🐤 Do it yourself

Markets: There were some midweek ups and downs on Wall Street, but stocks generally traded in the right direction throughout Wednesday in response to expectation-beating earnings numbers from tech companies like Salesforce and Marvell Technology. All three major indexes finished the day higher.

A sporting chance: Hardcore sports fans will be shelling out money for an ESPN+ subscription no matter what, but the network and its streaming platform want to expand that audience to include those who only sort of care about sports. That’s where a corporate connection to Disney comes into play. Disney+ subscribers recently began displaying ESPN+ content directly on that platform for users who subscribe to both. Plus, dozens of live games are being streamed even to Disney+ subscribers without an ESPN plan. A Disney+/ESPN+/Hulu bundle is $16.99 per month.

Tragic ending: The head of America’s largest health insurer was reportedly gunned down this week in an incident that could have been a planned attack. A masked gunman could reportedly be seen escaping the scene via bicycle after shooting UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson on Wednesday morning in Midtown Manhattan. The company recently made headlines after a ransomware attack resulted in the personal data of more than 100 million people being compromised. Police are offering a cash reward for information about the incident.

Social fundraising: Raising awareness and collecting cash for charitable causes is about to get easier for TikTok users. In collaboration with a financial management company called Goodstack, the social media app is going to be releasing several new tools allowing TikTokers to directly host fundraisers for a number of verified organizations. Those campaigns can be individualized to match the personal tone and style of each creator. Customized titles, images, stickers, goals, backgrounds, and descriptions will make each fundraiser unique.

Frigid forecast: Multiple regions of the United States are bracing for the impact of some serious winter storms. Current projections indicate that much of the South could experience some of the lowest temperatures on record over the next few days. In New England and across the Midwest, extreme winds and blizzards are likely to continue. After snow has blanketed many areas already this week, meteorologists are urging the millions of Americans affected by the ongoing winter weather to stay updated and remain cautious.

Although the potential benefits of rapidly advancing artificial intelligence are certainly worth consideration, concerns about the use of such tools — particularly in high-stakes professions — don’t seem to be subsiding.

That brings us to the recent case of Jeff Hancock, an expert in misinformation who founded the Stanford Social Media Lab.

ChatGPT hallucinates again

AI chatbots can access an unimaginable amount of data in fractions of a second and produce generally precise and coherent responses to just about any query. But once in a while, a few wires get crossed and the algorithm produces something patently false, if not offensive or dangerous.

And when authoritative figures use AI to speed up or automate parts of their research, those so-called “hallucinations” can cause big problems.

Hancock found that out when a review of a recent legal document he submitted in Minnesota determined that some of the supposed facts therein were entirely fictional.

Attorneys on the other side of the case brought up the fabricated citations and insisted that the “unreliable” affidavit be stricken from the record.

The devil is in the details

Given Hancock’s field of expertise, the presence of AI-generated misinformation in his own affidavit drew particularly swift backlash.

Amid mounting pressure, he ultimately admitted the declaration he submitted as his own had been partially drafted by ChatGPT … but he went on to offer some context in hopes of salvaging his credibility.

“I wrote and reviewed the substance of the declaration, and I stand firmly behind each of the claims made in it, all of which are supported by the most recent scholarly research in the field and reflect my opinion as an expert regarding the impact of AI technology on misinformation and its societal effects.”

If you’ve been listening to Spotify for a while, you’re probably already familiar with its year-end recap, Wrapped, which has fueled significant social media activity and prompted a few of its top rivals to launch their own copycat features.

This year, fans were starting to get restless since Spotify Wrapped had previously debuted a little earlier. But the 2024 edition finally surfaced on Wednesday, and we now know a lot more about Americans’ listening habits.

It’s Taylor’s year (again)

For the second straight year, pop superstar Taylor Swift claimed the most-played artist title. So far this year, her songs have racked up a whopping 26.6 billion streams this year.

While Swift’s spot at the top might not come as a surprise to anyone, some of the other artists who made a splash in 2024 might.

Rounding out the global top five are:

• The Weeknd
• Bad Bunny
• Drake
• Billie Eilish

Looking only at U.S. trends, the top five again starts with Swift, with Drake, Zach Bryan, Morgan Wallen, and Kanye West following, in order.

Other interesting trends

This decade began with Bad Bunny’s three-year reign at the top of the most-played list, but Swift moved in, as her name might suggest, to quickly take the crown in 2023. This year’s “The Tortured Poets Department,” which was the year’s most-streamed album, shows she’s poised to continue going strong into 2025.

The remaining top-five albums of the year (globally) were from Billie Eilish, Sabrina Carpenter, Karol G, and Ariana Grande, respectively. Swift also had the top album in the U.S., followed by Morgan Wallen, Sabrina Carpenter, Noah Kahan, and Chappell Roan.

But if you’re looking for more personalized stats, check out your Spotify Wrapped for all sorts of insight into who rocked your year.

Corporations of all types want consumers to see them as environmental advocates while doing as little actual advocacy as possible. This has led to the coining of a term — “greenwashing” — to describe a range of tactics commonly used by businesses to give the public a misleading representation of its eco-friendly policies.

Coca-Cola faces allegations

One of the most notable recent cases involving accusations of greenwashing involves Coca-Cola, which apparently erased an entire pledge to replace 25% of its packaging with reusable materials by 2030.

The company has addressed its plans for the future, but without referencing the discrepancy involving that previous goal. Now, the company is making plans for 2035 and emphasizes ways to “improve water security in high-risk locations, reduce packaging waste, and decrease emissions.”

Of course, the fact that Coca-Cola’s previous goal has now apparently been scrapped, the company might have trouble convincing consumers to buy into its new proposal.

Perhaps it’s better than nothing

While we should reserve judgment where Coca-Cola is involved — after all, we’ve still got six years until the goal is supposed to be reached anyway — but there’s no denying that many companies give into the temptation of greenwashing.

But with increased transparency and scrutiny, many of those cases are being exposed and the responsible parties often see their reputations tarnished. Meanwhile, however, many other good-guy companies are standing out for their legitimate efforts to reduce waste and pollutants.

Coca-Cola issues a response

Amid the recent backlash, Coca-Cola executive Bea Perez offered a prepared statement: “We remain committed to building long-term business resilience and earning our social license to operate through our evolved voluntary environment goals. These challenges are complex and require us to drive more effective and efficient resource allocation and work collaboratively with partners to deliver lasting positive impact.”

Just opened three birthday cards and so far I have $100.

I love being a postman!