The weekly feed. Social trends, news, viral videos, and culture. October 5th.

Welcome to The Weekly Feed.

This report is packed with the latest social platform news, pop culture moments, and brand wins you need to know. Go ahead and get click-happy, send it to your work bestie, and use these trends to inspire your brand's next move.

Discourse & Discussion

High-stakes social discourse.

Feeds across all major platforms (TikTok, Instagram, X) have been unified by widespread coverage surrounding the Cornell University group chat lawsuit. The issue has sparked a massive viral solidarity movement centered around the hashtag #IAmJaneDoe, drawing comparisons to the #MeToo movement as users share personal accounts, reaction videos, and public commentary.

Tips for brands:

• Feed Context & Hyper-Vigilance: While pausing brand social channels during every heavy news cycle is no longer practical, heightened sensitivity around positioning is essential. Brands must evaluate how organic posts, promotional launches, or campaign ads will look when placed directly alongside heavy news or personal survivor accounts. Focus on ensuring every piece of content provides genuine value or positive utility rather than tone-deaf noise.
• Creator Vetting & Bystander Accountability: Influencers across diverse niches (including creators like HenryHenryHenry, Isaac Rochelle, Becca Bloom) are proactively speaking out on bystander accountability regarding the incident. As creators take positions on broader social issues without prompting, brand-creator alignment requires deeper evaluation. Brands should prepare internal protocols and client guidelines regarding creator stances on sensitive topics, as creator participation directly impacts brand perception.

Feed saturation of AI-generated content & creator recreations.

Beyond societal discourse, users are experiencing noticeable shifts in content delivery driven by artificial intelligence. Feeds are seeing an influx of AI-generated vertical micro-dramas (short-form episodic series) as well as accounts deploying AI-recreated digital avatars based on real individuals (e.g., accounts like Leopold Delarue and Jean Philanthrope).

This high density of synthetic media is contributing to audience scrolling fatigue and a perceived decline in content authenticity.

Tips for brands:

• The Value of Human Authenticity: As synthetic and automated content increases across platforms, audience appetite for real, human-centered brand storytelling grows.
• Prioritize Organic Engagement: To stand out in AI-heavy feeds, brands should lean into direct community engagement, transparent communications, and humanized brand voices to build trust and cut through automated content.

Trends

• The new ASMR is wax cracking ASMR.
• Turning your mom into you.
• The Newton's Cradle song from SNL is slowly gaining traction. 
• I'm making a bold prediction right now that Fugglers are the next big kids toy like Labubus.
• Since Yung Lean's performance at the Grammy's everyone is trying the Yung Lean dance.

Viral Vids

• This is exactly what IRL colors of the wind feels like.
• I might make this toy ASAP.  
• Zara Larsson really is the most unhinged.
• This very excited child.
• Okay but why is this plane so high up?
• Who is this man on the couch?
• This very surprising bathroom.
• Did you ever wonder what Delilah thought about her song? 

Platform News

• More about AI, but Instagram launched an AI tool that could help analyze and suggest how to make new or different or better content. Will be interesting to test this out. 
• Threads is playing around with more visual ways to repost or quote posts.
• In line with other platforms, YouTube is tightening up it's Shorts algorithm to crack down on reposted, unoriginal content.

Music / Movies / TV

• Olivia Rodrigo opened her tour last weekend with some incredible stage design, and a melting dress.
• Hilary Duff wrote and dropped a single for the new Cat In The Hat Movie. 
• Lil Nas X also dropped his first single as a short film since returning from intense therapy and rehab.
• Pitbull is dropping new music with more collabs than a brand does in a year. Do I see Bon Jovi on there?!?!
• Hudson Williams in his first post Heated Rivalry role—the horror film Yaga.
• Every year we have to sacrifice a celebrity to become Santa Claus. This year, it's Arnold.
• The Rehearsal and Nathan Fielder actually helped a pilot mental health bill become law.
• Director of Nosferatu, Robert Eggers new movie Wewulf finally has a trailer (definitely could see memes made out of this one). 
• We've got our first look at the singles from Love Is Blind Boston.
• We're getting a new Sesame Street feature film.
• We're also getting a Fast & Furious tv series. I assume because they ran out of movie names that tie to numbers. 
• Popcorn buckets continue to be all the rage when it comes to a new movie and this one is for all of the "bookish" girlies.

Sports & Gaming

• Retired coach Mike Tomlin revealed his Minecraft City to the internet this weekend that he spent 12 years building with his kids. And players are loving it. 
• Legendary pitcher Justin Verlander retired this weekend and was greeted at the mound by his family. 
• Have you heard about the Man City cheating scandal!?
• The WNBA Awards happened and queen Angel Reese is the Defensive Player of the Year (DOPTY).

Celebrity

• Semi-celebrity adjacent, but a new Nepo Baby filled Social Series is about to drop next week directed by one of the Nights Shyamalan! 
• Everyone welcome Tim Meadows to TikTok.
• As I'm writing this, Justin Bieber is currently live on TikTok, and he took to his feed more than ever to promote it.
• Anne Hathaway is officially on maternity leave.

Influencer

• Chicken Shop Date has started it's final run with RoleModel as her first guest.
• GEO IS BACK AND IT'S SPOOKY LAKE MONTHHHHH.
• And in sadder news, ALS influencer Brooke Eby has passed away. She is such a good example of how influencers and social media can truly make a difference. 

Brands

• Lexus X MSCHF.
• Walmart finally has Apple Pay.
• Sesame Street X The Cat In The Hat.
• The Atlanta Zoo officially has Pandas! We've got Pandas again!
• If you are not following the Ramp team and their shenanigans, you're missing out. They put on a full musical with Billy Porter and Billy Zane.
• Chipotle is bringing back margs! But only in select stores on select days... kind of a let down imo. 
• Waffle House x Outkast.
• Chilis with the throwback collection.
• Victoria's Secret is spanning ALL genres with this years fashion show musical acts.
• On x Zendaya and Law Roach.
• Reebok x Off Campus star Belmon Cameli.
• Bark x Liquid Death Cuddle Coffin.
• Taco Bell x Duolingo Global Taco Day limited edition Habanero Sauce—Taco Bell has been really leaning into these limited edition drops lately, something to keep an eye on.
• Buffalo Wild Wings x Buffy.

Coming Soon

• Dakota Johnson is on SNL this weekend with Turnstile. Her episodes have historically been fairly weak, so it'll be interesting to see if anything comes out of it.
• Now that it's October, this year's niche Halloween (or as X and Threads have dubbed it - Gay Halloween) costume ideas are going to be everything (this is my favorite).
• Digger and Verity both release in theaters today—both to verrrrrry mixed reviews. Which usually leads to the most social chatter about how good or how awful a movie is and why the critics are wrong/right.
• It's a big week on TV for all of the long running network shows to start their fall seasons. All the Chicagos, Countrys, and Law and Orders are returning. 
• Matchbox the Movie drops on Apple TV on Friday - I haven't seen a ton of press about this yet, but could ramp up even more this week.

That's all from this week's feed! Until next time.

Xoxo,

Brendan Antonacci, Geli Hornewer, Jordan Warren, Makenna Winner, and myself (Hannah Grubow).

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Turn internet culture into your brand’s biggest advantage. Contact our Chief Marketing & Growth Officer, Brandon Cooke, at bcooke@barkleyokrp.com to start the conversation.