SAN FRANCISCO: Meta's future may lie in the metaverse, but when the company reports results on Wednesday, investors will be focused on two more immediate bets: pumping up short-video offering Reels to compete with TikTok and rebuilding its ads system after Apple throttled access to user data.
Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg believes that will take time, and that the company needs to speed up the process, he told staffers on a call late last month. The discussion hit on key issues that will be watched in Meta's quarterly results release on Wednesday.
Meta is expected to record its first-ever revenue drop in its history as a public company, down 0.4% to about $29 billion, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.
Investors are also bracing for flat user growth and a third consecutive quarter of profit declines and are watching for signs of hardware project cuts and slower hiring to manage costs.
The social media giant this year has unveiled sweeping redesigns of Facebook and Instagram, imitating rival TikTok's look and algorithmically driven recommendations of viral short videos.
Meta is also investing heavily to rebuild its ads system around its own user data, after privacy changes introduced last year by Apple degraded Meta's ad targeting capabilities.
Zuckerberg told employees on the call, which took place on June 30, that Reels represented a "huge opportunity" for Meta, but also noted that the format was "still only around 15% of the size of TikTok."
"I think realistically we're looking at a year and a half, maybe even longer, before we'll really have a line of sight to having a strong leadership position," he said.
The timeline for rebuilding the ads system was similar, he said. He repeatedly urged staff to increase their "intensity" to get through the period.
While Meta has the strongest first-party user data in the industry, it also "has a lot of credibility to restore before investors can get comfortable with maintaining its leadership position in digital advertising's secular growth," analysts from RBC Capital Markets wrote.
Zuckerberg told employees that the economy had worsened since executives first planned the Reels and ad changes, and outlined plans to expedite the transitions so profits from the core business could fund Meta's long-term metaverse bets.
"Our job is basically to bring in as much of the business that might be three years out into two years out, or one and a half years out, while also pushing on things like expenses and cost growth," he said.
If needed, he added, his inclination was to "take more pain in terms of a little bit less profitability" in the short term, rather than cutting back on "funding for future stuff."
The changes have created some backlash, though.
Instagram, which has been testing TikTok-like features, last week postponed plans to replace the app's scrolling feed with a more immersive "panavision"-style layout that fills the entire screen, from October to early next year.
A Meta spokesperson said the company recognizes "that changes to the app can be an adjustment, and we want to take the time to make sure we get this right."
On Monday, two of Instagram's biggest users, Kim Kardashian and Kylie Jenner, both shared a meme imploring the company to "Make Instagram Instagram again."
"Stop trying to be TikTok I just want to see cute photos of my friends," the post said. It signed off: "Sincerely, everyone."
Instagram head Adam Mosseri acknowledged the criticism in a video on Tuesday, saying the layout was "not yet good" and the company would have to "get it to a good place if we're going to ship it" to all Instagram users.
The company would continue doing tests and shifting toward video however, he added.
As Zuckerberg bets on TikTok-style videos, Meta heads for first-ever revenue drop
https://arab.news/9bjgc
As Zuckerberg bets on TikTok-style videos, Meta heads for first-ever revenue drop
- Meta unveiled sweeping redesigns of Facebook and Instagram, imitating rival TikTok's look and algorithmically driven recommendations of viral short videos
20-year-old comic book on Gaza rushing back to print
- Comic, written by Maltese-American journalist Joe Sacco, pioneered what was dubbed “comic journalism”
LONDON: A graphic novel looking into Gaza that was published in 2003 has rushed back into print after the conflict broke out between Israel and Hamas in October.
The comic, written by Maltese-American journalist Joe Sacco, pioneered what was dubbed “comic journalism” and tells the tales of his own work on the ground in the enclave in 1991.
It even drew praise from renowned Palestinian-American academic Edward Said, who said: “With the exception of one or two novelists and poets, no one has ever rendered this terrible state of affairs better than Joe Sacco.”
Since the outbreak of the conflict, the comic’s publisher said that demand for the novel soared.
Fantagraphics co-founder Gary Groth said: “We blew out of our inventory of several thousand copies quickly and are reprinting now. Retailers and wholesalers began ordering the book in far greater quantities than in the recent past, which indicates that every element down the chain — consumers and retailers — are expressing demand for it.”
Sacco, a cartoonist from Portland, told the UK’s Observer: “Things had seemed very bad when I was visiting in the early 1990s, at the end of the first intifada, but things were very much worse 10 years later.
“That the book itself still has relevance is a sorry testament to the enduring tragedy of the Palestinians — though, in some ways, it’s also a tribute to their fortitude, their unwillingness to give in.
“I would go back, if I could get in. Thankfully, many brave Palestinian journalists are doing exemplary work despite the appalling conditions and the very real danger to themselves and their families. But the main reason I would like to go back to Gaza is to see my friends there. I hope they will make it through this.”
Clip emerges of Israeli troops burning aid in Gaza
- In the footage, men in IDF uniforms smile as they set food and water in the back of a truck alight
LONDON: Footage has emerged on social media appearing to show Israel Defense Forces troops setting fire to humanitarian aid in the Gaza Strip.
In the footage, shared by Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor, men in IDF uniforms smile as they set food and water in the back of a truck alight.
The incident reportedly took place in the Shejaiya neighborhood of Gaza City, where IDF forces are engaged in fighting against suspected Hamas militants.
Muhammad Shehada, chief of communications at Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor, said of the footage on X: “Note the immense satisfaction & smile from ear to ear on one of the soldiers’ faces! They were the ones to film & post this b/c there will be ZERO consequences to this depravity.”
Reporting on the footage, Gergana Katseva, a news reporter for Britain’s Metro newspaper, described it as “sickening.”
Social media users call for Zara boycott after ‘Gaza destruction-inspired’ ad campaign sparks uproar online
LONDON: Spanish fashion retailer Zara is facing an online backlash for its latest advertising campaign, which social media users have criticized for its alleged similarities with destruction in Gaza.
The campaign, named “The Jacket” and part of the brand’s Atelier series, features model Kristen McMenamy carrying a mannequin covered in white cloth, while other mannequins appear with limbs missing. She is surrounded by rubble in the images.
Social media users are comparing the depiction with images of the bodies of those killed in the ongoing Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.
One eagle-eyed critic also alleged one of the pieces of plasterboard in the background of the images is shaped like a map of Palestine.
As the campaign images went viral over the weekend, many on social media were calling for people to boycott Zara. The firm has since deleted posts containing the images but is yet to issue a statement.
“Using death and destruction as a backdrop for fashion is beyond sinister, it’s complicity and should outrage us as consumers, boycott Zara,” Palestinian artist Hazem Harb wrote on Instagram.
Influencers Noor Amra and Hina Cheema also posted on Instagram, with the message: “We have all seen the devastating images of shrouded bodies coming out of Gaza ... It’s clearly a deliberate mock to Palestinians. They know exactly what they are doing.”
Responding to the post, the president of Huda Beauty, Mona Kattan, wrote: “Sick.”
Twitter user @AKoleWorld added: “My favorite brand until now. Whole closet was Zara. Sending to a homeless shelter and never buying again.”
Haaretz analysis reveals civilians account for 61% of Gazans killed by Israeli airstrikes
- The Haaretz study corroborates an investigation conducted by two other Israeli news websites, suggesting Israel was deliberately targeting residential blocks
LONDON: Civilians in Gaza constituted a staggering 61 percent of the total death toll in the first three weeks of Israel’s assault on the Palestinian enclave, a study published on Saturday by the Israeli newspaper Haaretz found.
The Israeli military’s operation in Gaza, which began on Oct. 7 following a Hamas attack, killed more than 9,000 people, including at least 3,600 children, in the first three weeks alone.
As the offensive expands into southern Gaza, where civilians were previously ordered by the Israeli Defense Forces to relocate, the death toll has passed 21,731, including more than 8,697 children, according to Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor.
The Haaretz analysis found that in three of Israel’s previous assaults on Gaza between 2012 and 2022, about 40 percent of the total deaths were civilians.
The newspaper’s findings confirm an investigation conducted 10 days ago by two other Israeli news websites, +972 Magazine and Local Call, which concluded that Israel was deliberately targeting residential blocks.
These studies come as the US administration faces global criticism, as well as allegations of supporting war crimes, for vetoing a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.
Louis Charbonneau, UN director at Human Rights Watch, said that the US “risks complicity in war crimes” by continuing to provide Israel with weapons and diplomatic cover.
Israel’s former justice minister walks out during RT interview
- The host later asked Beilin about dubious evidence surrounding the events of Oct. 7 and evidence of Israeli friendly fire on the same day
- Beilin became furious with the direction of the interview before deciding to walk away
DUBAI: Former Israeli Justice Minister Yossi Beilin walked out of a televised interview after being challenged by the presenter to respond to reports on the Israel-Hamas war.
During an interview with Russia Today presenter Afshin Rattansi, Beilin was asked about the mass slaughter of Palestinians in Gaza and the parallels between the Palestinian resistance and Nelson Mandela’s African National Congress resistance.
A heated exchange took place when the presenter challenged the ex-Israeli minister to respond to unverified accounts regarding the rape of Israeli women hostages captured by Hamas.
Beilin said: “I don’t want even to argue about it. If people don’t believe these poor women were hit and raped and whatever, I’m not in the situation to prove them that they are wrong.”
Rattansi said the claims had never been proven.
The host later asked Beilin about dubious evidence surrounding the events of Oct. 7, as well as evidence of Israeli friendly fire on the same day, published in a report by Israeli newspaper Haaretz.
He sarcastically responded, saying: “Maybe it is true, and all the 1,200 people who were killed on Oct. 7 were killed by Israelis … Are you crazy? … We killed ourselves and raped ourselves.”
The presenter replied that it was not a matter of believing whether this truly happened, but rather a matter of presenting evidence to verify or dispute such claims.
As Beilin became furious with the direction of the interview, the presenter moved on to the topic of Israel’s support for Daesh fighters in Syria.
Beilin, however, refused to comment on the matter before abruptly ending the interview.
