Meta Doesn't Want You Arguing Politics With Strangers

Folks, Meta Platforms (META) just made an interesting business decision... This year, the social media titan doesn't want you fighting over politics with people you don't know. [Chaikin PowerFeed]( Meta Doesn't Want You Arguing Politics With Strangers By Vic Lederman, editorial director, Chaikin Analytics Folks, Meta Platforms (META) just made an interesting business decision... This year, the social media titan doesn't want you fighting over politics with people you don't know. At least, not on its platforms. And it's making major changes to make this a reality. You likely already know that Meta is the parent company behind Facebook. It also owns messaging app WhatsApp, photo- and video-sharing service Instagram, and Threads – a relatively new competitor to X (formerly known as Twitter). That easily makes Meta the largest social media company in the world. And it's estimated that nearly 247 million Americans accessed Facebook last year. In other words, darn near every American uses one of the Meta-owned apps. So this politics change is a big deal. After all, we're heading into what will likely be a very loud, contentious election cycle this year. And for some reason, Meta is making a change. Let's take a closer look at that today. And we'll also check up on Meta in the Power Gauge... Recommended Links: [Tomorrow (February 14) Will See the Biggest Move Of 2024]( The market will see a massive move on February 14. That's the newest prediction from the man who called the 2020 and 2022 crashes, and last year's turnaround within 24 hours. But if you know what's coming, you could double your money 10 different times, without buying a single stock. [By tomorrow, see his outline (and #1 recommendation) here](. [Prepare NOW for the Fed's next move on March 11]( The analyst who called the 2008 collapse of Lehman Brothers believes the Fed's next meeting could trigger "the craziest, most difficult time in our financial history". No, it's not the next rate hike, more fudged economic data, or whether we'll have a 'soft landing' in 2023. The last time this happened, Americans became 41% poorer overnight. [Get the full story here now](. Don't worry – Meta isn't banning politics on its platform... or anything quite so absurd. But it is making a change that could have major implications for its business... You see, Meta will no longer "push" political posts from accounts that users aren't currently following. The biggest change is coming to Instagram and Threads, with plans to roll out the same control on Facebook in the future. There's no question this will reduce user engagement... The company learned long ago that negative emotional reactions to posts get attention. And for years, it has "rage baited" users into spending more time on its platforms. So it's unquestionable that this change will likely lead to lower "time on site" numbers. But that might be good for Meta in the long run. In fact, the company has already worked on cooling the political heat on Facebook in recent years. Here's how Meta puts it on the "Transparency Center" section of its corporate website... People have told us they want to see less political content, so we have spent the last few years refining our approach on Facebook to reduce the amount of political content – including from politicians' accounts – you see in Feed, Reels, Watch, Groups You Should Join, and Pages You May Like. These changes aren't getting in the way of the company's stock. As you can see in the chart below, Meta is soaring to new highs... [Chaikin PowerFeed] You can also see in the chart that Meta has blown past its previous 2021 high. And the Power Gauge caught the turn near perfectly. Today, our system gives Meta a "very bullish" rating. And based on the stock's relative strength versus the S&P 500 Index, Meta has been outperforming the broad market. In fact, the stock has soared about 53% over the past six months. The S&P 500 is only up around 12% over that same time frame. Sure, Meta dialing back on promoting political content will probably lower user engagement on its apps. But it's not stopping the stock from soaring. Personally, I welcome the change. Nearly all of us interact with the company's products... like it or not. I'd rather spend my time focused on the markets than reacting to a stranger's political opinion I didn't need to know in the first place. Good investing, Vic Lederman Market View Major Indexes and Notable Sectors # Hld: Bullish Neutral Bearish Dow 30 +0.36% 16 13 1 S&P 500 -0.04% 194 226 77 Nasdaq -0.39% 54 35 11 Small Caps +1.81% 624 964 330 Bonds +0.12% Utilities +1.16% 1 7 21 — According to the Chaikin Power Bar, Small Cap stocks and Large Cap stocks are Bullish. Major indexes are mixed. * * * * Sector Tracker Sector movement over the last 5 days Materials +3.45% Discretionary +2.82% Real Estate +1.97% Industrials +1.89% Information Technology +1.76% Financial +1.32% Utilities +1.26% Health Care +1.25% Energy +1.1% Communication +1.02% Staples -0.11% * * * * Industry Focus Mining Services 7 13 12 Over the past 6 months, the Mining subsector (XME) has underperformed the S&P 500 by -3.78%. Its Power Bar ratio, which measures future potential, is Weak, with more Bearish than Bullish stocks. It is currently ranked #16 of 21 subsectors and has moved down 1 slot over the past week. Indicative Stocks [rating] CMP Compass Minerals Int [rating] NEM Newmont Corporation [rating] MP MP Materials Corp. * * * * Top Movers Gainers [rating] VFC +13.99% [rating] FANG +9.38% [rating] MHK +6.57% [rating] ENPH +5.25% [rating] MTCH +4.43% Losers [rating] MSI -3.26% [rating] NOW -3.15% [rating] MPWR -2.98% [rating] TSLA -2.81% [rating] CEG -2.77% * * * * Earnings Report Reporting Today Rating Before Open After Close INCY, LDOS, MAR AIG, AKAM BIIB, ECL, HWM, KO, MCO, TAP ABNB, DVA, EQT, ES, MGM HAS INVH, WELL No earnings reporting today. Earnings Surprises [rating] ANET Arista Networks, Inc. Q4 $2.08 Beat by $0.37 [rating] WM Waste Management, Inc. Q4 $1.74 Beat by $0.21 [rating] PFG Principal Financial Group, Inc. Q4 $1.83 Beat by $0.14 [rating] CDNS Cadence Design Systems, Inc. Q4 $1.38 Beat by $0.05 * * * * You have received this e-mail as part of your subscription to PowerFeed. If you no longer want to receive e-mails from PowerFeed, [click here](. 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