NHS chief says James’s last message to public to ‘check your poo’ is life-saving
There was a tenfold increase in people checking bowel cancer symptoms online immediately after the death of Dame Deborah James, the NHS has said.
More than 23,000 visits were paid to NHS websites for bowel cancer on Wednesday, compared with 2,000 the previous day.
Continue reading...Journalists demand release of co-founder of Alt News after he was accused of insulting Hindus
The co-founder of a factchecking website has been arrested by police in Delhi weeks after he highlighted derogatory comments made by a spokesperson for Narendra Modi’s ruling Bharatiya Janata party (BJP) about the prophet Muhammad.
Mohammed Zubair, who set up the Alt News website, flagged the remarks made during a television debate at the end of May on Twitter, bringing them attention they may not otherwise have had.
Continue reading...Liberal leader says refugee advocate’s May win in full federal court was a ‘miscarriage of justice’ and applies for special leave to appeal
Peter Dutton has sought leave to appeal in the high court against his loss in the defamation case he brought against Shane Bazzi, questioning whether there had been a “miscarriage of justice”.
The Liberal party leader has filed an application for special leave to appeal against his loss in the full federal court, arguing that the appeal court erred by finding Bazzi’s tweet “Peter Dutton is a rape apologist” did not convey the defamatory meaning that he “excused rape”.
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Continue reading...Friends of Nigel Stonehouse, 58, who has kidney and lung cancer, seek help with costs of transporting him to his final festival
The friends of a terminally ill man have launched a fundraising campaign to help him attend the Glastonbury festival next week.
Nigel Stonehouse, 58, from Hartlepool, was recently diagnosed with kidney cancer, which has now spread to his lungs. After receiving the terminal diagnosis, his friends wanted to fulfil his “dying wish” of attending the festival for a final time.
Continue reading...Experts say spread of misinformation and use of encrypted services drives far-right extremists and racism
The federal government needs to take action against encrypted messaging apps like Telegram to curb the rise of far-right extremism, a Victorian inquiry has been told.
Dr Belinda Barnet, a media lecturer at Swinburne University, told a hearing that far-right extremists had initially been sharing hateful content on mainstream sites such as Facebook and Twitter but were increasingly being deplatformed.
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Continue reading...Kamal Gandhi, 70, and his Coventry chip shop became a sensation after its name was turned into a catchy song
It has been two weeks since his Coventry chip shop became a TikTok sensation drawing in crowds from around the country, and 70-year-old Kamal Gandhi is exhausted.
He has had to take on and train four new staff members, ensure a continuous supply of stock to deal with hundreds of new customers and help manage the long queues snaking down the road outside the now world famous Binley Mega Chippy.
Continue reading...Digital wizardry and academic sleuthing have helped recreate a cultural treasure severely damaged in the conflict in 1922
In June 1922, the opening battle of Ireland’s civil war destroyed one of Europe’s great archives in a historic calamity that reduced seven centuries of documents and manuscripts to ash and dust.
Once the envy of scholars around the world, the Public Record Office at the Four Courts in Dublin, was a repository of documents dating from medieval times, and packed into a six-storey building by the River Liffey. It was obliterated when troops of the fledgling Irish state bombarded former comrades who were hunkered down at the site as part of a rebellion by hardline republicans against peace with Britain.
Continue reading...Tesla CEO and world’s richest person expressed concerns about presence of fake accounts on platform
Elon Musk has cast further doubt over his $44bn (£35bn) takeover of Twitter after stating the deal “cannot move forward” until the social media company proves that less than 5% of its users are fake or spam accounts.
The Tesla chief executive used his Twitter account to say the agreed deal would not progress until the firm showed proof that only a small proportion of its users were fake.
Continue reading...Government users may also be charged, says billionaire, who has agreed to buy platform for $44bn
Elon Musk has said Twitter may charge a “slight” fee for commercial and government users, in the latest hint of the changes the world’s richest person could introduce after he completes his takeover of the social media platform.
“Twitter will always be free for casual users, but maybe a slight cost for commercial/government users,” Musk said in a tweet. In another tweet, he added: “Some revenue is better than none!”
Continue reading...Pearl was to have focused on the adventures of a 12-year-old girl inspired by historically influential female figures
Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, has fallen victim to cutbacks at Netflix, according to a US report that said the struggling streaming giant has dropped plans for her animated series Pearl.
Announced to fanfare last summer, with Meghan as its creator and executive producer, the “family series” was to have focused on the adventures of a 12-year-old girl inspired by historically influential female figures.
Continue reading...Carmaker’s shares fell this week over concerns CEO would offload stock to help fund takeover of platform
Elon Musk has sold $8.5bn (£6.8bn) worth of shares in Tesla as the world’s richest man raises cash after reaching a deal to buy Twitter.
The Tesla chief executive has committed $21bn of his own money to the funding package for acquiring the social media platform, which he agreed to buy for $44bn on Monday. Since then Musk has sold 9.6m Tesla shares, or about 5.6% of his stake in the business, according to filings with the US financial regulator.
Continue reading...EU commissioner raises hate speech concerns as UK draws attention to penalties in online safety bill
The UK and EU have warned that Twitter must comply with new content rules or face sanctions that range from fines to a total ban, as concerns were raised that hate speech will increase on the platform under the ownership of Elon Musk.
The world’s richest man has agreed a $44bn (£34bn) deal to buy the social media network, which will hand control of a platform with 217 million users to a self-confessed “free speech absolutist”.
Continue reading...Analysis: Experts warn against reinstating banned accounts and neglecting moderation
Welcome back Donald Trump, Katie Hopkins, David Icke and Alex Jones? These are just some of the Twitter accounts that could be reinstated if the platform’s new owner-in-waiting, “free speech absolutist” Elon Musk, practices what he preaches.
All of those accounts have been permanently suspended from the platform for infractions that include, most notoriously, the former US president’s alleged support for the Capitol riot on 6 January last year. Their reinstatement now appears to be back in play given that the world’s richest man has agreed a $44bn (£35bn) takeover of the platform that banned them and has stated that “free speech is the bedrock of a functioning democracy”.
Continue reading...Tesla chief executive will gain control over social network he has criticized over its handling of ‘free speech’
Elon Musk has reached a $44bn deal to buy Twitter in a takeover that will give the world’s richest man control of a social network with more than 200 million users.
The sale will put the Tesla chief executive in charge of a company that he has frequently criticized, claiming it has not lived up to its potential as a platform for “free speech”.
Continue reading...It disrupted the market and has more than 200m subscribers. But with slower growth, some say Netflix must change its game
Twelve years ago Jeff Bewkes, then chief executive of Time Warner, compared Netflix to the Albanian army. “It’s a little bit like, is the Albanian army going to take over the world? I don’t think so,” Bewkes told the New York Times, disparaging the streaming service’s ability to take on the established media players.
Well, the Albanian army won. Time Warner followed Netflix into streaming, NBCUniversal and Disney came after and so it carried on. In Britain, BBC and ITV invested in their streaming portals. Media was now living in Netflix’s world.
Continue reading...Tech entrepreneur makes offer of $54.20 a share in cash to ‘unlock potential’ of social media site
Elon Musk has launched an audacious bid to buy Twitter for more than $40bn, saying he wants to release its “extraordinary potential” to boost free speech and democracy across the world.
The Tesla chief executive and world’s richest person revealed in a regulatory filing on Thursday that he had launched a hostile takeover of Twitter. The news came just days after he bought a 9.2% stake in the social media company and was subsequently offered a seat on the board, but then refused to take up the position.
Continue reading...Analysis: newspapers have attracted record numbers of readers seeking trusted sources in uncertain times
From the pandemic and the war in Ukraine to the Westminster partygate saga, newspapers are benefiting from a financially lucrative news boom. However, is the news industry enjoying a one-off blip in the battle for survival against big tech, or is this proof that publishers have finally forged commercial models fit for the new media age?
In a sign of the shifting fortunes amid unprecedented news events, Rupert Murdoch’s Times and Sunday Times last week reported a doubling of operating profits to their highest level since 1990 and the Sun, a one-time cash cow turned high-profile casualty of the digital age, is within £1m of returning to operating profit for the first time in a decade.
Continue reading...A study found that external articles shared on the bioweapons myth were not labeled as ‘false information’ or ‘missing context’
As social media companies promise to crack down on Russian disinformation about the war in Ukraine, studies show they continue to fall short, allowing disproven narratives to reach millions.
Facebook failed to label 80% of articles on its platform promoting a fast-spreading conspiracy theory that the US is funding the use of bioweapons in Ukraine, according to a study released Friday by the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH).
Continue reading...BuzzFeed News staffers on investigations, inequality, politics and science teams to be offered buyouts as top editors also depart
BuzzFeed is shrinking and shifting the focus of its Pulitzer prize-winning news division as the digital media company, best known for its lighthearted lists and quizzes, strives to increase its profitability.
The New York-based company is offering voluntary buyouts in its high-profile, 100-person newsroom and some top editors are leaving. They include Mark Schoofs, the editor-in-chief of BuzzFeed News, and deputy editor-in-chief Tom Namako, who announced a move to NBC News Digital on Tuesday. Ariel Kaminer, the executive editor for investigations, is also leaving.
Continue reading...Mariana Vishegirskaya, wearing same dotted pyjamas, is photographed holding newborn daughter
One of the pregnant women pictured escaping the ruins of the Mariupol maternity ward bombed by Russia has given birth to a daughter.
Mariana Vishegirskaya, wearing the same dotted pyjamas she was pictured in as she struggled down the stairs of the devastated hospital, was photographed on Friday by the Associated Press lying in a hospital bed holding her newborn daughter, Veronika.
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