Category Archives: Media

Twitter has ‘50% chance’ of major crash during World Cup, says insider

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Social media giant ill-equipped to deal with traffic spikes after cuts imposed by Elon Musk, according to former employee

Twitter stands a 50% chance of a major outage that could take the site offline during the World Cup, according to a recently departed employee with knowledge of how the company responds to large-scale events.

The former employee, who was granted anonymity because of the sensitivity of what was discussed, has knowledge of the workings of Twitter Command Centre, the platform’s team of troubleshooters who monitor the site for issues such as traffic spikes and data centre outages.

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Murdoch press turns on Donald Trump in favour of ‘DeFuture’ Ron DeSantis

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Rightwing media empire looks for new Republican protege after poor showing in midterm elections

Rupert Murdoch has reportedly warned Donald Trump his media empire will not back any attempt to return to the White House, as former supporters turn to the youthful Florida governor Ron DeSantis.

After the Republican party’s disappointing performance in the US midterm elections, in particular the poor showing by candidates backed by Trump, Murdoch’s rightwing media empire appears to be seeking a clean break from the former president’s damaged reputation and perceived waning political power.

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UK Treasury joins chat app Discord and is met with torrent of abuse

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Users on gamer-focused platform manage to respond to posts despite government blocking all comments

The UK Treasury has opened an account on Discord to a torrent of abuse from users of the gamer-focused chat app – abuse they managed to send despite the government blocking all comments on the service.

As Twitter’s future looks increasingly uncertain, prominent users are preparing alternatives, directing followers to Facebook and Instagram accounts, handing out their Mastodon addresses, and setting up servers on chat apps such as Discord.

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TV property presenter Jonnie Irwin reveals he has terminal cancer

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A Place in the Sun and Escape to the Country host hopes he can inspire others to ‘make the most of every day’

The TV presenter Jonnie Irwin has revealed he has terminal cancer, saying he hopes sharing his diagnosis will inspire others to “make the most of every day”.

The 48-year-old, who presents Channel 4’s A Place in the Sun and the BBC’s Escape to the Country, said he had lung cancer that had spread to his brain, and that he did not know how much time he had left to live.

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Foreign Office asks Iran to explain alleged death threats to UK-based reporters

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Deputy ambassador summoned after Met police warns of credible threats to journalists reporting on Iran protests

The Foreign Office has summoned the Iranian deputy ambassador over allegations that two London-based journalists have faced death threats from Tehran-backed agents over the reporting of the country’s protests.

The news channel Iran International took precautionary steps to protect its reporters after being informed by the Metropolitan police earlier this week that it believes there were credible threats to the journalists’ lives. The two reporters have not been named nor the precise threats detailed.

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Spanish police officer sentenced after posting fake rape video on Twitter

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Guardia Civil first to be convicted after alleging video showed a Moroccan migrant raping a woman

A police officer who deliberately posted a misleading video clip of a sexual assault to try to stir up hatred against migrant children has become the first person in Spain to be handed a jail sentence for using social media to publish and spread fake news.

A court in Barcelona on Tuesday convicted the Guardia Civil officer of an offence against fundamental rights and public freedoms and sentenced him to 15 months in prison and a fine of €1,620 (£1,410).

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Drake and 21 Savage sued over use of Vogue name to promote new album

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Condé Nast files complaint in Manhattan federal court after rappers allegedly use trademark without permission

The rappers Drake and 21 Savage have been sued by Condé Nast, the publisher of Vogue magazine, for allegedly using the Vogue name without permission to promote their new album, Her Loss.

Condé Nast claimed the musicians’ promotional campaign, including to their more than 135 million social media followers, was built “entirely” on the unauthorised use of Vogue trademarks and false representations that they would appear on Vogue’s next cover, and with the “love and support” of the magazine’s longtime editor-in-chief, Anna Wintour.

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Evidence suggests reporter killed in Kenya was targeted, says Pakistan

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Kenyan police decline to respond to interior minister’s comments regarding death of Arshad Sharif

Pakistan’s interior minister has said evidence suggests a prominent Pakistani journalist was the victim of a targeted killing in Kenya, rather than an accidental shooting, though he said he still needed more information on the incident.

The Kenyan police spokesperson Bruno Shioso declined to respond to Rana Sanaullah’s comments on Tuesday regarding the death of the TV journalist Arshad Sharif, who was shot dead on the evening of 23 October on the outskirts of the Kenyan capital, Nairobi.

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Influencer ‘Ray Hushpuppi’ jailed over plan to launder $300m

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Ramon Abbas, described by FBI as one of world’s most prolific money launderers, sentenced to 11 years

A social media influencer who called himself Ray Hushpuppi and flaunted a lavish lifestyle fuelled by his efforts to launder millions of stolen dollars has been sentenced in Los Angeles to more than 11 years in federal prison.

Ramon Abbas, 40, also was ordered by a federal judge to pay $1.7m in restitution to two fraud victims, according to a statement from the US Department of Justice.

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Philippine police allege prisons chief ordered murder of journalist

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Gerald Bantag behind killing of Percival Mabasa in Manila suburb last month, authorities claim

Police in the Philippines have accused the country’s prisons chief of ordering the killing of a prominent radio journalist whose death sparked international alarm.

Percival Mabasa, 63, who went by the name Percy Lapid on his programme, was shot dead in a Manila suburb on 3 October as he drove to his studio.

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Archie Battersbee’s mother asks coroner to examine role of TikTok in death

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Exclusive: Hollie Dance believes 12-year-old was ‘influenced, persuaded or peer-pressured’ into taking part in online challenge

The mother of Archie Battersbee, the 12-year-old boy who died in August after his life support was switched off, wants a coroner to consider what role exposure to TikTok videos may have played in his death.

Archie sustained a catastrophic brain injury on 7 April at his home in Southend, Essex, when a ligature was found over his head. His mother, Hollie Dance, believes he was injured as a result of taking part in an internet challenge known as the “blackout challenge” and wants the inquest into his death to scrutinise how social media may have contributed.

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Twitter bans comedian Kathy Griffin for impersonating Elon Musk

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Users adopt Musk’s name after he announces suspension of accounts pretending to be someone else

Elon Musk has banned a US comedian’s Twitter account after taking on users who impersonate him on the platform.

Twitter’s new owner announced an immediate ban on accounts pretending to be someone else without flagging them as parodies. The move resulted in the removal of an “Elon Musk” account held by the comedian Kathy Griffin, who had changed her account name to match that of the Tesla chief executive.

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Elon Musk tries to lure YouTube stars on to Twitter

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Platform’s new owner tells video-makers he’s planning ‘creator monetization for all forms of content’

The anarchic behaviour of YouTubers draws huge online audiences and has turned stars such as MrBeast and Logan Paul into the best-paid entertainers of the internet age. Now Twitter’s new owner, Elon Musk, wants a piece of this lucrative action and will attempt to lure video creators on to the social media platform.

In a series of messages, Musk engaged with video-makers, saying he was planning “creator monetization for all forms of content”, and that his company could “beat” the 55% cut of advertising revenue that YouTube gives its top entertainers.

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Twitter staff in UK facing axe given three days to nominate representative

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Social media firm sets deadline for workers to name person to represent them at job consultations amid layoffs

Twitter staff who face losing their jobs in the UK have been given three days to nominate a representative for a formal consultation about their employment.

An email sent to staff from Twitter’s HR department on Saturday said they had until 9am on Tuesday to nominate any current employee. Staff can nominate themselves.

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Former Twitter chief Jack Dorsey issues apology amid mass layoffs

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As anger builds, Dorsey says ‘I own the responsibility for why everyone is in this situation – I grew the company too quickly’

Former Twitter chief executive officer Jack Dorsey has gone on the platform recently acquired by billionaire Elon Musk to apologize for the state of the site, which has laid off thousands of workers.

On Saturday Dorsey published a series of tweets in response to the layoffs across Twitter’s workforce, which began on Friday. As many as half of the company’s 7,500 staffers could be axed since Musk acquired the company for $44bn last week.

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Netflix with ads draws some big brands – but others are unimpressed

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L’Oréal and Budweiser owner advertise on Basic with Ads but high prices for slots put off some agencies

Netflix has launched its first subscription package featuring ads in a drive to reignite growth by attracting cost-conscious users, but the hurried launch, high prices for slots and accompanying demands have left some advertisers unconvinced.

Basic with Ads, which went live in 12 countries this week, costs £4.99 a month in the UK – £2 less than its cheapest ad-free package – and hopes to lure households whose budgets are shrinking in the cost of living crisis.

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Eric Allison, Guardian’s prison correspondent, dies at 79

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Former inmate, who claimed to be only man to escape from Strangeways, joined paper at 60 and worked to expose cruelty of prison system

Eric Allison, who became the Guardian’s prison correspondent aged 60 after spending much of his life in jail, has died. He had been recently diagnosed with secondary bone cancer and was 79.

Allison, who claimed to be the only man to ever escape from Strangeways prison in Manchester, joined the Guardian in 2003 after serving multiple jail terms for fraud, theft and burglary.

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TikTok tells European users its staff in China get access to their data

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Privacy policy update confirms data of continent’s users available to range of TikTok bases including in Brazil, Israel and US

TikTok is spelling out to its European users that their data can be accessed by employees outside the continent, including in China, amid political and regulatory concerns about Chinese access to user information on the platform.

The Chinese-owned social video app is updating its privacy policy to confirm that staff in countries, including China, are allowed to access user data to ensure their experience of the platform is “consistent, enjoyable and safe”.

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Banned Twitter accounts will not be reinstated until after US midterms

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Elon Musk says setting up process over those barred, including Donald Trump, will take ‘at least a few more weeks’

Banned Twitter accounts including Donald Trump’s will not be reinstated until after the US midterm elections at least, the platform’s new owner, Elon Musk, has said.

The Tesla chief executive’s statement came as a study revealed that Twitter had taken down six disinformation networks on the platform linked to China and Iran that had been tweeting about the 8 November elections.

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Rogue employee who hacked New York Post apologizes for ‘utmost betrayal’

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Miguel Gonzalez, 25, blames ‘my own stupidity’ for tantrum that led him to post fake sexist and racist headlines on paper’s website

The New York Post employee who was fired after publishing a slew of phony, sexist and racist headlines on the newspaper’s website and Twitter account has apologized for what he described as a tantrum and the “utmost betrayal”.

“I let my own stupidity get the best of me,” Miguel Gonzalez told the Daily Beast’s Confider newsletter in a piece published late on Monday. “I deserved to get fired for a very volatile, irresponsible and disgusting action and an utmost betrayal of the New York Post.

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