At some point between the deepfakes, the bot farms and the algorithmically engineered outrage, our ability to smell a lie got completely cooked. But the scary part isn't even the lying. It's that we've been so overwhelmed by the noise that we've just given up. Which, plot twist, is exactly what they want. Sophie went down the rabbit hole so we didn't have to and she's come back with answers…

- abdel khalil, fyp skeptic

Idk about y'all but I’m still coming down from Bieberchella part II. I fear Coachella has peaked. It will never be as big of a cultural moment again. Like, Bieber is not only the highest-paid artist in Coachella history, he also had the highest-ever ticket demand and his performance was the most Googled in Coachella history. He also sold more merch in the first weekend than any other artist has over Coachella’s two weekends. Which, as of Tuesday, was a total of $15 million worth of Skylrk product. The man's always been an overachiever, but he smashed this out of the park (desert) in every right.

Rhode, Hailey Bieber’s skincare brand, also led the social conversation during the festival, as shown by this graph. When it comes to likes, shares, comments and views mentioning beauty brand names and relevant keywords, Rhode was the highest contender by a landslide.

Ok now back to reality where hundreds of fake pro-Trump avatars are emerging on social media ahead of the midterm elections. Imagine all the MAGA boomers who are going to fall for this shite. “If you support Trump, you just made a friend,” almost every single video says, with an identical, grammatically awkward caption: “I’m new here and love God, America, and Trump!!”

The New York Times has found that since January, at least 304 accounts sharing the content have popped up. Some of them have already amassed more than 35,000 followers and half a million views. Cool. Every day we stray further from God (despite what the AI avatars say.)

In some more, equally depressing news; Startup CEOs who are “tokenmaxxing” are bragging that they are spending more money on AI compute than it would cost to hire human workers. According to 404 Media, in a certain corner of the tech world, massive AI bills are now a marker of growth and success. Here’s a literal quote from a recent LinkedIn post by Amos Bar-Joseph, the CEO of Swan AI, a coding agent startup; “Our AI bill just hit $113k in a single month (we’re a 4 person team). I’ve never been more proud of an invoice in my life.” Anyway. 

-Sophie Randell, Writer

We used to look for a trail. If something was real, it left a messy, low-res footprint: a grain of metadata here, a grainy satellite ping there. A zero digital footprint used to signal authenticity because it was "off the grid."

Today, it’s the opposite. The absence of a trail no longer means something is original; it means it was never captured by a lens at all.

I.e. it was prompted into existence.

The signal has inverted. Truth is lagging, and engagement; that twitchy, lizard-brain reflex, is leading the pack.

It’s too slow. Synthetic content doesn’t need to be perfect, it just needs to move faster than the fact-checkers can lace up their boots. We’re being flooded with "AI slop" and deepfakes not to convince us of a specific lie, but to exhaust us into a state of digital nihilism.

When everything could be fake, nothing feels definitively real. That’s the "Liar’s Dividend”; the moment where bad actors can dismiss actual truth as just another glitch in the simulation.

The system isn't broken… it’s working exactly as designed. It rewards the reflex, not the reflection.

If the systems are rigged, your only real defence is behavioural; it’s the pause, the hesitation. A few minutes of scrutiny in a world that pays you to have none.

The sceptic’s toolkit:

We’ve been long drifting toward a "Dead Internet" where the public square is hollowed out by non-human noise. And maybe we’ve finally arrived. This is more than being able to spot a fake photo; it’s about the erosion of our shared reality.

We’re past the point of debunking. The skill you need today is hesitation. Discernment.

In a system that demands instant reach, waiting five minutes to verify is the ultimate act of friction. And do we need friction more than ever. 

-Sophie Randell, Writer

Creators are matching the texts to a slow, emotional R&B-style track (think a Chris Brown-type vibe) which makes the messages feel even more dramatic and ironic. These videos usually start with a hook like “generated a song of my ex’s messages.” Then the texts play out like verses with one standout line repeated as the “chorus”.

Find a text thread that tells a story or escalate in some way. Find the most iconic line - that becomes your chorus. Structure it like a song (not just random messages). Use pacing and timing so each line lands. Pair it with a slow, emotional R&B-style sound for max impact.

A few ideas to get you started:

-Georgia Russell, Intern

😂Yap’s funniest home videos: And i oop- the girls are fighting 
✨Daily inspo: Who's responsible for building your future...
😊Soooo satisfying: Mouth is watering ngl 
🍝What you should make for dinner tonight: Simple garlicky egg rice w/ cabbage 

Hey Jules!

Ah, yes, the good old days of flat lays and curated feeds. Having a cohesive brand look is still valuable, but when it comes to social media, it's not something you should put much focus on. If new audiences find you, it will be because they come across a piece of your content, not your grid anyway.

Instead, you should spend your time worrying about creating content that resonates with your audience. This means it needs to be something that's relatable, that tells a good story with a beginning, middle and end, and that hits on a human truth. This human truth will be something that connects with your audience and makes them want to keep watching your content (and share it with others).

- Charlotte Ellis, Editor ♡

We get it. Creating content that does numbers is harder than it looks. But doing those big numbers is the fastest way to grow your brand. So if you’re tired of throwing sh*t at the wall and seeing what sticks, you’re in luck. Because making our clients go viral is kinda what we do every single day.