We noted recently that Meta has reported a loss of 20 million users across its family of apps, including Facebook and Instagram. While the company blamed the loss on disruptions in Iran and Ukraine, others see the loss as more significant. Futurism said plainly that Meta has entered a "death spiral," noting that scrolling Facebook now "feels like an infinite timeline of AI slop, ads, and lazy misinformation." Meanwhile, writing in The New York Times, journalist Julia Angwin likened Meta's probable future to that of "lifeless" internet platforms like AOL. We feature those stories, and more, in today's roundup of news and opinion from around the web.

  May 26-July 2: What Now | 2026 Across Philadelphia Opening this week, ArtPhilly "What Now: 2026" is a five-week citywide festival that bypasses colonial nostalgia to pose an urgent civic riddle: A lot has changed since 1776, so... what now? What follows is not white cube retrospective, but a vibrant, democratic display of a city wrestling with its own layers of history, identity, and erasure. Above: Jai Perez in rehearsal for in case of fire, spea...