For the first time ever, a film distributor will use Facebook to debut a movie exclusively via a ticketed live event, executives tell Axios.

Driving the news: "The Outsider," a controversial documentary about the construction of the 9/11 Museum in Manhattan, will premiere publicly on Facebook for $3.99 on Aug. 19.

Stagwell, a D.C.-headquartered marketing services agency, said Monday it closed a deal to combine with MDC Partners, a global ad holding company based in New York.

Why it matters: It's the largest transaction in the advertising sector so far this year.

Hollywood actress Scarlett Johansson on Thursday filed a lawsuit against the Walt Disney Co., alleging her contract was breached when the company released "Black Widow" on its streaming service at the same time it premiered in the theaters.

Why it matters: "Major media companies are prioritizing their streaming services in pursuit of growth, and are increasingly putting their high-value content on those platforms," the Wall Street Journal, which first reported the suit, writes.

Advertising growth was the chief driver of tech's blowout quarter, as the economy snapped back from the pandemic and a long-term shift to digital went into overdrive.

By the numbers: Facebook, Snapchat, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube and Google all posted record ad revenue growth rates in earnings reports for 2021's second quarter.

With inflation rising and Congress pumping out massive spending bills, conservative media have focused renewed attention on financial issues — and lent significant airtime to some of the very companies underwriting their shows.

Why it matters: Politics is bleeding into financial advice, and all incentives are to play up impending economic disaster.

Facebook reported its best quarter two revenue growth rate in over five years on Wednesday.

Yes, but: It's stock plummeted in after-hours trading on weak guidance for the remainder of the year.

Google's parent company Alphabet blew past Wall Street expectations on revenue during the first quarter, sending its stock up nearly 5% in after-hours trading.

Driving the news: The tech giant said its video platform YouTube brought in a record $7 billion for the quarter, up 84% year-over-year.

Facebook is partnering with a global tech non-profit called Meedan to give its 80+ fact-checking partner organizations access to training from experts in how to handle health and vaccine misinformation, a spokesperson tells Axios.

The big picture: It's part of an expanded effort by Facebook to reduce health misinformation on its platform. The tech giant is facing increasing criticism from the Biden Administration and others that it isn't doing enough to curb misinformation about COVID-19 vaccines.

Snopes, one of the oldest fact-checking websites in the country, has raised over $1.7 million from over 44,400 supporters to help the company fight a series of lawsuits from a former tech vendor.

Why it matters: It's a massive legal battle for a site that employs 20 people. Snopes founder and CEO David Mikkelson says the legal fees account for roughly 20-30% of Snopes' revenues each year.

NBCU News Group is adding hundreds of jobs to its digital organization, led by a major investment in streaming as well as in its "TODAY" show brand, executives tell Axios.

Why it matters: The move is the network's biggest investment in its streaming and digital products since it said it would hire about 70 people in October 2019.