Media

99 links
EU warns Venice Biennale over Russia participation commission threatens to suspend €2m grant tied to film projects, cultural programming becomes a contract compliance question
theguardian.com
Disney+ rolls out Verts short-video feed TikTok-style swipe discovery moves inside a paid streamer, engagement algorithm becomes the product even after checkout
techcrunch.com
Pop Mart teams up with Sanrio for Labubu blind boxes $40 mystery keychains and $150 plush drops turn toys into unboxing content, randomness does the work that ads used to do
businessinsider.com
African governments spend $2bn on Chinese AI surveillance Guardian cites report covering 11 countries and thousands of smart cameras, smart city procurement doubles as opposition mapping
theguardian.com
Google closes $32bn Wiz acquisition cloud security shifts from add-on to platform governance, the company that hosts workloads now also owns the map
businessinsider.com
Kalshi adds Threads sharing button for embedded prediction charts Meta platform becomes new distribution channel after X tightens betting promotion rules, odds travel as screenshots of truth
techcrunch.com
Microsoft backs Anthropic lawsuit against Pentagon blacklisting supply chain risk label threatens contractor AI stacks, government grants itself transition time but not vendors
businessinsider.com
Pope Leo XIV warns priests against AI-written sermons editors and media executives push AI drafting into daily workflows, accountability shifts from authors to process
theguardian.com
OpenAI acquires Promptfoo to secure AI agents Promptfoo tools already used across Fortune 500, autonomy creates demand for monitoring and red-teaming
techcrunch.com
Epstein reporter describes intimidation after Maxwell trial Guardian profile details surveillance and harassment around survivor interviews, accountability shifts from courts to private pressure campaigns
theguardian.com
Australia expands age checks to porn and explicit games app stores and AI systems told to block minors, identity verification shifts from niche control to default internet infrastructure
independent.co.uk
War memes and betting markets reshape conflict coverage platforms reward speed over verification while AI tools launder false context, even official accounts publish in the same format
japantimes.co.jp japantimes.co.jp
Alphabet ties Sundar Pichai pay to Waymo and Wing performance robotaxi and drone delivery become executive comp targets, regulatory permission turns into personal upside
techcrunch.com
Grammarly expert review feature borrows real names AI feedback presented as author and journalist perspective, disclaimers do the work while accountability disappears
techcrunch.com
AI war clips flood Iran conflict feeds state-linked accounts and Russia-aligned networks push synthetic and miscaptioned video, verification lags behind the first viral hour
independent.co.uk businessinsider.com
Conservative US media turns Iran war into on-air civil war Tucker Carlson and Megyn Kelly clash with Ben Shapiro and Mark Levin, Insults travel faster than policy
theguardian.com
Cluely CEO retracts claimed revenue figure TechCrunch reports founder admitted lying about ARR after PR-arranged interview, AI boom sells diligence tools while gaming diligence metrics
techcrunch.com
Zuckerberg calls crime inevitable on Meta platforms New Mexico trial tests whether recommendation and encryption choices priced harm into growth, Prosecutors cite internal estimate of 500000 children contacted daily
theguardian.com
BBC warns licence fee model is breaking Charter renewal talks expose funding gap as streaming blurs enforcement, 94% use BBC while fewer than 80% pay
theguardian.com standard.co.uk
United Airlines adds mandatory headphone rule to contract Refusal to comply can trigger removal and lifetime ban, Quiet becomes a written condition of carriage
globalnews.ca
Elon Musk testifies in Twitter takeover investor trial Plaintiffs say his bot claims and deal doubts moved the stock, The court is asked to price the boundary between jokes and disclosures
theguardian.com
Warner Bros opens Harry Potter flagship store on Oxford Street London retail pivots from chains to tourist IP anchors, a 21000 square foot shop replaces another empty frontage
standard.co.uk
Arts Council England faces legal threat over pulled poem Funded journal cites author social media presence and denies belief-based motive, Public grant oversight becomes an internal review that cannot be explained
theguardian.com
New York subway tests audio ads MTA pilots 30-second station commercials through June, Riders pay to escape noise
independent.co.uk
Drones strike US Embassy in Riyadh Saudi and US alerts supply first public account, Verification arrives after the push notifications
businessinsider.com theguardian.com
BBC faces scrutiny after Baftas slur airs Wunmi Mosaku says win tainted as Tourette activist outburst reaches broadcast, Live TV produces one version in the room and another on record
theguardian.com
Anthropic Claude suffers widespread outage Login failures hit Claude.ai and Claude Code while API stays up, Dependence on black-box AI turns downtime into someone else’s cost
techcrunch.com foxnews.com
Coach sells book charms for 95 dollars Luxury brands turn reading into an accessory market, BookTok aesthetics travel faster than the pages
nbcnews.com
ITV censors Brit Awards broadcast Free Palestine shout and Mandelson joke cut while swearing removed
standard.co.uk
Satellite images show Iranian frigate burning at Konarak Private imagery firms become newsroom witnesses, Verification becomes a procurement problem
businessinsider.com scroll.in
AI child abuse reports surge in US tip line data NBC says over one million generative AI reports in 2025, Platforms respond by wiring chat logs closer to police
the-decoder.com nbcnews.com
Ofcom targets suicide forum under Online Safety Act ISP blocking becomes enforcement tool, mirror sites expose limits of geofencing
theguardian.com standard.co.uk
CBS producer alleges political steering at newsroom Paramount Skydance merger bid raises stakes, editorial risk becomes a regulatory file
theguardian.com globalnews.ca
Netflix drops Warner Bros Discovery bid Paramount-Skydance offer for full company moves ahead, Netflix still collects roughly $3 billion breakup fee
businessinsider.com yle.fi
Instagram alerts parents about teens’ self-harm searches Meta expands supervision tools across US UK Australia and Canada, Notifications replace blocked searches while recommendation incentives stay untouched
standard.co.uk
Netflix releases Murdoch family docuseries Dynasty: The Murdochs tracks trust war and Fox News rise, A platform that avoids newsroom duties still gets to publish the record
theguardian.com
Anthropic acquires Vercept Computer-use agents move from demos to delegated clicks, Vercept shuts product in 30 days after raising $50m
techcrunch.com
NGOs seek to remove ex-Meta lobbyist Aura Salla from EU Digital Omnibus role Parliament reopens GDPR and e-privacy rules, revolving-door fight shifts to who holds the pen
euobserver.com
Kalshi and Polymarket turn news events into tradable contracts Mention markets bet on specific words and deadlines, Fast settlement rewards leaks and definitional power
finance.yahoo.com
AI doomsday Substack scenario rattles US markets Citrini report sketches 2028 unemployment shock from AI agents, Fear sells both hedges and regulation
businessinsider.com theguardian.com
Anthropic accuses DeepSeek MiniMax Moonshot AI of Claude distillation 24,000 accounts and 16 million exchanges cited, API access turns model output into an extractable resource
businessinsider.com
Peter Attia resigns as CBS News contributor Epstein files surface after January hire, contributor model turns credibility into a removable asset
theguardian.com
BBC splits World Cup presenting across Cates Chapman Logan Match of the Day rotation extends to tournament coverage, final host still undecided
theguardian.com
Meta and Snap push app-store age checks Apple and Google become default identity gatekeepers, factory resets and alternative stores remain an exit
euronews.com techcrunch.com
Labour Together PR contractor probes Guardian reporter Apco dossier work sparks ethics and standards inquiries, Political scrutiny outsourced as consultancy line item
theguardian.com
Publishers protest Dhaka Ekushey Book Fair arrangements Cultural distribution runs through organiser-controlled stall access, Soft censorship emerges as logistics and licensing
dhakatribune.com
Wired shows users how to disable Google AI Overviews Search shifts from index to editorial answer layer, Publishers supply costs while platform captures attention
wired.com
EU digital rules export compliance stack Sovereignty rhetoric meets age checks and algorithm audits, Compute rationing turns water and power into speech leverage
euronews.com independent.co.uk
CIA retracts 19 intelligence reports after PIAB review White nationalism and LGBT activism analyses among pulled products, State narrative management rebrands as impartiality
independent.co.uk
Trump demands Netflix remove Susan Rice from board Streaming platform governance turns into political leverage point, Neutrality becomes a cost center when regulators and factions expect compliance
thehill.com zerohedge.com businessinsider.com
Sam Altman dismisses AI water claims and compares model training to raising humans New Brunswick bans data centers after local revolt, energy politics turns into PR war over social license
techcrunch.com businessinsider.com
Macron demands algorithm transparency to legitimize speech controls Fox News reports push to regulate ranking not just content, State oversight migrates from takedowns to distribution
foxnews.com
Epstein-linked resignations spread across US corporate elite Der Spiegel tracks fallout from Goldman Sachs to hospitality and tech, Compliance discovers history only when reputations turn toxic
spiegel.de
Airbnb host quits after nightmare guests despite $2 300 monthly revenue, Business Insider account shows platform externalizes tail risk to hosts, trust and safety governance looks like social media with beds
businessinsider.com
Nadiya Hussain moves from BBC food TV to primary-school teaching assistant Bake Off star says shows dropped without explanation, public-service brand mints careers then cancels them administratively
standard.co.uk dailymail.co.uk
Matthew McConaughey trademarks likeness as AI acting market grows UT Austin town hall frames consent as enforceable IP not moral plea, Hollywood prepares to rent synthetic humans while calling it protection
businessinsider.com
Russia reopens Nikita Ouvarov case days before release Teen branded Minecraft terrorist faces new charges after five years, Digital traces keep security state’s conveyor belt running
lemonde.fr
South African game Relooted makes museum repatriation a heist mechanic Nyamakop uses real artefacts and Africanfuturist setting, restitution politics becomes frictionless entertainment
theguardian.com
OpenAI weighs tipping RCMP on ChatGPT user before BC school massacre Company defines imminent credible harm threshold, Private safety policy drifts toward pre-crime without due process
independent.co.uk
Live Nation deletes DOJ move on post Monopoly-era PR slips into public record then gets scrubbed, platform gatekeepers still assume regulators negotiate not enforce
billboard.com techcrunch.com
Microsoft appoints CoreAI executive Asha Sharma as Xbox CEO after Phil Spencer retirement Sarah Bond exits as Matt Booty becomes chief content officer, gaming shifts from studio culture to platform monetization
businessinsider.com
Judge weighs return of Washington Post reporter devices seized in Pentagon leak probe FBI grab includes laptops phone recorder smartwatch, source protection becomes evidence custody fight
independent.co.uk theguardian.com dnyuz.com
TIME sells filler-word coaching as lifestyle content Legacy media pivots from reporting to status-anxiety self-optimization, Um becomes a subscription strategy
time.com
NBCU Peacock plans third-party add-on subscriptions Streaming wars drift back to cable-style bundling and billing, Platform that couldn’t win on content tries to win on gatekeeping
businessinsider.com
EU states push under-16 social media bans Age verification becomes de facto internet ID layer, Child-protection rhetoric builds KYC market and normalizes traceability
euobserver.com foxnews.com english.elpais.com
AWS outages reportedly triggered by internal AI agents Amazon calls it user error as automation speeds failure, Cloud centralization turns prompt-level mistakes into internet-wide risk
theguardian.com techcrunch.com
UK finfluencers plead guilty to illegal Instagram FX promotions as FCA brings landmark prosecution Influencer ads blur into regulated investment inducements
standard.co.uk
Spotify replaces Daniel Ek with joint CEOs amid growth doubts and politicized content fights Record users meet subscription fatigue and culture-war pressure
english.elpais.com
Global Counsel collapses into administration after clients flee Epstein-linked Mandelson fallout PR industry sells access until proximity becomes toxic
independent.co.uk standard.co.uk
Tesla freezes out YouTuber MKBHD ahead of Model Y Performance review Access economy replaces formal censorship, Anti-establishment brand adopts old gatekeeping
businessinsider.com
Google phases out Gmail POP and Gmailify Open email standards give way to app-gated access, Security rhetoric doubles as lock-in strategy
dnyuz.com wired.com
Meta-OpenAI-Oracle back off-grid data centers powered by on-site gas and solar AI compute drives vertical integration from cloud to kilowatt, grid bottlenecks replaced by permitting chokepoints
independent.co.uk
University of Chicago drops PhD Project partnership after US Education Department civil-rights pressure DEI pipeline rebranded as compliance risk, principles survive as wording changes
wbez.org
Guatemalan journalist José Rubén Zamora freed to house arrest after 800+ days Prosecutors appeal to return him to prison, due process becomes punishment without verdict
english.elpais.com
EU Digital Services Act pushes geoblocking and localized moderation Trump administration floats Freedom.gov proxy portal, Two blocs invoke free speech while building state chokepoints
nytimes.com
Washington Supreme Court lets families sue Amazon over suicide-linked chemical sales Marketplace liability shifts from neutral platform theory to distributor duties, Tort law returns as accountability while regulators eye a new lever over online commerce
independent.co.uk
AI-generated headshots boom as career signaling product McConaughey warns actors to control likeness rights, Cheap replication pushes institutions toward more identity control
cbsnews.com independent.co.uk
Chinese anti-drone jammers go viral on TikTok Toy aesthetics sell RF denial as consumer gadget, content moderation turns into export control by proxy
wired.com
Perplexity retreats from ads as AI search economics bite Inference costs and CAC collide with Google-style monetization, Subscriptions and enterprise deals replace ad dependence with cloud and distribution dependence
wired.com
ByteDance deepfake Pitt vs Cruise clip rattles Hollywood SAG-AFTRA warns of synthetic likeness abuse, Likeness-rights regime risks becoming DRM for faces and lawyers
cbsnews.com
US launches Freedom.gov anti-geoblocking portal for Europe Domain administered by DHS agency CISA, Centralized censorship-bypass risks becoming government log funnel
theguardian.com
Reddit tests AI shopping search with product carousels Community recommendations routed to advertising partners, Forum advice becomes affiliate inventory
techcrunch.com
Substack partners with Polymarket Prediction markets embedded in newsletters, Editorials become tradeable and regulators get a new target
thehill.com
Emails show AGI promoter Ben Goertzel courted Jeffrey Epstein for funding DOJ files document continued contact after Epstein sex conviction, AI governance debates regulate compute while patronage buys legitimacy
businessinsider.com
Sony-owned Who Wants to be a Millionaire rights unit pays £20m dividend Format licensing still drives 82% of revenue, IP turns game-show rules into annuity
standard.co.uk
RAI Sport chief Paolo Petrecca resigns after Olympics commentary errors Journalists withhold bylines and threaten strike, public broadcaster politicization survives another scapegoat
theguardian.com
Meta and other AI firms restrict OpenClaw over security fears Agentic models blur line between safety and private licensing, state gets censorship-by-proxy without legislating
arstechnica.com thehill.com
Wiltshire town hall staff put local reporter face on punchbag Melksham News confronts council meeting, Public scrutiny rebranded as personnel issue
theguardian.com
Zuckerberg testifies in Los Angeles social media addiction bellwether Meta faces design-defect claims over ranking and nudges, Tort law inches toward becoming app-store regulator
businessinsider.com cbsnews.com france24.com
Mexico SAT demands permanent real-time access to platform transaction systems Tax-code Article 30-B turns compliance reporting into standing API, Government cyber-risk and mission creep arrive by design
english.elpais.com
US reportedly builds freedom.gov to route around EU network blocks Brussels fears Trump escalation over Digital Services Act, two regulators fight censorship by building more of it
nytimes.com spiegel.de
UK ASA bans Call of Duty Black Ops 7 ad over sexual-violence trivialisation Clearcast approval and adult targeting fail against harm-offence discretion
standard.co.uk
Modi corrals Altman Amodei, Pichai into AI summit hand-holding photo op, Rival CEOs refuse to touch as New Delhi markets AI via state choreography
businessinsider.com dnyuz.com
eBay buys Depop for $1.2bn Etsy exits at loss after 2021 purchase, Gen Z resale community becomes another consolidated fee stack
independent.co.uk independent.co.uk
US prosecutions for threats against public officials rise Investigators cite online intimidation surge, state expands discretion over political speech
cbsnews.com
Russian frontline communications disrupted after Starlink clampdown and Telegram restrictions Kremlin learns war runs on private platforms, Security logic shifts toward controlling commercial infrastructure
japantimes.co.jp euronews.com
Macron defends EU AI Act Vows G7 push against child deepfakes and under-15 social media, Child safety rhetoric maps neatly onto surveillance and platform liability, Europe sells regulation as innovation
theguardian.com infobae.com
FCC chair Brendan Carr signals equal-time enforcement over Colbert programming dispute Broadcast licensing keeps state leverage over legacy media, scarcity-era speech regulation survives on the shelf
nytimes.com newsweek.com dnyuz.com
Bonnier uses Midjourney for Unni Lindell book cover Illustrator Odin Helgheim disavows AI sequel cover, Culture war talks solidarity while ownership and liability stay unanswered
nrk.no