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Mass AI-generated content has overwhelmed our social feeds, and that has set a sense of panic among PR leaders. Brand communications were tricky earlier, but this has been exasperated even further by AI content. Audiences have been left confused, whether it be not being able to differentiate between real and fake personalities online or fake statements being circulated to mislead audiences. This has kept leadership wondering how they can cut through and impact their target audiences who are, at the moment, overstimulated with AI-driven content.

We analysed 30M data points between 1st January 2025 - 12th August 2025 globally on social and mainstream media like X, Forums, Online news, LinkedIn, TikTok, Instagram and Facebook. We looked at real world cases of how audiences have been misled to believe something is real, and how this started a domino effect on the content being consumed by the world today.

The rise of synthetic content outranks fact-checkers by a mile

Synthetic media has taken over the internet and audience feeds have been flooded with unrelated and unreliable AI content. What's important to note is that, with mass AI content, unreliability can lead to getting into a dangerous spiral of consuming nonsensical content that does not benefit anybody. As a result, audiences have started to defend the content they see by wanting to only subscribe to what conforms with their expectations. With a decline in the number of fact-checkers, misinformation and disinformation have become rampant.

Virtual influencers are creeping in on social media feeds

Mia Zelu, a virtual influencer, grew popular during this year's Wimbledon. On her Instagram, she had uploaded a photo carousel that looked like she was physically there at the All England Club enjoying a drink. At first, she seemed real, but the media and audiences quickly questioned it. She posted the images in July of this year during the tournament with a caption, but was quick to disable her comment section adding to the mystery and debate. There was a lot of online backlash with audiences clearly frustrated with how easily deceiving this could be. Despite the backlash, her follower count grew and her account now has about 168k followers.

The conversations around AI influencers is only just beginning and raises serious questions on authenticity, digital consumption and how AI personas can truly affect audience perceptions - without truly existing.

AI means brands are operating in a space of reduced trust

According to the AI Marketing Benchmark Report 2024, the trust deficit directly impacts brand communications strategies, as 36.7% of marketers worry about the authenticity of AI-driven content, while 71% of consumers admit they struggle to trust what they see or hear because of AI.

Audiences are not rejecting AI outright, but the opacity around it could be dangerous, making their confidence in AI as a tool shaky. This is where PR leaders need to make authentic communication a necessity and not just a "nice-to-have". In times where audiences are doubting whether a message was written by a human or a machine, the value of genuine and sincere human-driven storytelling rises.

Real-world instances where AI as a tool misses

Scepticism towards AI doesn’t just come from high-profile controversies. It shows up in small, everyday moments that frustrate audiences and remind them how fragile trust can be.

• Grok’s image blunder: A widely shared photo of a young girl begging for food in Gaza was wrongly tagged by Grok as being from Iraq in 2004. The mistake spread quickly across platforms, fuelling anger about misinformation and raising questions about the reliability of AI tools.
• McDonald’s drive-thru glitch: A customer in the US posted a TikTok showing how AI at a drive-thru added nine extra sweet teas to her order. The error caused by crosstalk from another lane, might seem trivial, but it highlights how automation can fail at simple tasks and how easily those failures go viral when shared online.
• Air Canada chatbot case: A customer seeking information about bereavement fares was misled by the airline’s chatbot. When the company was asked to explain this, they claimed the chatbot was “responsible for its own actions.” A Canadian tribunal then, rejected this defence and ordered Air Canada to compensate the passenger. The incident drew widespread coverage, reinforcing public concerns that businesses are over-relying on AI without accountability.

Audiences expect to consume "more real and less fake"

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Interested in learning how Isentia can help? Fill in your details below to access the full Authenticity Report 2025 that uncovers cues for measuring brand and stakeholder authenticity.

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Media's Lens: Framing the FIFA Women's World Cup Narrative

The FIFA Women's World Cup has taken centre stage as well as global communication strategies, drawing global attention as the media employs key themes to shape perceptions and illuminate the tournament's core values. From Viewing & Enjoying to Women in Sports, Rankings, Cultural Inclusivity and Representation, Marketing and Advertising, Community and Economy, these themes underscore the event's significance, lofty ambitions, and the collective aspiration for soccer's unifying power. 

The media focuses on the excitement surrounding the game, not only because it echoes fans' optimistic expectations for the future of women's sports but also because this is entertainment with genuine fandoms. This strategic coverage not only provides professional athletes with a global platform to broadcast their values to the world but also weaves the Women's World Cup narrative into a vibrant tapestry of empowerment, inspiration, and unity, establishing an influential precedent for the evolution of women's sports.

Studying how news media engage viewers provides insights for organisations aligning their messaging with audience expectations. While WWC promotes women in sports, news media prioritise entertainment and women athletes. A tournament, usually hosted in inconvenient time zones, excites Australian and New Zealand non-sports and sports fans alike, emphasising the value of a localised global platform backed by the media. 

Media trends drive organisations to adjust communication strategies. It signals organisations/brands to re-strategise their communications strategy when they observe media and viewer trends and their flow-on effects. For example, media coverage of the cup, focusing on its  entertainment value rather than gender, and reporting on ratings, excitement, and atmosphere, demonstrates to organisations that it is a worthwhile channel to invest in and align their communications with.

Brand Strategies: Engaging Audiences Amidst the Soccer Spectacle

As the FIFA Women's World Cup captivates global attention, it becomes an arena for strategic brand engagement. Our friends at Pulsar provided key audience intelligence insights, helping us bridge the gap between news coverage and audience engagement. The tournament serves as a stage for brands to showcase their commitment to women's sports and connect with passionate fans on a deeper level with their messaging. Among these, a select few stand out, employing unique strategies, like broadcast presence, social engagement and news pickups, to drive forward their values while resonating with WWC’s diverse audience segments. These organisations took advantage of a phenomenon with broad appeal and positioned themselves to represent the themes driven by news media.

McDonald's and Social Engagement – Empowering Fan Participation and Interaction

McDonald's turns its spaces into soccer havens, fostering community engagement through earned content using social media ops and iconic backdrops. Macca's All Stars and personalised collectible cards connect fans, while initiatives like Macca’s Swings infuse playfulness. The Panini Football Stickers Happy Meal celebrates women's football by building fan dream teams. 

Lays and Broadcast Presence – Amplifying the Thrill of the Game

With the biggest investment in TV ads for women's sports, Lay's "Taste of Greatness" commercial marks a historic partnership, fueling the excitement of the game. The #LaysGOALdenGiveaway transforms goals into winning opportunities, while the Ultimate Watch Parties and Fan Quest showcase the lively fan culture, bringing supporters together. Lay's top investment in women's sports aligns with how news media and audiences perceive women's sporting events.

Google Pixel and News Pickup – Highlighting Visibility and Advocating Equality

Google Pixel amplifies visibility with the "unblur" function and the campaign message of seeing individual players' diverse stories, thus advocating for gender equality. Partnerships with football associations and players empower Pixel FC members, while the advanced camera and AI technology enhance fan experiences, uniting fans on and off the field.

By exploring these communication strategies, we discover how the FIFA Women’s World Cup goes beyond being just a sporting event. It becomes a symbol of unity, inspiration, and a demonstration of the messages that resonate with audiences.

Sam Kerr: Icon of the Game and Her Diverse Fan Base

Sam Kerr's journey from aspiring athlete to global sensation exemplifies her exceptional talent and unwavering work ethic. Her iconic status isn't solely due to athleticism; Sam Kerr's genuine authenticity and relatable qualities forge connections with diverse supporters, as seen in the primary fan segments listed above. Her public image highlights how news coverage prioritises entertainment, appealing to a wider audience rather than just sports fans or those with a pro-women agenda. 

Organisational messaging can use this to bring their purpose to a wider community. This illustrates a profound connection between the themes the news media emphasise and the messaging organisations should strive for, as demonstrated by Sam Kerr's influence.

Sam Kerr's influence spans diverse groups, including young women who are inspired by social influencers like Tanya Burr, dedicated sports fans who admire her tenacity, and the LGBTQIA+ community who identify with her. Understanding the most popular platforms and channels of her audience further indicates where messaging and brand positioning would be most effective, especially for organisations that aim to reflect the diverse fanbase Sam Kerr attracts. Her impact reflects the universal appeal of the Women's World Cup, bringing together people from diverse backgrounds and uniting them around values such as  determination and breaking stereotypes. Sam Kerr's far-reaching impact is a beacon of hope for women's sports. 

Getting off on the right foot with the right communication strategies

The FIFA Women's World Cup goes beyond showcasing soccer prowess, intertwining narratives of athlete popularity, partnership strategies, and media coverage. This exploration delves into Sam Kerr's journey, scrutinises the engagement strategies of major brands, and dissects how the media portrays the Women's World Cup. From Kerr's diverse impact on fans to organisations strategically amplifying their brands amid the tournament's excitement and media highlighting essential themes, a comprehensive picture emerges. This holistic perspective crafts a vibrant narrative of empowerment, unity, and inspiration. 

As PR and communications professionals, these insights emphasise the potential to align brand narratives with a popular ethos, fostering impactful connections and advocacy that resonate within a changing industry and beyond.

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If you would like to learn more about discovering how media intelligence can lead to insights across advertising strategy or the active communities leading specific online conversations using audience intelligence, get in touch with our partners at Pulsar today.

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The beans favoured by Aussies and Kiwis' taste buds and wallets are Woolworths and Coles brands, but not far behind is Lazzio, an Aldi-owned brand, where shoppers are making even more savings, and Nespresso. Nespresso's compact and convenient products are an ideal alternative to cafe-style machines, and the brand utilises sustainability marketing initiatives. But big supermarkets like Coles are making an even more significant impact on buyer trends by providing a reason for them to spend more and stay longer like Coles Express' cafes enabling consumers to drink coffee under the guise of doing their regular grocery shop.  

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Understanding the big-picture narrative requires a comprehensive view of the news and social media landscape. The integration of using Isentia and Pulsar platforms allows us to democratise audience intelligence enabling organisations of all sizes to access and leverage data-driven insights for informed decision-making and achieving their goals.

Discover what audience intelligence can do for your marketing and communications today.

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Undeniably, a common practice people do these days while on social media is to read news shared on their feeds. With more than 2.96 billion active users on Facebook, and millions more on YouTube, Instagram, Twitter and TikTok, social media is now considered an essential platform for news consumption.

News consumption is on the rise on social media platforms, but mistrust is high. So, what is the future of social media as a news source? 

Is social media news the new way?

As users openly share their opinions and participate in online conversations, social media is considered a complex space for mainstream media to navigate. And as such, it’s important for journalists and news organisations to continually find ways to adapt to these more informal spaces, given the time people spend on social networks.

Not only can connecting with a variety of consumers on social media uncover significant opportunities for PR, marketing and comms professionals, it can also enable mainstream media organisations to engage with a wider scope of  audiences.

With resources such as social media intelligence, organisations can gain insights and identify  key influencers. They can monitor  engagement across multiple social media channels and learn about market trends and themes. 

Although social media continues to play an important role in how people access the news, the proportion of users varies from country to country. Social media feeds are full of information and opinions shared by everyday people, activists, politicians and news media outlets. But the level of attention these groups receive can be different across each social network.

The divide on social media news

Due to the naturalisation of social media among users, younger audiences tend to source their news updates from social media. This has caused a generational divide in trust on social platforms between younger and older audiences.

The 2022 Digital News Report found that newer platforms such as TikTok, reach a quarter (24%) of under-35s, with 7% using the platform for news – even more in parts of Asia.

Similarly, 16 per cent of US adults are active on Twitter, with exactly half of those (8%) accessing the news through tweets.

With 21.45 million active social media users in Australia and 4.35 million in New Zealand, it’s no wonder many use social media as their go to for everything from news, entertainment, shopping and messaging.

The 2022 Digital News Report also suggests publishers will be paying less attention to Facebook and Twitter and will instead put more effort into Instagram, TikTok and YouTube. As these platforms are fast becoming the norm for younger generations - spending on average 3 hours per day on social media - they will likely continue to rise, regardless of trusting the chosen network. And as a result, the use of social media as a news source from older generations could further accelerate over time. 

Do we trust it?

Despite 44 per cent of Australian adults reporting they used social networks to keep up to date with news and current affairs, there are still reservations about the legitimacy and authenticity of the news published on social media. Organisations such as Newsguard are exposing the misinformation economy and leading the fight against misinformation across all new sources. 

Social media platforms still have a long way to go to clean up ‘fake news’ and sharing misinformation, however they also have the power to democratise opinion, allowing users to have their say and be heard. 

Meanwhile, polarised debates in social media are making publishers rethink the ways in which journalists should engage on social networks. After concerns about reputational damage, many publishers and news organisations have tightened their social media rules.

Looking ahead

Although social networks spread information faster than any other media, traditional media monitoring will continue to be an important part of a PR and comms strategy. And despite social media’s prevalence increasing in these strategies, it will continue to be a noisy space.

Whether it's a news article, tweet, blog or interview, it’s important to listen for a story that might be brewing. Using a social media intelligence platform will help put PR and comms professionals in control as it provides the launchpad to explore the news, see it in more detail and analyse what is uncovered.

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