In this week’s FWD, we will firstly cover the news that Donald Trump’s social media app ‘Truth’ has been banned from Google Play.

In a statement, Google revealed that ‘Truth’ violates its policies on prohibiting content like physical threats and incitement to violence. “Truth Social were notified of several violations of standard policies. Having effective systems for moderating user-generated content is a condition of our terms of service for any app to go live on Google Play”. Google has offered Truth Social advice on how to fix the problems.

News:

• Instagram has started testing the ability for users to choose to not see suggested posts with certain words, phrases or emojis in the hashtag or captions.
• McDonald’s has teamed up with TikTok artist, Tisakorean, to release a summer hip-hop anthem based on McDonald’s Sprite’s static taste that consumers love.

Start-up:

• Tiny Tap is a digital library of educational games created by educators. Educators can create games without any coding experience. The games are free, or users can subscribe for more premium content.

Insights:

• Pinterest launched a new breakaway app, Shuffles, that allows users to prioritize photographs.
• Netflix is set to bring forward its ad-supported streaming service from 2023 to November 2022.
• Starburst will be the first brand to beam TikToks into space, in a new competition.
• OpenAI has launched a new ‘Outpainting’ feature, where AI imagines what’s outside the frame of famous paintings.