Meta Earnings & AI Push: Meta shares slid nearly 9% after a mixed Q2—revenue beat, but a $2.4B legal charge and $1.18B severance cost investors confidence as Zuckerberg teases new AI monetization beyond ads. Privacy & Ad Tech Scrutiny: The FTC sued telehealth firm Hims & Hers, alleging it shared sensitive user data with ad platforms like Meta and Snap while marketing privacy promises—another reminder that ad targeting and health data don’t mix. Political Ads Go Deceptive-GenAI: Lawmakers move to ban deceptive AI political ads, as campaigns increasingly use AI-generated messaging and deepfakes to influence elections. Brand Safety in AI Search: Peec AI expanded monitoring to Mistral, tracking brand visibility across 10+ LLMs—marketers want share-of-voice in generative answers, not just classic search. Sports Sponsorship Tensions: Portugal and UEFA back a FIFA boycott threat over private-investor plans for tournament commercial control, putting sponsorship and ad inventory politics front and center. Local Campaign Spend Transparency: Rhode Island’s AG primary TV ad race heats up with new commercials, while other races show how quickly airtime can shift once early voting begins.