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Yesterday

Elon Musk and Linda Yaccarino.

Elon Musk’s X in political advertising push to offset revenue falls

Plans for new political ads team to hit $US100 million in sales ahead of US presidential election are met with industry scepticism.

  • Hannah Murphy

This Month

Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen gives evidence to a parliamentary inquiry in social media.

How to steal 25,000 secrets from Facebook

The inside story of how a Wall Street Journal reporter secured one of the biggest leaks of corporate documents in history.

  • Jeff Horwitz
Paris Hilton with baby Phoenix Barron Hilton Reum.

Paris Hilton v the Crunchy Tradwives: a modern parenting story

The reality TV star is not so different from many of you, it turns out, as she baulks at changing her child’s nappy.

  • Monica Hesse
Many people, such as participants in artist Spencer Tunick’s mass nude pictures, consent to being seen naked.

‘Nudify’ apps that use AI to undress women are soaring in use

The law is struggling to catch up with the rise in deepfake, non-consensual pornography.

  • Margi Murphy
Upbeat. Mark Zuckerberg at Meta’s “Connect” event in California in September.

Metaverse a black hole, but Zuckerberg had a surprisingly good year

He renamed Facebook and committed billions of dollars, but he cannot force us to care about the metaverse. Meta’s AI experiment proved more successful.

  • Elaine Moore
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Mark Zuckerberg has found himself in the uncomfortable position of ruling on the free speech of everyone from presidents down.

Social media is dead, long live messaging

Facebook has announced major upgrades to its messaging apps, which could help it avoid having to moderate content and reduce some of social media’s negative impacts.

  • Nick Bonyhady

Is chasing likes on TikTok a good policy for political parties?

Harnessing the hottest memes is proving popular and for some young people it is their only exposure to the nation’s political issues. But is that good for democracy?

  • Daniel Chenu
Ricarda Louk displays a photograph of her daughter Shani Louk, 22, who was taken hostage and has been reported dead by Israel

Deepfake TikTok videos reanimate Hamas’ victims

‘Digital resurrections’ are becoming commonplace using AI technology.

  • Alexandra Barinka
Lawyer Virginia Jenkins says influencing is strictly a passion project and work comes first.

The lawyers who have a side hustle as influencers

Getting ready for work and posting about it has won a sizeable audience for these professionals.

  • Lauren Sams
Tom Holland says he has no rizz, though he’s clearly doing enough for Zendaya.

What is ‘rizz’ - and do you have it?

The Oxford University Press word of the year for 2023 was first coined on social media - and actor Tom Holland admits he’s got no rizz.

  • Melissa Twigg
Voice calls are falling from fashion along with fixed line phones.

Phone calls have become an intergenerational minefield

Younger people don’t like unsolicited ringing – even from their parents. Here’s why.

  • Eleanor Steafel
Natalie James left Deloitte to lead Tony Burke’s overhaul of the workplace relations system.

Meet the ex-Deloitte partner overhauling the IR system

Ex-Deloitte partner Natalie James doesn’t plan to emulate a consulting firm at the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations, but she refuses to give up some habits.

  • Ronald Mizen

November

Elon Musk on stage swears on stage at advertisers threatening to pull advertising.

Musk launches X-rated tirade at advertiser threats

Elon Musk hit out at brands that have pulled their advertising from X after he endorsed an antisemitic conspiracy theory.

  • Kate Conger and Remy Tumin
Children’s advocates and politicians around the world have pushed technology companies to stop the online spread of abusive imagery.

How your child’s online mistakes could ruin your digital life

Google has a zero-tolerance policy for content showing the abuse of minors. The scanning process can sometimes go awry and tar innocent individuals.

  • Kashmir Hill
X hired Linda Yaccarino in June to woo marketers back to the platform after many pulled their spending.

X chief Linda Yaccarino resists pressure from advertisers to quit

A groundswell of executives and friends from the advertising industry privately urged the industry veteran to resign to save her reputation.

  • Hannah Murphy and Christopher Grimes
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Elon Musk in conversation with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak during the AI summit in London.

Backlash grows over Elon Musk’s antisemitic post

Comcast, Paramount and Warner Bros follow IBM in pulling back from X, formerly Twitter, amid concerns about antisemitic content.

  • Dana Hull
Elon Musk has faced increasing criticism that he has tolerated and even encouraged antisemitic abuse on his social media platform.

IBM pulls ads after Musk supports antisemitic post

X employees are grappling with what to tell advertisers after Elon Musk’s comments that were seen as antisemitic.

  • Updated
  • Ryan Mac
The sign at Salzburg airport that has taken social media by storm is actually an advertisement for an Austrian communications company.

Austria or Australia? The truth behind the viral internet meme

Pictures of a facility at Salzburg airport for wayward travellers who got their destinations crossed have been all over social media, but it’s fake news.

  • The Associated Press
Industry and Science Minister Ed Husic at the AI Safety Summit at Bletchley Park, Oxfordshire.

Government claims ‘seismic’ week for AI development

With the White House, China and Big Tech all signed onto a more careful approach to AI risks, Industry and Science Minister Ed Husic has some wind in his sails.

  • Hans van Leeuwen
Elon Musk in conversation with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak during the AI summit in London.

Elon Musk warns AI bots will swamp social media

At a summit in London, the X owner’s dystopian warnings on AI came leavened with a vision of a future where nobody has to work.

  • Hans van Leeuwen