Report reveals scope of extreme online abuse in English football
The BBC found that more than 2,000 extremely abusive social media posts were sent in a single weekend of Premier League and Women’s Super League action. As someone with roughly two hours per day scrolling X – no, I’m not proud of it – I’m fully aware of just how...
Current in Culture
AI free media is fast becoming a modern USP
As people become increasingly fatigued with second guessing whether media bares any hallmarks of AI, ‘human made’ is fast becoming its own USP. How grimly predictable. Earning a crust in the world of publishing means my colleagues and I are more accustomed to dodging AI slop than most. Much like the...
Explaining the Gen Alpha ‘6-7’ TikTok trend
Are you an elderly Gen Zer? Confused about why the kids are nonsensically saying ‘6-7?’ Us too. Every so often, a moment in pop culture will arrive as a reminder that youth isn’t eternal. Hearing an in-joke you don’t understand or missing an obvious conversational reference can make even the...
The media has missed the point of the Epstein story
Coverage has fixated on big names and sordid details, but the focus should remain on Epstein’s victims. If you’re an internet user you’ve probably scanned at least one headline pertaining to Jeffrey Epstein in the past week. The child sex offender is back in the news due to newly revealed...
Cambridge Dictionary names ‘parasocial’ its Word of the Year
Highlighting the prevalence of ‘unhealthy’ and ‘one-sided’ relationships people are forming with celebrities, influencers, and AI chatbots today, Cambridge Dictionary has named ‘parasocial’ as its Word of the Year. Can you name a celebrity you feel like you ‘know’ because you’ve paid so much attention to their career and personal...
Billie Eilish criticised by Elon Musk after wealth comments
‘She’s not the sharpest tool in the shed,’ wrote Musk on X earlier this week. His comments were in response to Billie calling him a ‘pathetic coward’ for hoarding wealth instead of donating it to good causes. Billie Eilish has been hit with new criticism from the world’s richest...
Is Trump’s threat to sue the BBC warranted?
The BBC is facing a barrage of criticism from right-wing opposition after broadcasting an edited clip of Trump’s 2021 January Capitol Riots speech. The US president is threatening to sue for $1 billion USD. The BBC is currently engrossed in controversy after broadcasting an edited speech by current US president Donald Trump. As part of its investigative journalism programme Panorama, the BBC spliced together two separate clips from Trump’s Capitol...
The 1975 remove song from last album on streaming services
British alt-pop band The 1975 have removed the song ‘Human Too’ from their previous album on all streaming platforms. Frontman Matty Healy says it’s simply because he doesn’t like the track anymore. Should artists be allowed to do this? The 1975 have removed one of their songs, ‘Human Too,’ from their last album, ‘Being Funny in a Foreign Language’ on all streaming platforms. This includes Apple Music, Spotify, and...
Should celebrities speak out on politics?
Jennifer Lawrence says speaking out against Trump would ‘add fuel to a fire’ ripping America apart. As political binaries continue to sharpen, should those in the public eye take sides? The question of whether famous people should be politically outspoken is a complex one. I’ve argued with friends and family about it to no end. But my own stance has also shifted plenty of times over the years. If you’d asked...
Why is there a Gen Z activism stan war going on?
Stan culture isn’t limited purely to the world of music, but this might just be the most peculiar beef fictionalised by the internet to date. Pick a side and get to tweeting your non-sensical argument immediately. The latest internet beef based on precisely nothing, and with absolutely no influence from either party, is the Greta Thunberg vs Malala Yousafzai squabble for title of ‘best Gen Z activist.’ Late last month, Malala appeared...
