Around the World: Zuckerberg grilled at trial

Media expert Antony Young rounds up media news from beyond Aotearoa in a regular column for StopPress.

This week:

• Zuckerberg faces allegations that the Meta platforms are designed to be addictive.
• UK agencies recorded their biggest staff exodus in 2025, with 14% of jobs lost to AI.
• Court rules on “boneless wings”.
• Brand ditch couple cliches and celebrate romance reality for Valentines Day 2026.
• Dove builds campaign from Reddit reviews.
• Google introduces AI advertising.

Zuckerberg gets grilled at trial

Mark Zuckerberg’s much-watched courtroom appearance sees him answering child-safety questions in front of a jury, facing allegations that the Meta platforms are intentionally designed to be addictive.

The bellwether trial itself stems from K.G.M., a 20-year-old Californian who sued YouTube, TikTok, Snap and Meta in 2023, alleging their products were engineered for compulsive use. 

Her claim is that they have fueled her body dysmorphia, anxiety and depression. She has since settled with Snap and TikTok. Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri testified earlier that Instagram isn’t “clinically addictive,” though he conceded overuse can still cause harm. On the stand, Zuckerberg kept answers tight, pushed back on questions as out-of-context or based on “decade-old” documents.

Outside, a crowd of parents and child-safety advocates gathered as a reminder that this fight is now as much about public trust as it is about legal liability.  For a cleaner explainer on the legal case being brought, Tech Policy Press lays out how plaintiffs are trying to sidestep Section 230 by targeting “addictive design” (think infinite scroll/autoplay) and why a win could force product changes across the industry.  

AI shreds 14% of UK creative agency jobs in 2025

UK creative ad agencies recorded their biggest annual staff exodus on record in 2025. Headcount dropped more than 14% to 24,963, a fall of over 2,000 roles in creative shops alone as AI tools accelerate cost-cutting and reshape workflows.

The decline hit younger workers hardest, with under-25 roles down 19%. The industry has seen graduate hiring slumping sharply and advertised jobs across the industry fall 41%. The IPA warned that nearly a quarter of agencies expect AI-driven job cuts this year, triple the proportion from 2025, raising concerns about long-term capability as automation reshapes skills.

Industry leaders are split: some argue agencies are wrongly treating AI as a blunt efficiency tool rather than a creative co-pilot, while holding groups like WPP which is restructuring its creative brands face mounting pressure to adapt. Brutal.

Court rules on boneless wings

A judge has ruled that Buffalo Wild Wings can carry on calling their reconstituted chicken nuggets “boneless wings.” The lawsuit, filed by Illinois resident Aimen Halim, claimed that Buffalo Wild Wings had misled him with its boneless wings, which, in his eyes, weren’t wings at all.

The judge, however, tossed his complaint, saying that Halim’s claim had “no meat on its bones.” Halim had previously lost cases against Hefty trash bags and Kind granola for similarly misleading labels.   

Love actually

For Valentine’s Day this year, brands ditched couple clichés and leaned into something far more relatable: romance reality. JC Penney led the charge with a campaign that acknowledged the messiness of modern love with it’s Valentine’s “Ex-Change” event. 

The department store employed Love Island USA contestant Amaya Espinal to invite its Gen Z customers to swap old jewellery from exes for something new. The retailer wonderfully flipped the script, celebrating love that didn’t last and offering singles a playful payoff on a day that often sidelines them.

DoorDash followed suit, spotlighting the everyday truth that Valentine’s often looks less like candlelit perfection and more like last-minute plans, comfort food and staying in. These campaigns signalled a growing shift of brands betting that humour and a bit of realism cut through better with consumers. 

Dove hands the mic to Reddit reviewers

Dove took a bold step with “r/eal reviews,” a campaign built entirely from unedited Reddit commentary about its Intensive Repair 10-in-1 Serum Mask. The first 50 reviews good, bad and neutral are published exactly as written, with no brand spin, reflecting a refeshing step toward unvarnished transparency, in a category traditionally flooeded with polished influencer endorsements.

Backed by a decade of R&D, Dove says confidence in the product’s performance made the reputational risk worthwhile, with Reddit chosen for its culture of anonymous, candid feedback. The campaign launched via a New York pop-up featuring oversized product mockups printed with the raw reviews, and has since rolled out across OOH, digital and experiential channels. 

Much of the buzz focused not just on the mask, but on Dove’s willingness to leave critical comments untouched.

Google introduces its AI advertising 

Google is rolling out Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP) powered checkout directly inside AI Mode. It lets US shoppers go from traditional search discovery about a product enquiry or need to serving retailer ads so they may purchase without leaving the AI experience in Search AI Mode and the Gemini app.

The first live examples are appearing for products from Etsy and Wayfair, where users see a sponsored ad with a “Buy” button and can complete checkout within the AI interface. Google says Shopify, Target and Walmart are coming next, positioning UCP as the rails for more seamless, “agentic” commerce experiences that extend beyond retail.

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