends the Rest of His Year
The gifts are unwrapped, the gingerbread cookies eaten, the ‘nog swilled. What follows is the inevitable post-Christmas letdown. No more surprises. Precious little excitement. If that scenario has ever bummed you out, imagine what it must be like for Santa. He preps all year for this single day, and his whole identity is tied up…
Watching the Dismissive Nature That Helps Spread Disinformation Firsthand
Last week I sat with my friends to count our blessings and rejoice in the season of winter festivals. It will not surprise you to learn that we had some unexpected guests: the president of the United States along with the speaker of the house, the Senate majority leader, several sitting senators and congressional representatives…
Ad Fraud Firm MMI Taps Dentsu Aegis’ Thomson, Trust Metrics’ Goldberg
Ad fraud prevention firm Method Media Intelligence (MMI) has tapped former Dentsu Aegis Chief Data Officer Scott Thomson as COO and former Trust metrics CEO Marc Goldberg as Chief Revenue Officer.
How China’s New Cryptocurrency Could Challenge Facebook’s Libra | WSJ
Instagram Adds Several Features for Business Accounts
Instagram released a host of new and updated features for businesses as 2019 came to a close. The Facebook-owned photo- and video-sharing network said in a blog post that its new growth insights enable administrators of business accounts to easily see which posts and Stories are generating the most followers, along with an aggregated view…
People Signing Up for Messenger Must Now Have Facebook Accounts
People signing up for new Messenger From Facebook accounts can no longer do so without an account on the parent social network. Facebook quietly implemented the change late last year. The social network initially introduced the ability to use Messenger without a Facebook account in June 2015, in Canada, Peru, the U.S. and Venezuela. Users…
How to Reach Gen Z in 2020—Beyond Authenticity
Gen Zers–who count the Parkland kids, Greta Thunberg and Zendaya among them–are intriguing to the rest of us. Throughout 2019, Adweek dedicated coverage to understanding the next cohort of consumers: from an infographic to visualize their phone habits, a podcast dedicated to their entrepreneurial rise and a video series featuring 18 Gen Zers addressing our…
Ad Tech’s Consolidation Continues as Cadent Acquires 4INFO
The close of 2019 saw a flurry of ad tech merger and acquisition activity, as connected television has become a must-have capability. Just two days into the new year and the deals are still flying as Cadent, the advanced TV solutions provider, has purchased the cross-channel identity solutions provider 4INFO. The purchase indicates that Cadent…