The Guardian

Ofcom data points to more passive consumption amid changes to apps and fears about mental health and past posts Posting significant events in your life, from birthdays to weddings and promotions, is a social media staple. But Jenny, like many other Britons recently, has hesitated over contributing to the infinite scroll. “I wouldn’t have even posted my wedding really,” she says. “But I had to bec…

Fake X account posing as his vet sparked global false reports of Jonathan’s death while soliciting crypto donations At 194 years old, Jonathan, the giant tortoise, was a youngster when Queen Victoria ascended to the throne – and has now lived long enough to fall victim to a crypto scam. News outlets including the BBC, Daily Mail and USA Today falsely reported his death after an X account posing a…

Ofcom research shows people also concerned old posts could affect personal or professional life Social media users in the UK are becoming less active on tech platforms due to the rise of video apps and fears that posts could come back to haunt them, according to the communications watchdog. Ofcom said just under half of adult social media users (49%) now post, share or comment compared with 61% i…

Many will recognise their own experiences of digital abuse in Collien Fernandes’s allegations – the sense that technology offers perps both tools and cover Some stories that unfold in real life would read like the plot of a bad crime novel if you wrote them down. Too obvious, too contrived, almost lazy in their cruelty. For example, this one: a woman spends years trying to identify the person who…

Telegram is increasingly blocked and mobile internet users face blackouts in effort likened to Iranian shutdowns Russia is in the midst of a vast, slow-moving effort to splinter its internet from the rest of the world, say activists and experts, with steep consequences for millions of people who are gradually being cut off. Unlike Iran’s internet shutdowns earlier this year, Russia’s shutdown is …

The crime bill proposes a stronger model of consent – and with violent imagery and child sexual abuse soaring, who, really, can argue against it? Susanna Rustin is the author of Sexed: A History of British Feminism Once you stop to think about it, the need for a law to ensure that participants have consented to appear in online pornography is obvious. Egregious past failures have been well docume…

Collien Fernandes accuses ex-husband, Christian Ulmen, of sharing sexually explicit deepfake images of her online A high-profile German TV star’s allegations that her ex-husband spread AI-generated pornographic images of her have triggered a national debate and put pressure on the government to tighten laws around digital violence against women. In an interview with the news magazine Der Spiegel …

Jack Karlson’s rallying cry of ‘democracy manifest’ added to national collection of sound recordings that hold historical, cultural and aesthetic significance Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast Thirty-five years ago, when Jack Karlson was hauled into a police car outside a Chinese restaurant in Queensland, he couldn’t have known his bombastic speech would be watched by m…

The president may not be benefiting directly from betting markets, but he has encouraged a culture that treats politics like a casino floor Odd things are happening in the markets. Last Monday, 15 minutes before Donald Trump posted an announcement that “productive talks” with Iran had taken place, oil traders placed half a billion dollars’ worth of bets on the future price of oil. Trump’s stateme…

Other commenters helped me diagnose the problem. When I couldn’t afford the solution, someone I knew only by his handle offered to pay Read more in the kindness of strangers series As a pensioner, money is always tight, so I was distraught when the secondhand car I’d recently bought began overheating. I took it to three or four different mechanics, none of whom were able to diagnose the problem. …

Leonid Radvinsky’s widow has been left with a crucial role in deciding what happens to the business that made her husband a billionaire Yekaterina Chudnovsky, online biographies say, is a mother-of-four who “enjoys spending time with her family and teaching them the importance of giving back and helping others”. They add that Ukrainian-born Chudnovsky, known as Katie, finds sanctuary in walks on …

‘Looksmaxxer’ influencer and his girlfriend are suspected of involvement in attack on 19-year-old woman, officials say Sign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inbox The social media influencer known as Clavicular has been arrested in Florida on battery charges. Braden Eric Peters, who maintains a controversial online presence among “manosphere” circles as a so-call…

The US court verdicts declaring Meta liable for getting people addicted and ruining lives must be just the start of a global fightback Good news is so rare these days, you don’t quite know how to take it. You want to celebrate, but a rival instinct tells you it’ll be pulled back somehow, the same feeling you get when your team scores a late winner, but you’re filled with instant dread that the go…

Ban includes two exceptions: AI can still be used for translations, and to make minor copy edits Wikipedia has banned the use of artificial intelligence in the generation or rewriting of content for its voluminous online encyclopedia. In a recent policy change , Wikipedia said that the use of large language models (or LLMs) “often violates” its core principles and will not be allowed. The English…

Exclusive: Research finds sharp rise in models evading safeguards and destroying emails without permission AI models that lie and cheat appear to be growing in number with reports of deceptive scheming surging in the last six months, a study into the technology has found. AI chatbots and agents disregarded direct instructions, evaded safeguards and deceived humans and other AI, according to resea…