Airbnb, Qantas band together for marriage equality; Facebook tests alternate News Feed; Warren Buffett Coke cans appear in China: The Roundup

By Dominic Powell and Eloise Keating

A number of big Australian businesses including Qantas, Foxtel, and Fairfax have banded together to promote marriage equality through an advertising and social media campaign.

International businesses such as Airbnb are also involved in the campaign, which is seeking to promote marriage equality through a ring designed by Marc Newson reports Mashable, which the companies are encouraging Australians to wear to show their support.

The ring does not form a full circle, representing the “gap” in marriage equality, and Airbnb chief executive Brian Chesky said in a statement it is an opportunity for everyone to “show their support” for marriage equality.

“This is an opportunity for people to show their support for marriage equality – not just those within the LGBTQI+ community, but for anyone to make their support for a brother, sister, parent, friend or loved one known,” Chesky said.

Facebook testing alternate News Feed showing users content from pages they don’t follow

A strange “rocketship” icon appearing on Facebook users mobile applications has been revealed as a trial by the company to test a new style of News Feed, which could benefit businesses.

TechCrunch reports the alternate news feed shows users content from pages and businesses that they don’t follow on Facebook, curated by Facebook to show what it thinks users will like. This includes “popular articles, videos, and photos”, Facebook said in a statement.

If the feature rolls out of its testing phase, businesses could see additional engagement on their posts and advertisements on the platform, with the feature acting similarly to Instagram’s ‘Explore’ function. This is the latest in Facebook’s ongoing developments, with the company also recently revamping its Messenger bot functionality to help businesses use the platform.

Warren Buffett’s face to appear on Coke cans in China

Billionaire investor Warren Buffett may already drink five cans of Coca-Cola a day, but his association with the soft drink company has now reached a new level.

Bloomberg reports Buffett’s face will feature on cans of Cherry Coke in China for a limited time, following the release of Cherry Coke in the market earlier this month. According to the soft drink maker, Buffett has “legendary” status among Chinese investors, an increasing number of which travel to Berkshire Hathaway’s annual meeting each year.

Buffett has been a long-time investor in Coca-Cola, with Berkshire Hathaway currently holding 9.3% of the company, which is valued at approximately US$17 billion ($22.4 billion).

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