TikTok, an AI sitcom and clowns: how Hacks and The Comeback nail the humiliations of modern celebrity
No indignity is too great for the leads of these darkly funny shows as they pursue a comeback at any cost
‘An element of exploitation’: the world of TikTok child skincare influencers
Experts say regulation of child influencers sits in a legal grey area as children promote products on social media
#ToddlerSkincare: the ‘dark and exploitative’ world of children’s beauty videos on TikTok
Skincare videos are featuring children as young as two, Guardian analysis finds, prompting fears about the industry’s reach and lack of safeguards
Trump and Tehran’s series of mismanaged posts stall progress towards peace
US president’s desperation for war to end has seen him trying to speed through a process he does not fully control
I’ll make up a whopper you can’t refuse! Why do we love to believe cinema’s best lines were improvised?
From The Godfather to Saltburn, the internet is awash with claims that actors are ditching the script and making it up as they go along. What’s behind our desire to invest in these behind-the-scenes ‘secrets’?
What are the UK government’s plans to regulate social media for under-16s?
As Keir Starmer tells tech bosses to make their sites safer, ministers are weighing up what they can do
Starmer tells social media firms: ‘Things can’t go on like this’
PM demands real world changes in Downing Street meeting with senior figures from Meta, TikTok, Google and X
‘This craving to go viral is tiresome’: the artists sick of the pressure to promote on social media
From Stewart Lee in his wolf costume to Werner Herzog’s big steak sizzle-up, artists are now under huge duress to ‘chase the algorithm’ and reach audiences. Many of them are hitting burnout – and hitting back
Gary Neville’s media group buys football YouTuber Mark Goldbridge’s channels
Exclusive: Neville has criticised “those bloody YouTubers” – but The Overlap has now acquired channels with 3.7m subscribers for seven-figure sum
Meta creating AI version of Mark Zuckerberg so staff can talk to the boss
Digital clone being trained on his thoughts, tone and mannerisms to help workers feel connected
Parents are helping their children bypass Roblox age checks and play as adults
Gaming company says it looks for signs a user may be younger than they appear in the age check process introduced in December
Elon Musk’s X cuts payments to users who post clickbait
Platform says it will reward original creators as it penalises ‘aggregators’ for flooding timelines with ‘stolen posts’
Social media was once a great global conversation. Now it’s just individuals locked into their own private worlds
I met the mother of my children on Twitter – and made lasting friendships. But now social media isn’t so social, says academic philosopher and writer Tom Whyman
Lifestyle blogger said to have inspired Devil Wears Prada character uses unpaid student interns
Use of interns by Plum Sykes, an ex-assistant of Anna Wintour whose family owns a Yorkshire estate, reignites debate about creative industries
From Andrew Tate to Mountbatten-Windsor, my first name has been dragged through the mud. Can a global community of ‘Drews’ help change that?
The ‘Council of Andrews’ started as a bit of fun – but has led to friendships, financial help and even fiances…