Welcome to The L@B Report
Welcome to this month’s issue of The L@B Report from GSG, bringing you news and insights from the intersection of digital media and public affairs. In this issue, we discuss TikTok videos getting longer, a new player in generative AI, and updated political ad requirements from Meta.
In The News
TikTok is testing 15-minute uploads, horizontal videos
TikTok wants its creators to make longer videos like the ones found on other apps
TikTok is currently experimenting with 15-minute videos for specific accounts and is in the testing phase for horizontal videos. These changes put the platform in more direct competition with YouTube, long regarded as the go-to platform for long-form video.
Takeaway
TikTok initially gained fame for its popular and much cloned short-form videos, but has slowly been embracing long-form content. The company expanded its maximum video length to 10 minutes, up from three minutes, back in February 2022. Before that, the limit was 60 seconds after initially expanding from 15 seconds.
As TikTok broadens its capabilities, marketers should closely observe how these changes impact user engagement on the platform. Much like the introduction of the TikTok Shop expanded the app’s offerings into e-commerce, the introduction of longer video uploads and horizontal streaming may position TikTok as the preferred destination for both streamers and long-form vloggers. This evolution could significantly reshape the platform’s role in the content creation and consumption landscape and comes as TikTok increasingly becomes a place where Americans get their news.
The newest player in generative AI
Pika is pushing the boundaries of video-making and editing with AI
In late November, a new AI tool capable of generating a variety of animated art styles, Pika, launched. Representing a significant advancement in generative AI, the tool can create new footage based on text prompts or utilize existing image and video uploads. Pika’s launch video on Twitter/X highlights many of its capabilities.
Takeaway
Pika has swiftly amassed a following of both supporters and detractors. Currently, the platform is available only through a waitlist, but has already gained more than a half a million users and a $300 million valuation.
Enthusiasts of AI marvel at the tool’s capacity to generate high-quality work at an unprecedented pace – as Ibrahim Saidi on Medium states, “ChatGPT was coined as the iPhone moment of AI, well I think we’re about to witness the ChatGPT moment of video generative AI.” On the flip side, critics raise ethical concerns, particularly regarding compensating animators for their work and the potential for generating deceptive or misleading footage.
And speaking of misleading footage…
Meta updates political ad rules to cover AI
Advertisers will be required to disclose when they use artificial intelligence to alter images and videos in certain political ads
Meta has unveiled its updated advertising policy for special categories as the 2024 election gains momentum. A key modification mandates that advertisers within the political or social issues category must explicitly disclose if artificial intelligence (AI) was employed to create, edit, or alter images, videos, audio, or text within the ad. The policy goes into effect in the new year.
Takeaway
Meta’s policy is aimed primarily at helping weed out deepfakes in political ads that have raised alarm amongst policy analysts.
As Nick Clegg, Meta President of Global Affairs, said in a Threads post, “Advertisers who run ads about social issues, elections & politics with Meta will have to disclose if image or sound has been created or altered digitally, including with AI, to show real people doing or saying things they haven’t done or said.”
Specifically, advertisers will have to disclose whenever a social issue, electoral, or political ad contains a photorealistic image or video, or realistic sounding audio, that was digitally created or altered to:
- Depict a real person as saying or doing something they did not say or do; or
- Depict a realistic-looking person that does not exist or a realistic-looking event that did not happen, or alter footage of a real event that happened; or
- Depict a realistic event that allegedly occurred, but that is not a true image, video, or audio recording of the event.
Communication and marketing experts, as well as advertisers who create ads that require the disclaimer, should monitor the implementation of this policy to see how users and the media react to the use of deepfakes. In the meantime, the Biden campaign has already begun preparing for a legal fight over the use of deepfakes in political ads.
More From GSG
New Polling Shows Americans’ Views on Philanthropy
The holiday season has become a critical time for charitable giving. Millions of Americans are planning end-of-year donations, non-profits are ramping up fundraising requests, and foundations are strategically planning their grantmaking for the coming year.
With that in mind, GSG released new polling that assesses voters’ attitudes about philanthropy and charitable giving.
Key takeaways include:
- Voters trust a wide range of non-profit and charitable organizations, though they are most trusting of small local charities.
- An overwhelming majority of voters believe non-profits are ethical and reject calls for more regulation.
- Majorities see the value of donor anonymity when it comes to charitable giving.
PRovoke Media’s 2023 Review
GSG‘s in-house ESG reports have earned a spot among PRovoke Media’s top thought leadership research from 2023. Explore our 10th annual Business & Politics report on corporate engagement with social issues and the ESG Monitor collaborative report with SEC Newgate Group.
This issue of The L@B Report was put together by Troy Davis.
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