YouTube more representative of Britain than television, says UK boss

YouTube’s UK boss has said his platform is more representative of modern Britain than broadcasters such as the BBC, saying that television channels are falling behind because they do not provide material that speaks directly to all parts of the country. The Google-owned video service is on the cusp of overtaking the BBC as the […]

Scammers exploit Covid to steal from stressed bank customers

It began with a text purportedly from O2. The message informed Stephen Frew that his latest payment could not be processed and asked him to update his card details via a link. Frew duly obliged. Within a week the GBP21,330 he was about to use as a deposit on a flat was stolen from his […]

Cleaning up: the social media stars making housework cool

There were fears that this autumn’s bumper crop of books would see some titles overlooked – but one volume definitely didn’t get brushed under the carpet. This Is Me by Sophie Hinchliffe, better known as the Instagram cleaning sensation Mrs Hinch, was the runaway hit of Super Thursday on 1 October, fighting stiff competition from […]

‘Influencers are being taken advantage of’: the social media stars turning to unions

Amy Hart earned her 1.2 million Instagram and 99,000 Twitter followers by appearing on 2019’s Love Island, where she had her heart broken while wearing a denim minidress. Like many of the show’s former stars, she is now an influencer: she tells fans where to buy clothes, makeup, even teeth like hers. But on 12 […]

Michigan terror plot: why rightwing extremists are thriving on Facebook

In a year of escalating political violence in the United States, Facebook has served as a key organizing tool for violent extremists. An alleged plot to kidnap the Michigan governor, Gretchen Whitmer, was planned in part on Facebook, with one leader of the scheme broadcasting a video of his frustrations with Whitmer to a private […]

From ball launchers to activity trackers: the new breed of pet tech

Technology for pets is increasingly popular, with gadgets entering the market that promise to keep our dogs and cats in trim, healthy and occupied, and we pet owners in sync with their needs. The increasing humanisation of pets means more and more of us are treating them as fluffy family members. Spending on cats and […]

‘Smart’ male chastity device can be controlled by hackers, users warned

The maker of a “smart” male chastity device has recommended using a screwdriver to break it open after warnings it can be locked remotely by hackers. The Bluetooth-controlled Cellmate device can only be unlocked via an app. Its manufacturer, the Chinese company Qiui, issued a video titled “When nothing else works”, showing the screwdriver fix. […]

Facebook removes hundreds of fake profiles tied to pro-Trump group

Facebook has removed hundreds of fake profiles it has linked to the conservative group Turning Point USA for carrying out organized attacks on the site, including attempts to influence public conversations by flooding news articles with pro-Trump comments and misinformation. The move was prompted by reporting last month in the Washington Post that found Turning […]

Fifa 21 review – fancy footwork and spectacular goals

Never mind football coming home. This year, football had to work from home. Every major competition shut down at the height of the pandemic, leaving elite athletes to train over Zoom and fans to stare at incomplete league tables. Some, like the Scottish Premiership, awarded trophies. Others spent small fortunes designing biosecure bubbles in order […]