Category: In the News

This story was first published by Digiday siblings Glossy and Modern Retail.

The 2026 FIFA World Cup kicks off today and will continue until July 19, with matches held in 16 cities across the U.S., Mexico and Canada. 

The event is set to surpass previous viewership records, with an estimated 6 billion global tournament viewers and 1.5 billion predicted to watch the final, according to FIFA. Around a third of Americans plan to tune in, according to a May YouGov survey.

Continue reading this article on digiday.com. Sign up for Digiday newsletters to get the latest on media, marketing and the future of TV.

,Read More

Made-for-advertising websites have found a new way to lure users in: AI-generated “girlfriend ads.”

According to a report from DoubleVerify, these sites are running suggestive creative featuring AI-generated women who promote personalized companionship and customizable AI personas. But when users click they’re funneled to paid search results and low-quality, AI-generated content: pages stuffed with ads from real brands.

These MFA networks drew in over 2 million visits per month in Q1 2026, across mobile apps and websites, according to DoubleVerify. While the company was unable to quantify total revenue from the tactic, it estimated that one of these networks could generate revenue in the low hundreds of thousands of dollars annually, and that the economic impact of this type of fraud could reach millions globally.

Continue reading this article on digiday.com. Sign up for Digiday newsletters to get the latest on media, marketing and the future of TV.

,Read More