Author: Editor

At their best, online ads match consumers with the perfect product. At their worst, they can infect a person’s device with malicious software.A new report found that malicious ads overtook email scams and direct hacks as the primary channel for malware in 2025.Cybercriminals use malware to infect machines with the aim of extorting money or data, or otherwise causing chaos for unwitting victims. The report, shared exclusively with Business Insider by digital safety company The Media Trust, found that programmatic advertising — the practice of buying and placing targeted ads using automated software, often in real time — has become…

There’s a mystery marketer playing 4D chess on social media — and they made another unexpected move this week.Last month, a Reddit user claiming to be a disgruntled OpenAI employee alleged that the company scrapped a Super Bowl ad teasing its forthcoming Jony Ive hardware device, opting to run a different spot instead.Then came the “leak.”A video purporting to be the shelved ad, starring Alexander Skarsgård, circulated on X and YouTube. It depicted the star of “Big Little Lies” (the irony is not lost on me) wearing earbuds and prodding a shiny orb-like object.The video gained traction after several high-profile,…

In an aerial view, two-story single family homes line the streets on Jan. 14, 2026 in Thousand Oaks, California. Kevin Carter | Getty ImagesLegislation to ban institutional investors from buying single-family homes to rent is making its way through Congress, but many of them are already selling thousands of homes — and have been for two years. Research from housing data and analytics firm Parcl Labs shows that the largest investors are now net sellers of homes. In every major metropolitan housing market, investors make up a larger share of for-sale listings than they do of the total housing stock.…

CoreWeave is enlisting Chance the Rapper to help define its next act as investors increasingly scrutinize the AI boom’s big spenders.The Grammy Award-winning artist fronts CoreWeave’s first major brand campaign, “Ready for anything, ready for AI,” which showcases what customers are doing on its AI cloud platform. The campaign marks the company’s first foray into podcast advertising and also includes TV, digital, and San Francisco airport ads.In an interview with Business Insider, CoreWeave CMO Jean English, who joined the company last year, said the marketing push aims to position the company as a leader in an emerging “AI cloud” category.…

The last time you visited a Cinnabon or Auntie Anne’s, did you seek it out — or come across it and visit on a whim?That question, GoTo Foods’ new CEO, Omer Gajial, told Business Insider in an exclusive interview, is a through-line for the company’s next act: take the parts of its portfolio long associated with mall and airport grab-and-go moments and make those brands places people choose to visit on purpose.Gajial framed the strategy simply: GoTo’s “restaurant brands,” like Moe’s Southwestern Grill and McAlister’s Deli, already have the bones of destination businesses — stand-alone locations, deep local ties, and…

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Alan Magee, chief marketing officer of Empire Portfolio Group, one of the largest franchisees of Orangetheory Fitness, with more than 140 fitness studios across the US. It’s been edited for length and clarity.A lot of marketers don’t even know where to start with AI.Being a smaller, more nimble organization, I think you’ll find more people in my type of role are probably using it way more than someone sitting at a big corporate brand.We have used AI to create visuals and copy. We used MidJourney for our medical clinic brand to…

There is no “right” way to eat. You wouldn’t know that, though, given how much we scrutinize each other’s diets.Much like child rearing, exercising, and shopping habits, food is one of those things we all make judgments about based on our own, individually concocted rulebook. Order DoorDash too much? Lazy! Think people should slow down on eating out and learn to cook? Inconsiderate! Our society stigmatizes and shuns overweight people, but it can also take a critical eye toward thin people, especially if the perception is that they’re “cheating” by taking a medication to drop some pounds. There’s a political…

On Saturday, I was standing on the beach below my home on Dubai’s Palm Crescent when I noticed thick plumes of black smoke rising from the Fairmont Hotel across the water on the trunk of the Palm Jumeirah.I watched the dark fumes with dread as they rapidly grew thicker at sunset. The sight recalled the same images I saw from explosions in Beirut and Gaza during my own reporting in the region over the past few years. I live in a beachfront apartment on the East Crescent, the outer arc that curves around Palm Jumeirah and shields it from the…

If you’ve read a business or finance book roundup, chances are “Rich Dad Poor Dad” made the list. Loading audio narration… So many investors have cited Robert Kiyosaki’s classic that this Business Insider reporter had to read it herself to see what all the hype was about.For this list, though, we’re highlighting more underrated or surprising titles we’ve heard recommended by financially savvy individuals. Here are three that shaped how they think about money, work, and retirement.Alex Nathanson and Josette Chang reached financial independence in Manhattan, partly thanks to the mindset they adopted from “Die With Zero.” The book encourages…

Target is betting on “busy families” to drive its turnaround.On Tuesday, the retailers’ executives outlined changes to Target’s stores, app, and product selection that they said will improve financial results. At the center of it all are the needs of time-crunched moms and dads, they said.The plan involves bolstering product selection and customer service in specific product categories, such as baby clothing and care, executives said Tuesday during a presentation at Target’s Minneapolis headquarters.”Target is not an everything store,” CEO Michael Fiddelke said at the company’s annual financial meeting in Minneapolis. “That’s not what guests want from us.”Funding many of…