California Villain
June 4th — 17th
Hey readers! There really are weeks where decades happen. At least that’s what it feels like. Elon Musk’s Trump row tweets feel like years ago. What an innocent time, when one allegedly ketamine-fueled billionaire could allege the president is hiding his involvement with Epstein. Now, everyone is more concerned about the possibility of nuclear war. These are worrying times. Let’s get into how that’s reflected in digital.
🎵 Top Sounds 🎵
Our curated picks of the top sounds on TikTok
My Ride’s Comin’ 🚗
A sound for when you need to get the hell out of a situation.My House? 🏃🏻♀️💨
Don’t want people in your house? This is a sound for you. Also works for when you don’t want responsibility for sketchy plans.Boy Toy Named Troy 🪩
This sound has an accompanying dance trend and works for high-energy moments.African TikTok gives us this trend to make fun of people on their high horse.
This trending sound resonates for anyone frustrated by the hold fascism seems to have on a lot of people.
🔉Sound Highlight 🔉
Mood: 🙃
Lorde’s new song Man Of The Year has nothing to do with toxic men. Unfortunately, we’re inundated with toxic men right now, so a sound that might’ve been turned into a trend about gender expression is instead a convention for those affected by The Worst Men Ever™.
🌟Trend Highlight 🌟
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Ever been let down by canceled plans? Consider showing us in the most dramatic way possible.
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What’s something you have to take the edge off? It can be anything but a cigarette.
💫 Post Highlight 💫
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As a marketer, there may be no better campaign than Zohran Mamdani’s. His campaign is firing up more than just New Yorkers. His message is aided by excellent delivery. Zohran is reaching voters via skits, well-produced documentary-style videos of the five boroughs, podcast appearances, ads, and WhatsApp-ready memes.
Another special s/o: As a Californian who has been deeply critical of Gavin Newsom’s past vetoes and policies, it truly pains me to give the man credit. Yet, here we are. It’s undeniable that Gavin Newsom’s TikTok has been put to good use this past week.
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👀 Platform News 👀
Platform updates, new features, and what’s new on social
Instagram grid customization is coming soon. Users will be able to pull posts to the top of their grid— something to remember for your next IG campaign.
Big brands are spending $10 billion more this year on influencers, according to a new report.
TikTok will let advertisers see the carbon impact of their campaigns. Bad news for AI-generated ads.
Instagram trial reels are improving reach for creators, according to the company, after six months of the feature.
☕ The Zeitgeist ☕
Hot topics and discourse from across the internet
Elon Musk apologized and deleted his tweets accusing Trump of hiding his involvement with Jeffrey Epstein. “Sometimes, you build a rocket for someone…”
Materialists hit theaters this past week to mixed reviews (and some memes)
Trump’s birthday and the 250th anniversary of the US Army march were held in DC amidst nationwide No Kings protests.
Los Angeles came out to protect their neighbors and protest ICE raids that targeted immigration hearings, workers outside Home Depots, farmworkers, and factories, among others.
Some coverage has confused direct action for marketing (“oh, but the optics…”) and was more concerned with corporate property than human lives.
🥡 The Takeaway 🥡
What marketers are taking away from trends
AI-generated video accounts are using racism to get views.
In the past week, I’ve had a number of AI-generated videos on my page with the same clapback. The concept is simple: a Black woman’s hair is criticized by an elderly white woman, and then she claps back. People mistake the videos for portraying a real event and fill the comments. The videos get so many likes and shares because it feels good to see someone clap back at a racist. The only problem is that no one in the video is real. The creators of the video are playing on biases and the prevalence of racist incidents.
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This distortion isn’t healthy. Artificially generated incidents of racist remarks and threats do nothing for racial justice in the real world. Instead of real events and current struggles, these videos are race-baiting. They invite in those sick and tired of racism, but also those who want to spread further hate. The issue isn’t division-sowing— it’s distortion.
One such account, @mrdewdoeshistory, which claims to ‘share Black history,’ posts a mix of AI-generated ‘explainers’ of real historical figures and AI-generated racist incidents. These videos are generated to look like a TikTok video, direct from the victim. Thousands of comments directed at the ‘victim’ in one of the videos show how many people believe the AI content is genuine. One of these videos even made its way to my mother via a WhatsApp from a family member in Kenya.
These videos are posted in the context of ongoing ICE raids, with an immigration system that deports Black immigrants at a rate almost double that of immigrants overall, and anti-immigration rioters burning homes in Ballymena in the north of Ireland. Racialized hatred is affecting communities globally. So is AI misinformation.
Social media companies need to do more than just label AI-generated content in the corner of the screen. There needs to be a real effort to tackle videos like this that have the potential to threaten safety and turn trauma into entertainment.