BuzzFeed Launches New Social Platform for Fun & Creativity

HIGHLIGHTS:

• BuzzFeed is launching a new social platform focused on positivity and creativity, aiming to counter digital negativity.
• CEO John Peretti criticizes TikTok and Meta for prioritizing AI and algorithms over authentic content.
• The platform will use AI to empower users and avoid diminishing their control over content.
• BuzzFeed's recent restructuring includes selling its Complex division and the Hot Ones brand.
• The company encourages interested parties to submit emails and phone numbers via a cartoon island-themed website.

BuzzFeed, the famous site for celebrity gossip, quizzes, and viral content, is poised to launch its social media platform to contest negativity in the digital world and encourage positivity and support, as said in the media reports.

John Peretti, CEO of BuzzFeed Inc., focusses on bringing back fun to the internet, yet unlike before, with a new social media platform whose focus will not be on distribution of content by third party platforms.

In a memo released today, Peretti sharply criticized TikTok and Meta, stating that it is their CEOs, Zhang Yiming and Mark Zuckerberg, who first and foremost care about advances in technology and AI rather than anything else. He argued that such kinds of companies trust more in decisions driven by AI and algorithms rather than humans, thus undervaluing genuine content.

He emphasized that the platform would leverage AI "to give users agency instead of stealing their agency." Interested individuals can visit a website featuring a cartoon island, where they can submit their email addresses and phone numbers.

The year has seen much restructuring for BuzzFeed. The major change in the company's overall strategy became apparent when, in February 2024, it sold the Complex division to NTWRK for $109 million. In December, BuzzFeed sold its highly popular Hot Ones brand, First We Feast, to a group of investors, including media personalities Chris Schonberger and Sean Evans, marking an additional shift in the company's portfolio.