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Generative AI is everywhere now. You see it in content, campaigns, customer experiences, and even internal workflows. It promises speed, scale, and efficiency, but there’s a harder question sitting underneath all that progress; Do your audiences actually trust it?

Trust in the Age of AI: What Consumers Really Think About AI Generated Content

Today, PR teams aren’t just tracking media coverage and share of voice. They’re also measuring how their brand shows up in AI-generated answers, search summaries, and large language models (LLMs). This new LLM visibility layer is quickly becoming a critical part of PR performance.

15 Must-Have PR KPIs and How to Track Them

See how one platform can power every decision across PR, communications, and marketing.

The Meltwater Blog

Blog Topics: Generative Engine Optimization, Media Intelligence, Media Relations, Social Listening, Consumer Intelligence, Influencer Marketing

Find out how you can leverage Facebook to boost your brand's online presence and gain a competitive edge. Explore the Meltwater category page today!

Facebook Blog | Meltwater

Find out how you can leverage Instagram to boost your brand's visual appeal and gain a competitive edge. Explore our category page today!

Instagram Blog | Meltwater

Find out how you can leverage LinkedIN to grow your professional network and gain a competitive edge. Explore the Meltwater category page today!

LinkedIn Blog | Meltwater

Find out how you can leverage TikTok to elevate your brand with creative content and gain a competitive edge. Explore the Meltwater category page today!

TikTok Blog | Meltwater

Find out how you can leverage X / Twitter to engage your audience effectively and gain a competitive edge. Explore the Meltwater category page today!

X / Twitter Blog | Meltwater

Find out how you can leverage YouTube to create engaging video content and gain a competitive edge. Explore the Meltwater category page today!

YouTube Blog | Meltwater

Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) is transforming how brands show up in AI-powered search. Explore insights, strategies, and best practices to help your content rank and resonate across conversational engines like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Copilot.

Explore insights and strategies for Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) to help your brand stay visible and discoverable in AI-powered search.

Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) Blog Collection | Meltwater

Every day billions of conversations take place on social media: tweets, posts, comments, blogs, reviews, podcasts, and much more.
Learn how to use social listening to make sense of all of that data.

On our social listening category page, you find all our blogs covering topics around social listening and social media monitoring. Read more.

Social Listening Blogs | Category

Business Reputation Management: What does it take to add reputation management to your marketing strategy? More importantly, how do you keep your reputation sparkly and shiny? Here’s your all-access guide to online reputation management for the long term.

On our reputation management category page, you find all our blogs covering topics around business reputation management. Read more.

Reputation Management Blogs | Category

From your brand's logo to your website, your social media presence to your customer support—these elements combined are what constitutes a brand in the minds of customers. But, there are thousands of other businesses that have a logo, website, social media presence, and website. So, how can you position your business on the market and make it stand out from the competition?
The key to success is branding & brand management!

On our brand management category page, you find all our blogs covering topics around brand management. Build your strategy and reach your goals!

Brand Management Blogs | Category

Competitive intelligence and the act of collecting competitive data can be seen as growth drivers for a company. Our guide will help you understand the concept of competitive intelligence (CI) by answering questions such as: What is the definition of competitive intelligence? How is competitive intelligence useful to organizations? What is the goal of competitive intelligence? And more.

On our competitive intelligence category page, you find all our blogs covering topics around competitive intelligence. Learn how to stay ahead.

Competitive Intelligence Blogs | Category

Let’s dive into the customer journey framework and how to optimize the process by creating a customer journey map and using metrics that matter when analyzing the customer journey.

On our customer journey category page, you find all our blogs covering topics around mapping and understanding the customer journey.

Customer Journey Blogs | Category

What Is Data Analytics? [Beginner’s Guide 2023]
How can I grow my business? 
How do customers interact with my newly launched product?
How do I increase the productivity of my employees?
How do I know if my marketing efforts are working?
We have just two words for you...Data analytics!

On our data analytics category page, you find all our blogs covering topics around AI and data analytics. Technical and still easy to understand.

AI & Data Analytics Blogs | Category

Public relations and media relations can add impact to any marketing strategy. It’s an opportunity for brands to grow their reach beyond traditional sales messages. PR helps to shape the image you want people to have of your brand.
So, what is PR and how do you use it? This guide shows you everything you need to know to build a strong public relations foundation.

On our public relations (PR) category page, you find all our blogs covering public relations and communications topics. Step up your PR game.

Public Relations (PR) Blogs | Category

We all know exactly what the roles of sales or accounting are in a company, right? We might even have a slight idea of what the IT guys are doing.
But there is another business discipline, that plays a crucial role in organizations, even more so during the pandemic – internal communications!
But what exactly do we mean by that, what purpose does it serve and what steps can you take to ensure you and your employees will communicate effectively?

On our internal communications category page, you find all our blogs about internal comms topics. Learn about the intranet, internal newsletters, and more.

Internal Communications Blogs | Category

As the internet has taken root in more areas of our lives — everything from entertainment to shopping to paying bills and more — traditional marketing is becoming less impactful. As any marketer knows, you need to focus on where your audience is if you want to reach them. Since the average person spends about seven hours a day online, it’s no surprise that content has maintained its hold on marketers.

Here's a closer look at what content marketing is and why it matters more than ever in our digital-first economy.

On our content marketing category page, you find blogs about content marketing topics. Learn about strategies, KPIs, tips, and more. Make your content king!

Content Marketing Blogs | Category

The rise of the influencer marketing space – today a $10 billion industry, growing 50% per year – is one of the clearest examples of how social media is transforming traditional marketing. These days having a business website, presence on social, PR coverage, and your own content isn’t enough to compete.
We'll dive into the intricacies of influencer marketing to help ensure that you're equipped with the insights needed to be successful in this space.

On our influencer marketing category page, you find blogs about influencer marketing topics. Build your strategy, find influencers, and measure results.

Influencer Marketing Blogs | Category

Have you just launched a new product or service that you want to get the word out about? Maybe you want to share with consumers why it is awesome and how it is so much better than the one your competitors offer.

Well, then, there is one thing you can't do without...Marketing!

On our marketing category page, you find blogs about marketing topics. Learn about all the different angles and types of marketing and improve your results.

Marketing Blogs | Category

In this guide, we want to give you a peek into the definition of social media management, the daily schedule of a social media manager, social media platforms to promote your business, and the do’s & don’ts of social media management.
Are you ready to begin the journey of becoming a social media superstar?

On our social media management category page, you find blogs about social media management topics. Build and manage your online community.

Social Media Management Blogs | Category

Building a following and using social media platforms to reach a wider audience requires a well-planned social media marketing strategy. In this guide, we’ll be looking at why social media marketing is so essential and how you can make it work for your business.

On our social media marketing category page, you find blogs about social media marketing topics. Learn how to get the highest paid social ROI!

Social Media Marketing Blogs | Category

In the fast-evolving realm of digital marketing and public relations, utilizing the right tools is crucial for success. Our interdisciplinary category showcases all the pertinent tools for digital marketing & PR. These tools help in enhancing your online presence and effectively reaching target groups, whether through reputation management, influencer marketing, or social media management.

On our digital marketing and PR tools category page, you find all our blogs covering topics around mapping and understanding the customer journey.

Digital Marketing & PR Tools Blogs | Category

"There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you. 😭☹️"― Maya Angelou, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

If you’re Gen X or older, it’s possible you don't understand the full scope of emoji meanings, let alone the point of all of them. After all, people have managed to express themselves with the written word for centuries, so why do we suddenly need all these tiny images to illustrate our messages?

On the other hand, the post-Millennial generations can effortlessly communicate with each other using nothing more than a string of emoji. To them, nothing screams “I’m a hopelessly out of touch Boomer!” quite as loud as an incorrectly used emoji. That's why they're such an integral part of social media management.

So how did we get here, why are they so popular, and most importantly, with so many options to choose from, how do you decipher emoji meanings? 

Before computers had the graphical capabilities necessary to display emojis, people created emotional shorthand using plain old punctuation marks, like :-) or :-(  and :-/ to name a few.

These “emoticons” were invented long before modern computers, when typesetters in the 1880s began using various punctuation marks to create simple representations of human faces smiling, frowning, or showing other emotions. 

This image shows a selection of such proto-emojis from a German print publication in 1896: 

There are earlier recorded instances of simple punctuation-based smileys like :) in literature dating as far back as the 17th century, but in most cases historians cannot agree whether these are deliberate or just errors. 

The earliest modern example of emoticons being created by computer users were from the messaging systems used by the computer science department at Carnegie Mellon University in 1982. 

In 1990 Microsoft released its famous Wingdings font (still included with all Windows based PCs) which replaced alphanumeric characters with various graphical symbols, including smiling and frowning faces which could be considered early versions of emojis, even though they were never widely used. 

Graphical emojis as we know them today really began to take off with the development of mobile phones. In 1997, Japanese company J-Phone introduced a set of 90 monochrome emojis, and as phones became more sophisticated with better graphical capabilities, emojis became more detailed and colorful. 

By the time the first iPhone launched in 2007, western tech giants like Apple and Google were taking emojis seriously, looking at ways to standardize their implementation across different platforms. 

The following year, Apple added emojis to iPhone OS 2.2, and since then they’ve become an integral part of our digital lives. 

Conventional wisdom has it that emojis are used to add tone or emotion to a message, to avoid the sender’s intent being misinterpreted due to lack of context. But people have been using words to express their ideas and feelings just fine for hundreds of years without the help of emojis, so why would they need them now? 

Consider that emojis rose to popularity at about the same time as instant messaging apps, mobile phones, and short form social media like Twitter and Facebook. Suddenly people were communicating a lot more in short, rapid-fire written exchanges, whereas earlier forms such as email and blog posts afforded the writer much more space to make themselves understood.

Around the start of the millennium, an entire generation grew up chatting with their friends on MSN Messenger and AOL Instant Messenger, before moving onto smartphones and social media within a decade. They pioneered a new way of communicating, characterized by high volumes of short text messages, exchanged at high speeds - there was no time for flowery prose or long winded clarifications. 

Emojis offered a convenient way to quickly signify that your comment should be taken as a joke, or with irony, or that you’re confused, upset, or shocked. They can also be used to “react” to a message or post, often a simple thumbs-up is used to signify agreement, or just to let the sender know you received their message even if you don’t write a reply. 

Tip: For a detailed breakdown of the most-used emojis of 2023, check out our blog!

Emojis are now so ingrained into the public consciousness that we see them everywhere. They’ve gone from an almost underground phenomenon only understood by internet early-adopters, to a mainstream cultural trend. 

Beyond their function as a ubiquitous communication tool, emojis have also been great for commerce. A quick search for the term “emoji” on Amazon reveals a seemingly endless selection of emoji branded toys, games (including Emoji Uno), clothing, and novelty items such as the poop-emoji cushion. 

Emojis have even made their way into major Hollywood studio productions. In 2017, Sony Pictures released The Emoji Movie, with heavyweight names such as Patrick Stewart, Maya Rudolph, and Jennifer Coolidge voicing animated emoji characters. Critics almost universally panned the movie, but audiences rewarded it with $218 million in box office receipts. 

Almost everybody who uses a smartphone and/or the internet knows about emojis, even if they might not fully understand all of the emoji meanings, and probably use them at least occasionally. It’s fair to say that for better or worse, emojis have had a lasting impact on global culture. 

You may be surprised to learn that emojis have been the subject of some serious academic research, particularly in relation to how they are used in marketing, such as this 2022 study into how they impact conversion on social media. 

To save you a lot of reading through dense academic texts and marketing industry surveys, here’s a quick summary of what many of the studies seem to say: 

Emojis can increase engagement, in the right context.

Use them in fun, conversational copy, but not in a practical or informative context. 

Emojis used in the wrong context can damage credibility.

They work better for younger audiences (duh).

There are a lot of variables, more research is needed. 

You should do your own testing to figure out how emojis perform for you. 

So, if you’re a B2C brand, especially one with a younger customer base, it’s almost certainly worth using emojis in things like social content and direct emails, but take a scientific approach to understand how best to deploy them. For example, try A/B testing email subject lines with and without emojis.

Proceed with caution - while clever use of emojis could add some extra sparkle to your content, you don’t want to risk over-using them or, worse, using them in the wrong way and giving your customers a bad case of cringe. 

Tip: To avoid a bad case of "millennial cringe", check out our blog covering the phenomenon and the specific emojis that are involved.

Emojis also serve another useful purpose in marketing - when we’re analyzing social data, emojis are one of the signals we can use to understand sentiment at scale. While AI has gotten a lot better at inferring sentiment by parsing the meaning of text in recent years, emojis can provide us with additional clues about the author’s intent, so tools like Meltwater's social listening solution include emojis in their analysis, alongside AI. 

There are thousands of emojis and it would be almost impossible to define the meaning of each one in this post, so to start with we’ll take a look at the most popular emojis from 2023, based on our own analysis: 

A simple expression of happiness. Often used as a response when somebody says something nice about you, or just something that gives you the warm fuzzies. 

Originally used for positive emphasis in text, the sparkles emoji has more recently become associated with sarcasm and irony, so be careful how you use and interpret this emoji because there might be some subtext at play. 

No secret meanings here, the smiling face with hearts just expresses love and warmth. 

A more dramatic love emoji, for when you’re absolutely obsessed with a person, or a thing. 

People tend to use this emoji in a couple of different ways - to many westerners it looks like a prayer, and is used to show you are praying or simply hopeful that something will happen. In Asian countries, however, it’s a gesture of respect which can be used as shorthand for please or thank you - and is often used by westerners in the same way. 

Used as shorthand for “hot” as in “attractive”. Alternatively it can mean a person or organization is performing well, as in “You’re on fire right now!” - and only sometimes, when something is literally on fire. 

As simple as it gets, a red heart is used to show that you love a person or thing. Most often used to react to pictures of dogs, and specifically Golden Retrievers. Trust us on that, we have the data. 

Another one to approach with caution. Taken literally, it simply means that you found something very funny. But often this emoji is used ironically to signify that you are laughing at an opinion you disagree with - you will often find this emoji deployed vigorously in heated online debates. 

Superficially this face with tears streaming down can simply mean deep grief or sadness, but as with others listed here, it depends on context. People often use it to signify that they are feeling very emotional but in a positive way, like when somebody brings donuts into the office.

Similar to ROFL, but slightly less intense, for when you’re highly amused by something but not to the point where you need to roll around on the floor.

While the top ten emojis are highly overused, the discerning communicators amongst us will look further from the beaten path, seeking out less well known options to add some flavor to our posts. Here are a few emoji meanings that might not be as obvious as those we see every day: 

Much like the figure of the Grim Reaper in tarot cards, the skull doesn’t always mean literal death, but can mean the author is deceased from laughing at something extraordinarily amusing, or that they are mortified by a disappointing or embarrassing experience. 

Sometimes just a goofy alternative to the regular smiling face, but can also be used to show exasperation or resignation to a frustrating situation. 

“I acknowledge receipt of your message but will not elaborate further, perhaps because no response is required beyond simple confirmation, or more likely because I am bored and/or irritated by this discussion and wish to end it.” 

Sometimes used to suggest that you are melting because of warm weather, but also to describe the feeling of wanting to melt away out of shame, embarrassment, or dismay at a difficult situation. 

Be careful with this emoji because it has a double meaning. Most people might think this is an eggplant, but in British English it’s actually called an aubergine. 

Could be literally interpreted as “I am neutral on this matter” but realistically, most people use it to mean “I’m thinking it, but I’m definitely not saying it, because of the consequences...”

Essentially a graphical representation of the emotion of “Yikes!”

“You had my curiosity, now you have my attention.”


There are many, many more emojis, so it’s always easy to find one (or a combination) that helps you to get your point across. But it’s always important to remember that in the constantly evolving sphere of online culture, emojis can often take on meanings which might not be obvious at first glance, so make sure to do your research before using any that you’re not familiar with. 

Meltwater Explore helps you monitor social conversations, including emojis - get in touch today for a demo: 

Understanding Emoji Meanings

Twitter community notes are a social media management tool that can help fight misinformation and disinformation — and not a moment too soon. One in five Americans receive their daily news and information from social media platforms, including X/Twitter. It’s essential that they receive accurate and reliable information; otherwise, they risk spreading fake news that shapes others’ opinions and decisions.

X, formerly Twitter, introduced community notes to help add context to content. This feature allows users to share additional information to give readers a more complete understanding of what they’re reading.

If you post on X/Twitter, you’ll likely encounter community notes at some point. Here’s what you need to know about them and how to use them to your advantage.

The Impact of X/Twitter Community Notes on Misinformation

Never Miss an X/Twitter Community Note with Meltwater

Twitter community notes allow users to add context to misleading or inaccurate posts. Unlike comments, which appear below the post and aren’t always visible without clicking the post, community notes are always visible. 

The goal is to correct misinformation and disinformation at the source so people can think twice about sharing the post or forming an opinion.

Community notes are a collaborative process. X users can sign up for the Birdwatch program, which allows them to leave notes and rate other contributors’ notes.

Contributors can leave notes on any post, but those notes won’t be visible until enough contributors rate the note as helpful. 

In this way, notes receive multiple perspectives before they go public. This helps to fight disinformation so that no single person has too much control over community notes.

Anyone who meets eligibility requirements can sign up to be a contributor. Here’s how it works:

To be eligible, you’ll need to meet a few criteria:

You have no recent violations of X’s community rules 

Your Twitter/X account is at least 6 months old

X approves new contributors on a periodic basis, so you might not be approved right away.

Once you’re approved, you can create an alias to keep your ratings anonymous. No one has to know it’s you!

Now you can start rating notes. Open the X app and navigate to the Community Notes section. Start reading and rating!

Eventually, you will gain the option to write your own community notes. You will need an impact rating of at least 5. Your impact rating will increase as your ratings help notes earn a helpful or unhelpful status. 

You can track your progress in unlocking notes via the community notes profile.

Let’s review a few other points worth mentioning:

Community notes do not come directly from X/Twitter and do not represent the company’s views on a given topic.

Posts that receive community notes will not be removed or addressed by X/Twitter unless they violate X’s rules, terms of service, or privacy policy.

Not all community notes will become visible to users — only those that receive enough helpful ratings.

Once you unlock the ability to add community notes, you can open the X app, click the three-dot menu in the top corner, then choose Write a Community Note. 

Each note follows a process to ensure you’re adding valuable context to a post:

Answer multiple-choice questions regarding why you’re writing a community note.

Write a brief note to share more context on the post.

Specify whether the additional context is required because the post is misleading or if the extra information would be helpful.

When you’re done, wait for other contributors to read and rate the note. Watch your Writing Impact score improve as people rate your notes as helpful.

You can also delete community notes you’ve written by tapping the three-dot menu in a note, then tapping Delete.

Contributors have limits on how many notes they can write in a 24-hour period. These limits are based on each writer’s Impact Score and helpful note hit rate (Writing Impact divided by the total number of notes written). 

For contributors with a negative score, the limit is 1.

For all other contributors, the minimum is either Writing Impact + 5 OR Hit Rate x 200.

Community Notes are not a popularity contest. Instead, the feature's goal is to find people with differing points of view and help them come together to fight misinformation and disinformation. The notes need to be genuinely helpful to all readers, regardless of their points of view.

Studies show community notes have helped to counteract disinformation and misinformation, particularly around COVID-19 and vaccines. Reviewing over 65,000 notes on COVID-19, nearly half of them cited high-authority sources and 44% cited moderately trustworthy sources.

While X/Twitter says that community notes are not effective at dispelling all instances of misinformation, it has shown a positive impact in these ways:

X users repost content 61% less often once it receives a community note.

Original posters delete their content faster once they receive a community note.

Users perceive community notes as significantly more trustworthy compared to other misinformation flags.

However, it’s worth mentioning that community notes are a lagging indicator. These notes apply to posts that have already been seen by the public. If posts contain misinformation or disinformation, some damage has already been done by the time the post receives a community note.

Tip: Read more about how you can fight fake news on social media.

At Meltwater, we see Twitter community notes as opportunities to ensure a strong content strategy from the get-go. The more you see and learn from community notes on Twitter, the better you can adjust your own content. 

These notes encourage creators and brands to be clear about the messages they publish or share (and hopefully avoid getting a note on your content).

Meltwater helps you stay on top of trending topics with advanced social listening. Brands can use our platform to learn more about what people are talking about and how they’re discussing those topics. Learn multiple sides of every conversation and see whether other posts are receiving community notes before you talk about similar subjects.

Learn more when you request a demo by filling out the form below.

What Are X / Twitter Community Notes And How Do They Fight Disinformation?

U.S. newspapers have been a part of American culture for centuries and have played an essential role in informing the public about current events. With the rise of digital media, many people believe that newspapers are no longer relevant. However, this couldn't be further from the truth.

Newspapers continue to play a vital role in shaping our society, providing readers with in-depth coverage of local and national news stories. Many have embraced digital transformation to reach more readers than ever.

And it's working. According to Redline, both The Wall Street Journal and the New York Times have seen steady increases in their digital subscriptions:

Print subscriptions, however, are going down — and according to Pew Research, time spent on news websites is also decreasing:

Despite these challenges to the news industry, many newspapers across the U.S. have managed to stay relevant. Here’s a closer look at the largest U.S. newspapers and how they continue to build trust and share information in the digital era.

Which Was The First Newspaper in US History?

US Newspapers Still Play a Role in Today’s Media

It’s estimated that there are just over 20 million daily newspaper copies (both print and digital) in circulation as of 2022. Here are the five biggest U.S. newspapers these copies are coming from.

Total subscribers: more than 3.749 million

Based on circulation numbers, The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) is among the largest daily U.S. newspapers, with more than 3.9 million subscribers.

This includes more than 3 million digital subscribers as well as 649,000 print subscriptions.

During COVID, the newspaper saw incredible subscription growth jumping 19% in digital subscriptions to reach 2.9 million.

One of the most trusted names in U.S. newspapers, The New York Times is also one of the longest-running names in print.

Like WSJ, the New York Times is doubling down on digital and has announced goals of reaching 15 million total subscribers by the end of 2027.

It currently boasts 10.3 million paying subscribers across print and digital formats.

Found in hotel rooms and newsstands across the country, USA Today is one of the most recognized U.S. newspapers. It boasts a strong online presence and reaches an estimated 2.6 million daily readers. 

trusted source for political news and breaking developments

Another newspaper embracing digital transformation, The Washington Post has 3.5 million total subscribers and 2.5 million digital subscribers. Given its location in Washington D.C., The Washington Post is a trusted source for political news and breaking developments that affect every corner of the country.

Sunday print edition subscribers: more than 1.6 million

Largest metropolitan newspaper in the U.S.

Los Angeles Times is the largest metropolitan newspaper in the U.S. It brings more than 1.6 million readers to its Sunday print edition and has a combined print and digital audience of 4.4 million subscribers.

The above U.S. newspapers all boast a powerful online presence, allowing them to reach more readers who prefer digital media to traditional print. In addition to these, there are a number of other newspapers that exist solely online.

Touted as a progressive American news source, HuffPost was a pioneer of online-only newspapers.

The site earns an estimated 50 million visits each month, on average. It features both localized and international content spanning a wide range of categories, including

True to its digital format, the site also features multimedia content, including photos, video blogs, and audio.

U.K.-based newspaper with a special edition for the U.S.

The Independent is a U.K.-based newspaper with a special edition for the U.S.

It’s available online as well as in app form, which has helped the company to reach 5 million registered users.

Paid subscriptions account for 20% of its revenue

The Daily Beast is an online-only news source that earns an estimated average of 18.6 million organic visits each month. In recent years, the site has tested paid subscriptions, which now account for 20% of its revenue.

While many U.S. newspapers charge a fee for a subscription or per newspaper (even online), some newspapers offer their content for free.

Content: news, sports, entertainment, and lifestyle

Geo Focus: San Francisco Bay Area, national and international news

The Meltwater Blog

Understanding Emoji Meanings

What Are X / Twitter Community Notes And How Do They Fight Disinformation?

List of the 16 Largest US Newspapers

What Is a Macro-Influencer and How to Leverage Them

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What Is Sales Intelligence? The Ultimate Business Guide

Guide to Posting Videos on Twitter

Major Moments from Meltwater Summit 2024

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