Even as xAI chatbot Grok continues to create and post nude images and CSAM, advertisers seeking to leave the platform could find themselves in a political and legal bind with Elon Musk and the Trump administration.

The Media Leader summarises five key themes from the past year in the increasingly blending worlds of social media and publishing.

As the end of Q4 approaches this piece serves as a reminder of how Less Healthy Food restrictions (LHF) have impacted each of the channels.

WPP Media are forecasting a sunny, if consolidated, expectation for growth in 2026. This year uncertainty over tariffs didn’t have quite as big an impact on consumer spending or ad revenue as anticipated.

Revenue grew in the double-figures for the likes of Big Tech companies Alphabet, Meta, and Amazon, as well as smaller social media competitors Snap, Pinterest and Reddit.

A panel discussed the growing emphasis on culture driven by the creator economy, and how YouTube is the platform for enabling brands to get involved.

The decision offers confirmation of Google’s market power and enables the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) to consider and implement proportionate intervention measures to ensure fair competition and treatment of businesses who rely on Google.

A shadow internet is emerging that isn’t the dark web or criminal. It’s lighter, faster, and crafted not for humans but for machines. 

Ozone has officially launched its Audience Connection Platform in the US amid a wider growth push that includes adding nearly 20 additional US publishers to its alliance and hiring more roles in Chicago, New York and elsewhere.

New research shows that investing in high-attention media channels is more profitable than investing in low-attention ones. But in the past decade, adspend is going the other way. The report’s authors unpack why and what can be done to improve media effectiveness.