Last chance to save on Digiday Publishing Summit passes is February 9
May the promotion be with you, Facebook.
Ahead of the Friday’s release of the latest “Star Wars” movie, the social network is adding a lightsaber filter for people to add on to their profile pictures. The tool offers two lightsaber options: an evil red one from Kylo Ren or a generic blue-shaded beam. There’s also an expiration feature in it, letting users revert back to their old pictures within an hour, day or week.
Star Wars is the first major non-sporting brand to use the Snapchat-like filter. Until now, NCAA, MLB, NBA, and European soccer organizations, like the Premiere League were the only brands letting people place its logo on their faces.
Facebook didn’t immediately respond for comment about the terms of its agreement with Disney.
Filters have been a success for Facebook ever since its introduction in June for the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision legalizing same-sex marriage when 26 million users draped a rainbow flag over their pictures. The company also had a French flag filter after last month’s terrorist attack in Paris.
More in Media
In Graphic Detail: The puny nature of regulatory fines compared to Big Tech’s financial prowess
Big Tech could pay off over $7 billion in 2025 fines in less than one month, demonstrating the disparity between regulatory bite and corporate wealth.
WTF is vibe coding?
Vibe coding is an increasingly popular way of writing code using plain-language prompts that creators are leveraging to build apps, websites, and more.
Google’s forced AI opt out: what changes — and what doesn’t — for publishers
Publishers want the Competition Markets Authority to impose harder structural remedies on Google regarding its AI crawler vs. behavioral ones.