<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-topline">TOPLINE</h2>



Hundreds of content creators signed an open letter asking Meta to scrap a decision to curb the reach of “political content” on Instagram and Threads, amid concern the change could limit marginalized creators’ reach across the platforms.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-facts">KEY FACTS</h2>



The&nbsp;<a href="https://accountabletech.org/wp-content/uploads/Open-Letter-to-Instagram.pdf" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">letter</a>, first reported on by the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2024/04/10/politics-instagram-threads-limits/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Washington Post</a>, was organized by the groups Accountable Tech—a nonprofit that advocates for better regulation of Big Tech companies—and the LGBTQ+ advocacy group GLAAD, and includes the handles of more than 200 accounts, including popular accounts like the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.instagram.com/feminist/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">@feminist</a>&nbsp;account, with which has 6 million followers on Instagram.



The signatories argue the&nbsp;<a href="https://about.instagram.com/blog/announcements/continuing-our-approach-to-political-content-on-instagram-and-threads/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">policy</a>, announced in February, is “undermining the reach of our content online,” and is hurting efforts to “foster more inclusive and participatory democracy and society during a critical inflection point for our country.”



Forbes has contacted Meta for comment and did not immediately hear back—but Meta spokesperson Andy Stone told the Washington Post the change “expands on years of work on how we approach and treat political content based on what people have told us they wanted,” and Meta officials have previously<a href="https://deadline.com/2023/07/instagram-boss-politics-hard-news-not-pushed-threads-not-worth-scrutiny-negativity-integrity-risks-1235432486/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">&nbsp;suggested</a>&nbsp;they believe Instagram and Threads should focus their content on other topics aside from politics or hard news.



With Meta’s definition of “political content” including “social topics,” creators are concerned the new policy could “limit the reach of individuals and organizations whose identities and/or advocacy have been rendered a ‘social topic’ in this country,” the letter states, singling out advocacy efforts on climate change, gun violence prevention and transgender rights.



The creators are calling for Meta to change the policy so that users could “opt-in” to limiting so-called political content, rather than by opting them out by default.



The decision comes as&nbsp;<a href="https://www.instagram.com/familyequality/p/C5ixsJeLnSk/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">several</a>&nbsp;affected&nbsp;<a href="https://www.instagram.com/innercitystruggle/p/C486cuxv-jo/?img_index=1" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">accounts</a>&nbsp;have been raising concern that the policy could affect the reach of news about LGBTQ+ issues, and have been providing instructions for followers to turn off the new settings.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-how-has-the-policy-changed">HOW HAS THE POLICY CHANGED?</h2>



In a February&nbsp;<a href="https://about.instagram.com/blog/announcements/continuing-our-approach-to-political-content-on-instagram-and-threads/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">blog post</a>, Instagram said it will no longer “proactively recommend content about politics” from accounts users don’t follow across Instagram or Threads. Users who still want recommended posts on political content will be able to access an option to turn off limits in their content preferences. The policy applies to public accounts, and doesn’t change how users will see content from accounts they actively follow. Professional accounts can see whether their content is eligible to be recommended, and can request reviews if they disagree.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-background">KEY BACKGROUND</h2>



The open letter comes as content creators in recent weeks have been voicing concern about Meta’s new approach and also about how LGBTQ+ issues are treated across the tech giant’s platforms. Last month,&nbsp;<a href="https://glaad.org/smsi/report-meta-fails-to-moderate-extreme-anti-trans-hate-across-facebook-instagram-and-threads/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">GLAAD</a>&nbsp;released a report detailing how anti-transgender posts proliferated across the platforms despite policies aimed at preventing them, as LGBTQ+ creators have said that their own content is being limited by the policy, according to the Washington Post. Some creators have raised concern about how “political content” is defined, with Instagram influencer&nbsp;<a href="https://www.instagram.com/katiegrossbard/?hl=en" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Katie Grossbard</a>&nbsp;telling&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/creators-reaction-meta-instagram-limiting-political-content-rcna144969" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">NBC News</a>&nbsp;last month: “This decision directly harms communities whose entire existence is political.”



PROMOTED



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-contra">CONTRA</h2>



<a href="https://deadline.com/2023/07/instagram-boss-politics-hard-news-not-pushed-threads-not-worth-scrutiny-negativity-integrity-risks-1235432486/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Adam Mosseri,</a>&nbsp;Instagram’s head, has suggested he doesn’t see Instagram or Threads as being a central place for politics, writing on Threads that while “politics and hard news are important,” using them as a revenue source “is not at all worth the scrutiny, negativity (let’s be honest) or integrity risks that come along with them.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-big-number">BIG NUMBER</h2>



16%. As the open letter points out, that’s the percentage of adults who say they regularly get news on Instagram, per a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/journalism/fact-sheet/social-media-and-news-fact-sheet/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Pew Research Poll</a>.

INDIA-US-INTERNET-FACEBOOK

Creators Say Meta Shouldn’t Curb ‘Political Content’ In Policy Change Backlash

The future of money and the way we see money is changing drastically. Wealth forecasters and futurists look into the crystal ball for Africa.



The past two decades have generated $160 trillion in ‘paper wealth’, according to McKinsey’s 2023 Wealth Report. However, growth has been sluggish and there has been rising inequalities. According to the report, Africa’s long-term economic growth has been slow. The continent is home to the world’s youngest and fastest-growing population, but its economic performance has not been in tandem. Although this may seem bleak, reports indicate that Africa could add $1.4 trillion to its economy, almost doubling the value added by services today, were it to match the productivity growth of Asia’s strongest services.



In looking at wealth holistically, mapping out the trends for 2024 tells us that currently, the continent holds investable wealth worth about $2.4 trillion, and according to the recently-published Africa Wealth Report 2023 by Henley &amp; Partners in collaboration with New World Wealth, the population of millionaires is expected to increase by 42% over the next 10 years. Speaking to experts in wealth management and advisory services as well as a futurist, there is some optimism in looking at trends that go beyond just the number. 



1. More Millennials, More Gen Zs, and More Women. Probably the biggest and most significant gear shift, but not new, will be with these different groups of individuals. According to RBC Wealth Management, globally, in 2015, women held 30% of all wealth controlled by individuals or families, and about 44% had grown their wealth independently as entrepreneurs. UBS’s Women’s Wealth 2030 tells a story of how women’s wealth has seen unprecedented growth over the last decade. Women now control 32% of the world’s wealth. This will rise at a compound annual growth rate of 5.7% to $97 trillion by 2024.



“In my opinion, perhaps the fastest-growing cohort of millionaires in the next several years is going to be women,” says Delphine Govender, owner and Chief Investment Officer at Perpetua Investment Managers.



According to Govender, after centuries of being structurally excluded and marginalized in the broader spectrum of wealth- creating activities, there is an exponential rise in economically- empowered women. This can be attributed to several factors but is centered on the tremendous global focus on gender parity in all aspects of society as norms are finally starting to shift. 



“This is being supported by directly targeted policy initiatives to promote gender equality. More specific factors include a material increase in women entrepreneurs and the increasing support of women-led enterprises. The entire focus of gender lens investing (a fast-growing area) seeks to specifically allocate capital to women- led businesses, whose value chain and products also benefit women,” Govender tells FORBES AFRICA. Andrew Möller, CEO at Citadel Investment Services, adds: “We are also finding what appeals quite strongly to women is they place a much higher value on trust, and building relationships, a opposed to let&#8217;s say their male counterparts who would chase more of the metric of return to performance.”



Furthermore, Govender is seeing more adolescent girls being mentored from a school-going age about their career paths and this is starting to light a fire at a young age about the potential these younger girls have as they contemplate adulthood.



This is something both Möller and global futurist Jack Uldrich agree on with the rise of wealth millennials.



“We will absolutely see the growth,” Uldrich says. “Just the sheer amount of wealth that will be first transferred to them as my parents’ generation dies off, as my generation dies off. And we bequeath it to younger people. But they are also rapidly ascending leadership positions, and in many places across the globe, many of these companies still do need people to do their jobs. I think we&#8217;ll see the millennials increase their wealth, and then they will get into leadership positions. But I would say they think about money and wealth differently than we did.”



“Millennials are much more cost- sensitive than a lot of your other guys,” Möller adds. “They are obviously much more digitally driven. Millennials have a much higher requirement for transparency. In terms of the structures, and interestingly enough, on the transfer of wealth, millennials are much more open to switching advisors.”



2.More Entrepreneurship. Notably, there are 52 African-born billionaires globally, and only 23 (44%) still live on African soil. Henley &amp; Partners have noted that this is a significant concern as many billionaires are entrepreneurs and company founders who therefore can create significant employment in their host countries. “Entrepreneurs typically make the best clients,” Möller chuckles. “Why? Because entrepreneurs know what they know. And they&#8217;ve gone and they&#8217;ve made the wealth but in a very specific area. I am happy to say that the future wealth is definitely entrepreneurs and I do think that a lot of wealth management firms will be sourcing their acquisition strategies from them. Entrepreneurs certainly have the biggest growth potential.”



Many reports show that a crucial part of this would be to create more relevant educational curricula, train employees to build the skills and knowledge Africa needs, link talent with job opportunities, and empower entrepreneurs to enhance the continent’s workforce and produce next-generation leaders.



“Indeed, African talent could become the continent’s largest export—and given shifts we are seeing in how work gets done, this talent may not need to leave the continent to fulfill this demand,” the Henley &amp; Partners report reads.



3.  More Investments = More Very-High-Net-Worth Individuals  (VHNWIs) + Ultra-High-Net-Worth Individuals (UHNWIs). As Africa is rich in human and natural resources, individuals are finding different opportunities in a multitude of sectors. As the years go on, Africa’s growth will increase, due to aspects such as the internet, smartphones, and even renewable energy, says Uldrich.



“I think we&#8217;re going to see, and we already are seeing with the number of satellites that are put in, more satellites that are being delivered; high-speed internet access everywhere in the globe and all across Africa. Most people, not everyone, already have smartphones and I think with the advances



in renewable energy [wealth], it’s going to get better because those three are going to lead to increased economic growth, which in turn will in fact manifest itself in wealth as we currently define it. So I would tell you I&#8217;m absolutely bullish on the long-term prospects for Africa.”



According to StatsSA, as of 2022, approximately 138,000 HNWIs lived in Africa, each with $1 million or more net assets, excluding government funds. Statista further added that the total private wealth in Africa amounted to $2.4 trillion in 2022.



The amount was accumulated by over 140,000 individuals, including millionaires, centimillionaires, and billionaires. Compared to 2021, the continent counted 2,000 more millionaires.



Möller says reports predict that in the next decade, the number of African millionaires is going to probably increase by 42% and that will be a number of approximately 195,000 ultra-high-net-worth participants.



“That&#8217;s what the forecasts are saying but when you put that overlay of what&#8217;s been happening in the global environment on top of this, the numbers forecast could be slightly different,” Möller adds.



“And by this, I mean, in 2021, there was a rapid growth of ultra-high-net-worth individuals in the world. That was on the back of unprecedented growth stimulus, there was a very low- interest rate environment, there was high liquidity at the time, and there were significant stock market gains that happened in the economic environment. “Whilst we certainly believe that is going to be a growth, we&#8217;re not quite sure that it&#8217;s going to be the growth of their 42%.” “Perhaps the most pressing aspect affecting Africans and South Africans is the quantum of their wealth that is invested offshore vs onshore,” Govender adds.



“This continues to be a significant source of debate. As liquidity in domestic public markets dries up, many local investors are starting to question the extent of their home bias.”



4.  AI May Redefine Wealth. Artificial intelligence (AI) has rapidly been finding a place in the world of work, so it should come as no surprise that it has found itself in the world of wealth.



Möller believes that the uptake of AI will actually be beneficial when it comes to wealth, particularly for wealth managers and their clients.



“As AI is starting to develop, this thing of digitization is gathering more momentum,” Möller says.



“It might sound perverse but I think digitization is going to make businesses more client-centric and the link between digitization and AI and client centricity is very simply going to open up the advisor&#8217;s diaries allowing them to simply focus on what they should be always doing and that is building relationships. It&#8217;s going to de-clutter.”



However, Uldrich believes that the world&#8217;s leading experts working on artificial intelligence are being a bit disingenuous in stating that it is going to transform the nature of work.



According to the forecaster, long-term, this may be true but short- to mid-term, there&#8217;s going to be a lot of displacement. This is why Uldrich believes that the way one defines wealth should likely change.



“Even in the age of AI,” Uldrich adds, “humans still have agency and we have to create our desired future… Most futurists I think are optimistic about the future, and they speak of an abundant future. But to tie back to wealth, I think what&#8217;s going to happen is for the most part, most people in the world will have all of their material needs met, but that will create a new problem.



“It will be sort of a spiritual vacuum. My point is I don&#8217;t think that we will define wealth simply in terms of dollars and material possessions, people will have those things and then they will say, ‘oh, what really matters?’. And I think we will see a major shift in how we define wealth.”



5. More Creatives. It doesn’t matter how much AI can do, the one sub-set of entrepreneurs, employees, brands, and businesses that will be safe, will be in the creative economy. “We&#8217;re going to see almost a new renaissance in [creativity],” Uldrich says. “Because artificial intelligence is really good at mimicking the human mind or intelligence, what it cannot do is imagine. It can give you the impression it is creating, but it&#8217;s not. All it&#8217;s doing is taking existing pieces and rearranging them and I would say that is a component of creativity and imagination. But we think with our heart, with our body, and that’s what AI can’t yet do.” 



Govender believes the creative economy is contributing meaningfully to growth in the number of millionaires and to some extent this is underpinning why we should expect more female millionaires. “Whether in fields of design, the arts, or entertainment, we are seeing the pursuit of a far more balanced economy as well as a greater value being broadly attached to the creative economy,” she says. “Social media has resulted in an entirely new slew of careers in terms of influencers and content creators – which is channeling income into the hands of many self-made individuals who no longer have to rely on corporates being their employers.



“While traditional careers such as medicine and law will continue to exist, the ascent of an increased number of well-rewarded careers within the creative domains means we now have many more industries and professions capable of producing wealthy individuals.”

Millennial man investing stock market analysis during trading cryptocurrency on laptop

What Wealth Will Look Like In 2024 (And The Years To Come)…

FORBES AFRICA is on the hunt for Africans under the age of 30, who are building brands, creating jobs and transforming the continent, to join our Under 30 community for 2020.



<hr class="wp-block-separator"/>



JOHANNESBURG, 07 January 2020: Attention entrepreneurs,
creatives, sport stars and technology geeks — the 2020 FORBES AFRICA Under 30
nominations are now officially open. 



The
FORBES AFRICA 30 Under 30 list is the most-anticipated list of game-changers on
the continent and this year, we are on the hunt for 30 of Africa’s brightest
achievers under the age of 30 spanning these categories: Business, Technology,
Creatives and Sport.



Each
year, FORBES AFRICA looks for resilient self-starters, innovators,
entrepreneurs and disruptors who have the acumen to stay the course in their
chosen field, come what may.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="685" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Under-30-online-2020-1024x685.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-42458" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Under-30-online-2020-1024x685.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Under-30-online-2020-300x201.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Under-30-online-2020-600x401.jpg 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Under-30-online-2020-768x514.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Under-30-online-2020-1536x1027.jpg 1536w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Under-30-online-2020.jpg 1920w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></figure>



Past honorees include Sho Madjozi, Bruce Diale, Karabo Poppy, Kwesta, Nomzamo Mbatha, Burna Boy, Nthabiseng Mosia, Busi Mkhumbuzi Pooe, Henrich Akomolafe, Davido, Yemi Alade, Vere Shaba, Nasty C and WizKid.



What’s different this year is that we have whittled down the list to just 30 finalists, making the competition stiff and the vetting process even more rigorous.&nbsp;



Says
FORBES AFRICA’s Managing Editor, Renuka Methil: “The start of a new decade
means the unraveling of fresh talent on the African continent. I can’t wait to
see the potential billionaires who will land up on our desks. Our coveted sixth
annual Under 30 list will herald some of the decade’s biggest names in business
and life.” 



If you think you have what it takes to be on this year’s list or know an entrepreneur, creative, technology entrepreneur or sports star under 30 with a proven track-record on the continent – introduce them to FORBES AFRICA by applying or submitting your nomination.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="724" height="1024" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/poster-1-724x1024.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-42456" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/poster-1-724x1024.jpg 724w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/poster-1-300x424.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/poster-1-600x849.jpg 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/poster-1-212x300.jpg 212w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/poster-1-768x1087.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/poster-1-1086x1536.jpg 1086w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/poster-1.jpg 1357w" sizes="(max-width: 724px) 100vw, 724px" /></figure>



NOMINATIONS AND APPLICATIONS CRITERIA:



Business
and Technology categories



<ol><li>Must be an
 entrepreneur/founder aged 29 or younger on 31 March 2020</li><li>Should have a legitimate
 REGISTERED business on the continent</li><li>Business/businesses
 should be two years or older</li><li>Nominees must have risked
 own money and have a social impact</li><li>Must be profit generating</li><li>Must employ people in
 Africa</li><li>All applications must be
 in English</li><li>Should be available and
 prepared to participate in the Under 30 Meet-Up</li></ol>



Sports
category



<ol><li>Must be a sports person
 aged 29 or younger on 31 March 2020</li><li>Must be representing an
 African team</li><li>Should have a proven
 track record of no less than two years</li><li>Should be making
 significant earnings</li><li>Should have some
 endorsement deals</li><li>Entrepreneurship and
 social impact is a plus</li><li>All applications must be
 in English</li><li>Should be available and
 prepared to participate in the Under 30 Meet-Up</li></ol>



Creatives
category



<ol><li>Must be a creative aged 29
 or younger on 31 March 2020</li><li>Must be from or based in
 Africa</li><li>Should be making significant
 earnings</li><li>Should have a proven
 creative record of no less than two years</li><li>Must have social
 influence</li><li>Entrepreneurship and
 social impact is a plus</li><li>All applications must be
 in English</li><li>Should be available and
 prepared to participate in the Under 30 Meet-Up</li></ol>



Your
entry should include:



<ul><li>Country</li><li>Full Names</li><li>Company name/Team you are
 applying with</li><li>A short motivation on why
 you should be on the list</li><li>A short profile on self
 and company</li><li>Links to published
 material / news clippings about nominee </li><li>All social media handles</li><li>Contact information</li><li>High-res images of
 yourself</li></ul>



Applications and nominations must be sent via email to FORBES AFRICA journalist and curator of the list, Karen Mwendera, on <a href="mailto:Karen.Mwendera@abn360.com">Karen.Mwendera@abn360.com</a> 



Nominations
close on 3 February 2020.

Tag: Creatives

FORBES AFRICA SOCIAL MEDIA

Creators Say Meta Shouldn’t Curb ‘Political Content’ In Policy Change Backlash

What Wealth Will Look Like In 2024 (And The Years To Come)…

Nominations Open for FORBES AFRICA 30 Under 30 class of 2020