#Newsfeed: Facebook beats Q3 estimate with US$4.7 billion profit; KFC, McDonald’s and Burger King are in a Twitter war; Jimmy Barnes debuts at No. 1 on the bestsellers list

Plus 12 emerging styling trends that will dominate Instagram in 2018.

Regardless of the ongoing inquiry into Russia’s interference with the US election, Facebook has still managed to post an incredible US$4.7 billion profit for Q3. In the earnings announcement today, Facebook’s profitability climbed 79% year-over-year, and continues its streak of beating estimates. As for users counts, Facebook now has 2.06 billion monthly active users, up 3.19% compared to last quarter’s 2.006 billion and 3.4% growth rate. Daily active users reached 1.37 billion, up 3.8% quarter-over-quarter.

Read all of the latest earnings and user stats here.

As part of his Q3 earnings call, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced Instagram Stories and WhatsApp Status both now have 300 million daily active users. That makes the copies almost twice the size of the original, as Snapchat’s entire app only has 173 million daily active users. Zuckerberg said that he sees fostering community around video as a big push for Facebook – and it’s sister companies – as it shifts from focusing on “time spent” on the company’s family of apps to “time well spent”. Which sits perfectly with the goal of Instagram Stories.

Read more about Instagram Stories user numbers here.

• Facebook beats in Q3 with $4.7B profit, record share price despite Russia [via TechCrunch]
• Here’s how Russia targeted its fake Facebook ads and how those ads performed [via TechCrunch]
• As Ad Revenue Hits a New High, Facebook Pours Money Into Watch [via AdAge]
• Facebook rolls out pilot program to prevent revenge porn [via Mashable]
• Game of Buns: KFC, McDonald’s and Burger King in a Twitter war [Business Today India]
• Periscope Tweaks Paid Gifting, Introduces Bonuses to Boost Broadcaster Income [via Variety]
• Twitter offered Russian media outlet 15 percent of its election ads [via Engadget]
• Instagram Stories and WhatsApp Status hit 300M users, nearly 2X Snapchat [via TechCrunch]
• What Makes A Great Instagram Campaign? [via Business of Fashion]
• 12 Emerging Styling Trends That Will Dominate Instagram In 2018 [via Elle Magazine]
• Maybe don’t brag about violating your roommate’s stuff on Instagram [via Mashable]
• Alex Lahey’s Rambunctious Rock Songs Make Sadness Sound Like Happiness [via Bandcamp Daily]
• Jimmy Barnes debuts at No. 1 on the bestsellers list with Working Class Man autobiography [via News Limited]
• I Guarantee That These Tracks Won’t Get Blocked by YouTube [via Digital Music News]
• All hail the Queen: Beyoncé will play Nala in The Lion King remake [via Consequence of Sound]
• Culture Club Don’t Have A New Album But They Do Have A DVD [via Noise11]
• Taylor Swift And AT&T Announce ‘Making of a Song’ Behind-the-Scenes Series [via Billboard]
• Sainsbury’s announces plans to launch record label [via FACT Magazine]
• ‘We have shown that great records from anywhere in the world can become hits’ [via Music Business Worldwide]
• YouTube pulls anti-YouTube video from YouTube [via Complex Music]
• Snapchat’s own data explains why Spectacles failed [via Mumbrella]
• Snapchat Finally Lets Advertisers Use Pixels to Track Ad Results and Eventually Retarget [via AdAge]
• Apple CEO Tim Cook says social media is being used to manipulate and divide us [via The Verge]
• Apple updates GarageBand with a sound pack store [via The Verge]
• Artist Visits To Streaming Services Show Why Radio Feels Old [via Music 3.0]
• 3 times authenticity mattered in influencer marketing campaigns [via Digiday]
• ‘In the UK, it’s about survival’: Why UK publishers aren’t going all-in on video  [via Digiday]
• PopJam, the social content platform targeting kids, launches in Australia [via Mumbrella]
• Obama’s four rules for persuading people and effecting real change [via Quartz]

JADEN JAM: We shouldn’t laugh, but Harry Styles tripped on a kiwi a fan threw onstage while he sung his song of the same name and it’s pretty hilarious.