iWorld
Facebook Watch garners 400mn monthly users
MUMBAI: Three months since the global launch of Facebook Watch, there are already already more than 400 million people monthly and 75 million people daily who spend at least one minute, revealed head of video at Facebook Fidji Simo.
In a blog post looking back at 2018 and looking ahead to 2019, Simo described 2018 as “a big year” for Facebook Watch. “Watch launched to every country around the world, the platform opened to videos from all Pages, and we debuted dozens of Facebook Originals,” he said, adding that Watch also screened live LaLiga football matches in the Indian subcontinent.
According to Simo, on average, these 75 million daily visitors spend more than 20 minutes in Watch. “We’re seeing that people are regularly coming back to catch up on the videos they care about and watching for longer periods of time. In this post, we’re sharing more details on our video strategy and a range of new updates for Watch,” he revealed.
He added that there is a range of video offering available, but Watch is more than just library of videos where people can follow video creators they care about, start conversations about videos with friends, and build communities of fans who share their interests.
As per the reports, Simo said that Facebook was focused on bringing more social experiences to Watch, making it easier to find and watch videos together with friends. “We’re also working to unify the video experience across Facebook. Right now, people can find videos on Facebook in a number of different places — Watch, News Feed, Search, Pages and more — and all of these can feel different. Today we’re sharing that people can now find Watch on more surfaces. In August, we rolled out Watch globally on mobile, and from today, Watch is now available around the world on desktop and on Facebook Lite.”
He revealed that the initial launch of ad breaks was to five countries in August, and it has been focused on rolling out the product over the past few months. “Today we are announcing that Ad Breaks are now available to eligible Pages in 40 countries around the world,” he revealed.
“In 2019, we will continue to expand the ways publishers and creators can make money on Facebook. We’ll bring Ad Breaks to video creators in more countries around the world, and will test new Ad Breaks placements, like in livestreams from gaming creators. We want to bring brand collabs manager to more countries to help match brands and creators for sponsorship deals, and will be expanding our fan subscriptions test. We’re also exploring new opportunities for advertisers. In September, we introduced In-Stream Reserve for premium online video and TV buyers to deliver their ads alongside the highest-quality Watch content, and next year we will continue to provide advertisers with more options to tailor their video ad campaigns and connect with their target audience,” he said.
He advised that moving into 2019, Facebook would continue funding Originals, announcing the renewal of four shows for a second season: Huda Boss, Five Points, Sacred Lies, and Sorry For Your Loss. “These shows all cultivated deeply engaged fan bases who came for the episodes, but stayed for the conversations — and are a great example of what can happen when content and community come together seamlessly,” he suggested, adding that Facebook’s content strategy goes beyond Originals — including licensing, partnerships, and more — so that it could test and learn about new video experiences. “Above all, our strategy is about identifying the type of content that people want to talk about, and helping people have meaningful connections around that content on Facebook,” he said.
iWorld
Sebi takes down 1.2 lakh finfluencer posts, deploys AI Sudarshan
Regulator sharpens digital watch as retail investors face options losses
NEW DELHI: The Securities and Exchange Board of India has pulled down more than 1.2 lakh misleading social media posts shared by unregistered financial influencers, tightening its grip on the fast-growing but often murky world of online investment advice.
Speaking to ANI, Sebi chairman Tuhin Kanta Pandey said the regulator acted against content that crossed the line from financial education into outright misdirection.
“We have removed more than 120,000 such pieces of content where we found egregious behaviour violating our norms,” Pandey said, underlining that only Sebi-registered entities are allowed to offer investment advice.
Registration, he explained, is not a mere formality. It comes with clear do’s and don’ts designed to protect investors. While individuals are free to share opinions and educate audiences under the right to freedom of expression, Sebi steps in when advice strays into misleading territory.
The watchdog is not relying on manual policing alone. It has rolled out an in-house artificial intelligence tool called ‘Sudarshan’, capable of scanning multilingual audio, video and text content to detect violations across platforms. The name is fitting. In mythology, Sudarshan is a spinning weapon. In this case, it slices through dubious digital claims.
Pandey said social media platforms have cooperated with takedown orders, reinforcing Sebi’s authority to demand removal of offending content.
The regulator’s sharper focus comes amid a surge in retail participation in derivatives trading, particularly options, in the post-Covid period. According to Pandey, many small investors were swayed by online narratives promising easy money.
Sebi responded by publishing data showing substantial collective losses and by introducing statutory warnings. Now, whenever investors trade in options, a pop-up cautions that nine out of ten investors lose money, a stark reminder modelled on health warnings seen elsewhere.
Pandey described regulation as a calibrated exercise rather than a blunt-force operation. Market development, he said, requires precision. “It is not about a sledgehammer approach but more like a surgeon’s knife, identifying problem areas and dealing with them.”
Calling the past year “a year of reform”, the Sebi chief said the regulator’s goal remains balanced oversight, ensuring markets are neither choked by over-regulation nor left exposed by too little scrutiny.
For India’s growing tribe of retail investors, the message is simple. Scroll carefully, trust cautiously and remember that in markets, if something sounds too good to be true, it often is.
