What happens to TikTok has become, improbably, one of the great stories of our time – one that will help us understand how the world economy is likely to develop over the next 30 years. This is about global rivalry between the US and China of course, but it is Continue Reading
Social Media
Tory-linked PR firm granted £3m Covid-19 contract without tender | Politics- Tempemail
The political communications company behind the Conservative party’s controversial 2019 digital campaign strategy received a £3m government contract to work on Covid-19 messaging without a competitive tender and is now negotiating with the Cabinet Office for more work, the Guardian and openDemocracy can reveal. Topham Guerin, founded in 2016 by Continue Reading
Wanted: somebody to do the worst job ever advertised | Life and style- Tempemail
Name: Influencer PA. Salary: £19,000-£23,000 p/a. Description: The very worst job in the history of humanity. Taking pictures of an idiot for a living doesn’t sound that bad. I didn’t say photographer. I said PA. And what does that involve? I’m glad you asked. An influencer with 10 million Instagram Continue Reading
Microsoft moves ahead with talks to buy TikTok after Trump vows to ban app- Tempemail
The Independent employs reporters around the world to bring you truly independent journalism. To support us, please consider a contribution. Microsoft has confirmed it is still pursuing talks to buy the social app TikTok, with reports that Donald Trump has given the negotiations a 45-day deadline. The news comes just after Continue Reading
Carl Bergstrom: ‘People are using data to bullshit’ | Science- Tempemail
Carl Bergstrom is a professor of evolutionary biology at the University of Washington in Seattle. More than a decade ago he conducted research on the role of government in pandemic planning, and has been a trenchant critic of the current response. He is the co-author with his colleague Jevin D Continue Reading
Who will choose the next US president – the American people, or Mark Zuckerberg? | Jonathan Freedland | Opinion- Tempemail
This week, in a hearing on Capitol Hill, you could gaze upon the men with the power to determine November’s presidential election and the future of American democracy – but the men in question were not politicians. Rather they were the four tech titans who appeared by Zoom before a Continue Reading
I used to be Mum’s Sherpa for the digital world. How did she get so savvy? | Coco Khan | Life and style- Tempemail
For as long as I have been online, I have been worried about my mum being online, too. At first I was concerned she might interfere with my alternate internet life (mostly MSN Messenger), at the time a precious space where I could practise being my independent self. “These friends Continue Reading
Madonna takes on new role as Covid-19 conspiracy theorist | Music- Tempemail
Dancer, singer, songwriter, actor, director – Madonna has had quite the career. But the queen of pop’s latest reinvention came this week in the form of a video posted on Instagram that shared a coronavirus conspiracy theory with her 15 million followers. Madonna claimed a vaccine existed but was being Continue Reading
Egypt is setting a dangerous precedent by jailing women for using TikTok- Tempemail
The Independent employs reporters around the world to bring you truly independent journalism. To support us, please consider a contribution. On 27 July, a court in Cairo sentenced five young people to two years’ imprisonment, and fines of 300,000 EGP (£14,500) each on charges of violating family values and principles. Their Continue Reading
Naomi Osaka calls out critics who shamed her for swimsuit photos: ‘Why do you feel like you can comment on what I can wear?’- Tempemail
Tennis star Naomi Osaka has called out critics who shamed her over recent pictures she shared of herself in a bikini. Throughout this month, the 22-year-old has shared multiple photos on Instagram of herself by the pool. “Welp mornin’ to you I guess,” Osaka captioned two photos of herself posing Continue Reading