TOGETHER WITH

It's Thursday and Google wants photos of your feet (preferably while they’re attached to the rest of you). If you’re willing to snap those shots, the search engine will give you a chance to virtually try on shoes before you buy.

Today’s News

THE BIZ

Gap Inc. just unveiled a creator “affiliate and advocacy” program

The context: Over the past couple years, Gap Inc has increasingly worked with creators to power social-first campaigns promoting its various clothing brands (including Gap, Old Navy, Banana Republic, and Athleta).

One recent hit—“Better in Denim,” which starred girl group KATSEYE—became Gap’s most successful digital campaign to date, going viral on TikTok and bringing in 600+ million views and 8+ billion impressions in a single month. Gap Inc. says that success shows its trademarked approach to branding, “Fashiontainment,” is "resonat[ing] deeply with today’s creators and audiences alike.”

The program: Now, the retail giant is taking its social-first strategy to the next level by introducing a unified hub meant to welcome new creator partners and connect with them on an ongoing basis. That “creator affiliate and advocacy platform” program is open to U.S.-based creators who are over 18 and have at least 1,000 followers on a single account on one social platform—making it uniquely accessible to smaller creators who may otherwise struggle to secure sponsorships with companies of similar esteem.

The other requirement is all qualitative: Gap Inc. Head of Digital Engagement Damon Berger says the company just asks “that you love our brands and products, and you’re excited to share that love with your audience.”

In short, Gap Inc. is looking to democratize the ability for creators to get in with its brands by removing traditional barriers to entry—and it’s offering some attractive incentives, too. Program participants will earn affiliate links with commission, free product, early access to news and promos, invites to brand events, and feature spots on official brand channels.

U.S.-based creators who meet the specified criteria can apply to join Gap’s initiative here.

🌟 SPONSORED 🌟

In December, BRIDGE Summit will bring 400+ expert speakers and 300+ exhibits to Abu Dhabi  

BRIDGE Summit is a first-of-its-kind entertainment and media event, uniting 60,000+ creators, top brands, and industry decision-makers together in one space. 

From December 8-10, the Abu Dhabi-based event will join forces with leading platforms—including LinkedIn and Epidemic Sound—to offer unprecedented business connections, industry masterclasses, policy-making roundtables, and matchmaking.

A strategic partnership with Meta will bring additional opportunities to BRIDGE Summit, from thought-leadership sessions to interactive activations powered by AR/VR, behavioural data analysis, and more. 

With seven tracks, BRIDGE Summit is where the future of media meets power, policy, and capital.

Which content track will you choose?

1. Media: From breaking news to algorithms, discover how information moves.
   
   

2. Creator Economy: Find out what happens when one person becomes a brand.
   
   

3. Music: What happens when culture sounds like business?
   
   

4. Tech: Meet the innovators shaping what’s next in tech.
   
   

5. Marketing: Everyone’s selling something—from brands to politicians.
   
   

6. Gaming: Plug into the new global language.
   
   

7. Picture: Where ideas become moving worlds in film, production, animation, and everything behind the lens.

Hit the link below to snag your ticket—and find out why they call BRIDGE Summit “a landmark gathering that will unite media professionals, policymakers, cultural creators, and global influencers.”

HEADLINES IN BRIEF 📰

• Discord says it has “identified approximately 70,000 users that may have had government-ID photos exposed” as part of a recent data breach. (The Verge)
  
  

• New York City is suing Meta, Snap TikTok and YouTube over claims that the platforms’ algorithms have contributed to the "youth mental health crisis.” (Engadget)
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• Data from Appfigures shows that Sora has now surpassed ChatGPT in terms of the number of downloads recorded during the app’s first week on the market. (TechCrunch)
  
  

• Former Twitter executives Parag Agrawal, Ned Segal, Vijaya Gadde, and Sean Edgett have agreed to settle with Elon Musk one year after filing a $128 million lawsuit over unpaid severance benefits. (Engadget)

COURT OF LAW

Epic is suing two game devs after paying them for alleged fake engagement

The context: As Epic Games continues to expand monetization opportunities, it’s taking an aggressive stance against creators who fluff their engagement numbers. The Fortnite maker has filed suit against two game developers who allegedly used bots to boost their Islands’ traffic.

For context, Epic allows devs of all sizes to use its game creation engine, Unreal Editor for Fortnite, to make their own digital destinations within the Fortnite platform. Other players can then visit these destinations (or Islands) to do things like explore the landscape and play minigames. Epic pays Island creators per month based on how much engagement their digital hubs generate—and that system is at the crux of its latest lawsuit.

The lawsuit: Epic says two devs, Michigan-based Idris Nahdi and Ayob Nasser, created over 20,000 fake bot accounts and sent them off to each other’s Islands, artificially inflating engagement stats. Between them, they had 10 active Islands. The bots were not deployed to any other Islands—just each other’s. That falsified engagement resulted in Epic paying the duo “tens of thousands of dollars” for traffic that was not real, the suit alleges.

Epic says that over 80% of the engagement on Nahdi and Nasser’s Islands was fake, rising up to 99% at times. Its official claims are breach of contract, copyright infringement, and fraud. The suit aims to recover what Epic paid for the alleged fake engagement, plus damages, and asks the judge to permaban Nahdi and Nasser from Fortnite and every other Epic Games IP/server.

Epic has been litigious before, so we’re not surprised by this turn of events—but in this case, the publisher’s suit suggests that it will be keeping a close eye on devs as it prepares to introduce the ability for creators to sell digital items this coming December.

WATCH THIS 📺

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are tackling a new villain: AI copyright infringement

Heroes in a half-shell: A new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles short is headed to theaters—and this time, the half-shelled heroes are fighting the evils of AI slop. A recent YouTube trailer offers fans a sneak peek at the short film, which follows Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael, and Michelangelo as they embark on a holiday shopping trip.

While Donatello consults ChatGPT for gift ideas early on, it doesn’t take long for the turtles to encounter a seemingly AI-powered toy commercial that rips off the TMNT IP.

Can New York’s most heroic reptiles solve the crisis of copyright infringement in the AI age?

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Today's newsletter is from: Emily Burton, Drew Baldwin, Sam Gutelle, and Josh Cohen.