For middle-aged users, it will be ‘even harder to discern the truth’ among extremist content, expert says
Experts fear the decision by Meta to drop professional factcheckers from Facebook will exacerbate so-called boomer radicalisation in the UK.
Even before what Keir Starmer described as “far-right riots” in England last summer, alarm bells were ringing amid fears older people were even more susceptible to misinformation and radicalisation than younger “digital natives”.
Continue reading...As Trump’s inauguration looms, the paper, owned by Jeff Bezos, is in shambles – largely of its own making
As Donald Trump prepares to take office on 20 January, the ascension of a man who has repeatedly said he will persecute the media surely calls for the journalistic muscle of a newspaper that broke the Watergate scandal and has for decades been a mainstay of American political reporting.
But as Trump’s second term looms, the Washington Post, owned by the billionaire Amazon founder, Jeff Bezos, is in shambles – mired in chaos and disarray largely of its own making.
Continue reading...Jacob Rees-Mogg and Nigel Farage are among those who have earned large sums from broadcasters, but a tightening of rules on MPs’ outside interests is being considered
MPs would no longer be able to rake in huge sums that can see them more than double their parliamentary salaries by signing contracts with media outlets, under plans being considered by ministers.
The Observer has been told that talks on further tightening rules on MPs’ outside interests, including media contracts, will be started by leader of the House of Commons, Lucy Powell, at a hearing of the all-party standards committee on Tuesday.
Continue reading...Technology secretary Peter Kyle has the task of making Britain a leading player in the AI revolution, but says economic growth will not come at the cost of online safety
With the NHS still struggling, a prisons crisis still teetering and Britain’s borrowing costs soaring, there are few easy jobs going in Keir Starmer’s cabinet at present.
But even in such difficult times, the task of convincing Silicon Valley’s finest to help make Britain a leader in the artificial intelligence (AI) revolution – all while one leading tech boss uses the Labour government as a regular punching bag and others ostentatiously move closer to Donald Trump – is among the most challenging.
Continue reading...Partnership ‘a long time coming’ and is latest expansion of Australian-made animated series
The global hit children’s TV show Bluey is to make its Lego debut with the first sets due to hit shelves later this year.
The world of Bluey, which has proved such a small-screen hit a film is to be made for global release in 2027, is to be brought to life in plastic brick form with six sets to be revealed this spring before going on sale later this year.
Continue reading...Organization said paper’s refusal ‘outrageous attempt to sidestep the truth’, choosing ‘silence over accountability’
The American Friends Service Committee (AFSC), a Quaker organization that advocates for peace, said on Monday the group cancelled a planned advertisement in the New York Times in response to the paper refusing to allow it to refer to Israel’s actions in Gaza as a genocide.
“The refusal of The New York Times to run paid digital ads that call for an end to Israel’s genocide in Gaza is an outrageous attempt to sidestep the truth,” said Joyce Ajlouny, general secretary for the AFSC, in a press release. “Palestinians and allies have been silenced and marginalized in the media for decades as these institutions choose silence over accountability. It is only by challenging this reality that we can hope to forge a path toward a more just and equitable world.”
Continue reading...Sala, who had been held since 19 December, greeted by family members and Italian PM at Rome airport
Cecilia Sala, an Italian journalist who was held in solitary confinement for almost three weeks in Iran, has returned home after being freed from prison.
A plane carrying the 29-year-old landed at Rome’s Ciampino airport on Wednesday afternoon, where she was greeted by family members and politicians including the Italian prime minister, Giorgia Meloni.
Continue reading...Mukesh Chandrakar had reported on alleged corruption in the construction industry and had a popular YouTube channel
Indian media rights groups have called for an investigation after the body of a missing journalist was found hidden in a septic tank.
Mukesh Chandrakar, 32, was a well-known freelance journalist in the Indian state of Chhattisgarh who contributed to some of the country’s biggest news channels. He had also widely reported on alleged corruption in the construction industry on his popular YouTube channel.
Continue reading...Foreign ministry summons ambassador as Cecilia Sala reportedly tells family she sleeps on floor of prison cell
Italy’s foreign ministry summoned the Iranian ambassador on Wednesday and urged the immediate release of an Italian journalist held in solitary confinement in Tehran.
Cecilia Sala, a 29-year-old freelance journalist for Il Foglio newspaper and a podcaster, reportedly spoke of the harsh conditions of her detainment in the notorious Evin prison, including having to sleep on the floor of her cell without a mattress.
Continue reading...Pioneering presenter was best known for hosting Sounds of the 70s and the Radio 2 Rock Show
The veteran BBC DJ Johnnie Walker has died at the age of 79, it has been announced.
Walker, who hosted Radio 2’s Sounds of the 70s and the Radio 2 Rock Show, began his career as a pirate DJ in the 60s on the offshore station Swinging Radio England, then Radio Caroline, before joining Radio 1 in 1969. He left the station after causing controversy by describing the Bay City Rollers as “musical garbage” and clashing with his bosses over an insistence on playing album tracks.
Continue reading...Italians are taking to the court with factors including the pandemic and broadcasting also said to be fuelling enthusiasm
At the age of 47, diehard AC Milan fan Ninni Licata has hung up his football boots in exchange for a tennis racket.
Like thousands of Italians in recent years, Licata has been unable to resist the lure of a game that for years had been relegated to the sidelines of the country’s national sports, overshadowed by football and Formula One.
Continue reading...Italians are taking to the court with factors including the pandemic and broadcasting also said to be fuelling enthusiasm
At the age of 47, diehard AC Milan fan Ninni Licata has hung up his football boots in exchange for a tennis racket.
Like thousands of Italians in recent years, Licata has been unable to resist the lure of a game that for years had been relegated to the sidelines of the country’s national sports, overshadowed by football and Formula One.
Continue reading...Producer says ‘courage has gone out of broadcasting’ and audiences want to see grittier issues
The creator of some of Britain’s best-loved soaps has said the “courage has gone out of broadcasting” and suggested that television bosses should not be afraid to flout Ofcom rules.
Phil Redmond – the brains behind Hollyoaks, Grange Hill and Brookside – said there was “too much risk aversion” in television, with producers afraid to upset regulators even if it meant pleasing audiences.
Continue reading...Men were asleep in marked press vehicle, say witnesses, as renewed hostage negotiations reach impasse
Five Palestinian journalists were killed in an Israeli airstrike on their vehicle in central Gaza, their employer has said, while Israel has also struck several areas in Houthi rebel-controlled Yemen in air raids.
Faisal Abu al-Qumsan, Ayman al-Jadi, Ibrahim al-Sheikh Khalil, Fadi Hassouna and Mohammed al-Lada’a were sleeping in their broadcasting truck, marked as press, when it was targeted in a direct strike by the Israeli military, witnesses told Palestinian media. Another 32 people were killed in other Israeli pre-dawn strikes across the territory, the local health ministry said.
Continue reading...Forty-eight-hour strike, first at Guardian in more than 50 years, to take place on Wednesday and Thursday
Journalists at the Guardian and the Observer are holding a 48-hour strike in protest at the proposed sale of the Observer newspaper to Tortoise Media.
The strike, the first at the Guardian in more than 50 years, is due to take place on Wednesday 4 December and Thursday 5 December.
Continue reading...The 55-year-old is the program’s longest serving male co-host, and hinted in September that he was ‘looking forward to something less intense’
After 15 years of waking up at 3am to host ABC News Breakfast, Michael Rowland is calling it quits.
The co-host of the public broadcaster’s breakfast offering has told viewers his final show will be on 13 December, followed by a long break.
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Continue reading...A slew of accusations have emerged of inappropriate remarks and behaviour dating back as far as 19 years
Gregg Wallace has been accused of making sexualised jokes and other inappropriate remarks towards a range of women dating back nearly two decades.
The 60-year-old MasterChef presenter announced last week that he was stepping back from the BBC show amid an investigation into his conduct. Wallace’s lawyers have said it is entirely false to suggest he engages in behaviour of a sexually harassing nature.
Continue reading...Newspapers across the board cover the historic vote prominently, but with some more enthused about the outcome than others
Front pages in the UK on Saturday were dominated by the step taken by MPs toward legalising assisted dying in England and Wales by backing a bill that would give some terminally ill people the right to end their own lives.
The Guardian splashed with the news, describing it as a “historic vote” that paves the way for assisted dying, along with a photo of emotional supporters of the bill embracing.
Continue reading...Litigants say AI company used their articles to train its popular ChatGPT software without authorization
Canada’s major news organizations have sued tech firm OpenAI for potentially billions of dollars, alleging the company is “strip-mining journalism” and unjustly enriching itself by using news articles to train its popular ChatGPT software.
The suit, filed on Friday in Ontario’s superior court of justice, calls for punitive damages, a share of profits made by OpenAI from using the news organizations’ articles, and an injunction barring the San Francisco-based company from using any of the news articles in the future.
Continue reading...Child safety experts say similar move in Britain would penalise young people for the failings of tech companies
Child safety experts have warned the UK government against enacting an Australian-style social media ban for children under 16, which they called a “retrograde step” that would “do more harm than good”.
On Thursday, Australia became the first country in the world to ban under-16s from using social media platforms. The move was supported by a large majority of the Australian public – but academics, politicians and child rights groups said it could backfire, driving teenagers to the dark web, or make them feel more isolated.
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