BuzzFeed to Launch AI-Driven Social Media Platform for Interactive Storytelling and New Content Formats

BuzzFeed is developing a social-media platform that focuses on interactive storytelling, new content formats, and AI tools. The platform aims to disrupt the algorithm-centric model that currently dominates the social-media landscape.

In a bold move to counter the current negativity on the internet and disrupt the algorithm-centric model that dominates social media, BuzzFeed, the renowned media site known for its celebrity news and quizzes, is developing its own social media platform [1]. The new platform, which focuses on interactive storytelling, new content formats, and AI tools, is designed to spread joy and serve as a refuge from the algorithm-driven gloom that pervades mainstream social media platforms.

According to Semafor, details on the new platform are scarce, but BuzzFeed has revealed that it will incorporate AI tools aimed at encouraging self-expression and connection among users [1]. The platform will be human-curated, but it will also leverage existing large language models (LLMs) for specific creative purposes. BuzzFeed itself already employs OpenAI's technology in its quizzes and games.

The manifesto for BuzzFeed's new social media platform, published as part of the announcement, criticizes big tech companies like TikTok and Meta for neglecting their users' well-being by prioritizing an addictive, AI-driven algorithm over human curation [1]. Founder and CEO Jonah Peretti argues that these apps manipulate consumer behavior for profit rather than for the benefit of users.

However, Peretti emphasizes that BuzzFeed's new social media platform will use AI "to give users agency instead of stealing their agency" [1]. Users can join the waitlist and test the platform with selected users to focus on developing a finished product based on their feedback.

BuzzFeed's new platform aims to counter the rampant misinformation and users' doom-scrolling addiction on mainstream social media platforms by providing a refuge where users can follow trends, find hidden gems, and be in the loop without wasting time and risking their mental health [1]. The platform will also counter the anger and fear with a sense of humor, laughing at the buffoonery and ridiculousness of the most powerful people.

References:

[1] TechCrunch. (2025, February 11). BuzzFeed is taking on Instagram, TikTok, and X with a new social platform designed to spread joy. https://techcrunch.com/2025/02/11/buzzfeed-is-taking-on-instagram-tiktok-x-with-a-new-social-platform-designed-to-spread-joy/