Red Hot Social Headlines: 5.17.24

By Lara Graulich, Content Manager

This week, we cover Gen Z’s perceptions of AI influencers (the results may surprise you), TikTok suing the U.S. government over the potential ban of the app, to post or not to post Reels over 90 seconds and TikTok’s crackdown on AI deepfakes.

Gen Z Mostly Doesn’t Care If Influencers Are Actual Humans, New Study Shows

Sprout Social’s new 2024 Influencer Marketing Report found that Gen Z may value AI and authenticity on social media differently than older generations. 

Key Details: 

• According to the report, 46% of Gen Z respondents said they would be more interested in a brand that worked with an AI-generated influencer. 
• Only 35% of Gen Z respondents said they valued influencer authenticity. 
• A large portion of Gen Z respondents also said they value the follower count of influencers (47%). 

Key Takeaways: Gen Z grew up seeing the rise and fall of influencers who peddled their “authenticity” only to have the curtain pulled back revealing the opposite. Instead of trusting influencers, they look to the follower-count like someone might look at a 4.7-star restaurant review with 2K respondents on Yelp. Coming of age in the AI-era and perhaps lacking trust in influencers in general, the difference between a “real” and a “fake” influencer may seem blurrier to them than other generations. 

Read more about the report results HERE. 

TikTok Sues the U.S. Government to Stop a Potential Ban

TikTok has sued the U.S. federal government, arguing that the potential app ban would violate the First Amendment. 

Key Details: 

• In the lawsuit, TikTok argued that,“If Congress can do this, it can circumvent the First Amendment by invoking national security and ordering the publisher of any individual newspaper or website to sell to avoid being shut down.” 
• First Amendment lawyers have suggested TikTok has a strong case, pointing to a TikTok ban brought forward by the state of Montana that was blocked due to the likelihood that the law violated the First Amendment. 
• Federal lawmakers have alleged TikTok is a national security threat when it comes to the data of American users being accessed by the Chinese government.

Key Takeaways: It’s unclear what the outcome of this lawsuit will be. Both TikTok and the federal government have strong claims as to why their position is correct. What is almost certain is that the outcome is going to set a strong precedent for future similar cases. If TikTok loses, then the U.S. will have tightened its grip on social app supremacy, whereas if TikTok wins, this could open the door for increased ByteDance dominance over the global social landscape. 

Learn more about the lawsuit HERE. 

Instagram Says Posting Longer Reels Can Hurt Your Performance

At a creator event in New Yok, Instagram’s content team shared that posting Reels longer than 90 seconds can hurt reach in the app.

Key Details: 

• IG also advises that posting at the same time as when you post your updates on other platforms can be of benefit. Posting content a brand didn’t make, posting content with watermarks from other apps, sharing engagement bait and publishing generally low quality content will also hurt reach.
• Despite IG users being able to post clips reaching up to 10 minutes, this is an IG experiment that appears to be failing. 

Key Takeaways: Despite many early 2024 predictions that longer-form content would reign supreme, it appears the adage that shorter is better remains true when it comes to Reels. Brands should take these findings into consideration in their IG content planning. 

Read more about Reel performance HERE. 

TikTok Begins Automatically Labelling AI-Generated Content

TikTok has started to automatically label videos and images made with artificial intelligence. 

Key Details: 

• AI-generated content will now be tagged with “Content Credentials,” a digital watermarking technology from the Coalition for Content Provenance and Authenticity.
• TikTok already labels content made with in-app AI effects and requires creators to label content they produce containing realistic AI. The new requirements will expand automatic labeling to AI-generated content uploaded from other platforms.
• This change comes about as U.S. lawmakers and experts warn that a rise in deepfakes and AI-generated misinformation could pose a threat in the upcoming 2024 election.

Key Takeaways: Amid a lawsuit that would effectively ban the app, TikTok is working hard to win the confidence of the American people. The effectiveness of these labels in swaying public and lawmaker perception on the app remain to be seen. 

Learn more about TikTok’s crackdown on deepfakes HERE.