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Meta will strip likes and shares from click-through metrics, shifting them to new engage-through reports to align ads data with third-party tools.

Five global telecom operators launch London-based Syntelligence AI to build network-level tools tackling spam and scam calls worldwide.

Fake Olympics shop ads on Meta push fans to cloned sites mimicking Milano Cortina 2026 store to steal card and personal details.

AI-driven romance scams are rife on UK dating apps, with one in five users meeting fake profiles and 11% losing money, new research warns.

Avast rolls out Deepfake Guard for Windows and takes Scam Guardian global on mobile in a push to combat rising video-led fraud.

Brightcove maps 2026 AI push and major UX overhaul, promising faster innovation, richer accessibility tools and smoother video operations.

McAfee boosts its Scam Detector with instant QR checks and smarter message scanning to counter a surge in personal, AI-powered frauds.

A deepfake surge is driving relentless AI-powered celebrity scams, with persona kits and adaptive fraud campaigns eroding online trust.

Instagram denies a data breach after a dataset on 17m users appears on hacking forums, blaming old leak scraps and a fixed reset bug.

Australian studio unveils AI 'celebrity' Bruce Ryder, launching a global hyperfiction tour from Los Angeles with interactive social shows.

Brands must build “machine trust” by 2026 or risk vanishing from AI-led discovery as CEEK warns creativity alone will no longer secure visibility.

Black Friday still delivered the peak online surge, but AI-driven search stretched shopping demand across a longer November window.

US holiday shoppers to rein in festive spending as 60% say financial strain will curb gift budgets, new national survey data shows.

Meta has bought Singapore AI start-up Manus, aiming to embed its autonomous general-purpose agent across consumer and business products.

iMessage-based social app Series tops 1m posts and 10,000 daily users as young people drift from public feeds to private chats.

Innovid adds Reddit, Meta optimisation and Google CM360 tools to Social Ads Manager, promising smoother cross-platform social campaigns.

By 2026, AI, social commerce and immersive physical retail experiences will transform how consumers interact with brands both online and in stores.

Msg1 introduces multilingual messaging to help creators monetise meaningful, direct conversations with global audiences beyond language barriers.

Australians lost over AUD $87,000 to scams last year, with risky cyber habits like password reuse and oversharing on social media putting many at threat.

AI, social media, and flexible payments like BNPL will shape festive shopping as 69% of consumers trust AI to assist their Black Friday and holiday purchases.