Facebook Purchases Popular Meme Platform GIPHY for $400 Million
Say goodbye to internet humour as we know it! On Friday, Facebook Inc (NASDAQ: FB) announced it will be buying Giphy, the popular platform of animated images, mostly of which are funny memes. This acquisition coincides with Facebook’s previously announced plan to introduce an AI which will be able to effectively identify any hateful memes that lurk around on the world wide web.
According to an initial report by Axios, facebook purchased Giphy for a total of $400 million, and plans to add the animated images library to its Instagram platform. Facebook has had its sights set on Giphy for awhile, and even teased a partnership with the company prior to the coronavirus pandemic. However, the primary reason that the social media giant has finally snagged Giphy is most likely because of the shiny dollar signs that will erupt after Giphy is slapped with some new marketing and ad sales.
But wait – this is where it gets really ironic. Earlier this week, Facebook unveiled a new contest which calls for various researchers to compete for a top prize if they successfully invent a new AI that is able to uncover and flag offensive memes. This new Giphy acquisition, along with the potential AI development, really shows how obsessed the social media platform has become with succumbing to any fad demands that the left side of the political spectrum makes.
However, the left’s obsession with eradicating any and all forms of internet hate speech is not going to be an easy task. Most likely the main reason why Facebook unveiled a contest for the development of a new AI for combatting hate speech in the first place, is because it is very difficult to invent a new algorithm that can successfully comprehend internet images the way humans do.
For example, when we laugh at a Carol Baskin meme on the internet, the photoreceptors in our eyes react to both the wording as well as the picture simultaneously. But, algorithms fall short because they can only interpret the picture and the wording separately, rather than together as an entire image. This leads to a significant problem, because the algorithm is not able to distinguish between supposed hate speech and a meme that’s just really funny. As a result of this serious shortcoming, Facebook has accidentally banned a vast number of innocent users from the platform.
Nonetheless, it will be interesting to see how this all plays out. Either we will be bombarded with copious amounts of advertising content next time we scroll for the perfect GIF to express our disdain for political correctness, or we just simply won’t find any good memes at all because they have suddenly disappeared – like Carol Baskin’s ex-husband.
Information for this briefing was found via CNBC and Zero Hedge. The author has no securities or affiliations related to this organization. Not a recommendation to buy or sell. Always do additional research and consult a professional before purchasing a security. The author holds no licenses.
