Meta plans to test Discord-like “Community Chats” in Messenger and Facebook Groups, offering categories, audio and video channels, admin-only chats, and more (Amanda Silberling/TechCrunch)

Taylor Hatmaker / TechCrunch:
Discord rolls out Reddit-like Forum channels, designed for chatting about specific topics, after testing them since February 2022  —  If you’ve ever waded into a new Discord server and immediately been overwhelmed by a fast-scrolling wall of conversation with no obvious entry points …

Dean Takahashi / VentureBeat:
Discord debuts Activities to bring group experiences like playing games and watching videos to Voice Channels, an App Directory, Premium App Subscriptions, more  —  Discord announced a number of upgrades to its platform today, including activities where users can play casual games with each other.

Meta:
Mark Zuckerberg says Meta plans to lay off 13% of its staff, or 11,000+ employees, and will cut discretionary spending and extend its hiring freeze through Q1  —  Mark Zuckerberg just shared the following with Meta employees:  —  Today I’m sharing some of the most difficult changes we’ve made in Meta’s history.

David Pierce / The Verge:
YouTube rolls out Primetime Channels in the US, with shows and movies from 35 partners, including Paramount+ and Epix, and plans to add NBA League Pass soon  —  Streaming services are coming to YouTube.  The company is rolling out a new feature called Primetime Channels that will bring shows …

Bloomberg:
Roblox and Discord are accused of enabling adult men to sexually and financially exploit a California girl in a lawsuit filed by a social media watchdog group  —  Roblox Corp. and Discord Inc. were accused of enabling adult men to sexually and financially exploit a California girl in a lawsuit filed by a social-media watchdog group.

Wall Street Journal:
Sources: Mark Zuckerberg told staff layoffs will begin tomorrow, he is accountable for Meta’s missteps, and his overoptimism about growth led to overstaffing  —  Meta Platforms Inc. will begin laying off employees on Wednesday morning, Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg told hundreds of executives on Tuesday.