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Pinterest sacks two engineers for creating software to identify fired workers
February 4, 2026
Digital pinboard business cutting 15% of workforce as it invests heavily in AI Pinterest has fired two engineers who created a software tool to identify which workers had lost their jobs in a recent round of cuts and then shared the information, according to reports. The digital pinboard business announced significant job cuts earlier this…
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French headquarters of Elon Musk’s X raided by Paris cybercrime unit
February 4, 2026
Prosecutors’ announcement comes amid a hardening of European attitudes to social media firms Prosecutors have raided the French headquarters of Elon Musk’s social media platform X and summoned the tech billionaire and the company’s former chief executive for questioning as part of an investigation into alleged cybercrime. “A search is under way by the cybercrime…
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Elon Musk merges SpaceX with xAI at $1.25tn valuation
February 3, 2026
Aerospace business and artificial intelligence firm to unite for IPO as world’s most valuable private company Business live – latest updates Elon Musk’s aerospace company SpaceX has acquired his artificial intelligence business xAI, in a $1.25tn (£910bn) merger that consolidates part of Musk’s empire as SpaceX prepares to go public later this year. The two…
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‘Deepfakes spreading and more AI companions’: seven takeaways from the latest artificial intelligence safety report
February 3, 2026
Annual review highlights growing capabilities of AI models, while examining issues from cyber-attacks to job disruption The International AI Safety report is an annual survey of technological progress and the risks it is creating across multiple areas, from deepfakes to the jobs market. Commissioned at the 2023 global AI safety summit, it is chaired by…
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‘It’s really sad’: US TikTok users rethink app over concerns about privacy and censorship
February 2, 2026
Some users are stepping away from the app after it made a deal to create a US entity and updated terms and conditions Many TikTok users across the US say they’re rethinking their relationship with the platform since its ownership and terms and conditions have recently changed, with some citing censorship and lack of trust…
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How the left can win back the internet – and rise again | Robert Topinka
February 1, 2026
In the final part of this series, we look at how infighting has ripped the left apart online while the right has flourished – and how some progressives are turning the tide Robert Topinka is a reader in digital media and rhetoric at Birkbeck, University of London Part one: How liberals lost the internet Part…
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Millions creating deepfake nudes on Telegram as AI tools drive global wave of digital abuse
January 29, 2026
Analysis finds at least 150 channels on messaging app that are distributing AI-generated images and video Millions of people around the world are creating and sharing deepfake nudes on the secure messaging app Telegram, a Guardian analysis has shown, as the spread of advanced AI tools industrialises the online abuse of women. The Guardian has…
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Life after Molly: Ian Russell on big tech, his daughter’s death – and why a social media ban won’t work
January 26, 2026
Molly Russell was just 14 when she took her own life in 2017, and an inquest later found negative online content was a significant factor. With many people now pushing for teenagers to be kept off tech platforms, her father explains why he backs a different approach Ian Russell describes his life as being split…
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EU launches inquiry into X over sexually explicit images made by Grok AI
January 26, 2026
Investigation comes after Elon Musk’s firm sparked outrage by allowing users to ‘strip’ photos of women and children Europe live – latest updates The European Commission has launched an investigation into Elon Musk’s X over the production of sexually explicit images and the spreading of possible child sexual abuse material by the platform’s AI chatbot…
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Google AI Overviews cite YouTube more than any medical site for health queries, study suggests
January 25, 2026
Exclusive: German research into responses to health queries raises fresh questions about summaries seen by 2bn people a month • How the ‘confident authority’ of AI Overviews is putting public health at risk Google’s search feature AI Overviews cites YouTube more than any medical website when answering queries about health conditions, according to research that…
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