TikTok remains at the center of culture and politics. Congress ordered a ByteDance sell-off, yet the White House launched its own TikTok, posting cinematic clips of Trump as a rebel hero that racked up millions of views. China slammed the hypocrisy while refusing to hand over the algorithm.

The ban deadline keeps slipping. Enforcement is now set for Sept 17, 2025, but Trump says he may extend it again. The U.S. can’t quit an app that drives youth culture and election messaging.

TikTok also updated its Community Guidelines today, cracking down on AI-generated deception, automation tools, and regulated goods. Shorter summaries make rules clearer, signaling a platform bracing for the AI era.

On X, generative media is the new frontier. Premium users get Imagine, a text-to-video tool built on xAI’s Grok, turning prompts into clips. Meanwhile, the classic heart icon is morphing into thumbs up/down, offering richer algorithmic signals but risking more toxicity.

Fact-checking is shifting too. AI Note Writers can now generate Community Notes, while human contributors have topped 1M, though studies show most political notes never surface due to lack of cross-ideological agreement.

AI art is exploding. Ghibli-style portraits hit 46M views after engineer Grant Slatton’s viral post—even Sam Altman joined in. But privacy experts warn of biometric data risks. Hot on its heels: Nano Banana 3D figurines, Google’s Gemini tool that turns selfies into mini action figures, flooding feeds with collectible avatars.

Instagram is also evolving. Hashtags no longer drive reach; keywords, alt text, and real engagement matter more. New tools like multi-part Reel linking and retention charts push creators toward episodic storytelling and attention analytics.

Platforms are converging on the same theme: AI, politics, and culture are colliding faster than regulators can keep up.