Meta vs. scammers using verification to scam

Welcome to mid-May. And the end of Mercury retrograde, if you’re into that sort of thing.

P.S. Like true marketers, we want to make sure we know our audience. This super short survey will help us get to know you better!

Scammers Use Verified Facebook and Instagram Accounts to Trick Users

Verification isn’t going well across the platforms. Scam ads have been popping up on Meta feeds and, when clicked, redirecting users to malware. Unfortunately, users are clicking since the posting accounts are verified and look legitimate. This just raises the stakes for brands to remain transparent, authentic, and accountable to differentiate themselves from scammers.

YouTube’s Audio-Only Podcasts Struggle

Even the biggest brands (NPR, Slate, New York Times) are receiving a low number of downloads per episode on the YouTube platform. For example, NPR is number three on Podtrac’s top podcast publisher ranking for April with more than 168 million global downloads for its 49 shows. But views on YouTube were around 179 per episode. Ouch.

Former NBCU Ad Exec is the New CEO of Twitter

Elon Musk announced he’s stepping down as CEO to “focus on product design & new technology.” Yaccarino, the long-serving ad executive for NBCU, is taking over. Not only is this something Yaccarino’s been after for a long time, but Musk no doubt is hoping she’ll bring ad dollars back to the platform. After all, she helmed NBCU’s ad-supported streaming service Peacock.

Disney+ Adds a Hulu Content Option and Raises Ad-Free Prices

Disney+ isn’t doing so hot on its own—Disney reported a 4 million loss of subscribers in Q2. To combat this, Disney is trying to entice viewers to Disney+ by attracting Hulu subscribers through a “one-app experience” and raising the price for an ad-free experience. It seems Disney is taking a cue from Discovery who previously announced it’s rolling HBO Max and Discovery+ into a single app.

Around the Web

• YouTube is changing the definition of television and the TV ad market.

• Meta Lattice will use AI “to infer more likely user responses.”

• Want to build a UGC pipeline and creative testing framework?—Enter Insense the all-in-one platform to source a lot of raw assets + edited content, find the perfect UGC creators in minutes, and run influencer ads.*

• Google’s Search Lab experiments are testing generative AI to keep Google on top.

• Marketing Brew rounded up brands’ Mother’s Day marketing campaigns.

*This is sponsored advertising content.

Just Can’t Get Enough

@omgskr. If you haven’t seen her viral memes floating around, here’s your introduction.

• Whether it’s what she’s more likely to be than a Victoria’s Secret angel.

• Or how we all should be taking compliments.

What are your thoughts on brand authenticity in the face of imposter accounts hiding behind verification? Is it enough? Will verification ever mean anything again? Reply and let us know!

Thanks for joining us, and we’ll see you Thursday!