January 9, 2025
In this week's edition: Why companies are keen to trash their reputations, why the disinformation panic is over, how influencers are impacting journalism, can AI say sorry, and much more...
All you have is your reputation. So why are some companies so keen to trash theirs? “A recent Roy Morgan study found distrust of organisations and sectors has increased significantly since the beginning of the pandemic. The survey found a key driver of distrust was being too motivated by profit, commercial interests and greed.” (ABC)
ChatGPT fact-checks can reduce trust in accurate headlines, study finds - “The motivation behind this study stems from the growing challenge of online misinformation, which undermines trust in institutions, fosters political polarization, and distorts public understanding of critical issues like climate change and public health.” (PsyPost)
Tragedies demand transparency, not a troupe - “CNN Michael Smerconish shares his take on why the press conferences that followed the New Orleans terrorist attack were in poor taste and counterproductive.” (CNN - video)
‘Nobody was tricked into voting for Trump’: Why the disinformation panic is over - “Eight years ago, Trump and Brexit sparked fears social media was corroding reality. Now, that narrative is crumbling.” (Politico)
What 2025 has in store for influencer marketing, according to experts - “From customer and influencer trips to longer-form content, here are the trends experts are watching.” (Marketingbrew)
Mainstream media faces a credibility crisis – According to the author, her journalism research “shows how the news can still serve the public.” (The Conversation)
How influencers are impacting journalism - “Every single day, I have to earn the trust of my audience, because making one mistake does affect your credibility just the same way that it does for any other journalist or news outlet. The difference is I don't have a ton of support in what I'm doing.” (NPR)
Does a CEO op-ed serve any good purpose in a crisis? “In the midst of an emotive and hostile reputational challenge, a CEO op-ed might seem to offer a convenient platform to provide facts and correct misinformation without the risk of journalistic interpretation, like a lengthy letter to the Editor.” (Managing Outcomes)
We're getting the social media crisis wrong - “The bigger problem isn't disinformation. It's degraded democratic publics.” (Programmable Mutter)
A new model for AI advertising emerges as agents could replace human attention - “Perplexity AI founder outlines vision where AI agents, not humans, become the target audience for digital advertising.” This is disturbing. (PPC Land)
TikTok pushes users to Lemon8 as ban looms - “In the last few weeks, Lemon8 has been promoting its app to TikTok users through sponsored TikTok videos…ByteDance could be betting that regulators and app store companies are so focused on TikTok that they won't pay attention to its other apps.” (Axios)
Why most marketers are using AI wrong (and how to fix it) - “If you haven’t yet worked out what AI can do or why it’s valuable for your brand, consider these three principles for putting it to effective use.” (MarketingWeek)
Can AI say 'Sorry'? Role of apologies in building human-machine trust - “Whether it’s a virtual assistant misunderstanding a user’s intent, an autonomous car making a sudden maneuver, or a healthcare chatbot providing incorrect information, an AI’s ability to apologize could significantly affect how users perceive and trust these systems.” (Devdiscourse)
Generative AI Still Needs to Prove Its Usefulness - “The hype is fading, and people are asking what generative artificial intelligence is really good for. So far, no one has a decent answer.” (Wired)
And finally, the most popular post from our final edition of 2024 was You Know Who Posts on Social Media? Hardly Anybody by Social Media Today. It’s great to be back!