TikTok has ascended from social media platform to Nigeria’s primary cultural engine, doubling its user base between 2024 and 2025 to become the country’s largest social platform, with 66% of young Nigerians (aged 18-34) using it regularly and an extraordinary 71% of those accessing it daily. The platform’s perceived authenticity—with 52% of users finding content…
In early 2026, AI-generated caricatures became the first viral trend of the year, flooding Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok with ChatGPT-created cartoons showing users surrounded by symbols of their professions. Users simply uploaded a photo and prompted ChatGPT to create a caricature based on everything it knew about them, generating exaggerated, personalized artwork that millions found…
South African music sensation Tyla made history at the 2026 Grammy Awards by becoming the first artist to win the Best African Music Performance category twice, following her 2024 win for “Water” with her 2026 victory for “Push 2 Start.” The win sparked a transformation in South African home entertainment, where Grammy viewing parties evolved…
In an interview with ABC News that aired in early February 2026, Anthropic co-founder and president Daniela Amodei stated that studying the humanities will be “more important than ever” in the age of AI. Amodei, who majored in literature at UC Santa Cruz before working at Stripe and OpenAI, emphasized that when hiring at Anthropic,…
A landmark trial against social media giants Meta and Google’s YouTube began in January 2026 in Los Angeles Superior Court, marking the first of several high-profile cases that have drawn comparisons to lawsuits against Big Tobacco in the 1990s. The case centers on a 20-year-old identified as KGM, whose lawsuit claims that Meta’s Instagram and…
YouTube CEO Neal Mohan released his annual letter outlining priorities for 2026, positioning creators as the new entertainment industry and declaring that YouTube is the epicenter of culture. More than 1 million channels used YouTube’s AI creation tools daily in December, and the platform plans to introduce features allowing creators to make Shorts using their…
What Now? with Trevor Noah podcast (Apple Podcasts, Spotify)In a February 2026 episode of the What Now? podcast, Emmy-nominated video journalist Cleo Abram joined Trevor Noah and Eugene to discuss her YouTube series “Huge If True,” which takes an optimistic approach to science and emerging technology. The conversation explored how asking “what could go right?”…
At the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research (SIEPR) Fall Policy Forum in November, AI pioneer Fei-Fei Li, known as the “godmother of AI,” called out excessive rhetoric surrounding artificial intelligence, stating “It’s the hyperbole” when asked what disappoints her about AI’s sudden prominence. Key Take away: Li emphasized that while AI promises transformative potential,…
When Ghanaian President John Dramani Mahama arrived in Zambia in February 2026 for a state visit wearing a traditional fugu (smock), some Zambian social media users questioned his fashion choice, with some commenters jokingly referring to the garment as a “blouse.” The comment ignited heated online debate between Ghanaians and Zambians, drawing strong reactions particularly…