Meta will reportedly soon use AI for most product risk assessments instead of human reviewers
According to a report from NPR , Meta plans to shift the task of assessing its products' potential harms away from human reviewers, instead leaning more heavily on AI to speed up the process. Internal documents seen by the publication note that Meta is aiming to have up to 90 percent of risk assessments fall on AI, NPR reports, and is considering using AI reviews even in areas such as youth risk and "integrity," which covers violent content, misinformation and more. Unnamed current and former Meta employees who spoke with NPR warned AI may overlook serious risks that a human team would have been able to identify.
Updates and new features for Meta's platforms, including Instagram and WhatsApp, have long been subjected to human reviews before they hit the public, but Meta has reportedly doubled down on the use of AI over the last two months. Now, according to NPR, product teams have to fill out a questionnaire about their product and submit this for review by the AI system, which generally provides an "instant decision" that includes the risk areas it's identified. They'll then have to address whatever requirements it laid out to resolve the issues before the product can be released.
A former Meta executive told NPR that reducing scrutiny "means you're creating higher risks. Negative externalities of product changes are less likely to be prevented before they start causing problems in the world." In a statement to NPR , Meta said it would still tap "human expertise" to evaluate "novel and complex issues," and leave the "low-risk decisions" to AI. Read the full report over at NPR .
It comes a few days after Meta released its latest quarterly integrity reports — the first since changing its policies on content moderation and fact-checking earlier this year. The amount of content taken down has unsurprisingly decreased in the wake of the changes, per the report. But there was a small rise in bullying and harassment, as well as violent and graphic content.
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iPhone users can finally copy chunks of WhatsApp messages.
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The CEO giving Keurig Dr Pepper a massive energy jolt
It's a cloudy afternoon in late March in Burlington, Mass., the Boston suburb that's the site of co-headquarters for Keurig Dr Pepper. CEO Tim Cofer—who's just dropped off his suitcase after arriving from KDP's second home base in Frisco, Texas, near Dallas—is guiding Fortune through the glass-framed modern office building which contains a warren of showrooms. One displays all 16 flavors of Dr Pepper, another shows a panoply of new energy drinks; walking down the hall we visit a gallery arraying dozens of Keurig models, from the K-Mini for dorm rooms to a business-size brewer at over $1,000. Between extolling the products in each room, the super-salesman describes the promise of this world of liquids, where he's never worked before, and his mission for KDP. Cofer is instilling the élan of a scrappy underdog in this old-line corporation of 29,000 employees. 'We're hungry, we like to disrupt; this is a challenger culture where we play offense, not defense,' he explains, while standing before a neon-rainbow rack of cans. 'There's a real sweet spot where a company's large enough to bring the scale in investment and distribution to win in a big way, but keeps the mindset of being nimble, aggressive, and continually dissatisfied with the status quo,' he says. It's what motivated Cofer to woo the 38-year-old entrepreneur who founded the popular energy drink Ghost, and in October strike a $1.65 billion deal to acquire the brand. The caffeine-like high of the Ghost tie-up exemplifies the jolt Cofer's delivering to make KDP an increasingly formidable challenger to the long-ruling kings of beverage, Coca-Cola and PepsiCo. Since joining KDP first as COO in November of 2023, then as CEO in April of last year, Cofer's been adding fast-growing, high-margin new offerings, from energy and sports hydration drinks to refreshers to ready-to-quaff iced coffees, while simultaneously supercharging the 140-year old flagship Dr Pepper as a top pick for the Instagram generation. Thanks largely to snazzy marketing that's enticed the quicksilver Gen Y and Gen Z demographic, classic Dr Pepper has raced from a distant third just a few years back to surpass regular Pepsi as the second-bestselling soft drink in North America behind Coke. In fact, KDP itself—like its signature non-cola—is a one-of-a-kind concoction, the product of a highly experimental blending of businesses. It's the sole big marketer to combine huge franchises in both hot and cold beverages. That union happened in mid-2018 via the $18.7 billion merger of Dr Pepper Snapple and coffee maker Keurig Green Mountain, making KDP by far the most diversified enterprise in nonalcoholic or 'refreshment' beverages with over 125 brands where it's an owner, investor, or distributor. The mating proved a giant success during the pandemic. As the crisis began, then-CEO Bob Gamgort, now KDP's chairman, brilliantly exploited data flowing from home coffee makers wired to data centers, deploying AI to foresee a spike in demand for coffee and bedrock soft drink brands in the sudden switch to the stay-at-home economy. Gamgort ramped up production of Dr Pepper, Canada Dry, and K-Cups, and secured big shipments of cans from Mexico well before rivals saw the wave building. But since 2022, KDP's coffee sales have flattened, pressured by a sharp rise in the cost of the raw beans that raised the price of K-Cup pods and pushed folks toward instant brands and making their own. 'Now, their crown jewel is beverage, and their problem child is coffee,' notes Connor Rattigan, an analyst at global data provider Consumer Edge. To lift KDP to Coke-and Pepsi-level profitability, Cofer needs to perform the tough, dual task of making high-margin hits on the supercompetitive soft drink side, while reheating coffee. He's got big plans for both. Though little-known for such an important CEO, Cofer spent a long pre-KDP career hopping the globe while recharging and merging many of the most celebrated brands in consumer packaged goods. The C-suite prized Cofer's knack for engineering quick turnarounds, and cycled him through jobs relatively quickly. He would typically put sales on the fast track, then get the call to move on. Cofer grew up in White Bear Lake, Minn., on the outskirts of Minneapolis/St. Paul, that's renowned as a summer resort for angling largemouth bass, and whose namesake Mark Twain described as 'lovely sheet of water.' His father started as a line foreman at a 3M ceramics plant, and rose to become a marketing SVP for overhead projectors. The romance of big business captured Tim around age 7, when he'd join his dad on Saturdays for a drive to 3M's headquarters in St. Paul. 'It instilled upon me the importance of work ethic, because my father would be the only one there. I loved walking around staring at the big desks and big offices. I became fascinated by the prototypes for the newest 3M Thermo-Fax copying machines, and would copy their design in pencil,' he recalls. On the trip home, he'd quiz his father about 3M's organizational structure and workings of its chain of command. As a student at St. Olaf College near home, Cofer got his first job as the 'arms and legs' of a local research agency. He'd visit grocery stores, clipboard in hand, count the 'facings' of Honey Nut Cheerios, Lucky Charms, and other General Mills cereals on the shelves, and record the posted prices, at $2.85 an hour. 'I soon figured out that I didn't want to be recording the data, I wanted to be on the other side, using the data to build a brand,' he recalls. In 1992, he finished his MBA as valedictorian from the University of Minnesota's Carlson School of Management, majoring in marketing, and took a job in Minneapolis at Kraft Foods' cold-cuts purveyor Oscar Mayer. 'I was assistant brand manager for deli meats, maybe not the sexiest of jobs,' he avows. 'But I was brand passionate, and it was great foundational learning.' In 2003, Cofer got his first break when Kraft handed him his introductory general manager role, and control of his own P&L, as chief of the European chocolate franchise that marketed such feted brands as Milka and Toblerone. Cofer relocated to London and set about instituting a dramatic restructuring mandated by headquarters: shifting authority from country managers who previously exercised full control of their businesses to the 'regional' level led by Cofer, who took the new position as European VP of chocolate. 'This disempowered the country chiefs,' says Ingeborg Gasser-Kriss, Cofer's innovation chief for Europe. 'A newly formed region category team was not something the country heads wanted.' To win Gasser-Kriss's confidence, Cofer took her on a long walk, for a heart-to-heart talk, on Vienna's famed Ringstrasse encircling the city's historical center, rich in baroque architecture. That was followed by a tour visiting all two dozen country leaders, says Gasser-Kriss. 'Tim presented business plans to all of the country teams, and we had dinner with them. He told them, 'Look, I want us all to agree that if something doesn't touch the region as a whole, you'll have all the freedom you need. But if a decision has to be made at the region category, it goes with the region.' In 2010, Kraft CEO Irene Rosenfeld, Cofer's mentor, engineered the purchase of British chocolate-maker Cadbury for $19.6 billion in one of the largest food industry transactions ever. She immediately sent Cofer—whom she'd recalled from London in 2007 to first head Oscar Mayer then the Kraft pizza business—to Zurich, to oversee the integration of Kraft and Cadbury chocolate franchises worldwide. The Cadbury deal started as a hostile takeover. 'Cadbury was an icon of Britishness from the 1800s,' says Cofer. 'They fought the takeover in the business community and the court of public opinion.' Adds Gasser-Kriss, 'Cadbury's proud team called us 'the American plastic cheese company,' that's how much they liked us at the start.' Rosenfeld had promised big synergies between the two companies to justify the deal's high price. 'Tim had to navigate through rough waters, a lot of people were nervous,' says Rosenfeld. 'He had to tell people on both sides they didn't have jobs in the organization.' Once again, it was Cofer's expertise in tough-minded diplomacy that won the day. Essential to his success was an unlikely partnership he forged with the figure heading chocolate at Cadbury, Bharat Puri. 'Two more different people you couldn't imagine,' recalls Gasser-Kriss. 'Bharat was the life of the party, had a great sense of humor, and loved jokes. Tim was a brain person. On the continuum from sincerity to fun he was much on the sincerity side. One time he showed up at an all-day meeting unshaven, without a jacket and tie, and everybody applauded. Bharat told him, 'You need to relax!'' Gasser-Kriss greatly admired how Cofer put his deep analytical abilities to work when questioning herself and other lieutenants on their project proposals that needed his approval, sans intimidation. 'He would always put his finger on the weak spot,' and that made us better, she remembers. 'He was like a precision drone in spotting things that could go wrong.' This embedded content is not available in your region. Puri recalls that despite their odd-couple chasm in personality, he and Cofer joined hands on the right strategy for merging the best of both Kraft and Cadbury to create the powerhouse in chocolate that's thriving to this day under Mondelez. Puri, who's now managing director of Indian consumer and specialty chemicals outfit Pidilite, told Fortune that, at the start of their partnership, Cofer 'was too much head and not enough heart. He would tend to be formal and shy.' Gasser-Kriss credits the gregarious Puri with helping Cofer develop a bigger public persona. 'They learned new sets of behaviors from each other,' she says. 'It wasn't that Tim was introverted, but he developed an engaging, compelling manner in the town hall mode, and may owe that to Bharat's example.' For Gasser-Kriss, Cofer showed all and sundry his affection for his brands by naming his beloved Maltese Shih Tzu Toblerone. A stint in Asia troubleshooting Mondelez's business (and overseeing the wildly successful launch of Oreo Thins) and a return to the U.S. in 2017 as head of North America under Rosenfeld, then CEO at Mondelez, had Cofer set up as the leading internal candidate to succeed her. Instead, the board awarded the prize to Belgian executive Dirk Van de Put, who'd headed McCain Foods of Canada, the world's largest producer of frozen french fries and potato specialties. 'While I was disappointed, it turned out to be a learning experience working with Dirk,' he says. Inside Mondelez, Cofer created a venture capital group called SnackFutures that proved a forerunner to the stance he's taking at KDP. The new group backed quirky entrepreneurs to commercialize such innovations as vegan chocolates and plant-based cookies, and made Mondelez a preferred partner for young, hot brands on the rise, presaging Cofer's purchase of Ghost. To measure what tastes would sell, Cofer insisted on junking the old system that relied on questionnaires and focus groups. Instead, he deployed pop-up stands at schools and farmers' markets to conduct on-the-spot taste tests for moms dropping off their kids and health-conscious shoppers cruising the fruit and veggie booths. Most of all, Cofer claims that he benefited richly by watching the divergent styles of Rosenfeld and Van de Put. 'From them, I learned the importance of situational leadership,' he relates. 'With Dirk, it was the high-level attention to detail. Irene was a master of playing the strategic chessboard, who engineered the Cadbury acquisition, which paved the way for the split from Kraft. I was able to study both styles, and choose times when it's better to bring a high level of intensity, or to step back and examine the big strategic picture.' Away from the office, Cofer's a big tennis and skiing fan. In both sports, it's been both a family and a worldwide affair. Tim's two sons, now in their twenties, were captains of their high school tennis teams, and his wife, Jodi, is also an avid player. Cofer's approach on the court will probably surprise no one. 'I play aggressive,' he says. 'I play offense, not defense. I like to rush the net,' not recklessly, he avows, but behind deep, strong approach shots. Sitting on the baseline, hitting everything back, is the antithesis of Tim's game plan for walking off the winner. The family has visited each of the four Grand Slam tournaments in New York, Melbourne, Paris, and London. They have also globe-trotted on skis, taking to the slopes in places as far-flung as Sweden, Japan, and the Czech Republic. In music, Cofer loves classic rock—rap not so much—and his hero is fellow Minnesotan Bob Dylan, whose vinyl discs entranced him as a teen in the '70s, and whom he'll fly halfway across the U.S. to catch in concert. Cofer plays the showman big-time on his video series, Taste Test With Tim, posted on the KDP website. On the episodes running around eight minutes each, he and a guest—either an insider, usually a marketing or an R&D exec, or a KDP beverage partner—sample a new offering. On the shows, Cofer rhapsodizes like a coffee and soft drink sommelier, praising 'the toasted coconut notes and creamy notes' of Dr Pepper Creamy Coconut, or the 'clean, smooth finish' and 'caramel notes' found in a blend of Green Mountain Coffee. Cofer finished one entry by joyously recapping the KDP advertising mantra, 'Brew the Love,' exhorting, 'We're brewin' the love, baby!' In 1885—one year before the birth of Coca-Cola—a pharmacy operator in Waco, Texas, famously mixed 23 syrups from his adjoining soda fountain in an experiment to re-create the drugstore's aroma. The tangy blend was Dr Pepper. For many decades, the brand was chiefly a regional favorite in the Southwest. But in 1963, a pivotal legal decision declaring that Dr Pepper isn't a cola helped take it nationwide. That landmark ruling enabled Dr Pepper to win deals where the network of Coke 'Red' and Pepsi 'Blue' regional bottlers produced and distributed the brand in sundry markets. Over the years, Dr Pepper established its own 'Maroon' system of bottlers and distributors that now cover 80% of the U.S. But Dr Pepper is still blended and shipped by Coke and Pepsi franchises in many parts of the nation. A major advantage from KDP's continuing cooperation with the two behemoths: Dr Pepper is served in restaurants and fast-food outlets where either Coke or Pepsi are the exclusive offerings. McDonald's is Coke-only for cola, and Taco Bell is Pepsi only; diners can push the dark red Dr Pepper button at both. KDP's nameplate prospers greatly from its role as the leading sponsor of college football. This will be the seventh season it's been airing ads conjuring a fantasy suburb dubbed 'Fansville' whose twin obsessions are the college gridiron and Dr Pepper. Babies emerge from the womb wearing football jerseys and sports caps. Parents bawl out their kids for hiding soccer magazines under their mattresses. Retired football star turned actor Brian Bosworth plays a sheriff chugging Dr Pepper from a quart bottle. Cofer's so all in on 'Fansville' that in December he appeared on one of his Taste Test With Tim episodes shown on YouTube at the SEC championships festooned in a Dr Pepper–labeled football jersey, declaring, 'What's more classic than home-gating and tailgating!' The trend toward ever zanier mixtures entered a new dimension with an explosion in 'dirty soda.' Such beverages gained major traction in the Mormon community, where folks who are barred by their religion from drinking alcohol or hot drinks except herbal tea took to social media announcing that they were having great fun slurping these custom bubblies at drive-in chains Swig and Sonic. In the Hulu reality series The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, which aired last year, the players lauded dirty soda forays as 'my Mormon crack' and 'kind of our vice.' A big hit at Swig: 'Naughty & Nice,' a swirling mix of Dr Pepper, English toffee syrup, and half-and-half. By 2023, videos of youngsters touting their outlandish dirty soda recipes abounded on TikTok and Instagram. And a top choice as a canvas for this explosion in wild culinary self-expression was Dr Pepper. First to pounce was KDP. 'We realized we were in a zeitgeist moment that offered a rare opportunity to capitalize on a new cultural idea,' says Cofer. The first step came in early 2024 when marketing people at KDP huddled with the folks at Nestlé promoting its nondairy creamer Coffee Mate. Together, they crafted the first mainstream product merging the worlds of coffee creamer and soda, a pairing that was all the rage across social media. Their brainchild was Dirty Soda Coconut Lime Flavor Liquid Creamer, featuring the Dr Pepper logo on the bottle headlined by 'Mix with.' 'I approved the idea right away,' says Cofer. In May 2024, KDP introduced the first mass-market dirty soft drink in a can, Dr Pepper Creamy Coconut, which proved to be KDP's most successful limited-time offering ever. On Feb. 5, KDP followed up by launching another new flavor, this one a perennial named Dr Pepper Blackberry, which, according to analyst Rattigan, is contributing to Dr Pepper's recent gains on Pepsi and Coke. But despite the surge, KDP's profitability lags well behind that of Coke and Pepsi. Accounting expert Jack Ciesielski uses a yardstick called Cash Operating Return on Assets to assess how well companies are deploying all the capital awarded them by shareholders, excluding the effects of taxes and leverage. Last year, Coke and Pepsi registered COROA of 11.5% and 13.1%, respectively. For KDP, the figure was a relatively undistinguished 5.3%. Still, that shortfall is an opportunity. Cofer points out that total refreshment drink volume nationwide grows around 1% annually, tracking population. The key to putting the fizz in earnings: achieving a richer mix—selling a higher portion of offerings that generate extra dollars per can and bottle. Hence, he's counting on the big move into the premium territory of energy, sports hydration, ready-to-drink coffee, and refreshers to lift margins, while deploying gridiron marketing and catchy new flavors in KDP's classic brands to grab share from rivals. And finally, he's betting that the launch of K-Rounds will invigorate the lagging coffee business. Unlike the K-Cups that encase the pre-brewed coffee in plastic capsules, K-Rounds are super-densely-packed mounds of ground beans that don't have packaging; they come in a plant-based coating. Folks will pop the K-Rounds into a new Keurig coffee maker called the Alta. 'Remember, Keurigs today are in 45 million homes. We're the preeminent system, but we're willing to reprogram ourselves to provide this totally new product,' Cofer intones. 'What's really exciting is that we're willing to disrupt ourselves.' For decades, Tim Cofer worked for established giants of consumer packaged goods. But as a leader he's proving himself to be the un-cola of CEOs—and the giants had better take note. This story was originally featured on
Newsweek
an hour ago
- Newsweek
List of Stores Being Boycotted in June
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. A national grassroots organization along with other groups are pushing for more change and economic equality throughout June as part of ongoing boycotts against large and influential brands including Target, McDonald's and Dollar General. Why It Matters The nonpartisan People's Union USA has pushed economic boycotts of some of the country's biggest companies since February, vowing to protect the American working class from "the greed and corruption that's kept us divided, distracted, and struggling for decades." Companies like Target have reversed policies on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives to the chagrin of The People's Union, which has called such corporate decisions "backward, regressive and dangerous." Newsweek reached out to its founder, John Schwarz, for comment. What To Know The "Economic Blackout Tour" rolls on, dissuading Americans from financially supporting Target between June 3 and 9; and McDonald's from June 24 to 30. Newsweek reached out to both companies for comment. A McDonald's location in Times Square is pictured. A McDonald's location in Times Square is pictured. Getty Images The broad effort is not meant to repudiate Donald Trump, Elon Musk, Joe Biden or any other politician, The People's Union says on its website. The group is unaffiliated with any political party or ideological persuasion. "We don't play party games," the website reads. "We don't care who's wearing the suit. What we care about is truth, the people, and the power we hold when we stand together. ... This isn't about personalities, it's about the system. "Both parties have failed us. Billionaires and corporations have bought the government and weaponized the economy. We are not here to argue about figureheads; we're here to dismantle the rigged structure that's been crushing the working class for decades. We don't take sides, we take action." Other boycotts since February 28 have targeted Amazon, Nestle, Walmart and General Mills. Schwarz, who has more than 436,000 Instagram followers, took to the platform on Memorial Day to post a video invigorating like-minded individuals on what the group has already accomplished and what remains on its agenda. The video, titled "Time to Shut Down Target," encourages people "to hold the lines." "We already know Target is being boycotted, but they're not doing anything," Schwarz said. "They've had their chance. So, what we are doing between June 3 and June 9, we will be calling for the permanent boycott of Target. Shop anywhere else but Target, and I literally mean that. "If you got to shop at Walmart or Amazon, places we boycott, do it. Target needs to be shut down; this corporation needs to feel the full power of the people. All thsoe other corporations out there manipulating us will feel the full power. Stand in solidarity, the only thing we have is each other." Black individuals have also boycotted Target for their DEI policies and claimed lack of financial investment in their communities. Reverend Jamal Bryant, pastor of New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Atlanta, initially led a Target boycott during the Lenten season coined "Target Fast" in response to the company's elimination of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) principles and lack of investment in Black-owned banks, businesses and education. "It's been absolutely phenomenal," Bryant told Newsweek on May 29. "It is the largest boycott by black people since the Montgomery bus boycott in its effectiveness. Over 200,000 people signed the [Target Fast] petition. "[It's great] to see over 2,000 churches to fall in alignment. To see the stock drop, to see the valuation drop, to see the CEO salary chopped, to see their foot traffic has dropped says that we've got amazing momentum and the wind to our back, and I really believe that a real civil rights movement is on the horizon." Bryant said Target Fast was borne out of Target's rescinding of DEI policies and the "reneging of their covenant to of the George Floyd family." "When we look at the bottom line of Black people spending $12 million a day in Target, we really felt that it was a betrayal," he said. "They made a covenant after George Floyd's murder, with no prompting, no rally, no protest and no pressure under their own devices. The CEO, Brian [Cornell] said that George Floyd could have been one of his employees. "For them to backpedal in such a speedy way, we thought that was a betrayal that could not be overlooked." He and supporters are now electronically boycotting Dollar General, aiming to overwhelm their systems with calls and emails, along with a social media campaign. Bryant said the brand, even with its 20,500-plus stores in 48 states and $40.6 billion in sales, is "swimming under the radar." "They have three times the stores of Target and Walmart combined, at about 21,000 around the country," he said. "They are in primarily impoverished communities. They're in rural areas of 20,000 or less. We ask for electronic in those rural areas because regrettably, for a lot of communities, that's their only option for groceries. There's no Publix, there's no Giant. "They've taken up that land space and $40 billion in profit, and Dollar General has never given to a Black institution; never given to a Black college; never given to a Black organization. They have no relationship with the Black Farmers Association. You can't just take our dollars and take our dignity at the same time." What People Are Saying Target told Newsweek in May: "We are absolutely dedicated to fostering inclusivity for everyone—our team members, our guests and our supply partners. To do that, we're focusing on what we do best: providing the best retail experience for the more than 2,000 communities we're proud to serve." Walmart told Newsweek in May: "As one of the largest corporate taxpayers in the country, not only do we pay our fair share, we are an economic force multiplier strengthening communities nationwide through job creation, supplier growth, and over $1.7 billion in cash and in-kind donations last remain dedicated to earning the business of all Americans and giving our time and resources to causes that uplift and unite communities who rely on us every day." John Schwarz, in an Instagram post during the first Amazon boycott: "Every boycott, every blackout, every stand we take together is shaking their foundation. This moment isn't just about resistance, it's about reclaiming what's ours. Hold the line. Stay strong. The future is in our hands." What Happens Next Future efforts by The People's Union include an Independence Day boycott. It says more boycotts are being planned, with details to follow. Bryant said that boycott efforts across Black communities is an endeavor that escalated on Memorial Day and will at least for now continue until Labor Day, describing it as "the summer of our discontent." He is meeting with other community leaders to identify whether additional companies and brands should be boycotted as well. "We're we're hoping that before the summer ends that we'll have some resolve," he said.
