• Twitter Inc. failed to act on its promise to remove legacy verification badges on accounts that don’t pay for one of its subscription offerings by April 1, instead opting to attach a confusing label to all check mark icons that reads, “This account is verified because it’s subscribed to Twitter Blue or is a legacy verified account.” (TechCrunch) However, the platform did remove the badge for The New York Times after Twitter owner Elon Musk responded to a meme about The Times’ stated refusal to pay for verification. (The Hill)
• World Wrestling Entertainment Inc.and Endeavor Group Holdings Inc.’s Ultimate Fighting Championship announced they have agreed to merge and form a new publicly traded company. Endeavor will control the new organization with a 51% ownership stake, while WWE, which has spent the last several months looking for a buyer, will own the remaining 49%. (CNBC) 
• McDonald’s Corp. is temporarily closing its U.S. offices and directing all corporate employees to work from home Monday through Wednesday so it can deliver news about impending layoffs in a virtual setting. In January, the fast food chain said it intended to make “difficult” staffing decisions by April as part of a broader company restructuring. (The Wall Street Journal)

Companies Developing Artificial Intelligence Are Scoring Early Wins With Consumers

Morning Consult 

With Dread, Advertisers Report A Wave Of Mistaken Google Account Suspensions And AI Miscues 

James Hercher, AdExchanger

In the past week or so, numerous Google advertiser accounts have been suspended for the first time, and erroneous suspensions and other account issues have increased at an alarming rate, five agency buyers told AdExchanger.

Brand Influencer Platform Launches Social Media Advertising Via Content Creators

Colin Kirkland, MediaPost

Creator-guided shopping platform LTK launched “LTK Boost,” a new advertising solution that invites brands to amplify creator collaboration content directly from the creator’s social media handles on TikTok and Meta platforms. According to LTK, the company currently has over 6,000 brand partners and 18 million monthly consumers using the Creator Shops page on its shopping platform each month to make purchases based on what their favorite creators are wearing.

White House won’t pay for Twitter verification

Sara Fischer, Axios 

Official White House staffers rely on their verified accounts to inform the public on behalf of the administration. Verification, combined with the designated Twitter profiles, helped to ensure the public could trust those messages.

Leaders of Top Global News Organizations Call for Release of Wall Street Journal Reporter Evan Gershkovich

Alyssa Lukpat, The Wall Street Journal

The editors condemned Mr. Gershkovich’s detention in a letter to the Russian ambassador to the U.S.

The Block lays off a third of staffers amid leadership shakeup

Sara Fischer, Axios

The Block, a crypto media company that got caught up in a funding scandal related to disgraced FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried, has laid off roughly one-third of its staff as part of a broader leadership shakeup, sources told Axios.

Vince McMahon locks in two-year contract

Lillian Rizzo, CNBC

The WWE chairman’s agreement dates back to Jan. 9, when he returned to the company, according to a securities filing.

News organizations reject Elon Musk’s demand of paying to keep checkmarks on Twitter

Oliver Darcy, CNN

The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, the Washington Post, BuzzFeed, POLITICO, and Vox all scoffed at the notion on Thursday that they would pay Twitter for the feature, which has been free since it was introduced years ago but will soon be phased out.

Podcast companies are turning to YouTube in an effort to build scale and boost discoverability 

Alyssa Meyers, Marketing Brew

Publisher Slate and podcast ad marketplace Gumball are expanding into video content.

Binance, CZ, and NBA star Jimmy Butler and other crypto influencers hit with $1B suit for promoting unregistered securities

Shawn Tully, Fortune

Just four days after the Commodity Futures Trading Commission brought a highly-publicized suit against Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange is facing another high-profile legal challenge.

ChatGPT Banned in Italy Over Data-Privacy Concerns

Margherita Stancati and Sam Schechner, The Wall Street Journal

Italy’s privacy regulator ordered a temporary ban on OpenAI’s ChatGPT, saying the artificial-intelligence chatbot has improperly collected and stored information, accelerating the rush by policy makers to roll out new AI rules. 

Revenue at TikTok Owner ByteDance Rose More Than 30% in 2022, Topped $80 Billion

Juro Osawa, The Information

ByteDance, the Chinese owner of TikTok, generated more than $80 billion in annual revenue last year, up more than 30% from roughly $60 billion in 2021, according to two people with knowledge of the figure.

NATO bans TikTok on devices

Natasha Bertrand, CNN

NATO has officially banned staffers from downloading the social media app TikTok onto their NATO-provided devices, citing security concerns, according to two NATO officials familiar with the matter.

Hulu debuts a new interface with a vertical sidebar on Fire TV, Apple TV and Roku

Ivan Mehta and Lauren Forristal, TechCrunch

Hulu is slowly rolling out a new interface on streaming devices like Fire TV, Apple TV and Roku, among other compatible devices. The new redesign moves the navigation to the left side with options for TV, Movies and My Stuff.

Members of Congress on TikTok defend app’s reach to voters 

Farnoush Amiri, The Associated Press

Rep. Jeff Jackson of North Carolina has used it to explain the complex fight over raising the debt limit. Rep. Robert Garcia of California has used it to engage with members of the LGBTQ+ community. And Sen. Bob Casey of Pennsylvania has used it to give an overview of Election Day results.

Kraft Heinz agrees to sell Russian baby food business

Reuters

Kraft Heinz has agreed to sell its baby food business in Russia to local drinks and snacks maker Chernogolovka, the U.S. food giant said on Friday, as domestic firms continue to capitalise on the departure of Western brands.

Chips Ahoy! Takes A Bite Out Of TikTok

Hana Yoo, AdExchanger

Chips Ahoy! wants to be Gen Z’s cookie of choice, not a nostalgic snack pick. But to achieve that objective, the Mondelēz-owned chocolate chip cookie brand is refining its targeting strategy to focus on behaviors, not demographics. Its key marketing goals are to build brand love and to make sure its product is differentiated in the market.

Frozen food brands are putting DTC on ice to focus on retail expansion

Gabriela Barkho, Modern Retail

Selling direct-to-consumer has increasingly gone out of fashion among food and beverage startups.

Budweiser Treats Music Fans to Vinyl Records in the Form of Beer Coasters

Sara Century, Adweek

New work taps into the ingenuity of the underground music scene.

Walmart+ Touts Paramount+ Partnership in New TV Push

Jack Neff, Ad Age

Walmart+ could double membership just by getting all Paramount+ subscribers to join.

Bumble and Gymshark billboards promote dates that workout

Amy Houston, The Drum

This campaign wants to give people a new way to connect over a shared love of fitness and exercise.

Madewell’s ‘it’ girl glow-up takes aim at Gen Z

Liz Flora, Glossy

Instead of frolicking in fields in flowing dresses, the Madewell girl is heading back downtown. Following an aborted IPO attempt in March 2020, J.Crew’s younger sister, Madewell, is in the process of revamping its image with new store designs, creative direction, styling and marketing imagery.

The negative impacts of quiet firing and what to do instead

Anna Oakes, Quartz

How to set up checks and balances to ensure leaders are making a positive impact on employees.

Google announces a series of cost-saving measures across the company as it cuts some staff perks

Hugh Langley, Insider  

Google has announced a series of cost-cutting measures as the company continues to tighten its belt and prioritize its work in artificial intelligence.

Bed Bath & Beyond is sued by ousted CEO over unpaid severance

Jonathan Stempel, Reuters

Bed Bath & Beyond Inc was sued on Friday by Mark Tritton, who was ousted last June as chief executive of the troubled home goods retailer, in a complaint accusing the company of failing to honor his $6,765,000 severance agreement.

Gen Z is sick and tired of their jobs

Aki Ito, Insider

Young workers are now as disengaged as burned-out boomers.