☀️ Happy Thursday! This week we look at Meta’s new policy on AI in political ads, how advertisers’ keyword blocklists impact Black-owned publishing companies, and news outlets’ use of WhatsApp. Sign up here!
In today’s email:
- Top story: Meta to bar political campaigns from using its AI advertising tools
- In other news: How Black-owned publishing companies suffer from advertisers’ keyword blocklists
- Looking ahead: News outlets’ use of WhatsApp Channels
- Chart of the week: The share of Republicans who say they follow the news has decreased substantially since 2016
🔥 Top story
Meta announced a new policy to bar political campaigns from using its generative AI advertising tools. The policy will also require political advertisers to disclose the use of third-party AI software to fabricate depictions of people and events. It will take effect next year, ahead of the 2024 election.
A 2020 Pew Research Center survey found that 54% of Americans say social media companies should not allow any political advertisements on their platforms, while 19% say some political ads should be allowed. About a quarter (26%) say these firms should allow all political ads on their platforms.
📌 In other news
- How Black-owned publishing companies suffer from advertisers’ keyword blocklists
- CBS announces new unit dedicated to examining misinformation and deepfakes
- Pending trial, Turkey releases journalist previously imprisoned under “disinformation law”
- A look at how teachers are helping students develop media literacy skills
- Will Lewis named as next CEO of The Washington Post
- Palestinian journalists and creators see surges of followers on Instagram
📅 Looking ahead
This week, we look at news dissemination on WhatsApp and the app’s potential usage in the industry. News publishers around the world – such as La Nación, The New York Times, Vox, Chilango and The Times of India – have begun experimenting with WhatsApp Channels to share news stories.
A 2022 Center survey found that 26% of Americans use WhatsApp, although just one-in-ten WhatsApp users – or 3% of all U.S. adults – regularly get news there.
📊 Chart of the week
In the wake of Election Day, we look at how closely Americans of different political leanings have been following the news in recent years. In 2022, 37% of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents said they follow news all or most of the time – a 20 percentage point decrease since 2016. Over the same period, the decline among Democrats and Democratic leaners was a more modest 7 points.
👋 That’s all for this week.
The Briefing is compiled by Pew Research Center staff, including Naomi Forman-Katz, Jacob Liedke, Sarah Naseer, Christopher St. Aubin, Luxuan Wang and Emily Tomasik. It is edited by Katerina Eva Matsa, Michael Lipka and Mark Jurkowitz, and copy edited by Rebecca Leppert.
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