💎 Papal conclave goes social, a new generation of NYC influencers, and the Met Gala tonight
We all need to up our Reddit game and why the platform is a data goldmine.
💎cultural gems💎
The moments and media catching our eye…
⛪️ Following the death of Pope Francis and ahead of the papal conclave, cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church are using social media to keep audiences updated.
🏙 Young, post-college influencers have descended upon the West Village to live out their Sex and the City fantasies, transforming the neighborhood.
🦍 Could 100 men beat a single gorilla in a fight? This is the question the internet is contemplating this week.
🎩 If you’re planning on watching the Met Gala red carpet tonight, make sure to study up on tonight’s theme, “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style.”
💰 An Irish court is fining TikTok $6 million for sending user data to the Chinese government.
🤖 Redditors are up in arms after its been discovered that a group of undercover researchers infiltrated a subreddit to pass off AI-written comments as human.
🧠 Longtime friend of MTD and mentor to
, , sits down with Hello Sunshine’s Danielle Robay to talk about what culture actually is and what shapes it.🧠 Duolingo’s AI-First Backlash: When Innovation Stops Listening
Duolingo just made a big move: laying off most of its contractor-based course contributors and shifting toward an “AI-first” model for new content. CEO Luis von Ahn said the brand is “no longer using contractors to do work that AI can handle,” but the reaction? Not great. Especially from the teachers, language learners, and longtime fans who helped build its cult following.
Reddit threads lit up. TikTok videos started rolling. LinkedIn think-pieces took off in the comments. And what we’re seeing is a clear disconnect between product decisions and community sentiment. While the CEO made a follow-up video on Friday addressing the “misunderstanding,” the damage has been done to the brand’s light-hearted reputation.
This moment isn’t just about Duolingo. It’s part of a growing pattern: brands rushing into AI without listening to their users [or thinking through the optics]. Everyone wants to scale content, automate workflows, and sound “innovative,” but if your brand’s emotional value comes from human warmth and playful personality, a full-AI swap is going to upset the folks who love the brand for the human touch.
The strategic brand takeaways:
Tech moves fast, but community trust moves slow. When making announcements this massive, testing out the messaging with your audience is a good first step to avoid massive backlash.
You can automate content, but you can’t automate cultural nuance or audience loyalty. Alienating your loyal followers is a recipe for disaster for any brand [not just the ones making weekly headlines].
If your brand leans on education, relationships, or humor, you still need humans involved [or at the very least, in charge of editing what the bots spit out].
Being “AI-first” doesn’t work if your audience feels like an afterthought. Proceed with caution.
Want in with more niche communities? Reddit should be your new best friend.
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