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Tech News
McDonald's has begun a limited test showing third-party brand advertisements on digital drive-thru menu boards after customers place their orders, according to Bloomberg. The ads appear during the wait period before customers receive their food, and the pilot is currently confined to company-owned restaurants.
Microsoft has published a patent application titled "Contextually Aware Management of Interactive Software Application Access," describing a system that uses signals from a game engine to insert ads at natural pause points like boss fights, loading screens, or cutscene transitions. The system would display a video or static ad and reset a timer before searching for the next opportunity to interrupt gameplay. Microsoft has not confirmed whether or when this system will be implemented in actual games.
An anonymous online investigator known as The Profiler has taken up the task of identifying and exposing fraudulent recruitment schemes and fake job postings. The individual works to warn job seekers before they fall victim to scams designed to steal money or personal information.
A newly launched website aggregates USDA data to publish daily updates on US food prices, following the supply chain from farm gate to retail advertisements. The tracker updates every business day, with its latest report dated September 18, 2026.
Teatre Raval in Barcelona had its Instagram and Facebook ads for a stage adaptation of Virginia Woolf's essay rejected by Meta, which classified the promotion under 'social topics' due to references to feminism and civil rights. Meta suggested the theatre strip out certain keywords to avoid the automatic filter, but the venue refused and publicly protested the restriction. The production, a one-woman show performed by Clara Sanchis, is based on Woolf's 1928 lectures on women and education.
A growing number of TikTok creators are being paid by brands to produce content that mimics organic user videos while hiding its promotional nature, according to reporting from The Wall Street Journal. Creators like Ceci Beck and Brooks Langford say they earn between $1,000 and $6,000 a month from this work, and one campaign manager reportedly told a creator to deny that a video was sponsored when asked directly.
Disney+ amended its Subscriber Agreement in January 2025 to allow advertisements to appear even on plans marketed as "no ads" or "ad-free." Section 2(k) of the new agreement carves out exceptions where ads can run due to streaming rights restrictions, live events, or other limitations, despite the premium tier's original all-ad-free marketing.
Israeli lawmakers are increasingly enlisting artificial intelligence specialists to shape campaign strategy, including efforts to influence how chatbots respond to political queries. Campaigns are also producing AI-generated advertisements at a pace that outstrips the ability of election regulators to review or control them.
Governor Gavin Newsom has signed AB 1130, a law that adds real penalties—fines up to $5,000 per violation and possible misdemeanor referrals—for social media influencers who fail to disclose being paid to promote political content. California previously required such disclosures but had no enforcement mechanism when influencers ignored the rule. The bill follows reports that billionaire Tom Steyer paid numerous influencers during his failed gubernatorial bid, many of whom didn't initially reveal the payments.
A 9-year-old known online as MightyMikePLays67 racked up $118,000 in YouTube ad charges on his father's company credit card while promoting his Minecraft channel. His father Dave lost his job as a result and must repay the bill within 30 days, prompting the family to consider selling their home.
An advertising firm ran a test challenging consumers to distinguish AI-generated ads from human-made ones in a side-by-side lineup. The results showed that 83% of participants were unable to correctly identify which ad was AI-generated.
A man identified as Dave says his 9-year-old son unknowingly spent $118,000 on YouTube ad campaigns promoting his Minecraft and Roblox gameplay videos over roughly three weeks. The charges went through a company credit card Dave had saved to a Google account shared with his son, after he had shown the boy how to run a small $20 promotion. Some of the promoted videos gained hundreds of thousands of views before finance staff flagged the spending.