🍔 The Burger Bite Discourse + TikTok for Search
Happy Friday!
This week, the internet debated the proper way to take a bite of a burger, collectively fell in love with a very confident pigeon, and rediscovered the effortless style of Carolyn Bessette Kennedy.
On the platform side, Instagram is giving creators more control over their grids, Threads is making it easier to move conversations into DMs, and TikTok continues to cement itself as both a search engine and creator discovery machine.
As always, you can reach out to us at midwestdigital@finnpartners.com. This week is brought to you by Nicole & Mark.
👀 This Week in Social
The Bite Heard Around The World: While promoting McDonald’s new Big Arch burger, CEO Chris Kempczinski appeared in a promotional video taking what social media users quickly deemed a very cautious bite of the burger. From there, the internet did what it does best: zooming in, replaying the clip, and weighing in. The consensus? The bite was not big enough, and “product” is a weird thing to call a burger (at least outside of marketing meetings).
Once the discourse took off, a clip of Burger King’s CEO taking a noticeably larger bite of a Whopper began circulating. Social audiences considered this a direct response, and the contrast was meme gold. The conversation quickly expanded beyond just McDonald’s and Burger King, with other chains like Wendy’s and A&W sharing their own feedback and comparisons while the fast-food rivalry spread across timelines.
McDonald’s leaned into the moment with humor. The brand shared a post captioned “take a bite of our new product,” playfully acknowledging the discourse rather than ignoring it. By joining the conversation with self-awareness, McDonald’s helped shift the tone and turn the moment into something the internet could laugh about.
Love Story’s CBK Effect: The hit docuseries Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette has spotlighted Carolyn Bessette Kennedy’s life, effortlessly cool wardrobe, and quiet elegance. The show has sparked attention, with Gen Z creators mining the show for outfit inspo and obsessing over the romance, and that’s exactly why the “CBK Effect” has become one of this week’s biggest conversations online. Social media has transformed Bessette Kennedy’s once-private style into a viral cultural reference point, illustrating how platforms can rapidly resurrect past icons for a new generation.
Our Favorite Internet Randomness of the Week: A pigeon doctor has been taking over timelines and feeds in a way that few expected. Across X, users are clipping the pigeon strutting around; sometimes with dramatic context, exaggerated captions or turning it into a laugh-first meme that’s everywhere.
💡 Need-to-Know Platform News
Instagram Expands Grid Editing and TV Viewing: Creators on Instagram can now edit the thumbnail image that appears in their profile grid, giving them more control over how posts look at a glance. It’s part of Instagram’s broader push toward customizable profiles, alongside the shift to larger thumbnails and an upcoming grid rearrange feature. At the same time, Instagram is expanding its connected TV app to Google TV devices in the U.S., bringing Reels to even more living room screens.
Threads Tests DM Shortcut in Posts: Users part of the current test on Threads can now type “DM me” or “Message me” in a post to automatically generate a link that opens a direct conversation. The shortcut removes the extra step of visiting someone’s profile and makes it easier to move conversations from the feed into private messages.
X Tests Topic Feed Filters: A new experimental feature lets users on X steer their For You feed toward specific news topics. By selecting categories or trending stories, the algorithm will prioritize updates around those subjects. The move reinforces X’s push to remain the internet’s real-time news hub while giving users a bit more control over what shows up in their feed.
📆 Don’t Miss It
TikTok’s Role as a Search Engine Keeps Growing: Nearly half of U.S. consumers now use TikTok as a search engine, according to a new Adobe study. Users come to TikTok for things like recipes, beauty advice, and restaurant recommendations, leaning on short-form video and creator perspectives instead of traditional search results. While Google still dominates discovery overall, the shift reinforces TikTok’s role as a place people go to find things, not just watch videos.
TikTok Reveals Its 2026 Discover List: This year’s TikTok Discover List highlights 50 creators shaping conversations across categories like food, education, beauty, and culture. The annual showcase spotlights rising voices on the platform and gives selected creators additional support and training from TikTok. For brands, it’s also a handy cheat sheet of emerging creators worth watching or collaborating with.