16 h. ago Half of girls exposed to harmful content online with teens twice as likely to see it on TikTok and X

Research from the Molly Rose Foundation found teenagers were twice as likely to encounter ‘high risk’ content on TikTok and X than other major platforms

Politics

55 h. ago Roblox slammed as 'playground for predators' as attorney general launches lawsuit

The US attorney general is calling for more effective age verifications and content filters on Roblox, an online gaming platform that is hugely popular with children and teens

Society

6 d. ago OpenAI launch of video app Sora plagued by violent and racist images: ‘The guardrails are not real’

Misinformation researchers say lifelike scenes could obfuscate truth and lead to fraud, bullying and intimidationOpenAI launched the latest iteration of its artificial intelligence-powered video generator on Tuesday, adding a social feed that allows people to share their realistic videos.Within hours of Sora 2’s, release, though, many of the videos populating the feed and spilling over to older social media platforms depicted copyrighted characters in compromising situations as well as graphic scenes of violence and racism. OpenAI’s own terms of service for Sora as well as ChatGPT’s image or text generation prohibit content that “promotes violence” or, more broadly, “causes harm”. Continue reading...

Politics

6 d. ago Explorer Dwayne Fields replaced Bear Grylls in what role? The Saturday quiz

From a Margaret Atwood trilogy and Abba’s fourth UK hit to Benny Hill and Rishi Sunak, test your knowledge with the Saturday quiz1 What is the still-standing legacy of the 1889 Exposition Universelle?2 How are girl group Huntr/x described in the title of a Netflix film?3 What is the only party to get 14m votes in a UK general election?4 Adventurer Dwayne Fields replaced Bear Grylls in what role?5 Which two metals make up most of the Earth’s core?6 Relative to its size, which bird has the longest beak?7 Which Women’s Super League team is based in Bromley?8 £90,000 is the threshold for paying what tax?What links: 9 Margaret Atwood trilogy; Abba’s fourth UK hit; 2020 Christopher Nolan film?10 Major Stevens; bottle; carpet; rouf; hand; exes; neves; TH?11 Crabeater; Leopard; Ross; Southern Elephant; Weddell?12 Craig David; Charlie Dimmock; Benny Hill; John Everett Millais; Rishi Sunak?13 Brühl’s Terrace; Frauenkirche; Pillnitz Palace; Yenidze factory; Zwinger Palace?14 Physiological; saf...

Politics

7 d. ago Taylor Swift fans left heartbroken after new album 'exposes' her as a 'mean girl': 'I'm done defending her'

The singer, 35, released her latest body of music on Friday, and in the process revealed she has entered her unfiltered era.

Politics

7 d. ago Taylor Swift’s Charli xcx hit job misses the point – and underscores her tedious obsession with conflict

Sixteen months after Charli used Brat to air her anxieties about Swift, the US star’s graceless response is a missed opportunity for growth – and betrays her vengeful sideCharli xcx released her sixth album, Brat, on 7 June 2024. Within seconds of it streaming, fans had deduced that the song Girl, So Confusing was probably about Lorde: all it took was the line “people say we’re alike / They say we’ve got the same hair”, riffing on a 2014 video where Charli and an interviewer did a bit about people confusing the two. In the song, Charli laid bare her anxieties about their relationship and admitted: “Sometimes I think you might hate me.” Exactly two weeks later came the Girl, So Confusing Featuring Lorde remix, brokered by the pair over text and voice note in the days after Brat came out. On Lorde’s verse, she owned up to ghosting on dinner dates with Charli and exposed the self-hate, projection and industry-fuelled sense of pop-girl-on-pop-girl rivalry that had made her shy away from...

Events

7 d. ago Taylor Swift’s Charli xcx hit job misses the point – and underscores her tedious obsession with conflict | Laura Snapes

Sixteen months after Charli used Brat to air her anxieties about Swift, the US star’s graceless response is a missed opportunity for growth – and betrays her vengeful sideCharli xcx released her sixth album, Brat, on 7 June 2024. Within seconds of it streaming, fans had deduced that the song Girl, So Confusing was probably about Lorde: all it took was the line “people say we’re alike / They say we’ve got the same hair”, riffing on a 2014 video where Charli and an interviewer did a bit about people confusing the two. In the song, Charli laid bare her anxieties about their relationship and admitted: “Sometimes I think you might hate me.” Exactly two weeks later came the Girl, So Confusing Featuring Lorde remix, brokered by the pair over text and voice note in the days after Brat came out. On Lorde’s verse, she owned up to ghosting on dinner dates with Charli and exposed the self-hate, projection and industry-fuelled sense of pop-girl-on-pop-girl rivalry that had made her shy away from...

Events

2 w. ago Teen, 14, goes missing as parents fear she was lured by online predator

Teen Amy Reidling, 14, went missing from her home in Decatur, Georgia, on Sunday and her family now fears she may have been lured away by someone she met online

Events

2 w. ago 1 in 5 female students have been sexually assaulted in 'national scandal' amid rise in teens as young as 13 watching violent online porn

The Office for Students (OfS) found unwanted sexual behaviour is widespread across universities after polling around 52,000 students.

Events

2 w. ago Instagram still poses risk to children despite new safety tools, says Meta whistleblower

Meta rejects review findings, which claim two-thirds of new features designed to protect young people are ‘woefully ineffective’Children and teenagers are still at risk from online harm on Instagram despite the rollout of “woefully ineffective” safety tools, according to research led by a Meta whistleblower.Two-thirds (64%) of new safety tools on Instagram were found to be ineffective, according to a comprehensive review led by Arturo Béjar, a former senior engineer at Meta who testified against the company before US Congress, New York University and Northeastern University academics, the UK’s Molly Rose Foundation and other groups.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 in...

Events

2 w. ago Computer expert exposed as 'child predator' who sexually abused young girl

A judge told Kerry Price that the way he treated his young victim had been 'utterly depraved'

Events

2 w. ago Southport killer's 'targeting of women and girls' exposed in phone records

Analysis of Axel Rudakubana's Nokia phone reveals he 'specifically targeted women and girls' the Southport Inquiry into the mass attack has heard

Events

2 w. ago Man, 42, pretended to be 18 online as he attempted to groom 'teenage girls'

Gerald Thomas was actually asking decoys for pictures before sending photos of himself naked and giving graphic instructions for them to carry out

Politics

3 w. ago Colorado teen shooter’s violent online postings had been under investigation for months, say FBI

Teenage suspect Desmond Holly had been active on an online forum where users can watch videos of killings

Events

3 w. ago Teen Colorado school shooting suspect reportedly fixated on Columbine attack

Desmond Holly also expressed neo-Nazi views online before a shooting critically injuring two students, ADL saysA teenager suspected in a shooting attack at a suburban Denver high school that left two students in critical condition appeared fascinated with previous mass shootings including Columbine and expressed neo-Nazi views online, according to experts.Since December, Desmond Holly, 16, had been active on an online forum where users watch videos of killings and violence, mixed in with content on white supremacism and antisemitism, the Anti-Defamation League’s Center on Extremism said in a report. Continue reading...

Events