Welcome to the forefront of conversational AI as we explore the fascinating world of AI chatbots in our dedicated blog series. Discover the latest advancements, applications, and strategies that propel the evolution of chatbot technology. From enhancing customer interactions to streamlining business processes, these articles delve into the innovative ways artificial intelligence is shaping the landscape of automated conversational agents. Whether you’re a business owner, developer, or simply intrigued by the future of interactive technology, join us on this journey to unravel the transformative power and endless possibilities of AI chatbots.
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Europe Today
The news and insights that drive Europe. LIVE from Brussels, we deliver the top and exclusive stories shaping the EU and beyond, every morning. Stay ahead with the key news and insights that matter in Europe today.
The Ring
The Ring is Euronews’ weekly political showdown, where Europe’s toughest debates meet their boldest voices. In each episode, two political heavyweights from across the EU face off to propose a diversity of opinions and spark conversations around the most important issues of EU affairs and the wider European political life.
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Dare to imagine the future with business and tech visionaries
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Euronews Tech Talks
Euronews Tech Talks goes beyond discussions to explore the impact of new technologies on our lives. With explanations, engaging Q&As, and lively conversations, the podcast provides valuable insights into the intersection of technology and society.
The Food Detectives
Europe's best food experts are joining forces to crack down on fraud. Euronews is following them in this special series: The Food Detectives
Water Matters
Europe's water is under increasing pressure. Pollution, droughts, floods are taking their toll on our drinking water, lakes, rivers and coastlines. Join us on a journey around Europe to see why protecting ecosystems matters, how our wastewater can be better managed, and to discover some of the best water solutions. Video reports, an animated explainer series and live debate – find out why Water Matters, from Euronews.
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We give you the latest climate facts from the world’s leading source, analyse the trends and explain how our planet is changing. We meet the experts on the front line of climate change who explore new strategies to mitigate and adapt.
As another year draws to a close, many of us will be bracing for an onslaught of reflective Instagram Reels, filtered achievements – and resolutions to doomscroll less.
Indeed, social media remains a dominant force in our lives; a way we measure our successes, connect with others, and keep up with news and trends. It’s even re-shaped the language we use, with many of the dictionaries’ 2025 words being social media coined: rage bait, parasocial and AI slop, to name a few.
Since the rise of artificial intelligence (AI), however, there’s also been a major shift in how people are using and viewing social media. Mounting misinformation has led to distrust and a sense of disillusionment that’s reflected in platform usage.
While Facebook remains most popular, according to the search engine marketing company Semrush, community-driven apps such as Reddit and Discord continue to grow as people search for more meaningful, intimate, and authentic online spaces.
At the same time, regulators are continuing to navigate the tensions between an open internet and online safety, making 2025 feel like a major turning point for how social media companies continue to operate.
From age verification laws to major controversies involving Elon Musk’s Grok AI chatbot, here’s a closer look at some of the key talking points in social media this year.
On 10 December, Australia enforced a world first: the banning of social media for anyone under 16. This meant that children could no longer access accounts on platforms including Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, YouTube, X and Facebook, all of which face hefty fines if found to violate the law.
While extreme, the move reflects growing concerns over social media harming young people’s mental health, with the World Health Organization (WHO) reporting that 1 in 10 adolescents have experienced negative consequences from using it.
Denmark has since announced plans to follow suit, proposing that anyone under 15 be blocked from accessing social media unless parents fill out a specific assessment. Other countries, including Spain, Greece and France, have also been calling for similar protective measures.
Meanwhile, stringent age verification laws were implemented under the UK’s Online Safety Act in July, preventing minors from viewing adult content or anything that might encourage dangerous behaviours.
The effectiveness of these new legislations is yet to be fully understood, with some experts maintaining scepticism, but we’re already hearing of creative ways teens are trying to circumvent the rules. Many are turning to messenger apps like WhatsApp instead, or even buying adult-looking mesh masks to try and fool facial recognition.
2025 was the year that AI slop took over. A term referring to the fake images and videos created by generative AI tools such as OpenAI’s Sora, it’s overwhelmed our social feeds with low-effort absurdities like puppies morphing into cinnamon buns, cats being arrested, or the strangely popular ‘Italian brain rot’ memes.
While seemingly harmless, it’s made connecting with real content created by actual people even harder. In some cases, it’s also led to the proliferation of scams and misinformation – even by politicians. US President Donald Trump continues to be one of the worst offenders for this, in one instance sharing AI-generated images depicting singer Taylor Swift endorsing him.
AI has also been used to ramp up the creation of deepfakes, videos that mimic a person’s face, body or voice to spread false information. One such example involved a fabricated video published on TikTok that showed a woman on a TV show confessing to welfare fraud, which news outlets like Fox News mistakenly covered.
In an attempt to combat the above, platforms such as Meta and TikTok have begun labelling any AI-generated content. Still, the scale at which such content is being produced has made this difficult to fully enforce, with a June report by Meta’s internal oversight board finding its labelling to be ‘inconsistent’.
Many of the big social media platforms have integrated AI assistants into their services, offering automated support for content creation, searches and customer service queries. It’s Elon Musk’s Grok chatbot, however, that has caused the most controversy this year.
Created by the tech billionaire’s company xAI, Grok made headlines in July for praising Adolf Hitler, and accusing a bot account with a Jewish last name of celebrating the deaths of white children in the central Texas floods.
At the time, Musk responded that the AI tool was “too eager to please and be manipulated,” an issue that was “being addressed”. Yet Grok has still continued to share concerning responses, including antisemitic conspiracy theories and advice on how to stalk people.
Tighter regulation of online spaces ramped up this year, with the UK’s Online Safety Act coming into force and calling for greater transparency and accountability from social media companies.
The EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA) also imposed its first-ever fine, charging Elon Musk’s X €120 million. The platform’s advertising policy and blue checkmarks (once used to signal a verified account but now sold to anyone) were found to fall short of EU law due to a lack of clarity.
TikTok was also fined €530 million by the Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC) in May, for failing to protect EU users’ personal data during a transfer to China.
The massive amounts of data (and power) that social media platforms wield, along with the aforementioned worries about their potentially harmful impact, mean legislative scrutiny is likely to intensify even more in 2026.
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