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Social media

October 2026

  • Close-up of hands typing on a backlit laptop keyboard in a dark room

    Disinformation is just one symptom of the authorities’ failure to regulate social media

  • Emma Brockes

    double quotation markWould I want my child to study for a social media influencer degree? No, but it’s the way of the world

    Emma Brockes
  • A composite illustration with RFK Jr’s face at the center, with many other squares filled with images that suggest chemicals.

    A ‘freaked out’ US food industry is hitting back at Maha – with social media influencers

  • Lisa Nandy in Downing Street

    Nandy says children’s social media ban only ‘staging post’ in online safety drive

  • Tom Cruise lowers his sunglasses with both hands at a film premiere

    Pass notes
    The cure for doomscrolling? Why Tom Cruise stopped a woman mid-scroll

    Viral CCTV footage shows the star checking in on a woman he thought was in distress, but who was only engrossed in social media. Perhaps we could all use some Cruise
  • Hannah Ewens

    double quotation markMy Instagram reels addiction has ruined my ability to have a conversation. But can I get it back?

    Hannah Ewens
    As a journalist, I’m endlessly curious about people – or I was until short-form video made real-life interactions feel like a drag, says freelance editor and writer Hannah Ewens
  • Imogen West-Knights

    double quotation markAmazon’s Ring wants to replace local WhatsApp groups. It’s a recipe for curtain-twitching disaster

    Imogen West-Knights
    Do we really want a slick digital message board overseen by Amazon? It’s the neighbourhood nonsense we treasure, says writer Imogen West-Knights
  • One purple drink in plastic cup, next to read and white drink with a scoop of purple ice-cream on top.

    Purple reins: Philippine export ban casts shadow over UK’s love of ube

    As Britain goes mad for yam, shortage of planting material and concerns over control of crop prompts sales halt
  • tiktok logo

    TikTok to pay Alabama $100m and limit teenage use in first state settlement

    Trial had been set for Monday over claims by Alabama that TikTok misled parents about tools meant to shield children from harmful content
  • Brigid Delaney

    double quotation markOur lives and identities have moved online – and it’s driving us insane

    Brigid Delaney
  • Loneliness influencer Tess Lavanda

    Today in Focus
    Is it cool to have no friends? – podcast

    Podcast26:49
  • a child uses a smartphone

    Parents and carers: how has your view on your children’s use of social media or AI changed?

    Is the scrutiny tech firms are facing making you rethink your children’s relationship with technology? Let us know
  • A young boy looking at social media apps on his smartphone

    TikTok drops appeal against £12.7m fine for not keeping under-13s off platform

    UK watchdog fined video app in 2023 for failing to enforce minimum age limit and remove underage users
  • Elle Hunt

    double quotation markWe’re in a crisis of loneliness – but is buying friends on an app likely to help solve it?

    Elle Hunt
    Shortcuts work against the rewards of friendship: authentic relationships can surely only be forged when you’re not expecting a return on your money, says journalist Elle Hunt
  • A deepfake title image from the Russian documentary Olympics Has Fallen, using an image of Tom Cruise, alongside images of government officials, to suggest Cruise participated in the making of the documentary (he did not)

    Disinfo black ops
    How the ‘poisonous tide’ of disinformation spreads division and despair

    Whether produced by Russia, China or far-right influencers, deepfakes and disinfo are being used to spread deceitful narratives
  • Nigel Farage

    Politics live with Andrew Sparrow
    UK politics: PM’s new anti-disinformation unit gets cross-party backing, as Farage declares it an attack on free speech – as it happened

    Farage referred to the new unit and said Burnham was setting it up ‘using the excuse that Russia wants to interfere with elections’
  • A person with mobile phone in hand

    Criminals recruiting students on social media to be ‘parcel mules’, say police

    Organised crime groups offer cash to move packages containing drugs or weapons, says West Yorkshire force
  • Australian prime minister Anthony Albanese and US president Donald Trump in the White House in October 2025

    Albanese plays down Trump’s ‘censorship’ warning over Labor social media crackdown

    Trump administration expresses ‘serious concerns’ that forcing firms to allow algorithm opt-out would infringe Americans’ free speech
  • A young woman in a dark room with her face illuminated by her smartphone screen

    Jane told police intimate photos of her were online. They told her to go to the tech companies

    Exclusive: Social platforms and police are failing women abused online, report finds, with many saying complaints are not taken seriously
  • Arwa Mahdawi

    double quotation markThe Pentagon has unveiled its secret weapon: two idiotic influencers

    Arwa Mahdawi
    Jake and Logan Paul were invited to give a motivational speech. Just don’t let them get involved with military policy, writes Arwa Mahdawi
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