Social Media Buzz Weekly: Roundup of Social Media Updates
- ClickInsights
- 2 hours ago
- 9 min read
Welcome to Social Media Buzz Weekly, your weekly bulletin of the latest social media updates. With the social media landscape evolving with each passing day, it can be challenging to keep a tab on the rapid developments. Well, not anymore, as we have taken it upon ourselves to keep you abreast of every happening in the social media space.
So, without any further ado, let’s look at some of the most significant developments from the last week in the world of social media.
1. Facebook Expands Affiliate Program to Include Brand Links
Meta announced an expansion of its affiliate program, which will enable creators to add affiliate links to their content from a range of brands, as well as earn commissions from sales stemming from their content.
Meta improved the appearance of affiliate links in Reels in December 2024, and now, it’s looking to make it easier for creators to find relevant product matches to pair with their content. Using the new self-serve affiliate program, Meta will enable creators to select from a range of products that they can promote within their Reels clips. The new tool is available within the Professional Dashboard overview, via Monetization/Affiliate Partnerships.
2. Meta Hikes Ad Prices in 6 Countries
Meta will be adding new location fees to ads delivered in specific regions in order to cover Digital Service Taxes and other location-based fees imposed in some jurisdictions.
The change means the price of Meta ads will go up, with Meta no longer absorbing the cost of these additional taxes. The increases will apply to advertisers who run promotions in the impacted regions even if they are not based there. Those costs will vary depending on the region, with six nations currently implementing additional taxes that Meta has identified as incurring additional charges. While France, Italy, and Spain will incur a 3% fee, Austria and Türkiye will have to pay a 5% fee. A 2% location fee has been imposed upon the United Kingdom.
3. Meta Adds New Scam Protections to Facebook, WhatsApp and Messenger
Meta has added some new scam prevention features to Facebook, WhatsApp and Messenger. Firstly, Meta added new warnings on Facebook that will let users know when they send or receive a request from an account that shows signs of suspicious activity.
The alerts will include notes on things such as how long the account has been active, where it’s based and whether there are any mutual connections. These details can help identify potential scammers and stop users from making risky connections. On WhatsApp, Meta added device linking warnings, which will prompt users to think twice about approving link requests. Meta has updated scam detection on Messenger to let users know if a chat contains patterns of common scams.
4. Facebook Adds AI-Powered Updates to Marketplace
Meta has announced some new AI features for Facebook Marketplace, which are designed to make it easier to list items with relevant details. Firstly, Facebook is making it easier to list items on the Marketplace with AI-powered recommendations on what users should include in their item info.
Facebook said users should now be able to simply upload an image, with Marketplace’s AI system then able to generate a full summary, including a recommended price based on similar listings. Sellers will be able to review and edit details as they see fit, as well as generate an entirely new AI overview of the product if they choose. Facebook has also added more shipping options for Marketplace sellers, including prepaid shipping labels that can be generated in-stream.
5. Meta Adds More Measures to Ensure Original Creators Get Credit
Meta has provided more guidance to creators as to how it views original content, while it also announced more measures to penalize non-original posts and impersonator accounts in its app.
Meta has specifically added new explainers on how much editing or change is required to qualify a re-post as original, while it’s also clarified its rules around the presence of the account owner, and how that relates to original content presentation. Meta is also testing improvements to its content protection tools that will provide more ways for creators to detect re-posts and impersonation.
6. Meta Switches to Comscore Markets Data for Auto Ads
Meta is switching its measurement provider for local market info, which could impact how you target Facebook and Instagram ads.
Meta will discontinue the use of Nielsen’s Designated Market Area (DMA) for automotive model ads from June 22, 2026. Meta said that Comscore Markets, which it introduced in August 2025, will serve as the replacement solution. After this date, campaigns still using Nielsen’s DMA for automotive model ads targeting will be paused and require an update to Comscore Markets to resume delivery.
7. Meta Switches Up Its Ad Transparency Labels In-Stream
Meta has begun ramping up its effort to change its in-stream ad labels from “Sponsored” to “Ad,” which is part of a broader refresh of its app presentation.
You may have noticed the change on Instagram already, with the regular “Sponsored” notifier on posts switched to a smaller “Ad” tag instead. The “Ad’ marker is obviously a lot smaller, and potentially a lot harder for the regular user to note as they scroll through the feed. The updated disclosure is being tested on Facebook, but only at a small scale at this stage.
8. 150,000 Meta Accounts Shut Down in Southeast Asian Scam Centre Crackdown
Meta has disabled more than 150,000 accounts and Thai police arrested 21 people in a sweeping international crackdown on Southeast Asian criminal scam centres that targeted people around the world.
The operation was led by Thailand’s Royal Thai Police Anti-Cyber Scam Centre alongside the FBI and the US Justice Department’s Scam Centre Strike Force, with Meta investigators acting on intelligence shared in real time by law enforcement. Online scam networks – many operating out of compounds in Cambodia, Myanmar and Laos – have grown increasingly sophisticated in recent years. Scammers working at these fraud compounds lure internet users into fake romantic relationships and cryptocurrency investments and have expanded operations into multiple languages to steal billions of dollars from victims around the world.
9. Meta Plans to Cut Up to 20% of Staff to Fund AI Infrastructure
Meta is reportedly planning sweeping lay-offs that could affect 20 percent or more of the company, as it seeks to offset costly artificial intelligence infrastructure bets and prepare for greater efficiency brought about by AI-assisted workers.
Top executives have recently signalled the plans to other senior leaders at Meta and told them to begin planning how to pare back, according to two of the people. The sources spoke anonymously because they were not authorised to disclose the cuts.
10. TikTok Introduces Full-Song Apple Music Streams to App
TikTok has added a new music feature that lets Apple Music users link their accounts in order to play full songs in the app.
Due to music licensing limitations, social platforms are generally only allowed to play previews of songs in-app, with available samples limited to 30 seconds. With this new feature, TikTok users will be able to listen to full tracks in-stream, further enhancing the app’s music discovery and engagement potential. TikTok has also added a new Listening Party feature, which will enable users and artists to listen to music together in-stream. Fans will be able to join a Listening Party and engage in a group chat, providing another way to connect with music content.
11. Meta Ends End-to-End Encryption on Instagram
Instagram is ending its support for end-to-end encryption for Instagram DMs, with users being informed that the security measure will no longer be available on Instagram from May 8.
Some users have reported seeing this pop-up in the app, while Instagram has also updated its support page to include a note about the change. Meta began rolling out encryption for Instagram messages in August 2022, as part of its expanded messaging integration and security push, which would eventually have seen all of Meta’s messaging platforms (WhatsApp, Messenger, Instagram) merged into a single back-end.
12. Instagram Tests Links in Post Captions for Paying Users
Instagram is now allowing some Meta Verified subscribers to add links to their post captions, which has long been one of the most requested feature updates in the app.
Over the years, Instagram chief Adam Mosseri has reiterated the platform’s stance that it will not allow users to add links in captions, due to concerns that the feature would change the dynamics of the app. However, Instagram has confirmed that it is currently testing the option to add links to post captions. The option has only been made available to a selection of creators who are signed up to Meta Verified.
13. Snapchat Adds New Tools to Help Brands Tap Into India’s Cricket Season
Snapchat has launched a new suite of ad options to help brands tap into the rising popularity of cricket in the app.
Its Cricket in a Snap tools offer exclusive access, themed AR activations, live score updates and more as part of a brand promotion targeting cricket season. Cricket is now the most popular sport in the app and has continued to gain momentum as Snapchat usage has grown in India. The platform reported in July that it had reached a new regional milestone of more than 250 million India-based users. Snapchat also said that while 55% of Snapchatters watch cricket events live on TV and 54% via streaming, over 90% second-screen during matches.
14. Snapchat Influences Telecommunications Purchases
Snapchat has released a new report with Alter Agents that examines the potential for telecommunications marketers in the app. The report is based on a survey of more than 800 daily social media users in the U.S. who purchased a telecommunications plan in the last six months.
The report found that Snapchatters are more aware of their options in providers than non-Snapchat users. They’re also more likely to have signed up for a new telco plan within the past six months. The data also showed that over two-thirds of Snapchatters have switched from their initial phone plan, with Snapchatters primarily motivated by the value providers and plans offer.
15. X commits to Altering Its Verification Program in EU
X has agreed to update its verification process in Europe, in line with guidance from the EU Commission, in order to avoid further penalties as a result of its potentially misleading verification checkmarks in the app.
Bloomberg reported that X has submitted potential remedies to the EU Commission for consideration in addressing its concerns, though the final changes haven’t been agreed upon as yet. But because anyone can now buy a blue tick, that muddies the waters as to what the marker represents, which the commission claimed is deceptive, and thus, infringes X’s DSA regulations relating to transparency and assurance. But now, after some reflection, X has changed its approach, and decided that it will alter its qualifications for verification, in the EU at least, in order to avoid further penalties.
16. Teenagers Sue X Over AI-Generated Naked Images
Three Tennessee teenagers, two of whom are minors, are suing xAI over the production and distribution of naked images of themselves that were generated by X’s Grok AI chatbot. The teenagers claim that X’s AI chatbot generated the images from real photos, which were then made public via X’s Grok account, where people can see replies to the bot.
The teens are accusing X of distributing, possessing and producing with intent to distribute child pornography. It’s the latest of several legal and/or regulatory actions launched against xAI and Grok over the controversy, which, at one time back in January, had seen Grok producing over 6,700 images every hour that would be categorized as “sexually suggestive of nudifying.
17. Studies Suggest LinkedIn is a Leading Source for AI Answers
Two new studies have identified LinkedIn as a top source for answers across various artificial intelligence chatbots, which points to the professional social network as a key source for AI tools, and brand mentions in AI responses.
The first report comes from SEMRush, which conducted an analysis of 325,000 unique prompts across ChatGPT, Google AI Mode and Perplexity between January and February 2026. LinkedIn was also among the leading AI chatbot sources in another study, published by data tracking platform Profound, which looked at the top AI answer sources between November 2025 and February 2026. In that analysis, LinkedIn was the fifth most-cited source, representing a significant rise from outside the top 20 in only three months, per the report.
18. LinkedIn Tests Out AI-Powered Interview Screening
LinkedIn has added a new feature for hiring professionals that aims to reduce their workload by getting artificial intelligence to manage the initial interview process and screen candidates for the next stage.
LinkedIn’s new AI interview option, which is now in early testing for LinkedIn Hiring Pro users, enables hirers to invite top applicants to complete an audio or video screening call with an AI interviewer as a first step of the interview process. According to LinkedIn, recruiters will be able to select up to 40 applicants to receive an AI screening interview invitation (or the system can identify them), with candidate answers evaluated based on alignment with the hirer’s ideal answers.
19. LinkedIn Updates Its Feed Algorithm
LinkedIn has revised the architecture of its feed algorithm, with the system now using more advanced artificial intelligence systems to decide what users are shown and how content is ranked in-stream.
LinkedIn said the new system is designed to be more adaptive to evolving user interests, as opposed to being guided by historical markers. LinkedIn’s algorithm uses all the information each user has uploaded to guide what they’re shown in-stream, including profile info, skills, geography and the content they engage with in the app.
Wrapping Up
And that was a wrap of this week’s Social Media Buzz. We’ll be back next week with more news and updates for you from the social media world. Till then, stay tuned!
If you want to read more on the latest developments taking place in the social media space, take a look at ClickInsights’ Social Media Buzz, wherein we bring to you monthly reports on everything going on in social media, ranging from platform updates to policy changes that influence the way we market.
Comments