Laura CressTechnology reporter Fiordaliso via Getty Images Children are routinely exposed to adverts for weight loss injections and pills online, according to a report by the children's commissioner for England. It found young people were "routinely bombarded" with ads for products which claimed to change their bodies and appearance, despite this kind of advertising being banned. Dame Rachel de Souza said the posts were "immensely damaging" to young people's self-esteem and called for a ban on social media advertising to children.
No longer is gambling confined to Las Vegas casinos. A 2018 landmark ruling by the Supreme Court allowed states to legalize sports betting, opening the doors to new types of online gambling and games of chance. 'Young boys are largely being pulled into this universe online by algorithmically sent messages,' said Steyer of online games that include chances to open loot boxes and 'win' a prize. 'It seems so innocent, but in fact, it's no different than going into a casino and putting down five or $20 on a hand of blackjack.'
Meta is pressing ahead with the global monetisation of Threads, confirming plans to roll out advertising to users worldwide. The expansion will be phased over several months, starting this week, as the company seeks to balance revenue growth with user experience. Brands will be able to run image and video formats, including carousel ads and the newer 4:5 aspect ratio, and manage campaigns alongside Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp through Meta's Business Settings.
Facing strong headwinds in the midterms, the Connecticut Republican Party opened a digital advertising campaign Monday with a 1-minute video portraying Gov. Ned Lamont, a wealthy Democrat seeking a third term in 2026, as indifferent to the high cost of living in Connecticut. The piece offers a mocking twist on the Lamont administration's light-hearted marketing campaign declaring "Connecticut home of the pizza capital of the United States," a boast on social media and on some highway signs at the Connecticut border with New York.
Social media adoption and performance: Social media is a near-universal channel across EMEA, with 90% of advertisers active on social platforms and 87% in the UK. Confidence in performance is strong: 75% of EMEA marketers say social media feeds outperform campaign baselines, increasing to 81% in the UK. Meanwhile, 77% of advertisers in EMEA and 75% in the UK believe reels perform better relative to campaign baselines.
The internet, which was made available to the public in 1991, has rapidly transformed, from a free, creative web to one consolidated by tech giants. Artificial intelligence now fills search results, smothering human voices, while social media has become a carousel of advertisements and AI content. Exhausted by doomscrolling, many creators are quitting the platforms altogether.
The impact of social-media-driven, algorithmic advertising really can't be overstated. In just the past five years alone, we've seen the advent of TikTok and the total takeover of Instagram: visual venues that have shortened the distance between "seeing" and "buying" to nearly zero. These days, shoppers hardly ever leave their chosen app. This has completely eroded the old rules of e-commerce. Black Friday is in August now and lasts for 100 days. Back to School is all four seasons.
Social media advertising can be a tough nut to crack, as it's not easy to know exactly what your audience reacts best to when it comes to creating engaging ads. There are many elements to consider, from nailing the right image or video to reaching audiences with the most relevant copy and call to action. People consume content differently on mobile devices compared to TV and other digital platforms.
Robert Albon, who calls himself Joe Donor, has appealed to the courts to gain access to at least four of his biological children against their mothers' wishes. In a rare move, a judge named him in 2023 to warn women of the risks of using his services, which he promotes on social media. Albon, who has appeared on This Morning and in a Channel 4 documentary,
Lydia* first started thinking about weight-loss drugs during pregnancy. Everyone was talking about them and the advertisements were everywhere, she says, as her baby son naps upstairs. I remember thinking: That's how I'll lose weight for my wedding next year.' When Lydia explains that most of her life before pregnancy was spent in a welter of yo-yo dieting and body dissatisfaction, I say to her that I think most of us can relate.
Trade shows and print ads brought in a trickle of interest, but most of those leads were unqualified. Follow-ups were slow, spreadsheets were messy, and opportunities were slipping away. But what if, within 90 days, that brand was able to sign franchise agreements in three new states without a single in-person meeting? By combining targeted social media lead generation with an automated CRM system, that outcome could be possible. Why? Scattered efforts would turn into a predictable, scalable growth engine.
The social media advertising market is currently valued at about $234 billion, according to Statista, and growing. Reddit is benefiting from this tailwind, but what makes the stock a particularly compelling growth stock to buy is the company's data from user discussions, which is valuable for AI model makers. The stock is up more than 40% year to date, putting it on course to rise substantially over the next five years from continued growth of the platform.
One pinned post features a highly produced video that starts with a family walking in a field and urges viewers to defend their homeland. Another displays an image of a younger and older man in military garb, designed to look like a first world war-era army recruitment poster. Under it, in big bold capital letters: NO AGE CAP JOIN ICE NOW. The caption: We're taking father/son bonding to a whole new level.
"We get banned on social media advertising all the time," said Priyanka Jain, cofounder and CEO of Evvy, a women's health company, highlighting the challenges they face in promoting products.
