Your contacts on the networking site LinkedIn could be deepfakes, according to a new study. Researchers at the Stanford Internet Observatory found more than 1,000 deepfake accounts on LinkedIn, the social media platform for professional networking. The Times said the profiles are created by artificial intelligence software that has learnt, through viewing thousands of real faces, how to create convincing facial features.
Church of Flying Spaghetti Monster’s hat battle
The leader of the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster is campaigning hard on a key issue: the right to wear a pirate hat for a driver’s licence photo. Gary Smith, who identifies himself as a Pastafarian, insisted that his pirate hat is part of his church’s religious headwear. He has accused licensing authorities of “sheer arrogance” for blocking his request, reported Vancouver Island’s Times Colonist. According to followers, Pastafarianism is a “real, legitimate religion, as much as any other”.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Message in bottle found after 56 years
A message in a bottle written by two teens looking for boyfriends has been found 56 years after it was released. The requests have been floating in the Humber Estuary for nearly six decades, after Jennifer Coleman and Janet Blankley wrote them aged 15 in August 1966. A mother and daughter spotted the bottle when they were litter-picking in Scunthorpe, said The Metro. They hope to reunite the notes with their authors.
-
Sanae Takaichi: Japan’s Iron Lady set to be the country’s first woman prime ministerIn the Spotlight Takaichi is a member of Japan’s conservative, nationalist Liberal Democratic Party
-
Russia is ‘helping China’ prepare for an invasion of TaiwanIn the Spotlight Russia is reportedly allowing China access to military training
-
Interpol arrests hundreds in Africa-wide sextortion crackdownIN THE SPOTLIGHT A series of stings disrupts major cybercrime operations as law enforcement estimates millions in losses from schemes designed to prey on lonely users
-
China is silently expanding its influence in American citiesUnder the Radar New York City and San Francisco, among others, have reportedly been targeted
-
How China uses 'dark fleets' to circumvent trade sanctionsThe Explainer The fleets are used to smuggle goods like oil and fish
-
One year after mass protests, why are Kenyans taking to the streets again?today's big question More than 60 protesters died during demonstrations in 2024
-
What happens if tensions between India and Pakistan boil over?TODAY'S BIG QUESTION As the two nuclear-armed neighbors rattle their sabers in the wake of a terrorist attack on the contested Kashmir region, experts worry that the worst might be yet to come
-
Why Russia removed the Taliban's terrorist designationThe Explainer Russia had designated the Taliban as a terrorist group over 20 years ago
