What is hybrid warfare, which some fear Russia will use after Ukraine’s strike?

Strike with US-made missiles has prompted fears of Russian reprisal that would broaden the scope of a frontline

A Ukrainian strike using American-made missiles to hit targets deep inside Russia using American-made weaponry, has prompted renewed fears of reprisal through “hybrid warfare” – a chaotic tool of conflict that muddies borders and broadens the scope of a frontline.

Over recent years, European nations have witnessed a spate of incidents – cyber-attacks, arson, incendiary devices, sabotage and even murder plots. The aim of such episodes, security officials believe, is to sow chaos, exacerbate social tensions among Ukraine’s allies and disrupt military supplies to Kyiv.

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Essex police defend their investigation of Allison Pearson tweet

Force says Telegraph writer accused of inciting racial hatred, rather than committing a non-crime hate incident as she had claimed

Essex police have defended their decision to investigate the Telegraph columnist Allison Pearson over a social media post, saying she is accused of “inciting racial hatred” not of committing a “non-crime hate incident”, as she had claimed.

The row over Pearson’s tweet has been splashed across the front pages of the Times, Telegraph and Mail this week. Leading figures on the right, including the new leader of the Conservative party, Kemi Badenoch, and the former prime minister Boris Johnson, have leapt to her defence.

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Barry Keoghan hits out at ‘disgusting’ online trolls using his son against him

Saltburn actor tells Louis Theroux podcast about his difficult childhood and decision to keep his child offline

Oscar nominee Barry Keoghan has hit back at “disgusting” online trolls who he claimed use his relationship with his son as “ammunition” against him.

The 32-year-old Irish actor, who is dating US singer-songwriter Sabrina Carpenter, has a two-year-old son, Brando, with his former partner.

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French parents whose children took own lives sue TikTok over harmful content

Lawsuit alleges TikTok’s algorithm exposed teenagers to videos promoting suicide, self-harm and eating disorders

Seven French families have filed a lawsuit against TikTok, accusing the platform of exposing their adolescent children to harmful content that led to two of them taking their own lives at 15, their lawyer said.

The lawsuit alleges TikTok’s algorithm exposed the seven teenagers to videos promoting suicide, self-harm and eating disorders, lawyer Laure Boutron-Marmion told broadcaster Franceinfo on Monday.

In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123, or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In the US, you can call or text the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline on 988, chat on 988lifeline.org, or text HOME to 741741 to connect with a crisis counselor. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org

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Meta rides AI boom to stellar quarterly earnings, but slightly less than expected

Company beats financial predictions but does not increase daily users as much as Wall Street thought it might

Meta’s blowout year continues after the company reported another stellar financial quarter on Wednesday. Shares fell in after-hours trading.

Wall Street analysts had high expectations for the Instagram and WhatsApp parent company, projecting an 18% jump in sales year over year. The company reported $40.6bn in sales, a 19% increase year over year that outpaced investor expectations of $40.19bn. Meta, which saw a 25% jump in its share price over the past two months, reported $6.03 in earnings per share (EPS), surpassing Wall Street’s expectations of an EPS of $5.29.

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Norway to increase minimum age limit on social media to 15 to protect children

Prime minister wants young people to be shielded from ‘power of the algorithm’

Norway is to enforce a strict minimum age limit on social media of 15 as the government ramped up its campaign against tech companies it says are “pitted against small children’s brains”.

The Norwegian prime minister, Jonas Gahr Støre, conceded it would be “an uphill battle” but said politicians must intervene to protect children from the “power of the algorithms”.

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Social media algorithms need overhaul in wake of Southport riots, Ofcom says

Watchdog issues warning over misinformation after trouble that flared following killing of three girls on Merseyside

Social media algorithms must be adjusted to prevent misinformation from spreading, the chief executive of Ofcom has warned, responding to the rioting that broke out after the killing of three girls in Southport this summer.

Misinformation about the Southport killings proliferated despite tech firms and social media platforms’ “uneven” attempts to stop it, wrote the Ofcom chief executive, Melanie Dawes, in a letter to the secretary of state for science, innovation and technology, Peter Kyle.

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Labor concerned Meta may ‘sidestep obligations to pay for news’ as media bargaining code fight reignites

Social media company tells parliamentary committee Facebook and Instagram bring value to news outlets

Social media company Meta has accused a federal parliamentary committee of ignoring “the realities of how our platforms work” and the value Facebook and Instagram bring to news outlets, as a fight reignites over the news media bargaining code and funding of media publishers.

The Albanese government has also given its strongest indication yet it will look to reshape the code or replace the framework entirely, voicing concern that Meta is trying to simply “sidestep obligations to pay for news”.

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When therapy goes wrong: the problem of underqualified practitioners

In the age of influencer therapists and mental health apps, experts say the public need to be better informed

From influencer therapists on social media to psychotherapy platforms advertising on TV and radio, going to see a therapist is increasingly mainstream – yet many people know little about who they are seeing and what they are getting.

Experts said more information and awareness among the public of how therapy works was desperately needed, to minimise the risks of making their mental health worse.

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Rival logos go missing in photos of Nike-sponsored Melbourne Marathon festival

Race organisers apologise after posting edited images of two runners where their Asics and Puma branding was obscured

The Nike-sponsored Melbourne Marathon festival has apologised for posting an edited image of a winning runner with the logo of a sports apparel rival obscured.

The image depicted Leanne Pompeani with her arms outstretched after she won the half-marathon but the Asics logo on her running singlet was rubbed out.

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Social media platforms with ‘low risk of harm to children’ could escape Albanese government age ban

Communications minister Michelle Rowland says ‘likely’ changes to Online Safety Act ‘will place onus on platforms, not parents or young people’

Social media companies could escape the Albanese government’s proposed age ban if they can demonstrate a “low risk of harm to children”, the communications minister, Michelle Rowland, has said.

Rowland will announce on Friday that the “likely” amendments to the Online Safety Act banning children from social media will “place the onus on platforms, not parents or young people” to enforce the ban.

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British musician and broadcaster Yung Filly charged with rape and assault

Former BBC host, with millions of social media followers, was arrested in Australia following alleged attack on woman in Perth hotel room

The British rapper, YouTuber and television personality Yung Filly has been arrested in Australia and charged with rape and assault.

The 29-year-old, born Andrés Felipe Valencia Barrientos, who was on tour in the country, was arrested in Brisbane and taken to Perth where the alleged incidents occurred.

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Australia politics live: Richard Marles tells question time ‘I feel very sad that events have got to where they have’ after chief of staff’s bullying allegations

Follow today’s news live

The opposition communications spokesperson, David Coleman, is speaking to ABC radio RN, criticising the government’s legislation designed to keep the NBN in public hands.

He is having trouble saying whether the opposition will support the bill, or whether a future Coalition government would want to sell the NBN.

We’re not going to just sort of immediately jump at some silly theatrical statement from the government. The adults in the room will review this in a normal way.

We’ve got no intention of changing the ownership structure of the NBN. Nobody does. And frankly, because the NBN is going so badly, there’s not exactly a lineup of people [wanting to buy it].

Parents are crying out for a degree of certainty, they’re crying out for government guidance, a lot more rule that people can follow. That doesn’t mean there won’t be challenging but at least provides a starting point for parents. It gives them a tool about how to address this and parents who have gone through all this and all the pain that social media can place upon their children, they’re the ones I think are the most powerful advocates for this reform.

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US states sue TikTok, claiming its addictive features harm youth mental health

States and District of Columbia allege platform’s ‘dopamine-inducing’ algorithm can lead to anxiety and depression

More than a dozen states and the District of Columbia have filed lawsuits against TikTok on Tuesday, alleging the popular short-form video app is harming youth mental health by designing its platform to be addictive to kids.

The lawsuits stem from a national investigation into TikTok, which was launched in March 2022 by a bipartisan coalition of attorneys general from many states, including California, Kentucky and New Jersey. All of the complaints were filed in state courts.

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Australian teens approaching age limit could be spared from social media ban, ACT leader says

Exclusive: Andrew Barr says it ‘doesn’t make sense’ for existing users to be banned for a year or two before regaining access

It “doesn’t make sense” to remove existing teen users of social media from the platforms just a year or two before they regain access, Andrew Barr says.

The ACT chief minister’s comments point to the possibility that existing users could be grandfathered by the proposed social media ban so that they keep their accounts or are temporarily moved on to teen-friendly versions, such as that recently introduced for Instagram by Meta.

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‘Fear of missing out’ keeping girls and young women online despite sexism

Almost half of girls aged 11 to 21 in Girlguiding survey say sexism and misogyny makes them feel less safe

Girls and young women are seeing more unwanted sexual images and suffering more cyberstalking online, but still don’t want to take a break from social media because of a fear of missing out, a survey for Girlguiding has found.

“Fomo” is keeping more than half of 11- to 21-year-olds on apps such as TikTok, Snapchat and WhatsApp despite nearly one in five saying they have been being stalked online and more than a third saying they are seeing sexual images they didn’t wish to see, the survey of more than 2,000 girls and young women found.

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Executive resigns at Trump Media, Truth Social’s parent company

COO Andrew Northwall last month left the company that now owes almost 800,000 shares to an investor

The chief operating officer of Truth Social’s parent company has resigned, and the company must hand over almost 800,000 shares to one of its investors as part of a court ruling, according to a regulatory filing.

Andrew Northwall, the former COO, resigned from Trump Media & Technology Group Corp late last month, according to the Securities and Exchange Commission filing, adding that the company plans to “transition his duties internally”.

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‘It’s doing social harm’: Albanese asks states and territories to work together on a social media ban for kids

PM is seeking input on the impacts of phone bans in schools and ideas to maintain the social connection of kids

Anthony Albanese has written to the nation’s first ministers asking for their support in implementing a nationwide minimum age for social media.

After South Australia’s Labor government announced it would be moving forward with plans to ban children under 14 from accessing social media, Albanese announced the federal government would introduce legislation addressing the same concerns by the end of the year.

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Race to combat mpox misinformation as vaccine rollout in DRC begins

Poll suggests half of Congolese have not heard of deadly disease, as conspiracy theories and rumours spread

For doctors and nurses fighting mpox in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the virus itself is not the only enemy. They are also facing swirling rumours and misinformation.

The first of millions of promised doses of mpox vaccine have finally started to arrive. Now the focus is on ensuring that people who need them will take them when the vaccination campaign begins next month, and teaching wider communities how to protect themselves.

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Guardian Essential poll: Twice as many voters back Labor’s housing bills as oppose them

Just 20% of Greens voters supported blocking the government’s Build to Rent and Help to Buy legislation

More than twice as many voters support parliament passing the federal government’s two stranded housing bills as want them blocked, including a majority of Greens voters, according to the latest Guardian Essential poll.

The survey of 1,117 voters found that 48% believe the Greens and Coalition should pass the Labor government’s Help to Buy and Build to Rent legislation, and argue for their own policies at the next federal election. Overall support for blocking the bills was at 22%, with 30% unsure and a margin of error of about 2%.

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