FBI raids home and seizes phone of Polymarket founder  The Guardian

British news publisher the Guardian said on Wednesday it will no longer post to X, citing "disturbing content" on the social media platform, including racism and conspiracy theories.

The Guardian announced it will no longer be active on X (formerly Twitter) — all its editorial accounts will stop posting on the platform. Users can, of course, still share the outlet's articles on X, and journalists working for The Guardian may link to or embed X posts in their articles or continue using the platform to gather news.

According to the statement, X has become rife with “far-right conspiracy theories and racism” and is simply not worth sinking more resources into. The newspaper would rather spend its time and energy on less "toxic" platforms. Additionally, The Guardian cites Elon Musk as a major reason for moving away, since the results of the recent US presidential election have allegedly shown how Musk "has been able to use its influence to shape political discourse." Essentially, the concern appears to be that continuing to post would be adding fuel to a propaganda machine.

The Guardian isn’t the only news outlet to ditch X: NPR and PBS both left in 2023. Corporations like Apple, IBM, Disney and others still post, but no longer advertise on X. These companies have historically been the social media platform’s biggest source of ad income, as reported by Axios.

The Guardian claims it's able to make this decision because it doesn’t rely on advertising as its main business model. But Twitter was always more about influence than driving traffic, and the returns on investment for publishers have only gotten worse with time.

“Extreemrechtse samenzweringstheorieën worden er gepromoot”: Britse krant ‘The Guardian’ plaatst geen info meer op X  Het Laatste NieuwsHele verhaal bekijken via Google Nieuws

1. The Guardian to no longer post on ‘toxic media platform’ X  Al Jazeera English
2. Why the Guardian is no longer posting on X  The Guardian
3. The Guardian quits X: Why this 200-year-old media giant walked away?  India TV News
4. ‘Toxic’: Leading UK media house decides to stop posting on Elon Musk-led X  Hindustan Times
5. A 200-year-old British media giant stops posting on X. Here's why  India Today

“We think that the benefits of being on X are now outweighed by the negatives and that resources could be better used promoting our journalism elsewhere," The Guardian explained.

Britain’s The Guardian newspaper announced Wednesday it would no longer post content from its official accounts on Elon Musk’s X, branding it a “toxic media platform” home to “often disturbing content”.

“We think that the benefits of being on X are now outweighed by the negatives,” the left-leaning newspaper, which has nearly 11 million followers on X, said on its website. It added that its “resources could be better used promoting our journalism elsewhere”.

“This is something we have been considering for a while given the often disturbing content promoted or found on the platform, including far-right conspiracy theories and racism,” the statement noted.

“The US presidential election campaign served only to underline what we have considered for a long time: that X is a toxic media platform and that its owner, Elon Musk, has been able to use its influence to shape political discourse.”

The paper’s main X handle was still accessible Wednesday but a message on it advised “this account has been archived” while redirecting visitors to its website.

The Guardian noted that X users would still be able to share its articles and that it would still “occasionally embed content from X” within its articles given “the nature of live news reporting”.

It also said its reporters would still be able to use the site and other social networks on which the paper does not have an account.

“Social media can be an important tool for news organisations and help us to reach new audiences but, at this point, X now plays a diminished role in promoting our work,” The Guardian added.

Musk purchased X, formerly known as Twitter, for $44 billion in 2022 and has consistently courted controversy with his use of the platform, particularly during the recent US presidential election.

Musk endorsed Donald Trump and used his personal account boasting nearly 205 million followers to sway voters in favour of the Republican, with a slew of incendiary, misleading posts criticised for cranking up the political temperature.

Trump on Tuesday announced that the Tesla and SpaceX billionaire would lead a so-called Department of Government Efficiency in his incoming administration, alongside the entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy.

1. 'Toxic media platform': Why 'The Guardian' quit X after US election results  The Times of India
2. Why the Guardian is no longer posting on X  The Guardian
3. ‘Toxic’: Leading UK media house decides to stop posting on Elon Musk-led X  Hindustan Times
4. A 200-year-old British media giant stops posting on X. Here's why  India Today
5. UK's 'The Guardian' Quits X Citing "Disturbing Content" On Platform  NDTV

1. Teenager in critical condition with Canada’s first human case of bird flu  The Guardian
2. B.C. teen with avian flu is in critical condition, provincial health officer says  CBC News
3. What do you do when a goose dies in your backyard, amid concerns about avian flu?  CityNews Kitchener
4. B.C. teen with Canada's first human case of avian flu in critical condition, Dr. Bonnie Henry says  CTV News Vancouver
5. B.C. teen diagnosed with bird flu in critical condition, with source of virus likely to remain unknown  The Globe and Mail

It has accused X of promoting "disturbing content", and says Mr Musk is using it to "shape political discourse."

Ideal Middle Grade Novel To Teach About Conservation and The Environment

Ideal Middle Grade Novel To Teach About Conservation and The Environment

Ideal Middle Grade Novel To Teach About Conservation and The Environment

New study clips added! Suitable for upper-primary Literacy and ICT, these resources compliment the free wallchart available to UK teachers.

1. Cop 29: Leaders to address summit after report finds climate pledges not kept – live updates  The Guardian
2. Live Briefing: Greta Thunberg calls site of COP29 climate summit ‘beyond absurd’  The Washington Post
3. COP29 gets underway in Azerbaijan  ABC News
4. Oil and gas are ‘a gift of God’: COP29 leader  The Australian Financial Review

1. South Korea takes first cautious steps into a post-Covid world  The Guardian
2. S. Korea warned of COVID-10 second wave  NEWS.com.au
3. South Korea reverses on reopenings amid nightclub outbreak  The Age
4. S.Korea leader says no panic as cases rise  SBS News
5. Coronavirus: How South Korea 'crushed' the curve  BBC News
6. View Full coverage on Google News

1. NSW warns ‘complacency biggest threat’ as most states move to ease Covid-19 restrictions  The Guardian
2. NSW coronavirus restrictions to lift from Friday, but will not follow all National Cabinet measures  ABC News
3. Coronavirus Australia: NSW Premier issues firm warning to NSW residents  Jimmys Post
4. NSW to ease lockdown restrictions from Friday  Sydney Morning Herald
5. NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian says relaxation of restrictions doesn't mean coronavirus is less deadly  ABC News
6. View Full coverage on Google News

1. Ten arrested and police officer injured at protest against Victoria’s Covid-19 lockdown laws  The Guardian
2. Hundreds of anti-vaxxers clash with police during protest in Melbourne's CBD  Daily Mail
3. Coronavirus: Anti-lockdown protesters clash with police in Melbourne  NEWS.com.au
4. Ten arrested, police officer injured in anti-lockdown protest  The Age
5. Coronavirus Australia updates: anti-lockdown protest in Melbourne as NSW and WA set to ease Covid-19 restrictions – as it happened  The Guardian
6. View Full coverage on Google News

Improving Britain’s geological mapping  The Guardian

Lockdown has cut Britain's vibrations, seismologists find  The Guardian

Coronavirus: the week explained - 10 April  The Guardian

1. Players to air concerns to Premier League executives over restart  The Guardian
2. Every Premier League Goal 2002/03: Baros and Murphy make their mark  Liverpool FC
3. Project Restart Q&A: What next for Premier League after government announcement?  Sky Sports
4. Premier League must be very careful or the empire will come crashing down  The Guardian
5. Premier League considering new broadcast access - including inside changing rooms  Daily Star
6. View Full coverage on Google News

1. Coronavirus Australia latest: at a glance  The Guardian
2. Coronavirus update: 'You have made Australia the envy of the world' | ABC News  ABC News (Australia)
3. Coronavirus Australia live coverage: The number that matters most  NEWS.com.au
4. 'All very good news': 16 new cases as COVIDSafe app downloads reach 5.4 million  SBS News
5. Coronavirus restrictions could be derailed if a widespread outbreak happens, Paul Kelly says  ABC News
6. View Full coverage on Google News

Smartphones can be used to digitally trace Covid-19. But not if the public don’t download an app over privacy fears – or find it won’t work on their device

The idea of the NHS tracing app is to enable smartphones to track users and tell them whether they interacted with someone who had Covid-19. Yet this will work only if large proportions of the population download the app. No matter how smart a solution may appear, mass consent is required. That will not be easy. Ministers and officials have failed to address the trade-offs between health and privacy by being ambiguous about the app’s safeguards.

Instead of offering cast-iron guarantees about the length of time for which data would be held; who can access it; and the level of anonymity afforded, we have had opacity and obfuscation. It is true that we are dealing with uncertainties. But without absolute clarity about privacy the public is unlikely to take up the app with the appropriate gusto.

The chance to put biodiversity and the environment at the heart of recovery from the pandemic should not be squandered

One night in April, birdwatchers from around Britain stepped outside their doors and listened intently to something most of them had never experienced before: the fluting, mysterious, melancholy cry of the common scoter on the wing.

Flocks of these dusky sea ducks were beating their way over Britain on their long migratory journey towards their Arctic breeding grounds, easily audible to the naked ear. The first great wave was heard on the Wirral before being picked up in the Peak District, and at last by the Humber. A second wave was made out as flocks made their way along the line of Hadrian’s wall, from the Solway Firth in the west to Northumberland in the east. A third wave flew above listeners from the Severn estuary to the Wash. The birds were heard in urban Blackburn, Stalybridge, Bristol and London. It was thanks to social media that so many listeners were alert to the birds’ progress – and thanks to the silence of lockdown that they could be heard.

Coronavirus is much more likely to claim the lives of black people than white. Socio-economic factors are a significant contributor

• Coronavirus – latest updates
• See all our coronavirus coverage

A universal experience is highlighting the sharp divides in our society. Few are as stark and shocking as those revealed by Thursday’s news that black people in England and Wales are more than four times as likely to die from Covid-19 as white people. Bangladeshi and Pakistani people were about three and a half times more likely, and those of Indian origin two and a half times as likely, the Office for National Statistics reported.

The disproportionately high toll of BAME people was already evident, notably among medical staff: a review of just over a hundred NHS staff who died found that almost two-thirds were black or Asian, though those groups account for less than one in seven workers in the health service. It is all the more striking, given that age is one of the biggest risk factors and the over-65s comprise only one in 20 of the BAME population, compared with almost one in five of the white population.

The government must be cautious in both the decisions it takes and the messages it sends

• Coronavirus – latest updates
• See all our coronavirus coverage

The end is not in sight. With an estimated 20,000 new infections a day, and with experts warning that the reproduction rate of coronavirus may be rising again, any premature loosening of the lockdown will only prolong the crisis. When the prime minister speaks on Sunday evening, it is essential that he makes it clear that people should still be staying at home, not relaxing their guard.

Though so many other countries had been hit, the government did not act soon enough to either contain the threat or prepare for it. Those failures have made a longer and tougher lockdown necessary. It was slow to take the pandemic seriously, slow to impose stringent social distancing, and slow to pursue equipment, testing and tracing, as the Labour leader, Keir Starmer, noted this week.

Today, we are making a public pledge to ourselves and our readers, that we are committed to taking responsibility for our role - both journalistically and institutionally - on how to impact the climate crisis we are facing.

The Centre proposes to establish a National Judicial Council to examine allegations of misconduct or incapacity against senior judges, but questions remain over just how much teeth it should have. Omair Ahmed presents a legislative brief on the Judges (Inquiry) Bill.