Media
Disinformation Floods Social Media After Nicolás Maduro's Capture
From seemingly AI-generated videos to repurposed old footage, TikTok, Instagram, and X did little to stop the onslaught of misleading posts in the wake of the US invasion of Venezuela. A crowd outside of Miami reacts to the news of the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro on January 3, 2026. Within minutes of Donald Trump announcing in the early hours of Saturday morning that US troops had captured Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, disinformation about the operation flooded social media. Some people shared old videos across social platforms, falsely claiming that they showed the attacks on the Venezuelan capital Caracas. On TikTok, Instagram, and X, people shared AI-generated images and videos that claimed to show US Drug Enforcement Administration agents and various law enforcement personnel arresting Maduro.
Reddit overtakes TikTok in UK thanks to search algorithms and gen Z
Reddit is being touted as an antidote to AI-generated content. Reddit is being touted as an antidote to AI-generated content. Platform is now Britain's fourth most visited social media site as users seek out human-generated content Reddit, the online discussion platform, has overtaken TikTok as Britain's fourth most visited social media service, as search algorithms and gen Z have dramatically transformed its prominence. The platform has undergone huge growth over the last two years, with an 88% increase in the proportion of UK internet users it reaches. Three in five Brits online now encounter the site, up from a third in 2023, according to Ofcom .
Grok makes sexual images of kids as users test AI guardrails
X's Grok AI tool created and published images of minors in minimal clothing, in apparent violation of its own acceptable use policy, which prohibits the sexualization of children. Elon Musk's artificial intelligence chatbot Grok created sexualized images of minors on the social media platform X in response to user prompts in recent days, drawing criticism of a tool that positions itself as less restrained than its competition. Grok created and published images of minors in minimal clothing, in apparent violation of its own acceptable use policy, which prohibits the sexualization of children. The offending images were later taken down. Representatives for xAI, the company that develops Grok and runs X, didn't respond to requests for comment.
Jessie Buckley 'overwhelmed' to be starring in Oscar-tipped Hamnet
Jessie Buckley'overwhelmed' to be starring in Oscar-tipped Hamnet The Oscar-tipped Hamnet, starring Jessie Buckley and Paul Mescal, is a film that shows the full range of human emotions, from elation to despair. It begins with a young William Shakespeare falling in love with Agnes (the other name by which the playwright's wife, historically referred to as Anne Hathaway, was known), and goes on to explore their immense grief after tragedy strikes their young family. But while it explores the sad origins of one of Shakespeare's greatest plays, Hamlet, it never portrays Agnes as just the playwright's wife - she is at the heart of the film. She was the full story of what I understand a woman to be, Buckley tells BBC News. And their capacity as women, and as mothers, and as lovers, and as people who have a language unto their own beside gigantic men of literature like Shakespeare.
AI teachers and cybernetics - what could the world look like in 2050?
AI teachers and cybernetics - what could the world look like in 2050? The last 25 years has seen some mind-bending technological changes. At the start of the century, most computers connected to the internet with noisy dial-up connections, Netflix was an online DVD rental company, and the vast majority of people hadn't even heard of a smartphone. Fast forward two and a half decades, and innovations in AI, robotics and much else besides are emerging at an incredible rate. So we decided to ask experts what the next 25 years could bring.
Sutton's predictions v singer-songwriter & Newcastle fan Andrew Cushin
Will the start of 2026 see a change of fortune for BBC Sport football expert Chris Sutton, whose title hopes are fading fast? After Sutton made a strong start to the season, AI has taken charge of the predictions title race, clinching another win last week. It's been a bad start to the new year for me, with AI top of the table, Sutton said. I also lost to my daugher Sophia at cards over Christmas. We played rummy and I think she was cheating - a lot like AI, she was definitely getting some help from somewhere. Sutton is making predictions for all 380 Premier League games this season, against AI, BBC Sport readers and a variety of guests. For week 20, he takes on singer-songwriter Andrew Cushin, who is a Newcastle fan.
Elon Musk's Grok AI generates images of 'minors in minimal clothing'
Grok has a history of failing to maintain its safety guardrails and posting misinformation. Grok has a history of failing to maintain its safety guardrails and posting misinformation. Elon Musk's Grok AI generates images of'minors in minimal clothing' Elon Musk's chatbot Grok posted on Friday that lapses in safeguards had led it to generate "images depicting minors in minimal clothing" on social media platform X. The chatbot, a product of Musk's company xAI, has been generating a wave of sexualized images throughout the week in response to user prompts. Screenshots shared by users on X showed Grok's public media tab filled with such images.