Here are the articles media update wrote in 2016 covering some of the biggest and most important developments in the social media world:

Internet companies recognise the fake news problem on social media

For years, fake news websites have been spreading rumours and outright false stories to online communities across the world. These misleading articles land on social networks where users have been sharing, commenting, and generally gobbling up misinformation.

Enter Donald Trump, who some say won the election partly due to the effect fake news had on US citizens. This seems to have finally kicked companies like Facebook and Google into action to help battle the spread of misinformation.

We’ve yet to see their plans for reducing the spread of fake news at work. In the meantime, influential voices like outgoing US President Barack Obama and Pope Francis have raised their concern over the destructive power of fake news on social media.

Our full story here: The world finally woke up to the ugly truth of fake news.

Snapchat changes the social media world – again

Snapchat first introduced the world to ephemeral social sharing, where photos live no longer than 10 seconds. In October, it launched a wearable in the form of Spectacles, while also changing its name to Snap Inc. Its video camera, built into a pair of sunglasses, has been lauded for its first-person video capability and use circular video, which lets users view videos in landscape or portrait – regardless of how the footage was shot.

Our article on Spectacles here: Snapchat has a new name and its own camera – built into sunglasses.

Facebook’s satellite gets destroyed in SpaceX’s rocket explosion

A satellite that was meant to help bring free internet to countries in sub-Saharan Africa went up in (lots of) flames on Thursday, 1 September.

The explosion happened during a pre-launch test and left Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg feeling “deeply disappointed”. 

Here’s how it happened: Facebook sub-Saharan Africa Internet satellite destroyed in pre-launch test.

Social media becomes indispensable to South African sports franchises

In June, the Blue Bulls Company and Cricket South Africa told media update that social media has become their primary marketing tool and a way for fans to connect fans with sports team.

Shanil Mangaroo, marketing, communications and media manager at the Blue Bulls Company, said of social media, “The advantages are endless – the biggest advantage is that it is a media platform that we can control and utilise as we see fit, especially in a world with so many different media platforms, which often misrepresent or publish skew opinions.”

Cricket South Africa’s head of communications and media, Altaaf Kazi, explained the #ProteaFire campaign has become a vital tool in bringing fans and players closer to each other.

Read here why social media is a game-changing marketing tool: Sports and social media: Connecting with fans like never before.

Artificial intelligence takes on social platforms

Terms like “deep learning” and “human-like intelligence” were being mentioned more and more in the news this year as bots, and especially chatbots, make their way onto social media platforms and messaging apps.

Microsoft’s chatbot, Tay, was a major lesson for the tech world. The bot was said to be attacked by a group of Twitter users whose offensive behaviour taught it to make racist and anti-sematic comments.

Developers will have to be careful about how they approach AI technology, as we explain in this article: Artificial intelligence developing in social media nursery.

The true value of video on social networks is revealed

The use of video on social media has been increasing year by year, and South African marketers have taken note. Added to that is the improved video display options from Facebook and Twitter, and brands now have a variety of options available to reach their audiences with video.

Features like Facebook Live have also been making it easier for businesses to produce video cost-effectively.

Local experts advised South African brands on how to leverage the power of video for marketing in our article, Video is not just social media’s future but its present.

Real-life story: The world went without Twitter for a day

This year kicked off on a somewhat ominous note on social media when Twitter’s service was down on 19 January for a large part of the day.

The company’s stock share value plunged by 50%, according to this article by iLead Online: The day Twitter (and the earth) came to a standstill.

Here’s hoping 2017 will soon be off to a better start.