Creators

Randomized trial results of the experimental GLP-1, GIP, and glucagon drug shows that it may be too effective, while causing a whopping 11% of participants at the highest dose to drop out because of the severity of the side effects. In Optimizer, Victoria Song covered TikTok influencers pushing grey market knockoffs of “Ratatouille” and attempted to find out what was actually in them. (Please don’t buy shady “Retatrutide” from the internet.)

CapCut announced on X that users will “soon” be able to edit images and videos directly within the Gemini app using CapCut’s editing capabilities.

I was on Vox’s Today, Explained podcast to talk about why our feeds are just clips now — what we’re calling “the clippening” of content online. You’ve probably seen these videos of podcasts, musicians, TV shows, livestreams and more. Underneath it all is an economy of clipping companies pumping out mountains of paid content.

The new agent is initially available in Figma Design, and can be used to help with generated or editing design projects, and “automate busywork,” according to Figma’s announcement. This is the latest creative company to launch an AI assistant, following Canva and several examples from Adobe.

Open source tech creators Diolinux have released a free patch that rearranges the Gimp UI to resemble Adobe’s Photoshop editing software. That familiar layout should make it easier for long-time Photoshop users to make the switch. Installation instructions for Linux and Windows are available on GitHub.

A new investigation by the New York Times has discovered that social media influencers are collecting tens, or even hundreds of thousands of dollars, to back candidates, endorse policies, and attack political enemies. But where that money is coming from isn’t clear, and campaigns are embracing the secrecy.

NFL teams doing schedule release videos has become a little tradition — and while the Cardinals are getting ruthlessly dunked on for doing AI slop, the Packers are making it clear theirs was all hand-made. (An increasing trend in advertising overall.) Anyway, disclosure: I am from Wisconsin, and the Bears still suck.

The UK’s competition and markets regulator has cleared the deal to go ahead, on the condition that Shutterstock sells its global editorial business, including Backgrid and Splash. This clears a path to finalize the merger, as it was already granted “unconditional antitrust clearance” by the US DOJ in February.

Just kidding! But some news organizations are offering prediction market affiliate codes — and publishing thousands of stories pushing gambling deals. Popular Information reports that news orgs owned by Advance Local (including The Oregonian and The Cleveland Plain Dealer) are on track to run more than 14,000 pieces of “gambling slop” this year promoting deals for sportsbooks, casinos, and prediction markets like Polymarket and Kalshi.

In a January filing spotted by MacRumors, Apple disclosed its purchase of Color.io — a grading tool used by filmmakers and photographers — and the hiring of its sole developer. Color.io shut down last year after its creator, Jonathan Ochmann, said he’s “been offered an opportunity to work alongside a company whose products have shaped and inspired me.”

Adobe’s updated Premiere video editing app, which launched on iOS last September, will finally arrive on Android “this summer.” It’ll include some Android-exclusive templates and effects designed for YouTube Shorts.

Starting today, US users will be able to book hotels, tours, and ticketed experiences directly in the app. Travel content is a major category on the platform, so it makes sense for TikTok to want a hand in the actual booking process, not just discovery. Content creators will also be able to earn commissions from reservations made through their content.

Earlier this week I wrote about the social media “clippers” that get paid to semi-covertly promote podcasts, TV shows, and other media through anonymous accounts. One of the clipping campaigns was for Perplexity AI — but nobody can tell me who, exactly, is responsible for the clips:

The beloved British environmentalist has his own Google Doodle when you search his name today. He’s celebrating with a special concert in London, and a thank you message to fans: “I had rather thought that I would celebrate my 100th birthday quietly, but it seems that many of you have had other ideas.”

A TikTok spokesperson tells Business Insider that the feature will now identify products in a video, instead of attempting to summarize what happens in it.

The new “productivity agent” connects with Adobe’s image and audio generative AI models and powers conversational document editing features in Acrobat, alongside unlocking new sharing capabilities in PDF Spaces. This is just the latest example of Adobe’s commitment to slap AI agents into all of its apps.

The hit DualShot Recorder app just switched from an increasingly rare one-time fee to a subscription-based model. The app’s developer — also a notable squirrel video creator — says he made the change to “support the long-term sustainability of the business.” Subscriptions come for us all, I guess.

Alongside Quips, Patreon is also getting collaboration posts, a redesigned Home feed, and a feed just showing creators that you follow. The company initially introduced the features last year, but now they’re available to “the majority of creators and fans.”

Reps. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ), Elise Stefanik (R-NY), and Tom Suozzi (D-NY) have written a letter to TikTok USDS CEO Adam Presser, urging the platform to estimate users’ age using their account activity or require parents to confirm their child’s age. The lawmakers also suggest that TikTok works with OS-makers like Apple and Google to implement age verification:

The Washington Post analyzed more than 1,400 of the far-right provocateur’s streams and found that he’s generating more than $400,000 in revenue. Much of those donations are coming from people who are struggling economically, including one 57-year-old Air Force veteran who told the Post she thought he was struggling financially — and who is struggling herself.