This Month
‘Massive’ French police force arrives in riot-hit New Caledonia
Deadly violence has raged across the French Pacific territory this week over electoral reforms pushed in Paris, forcing France to impose a state of emergency.
- Kirsty Needham and Camille Raynaud
How TikTok changed fashion
Trends in what people wear, whether hemlines, colours or the way they think about and shop for clothes, no longer begin with designers or even influencers.
- Rachel Tashjian
TikTok sues over US ban in battle for survival
The lawsuit from the social media platform and its parent company, ByteDance, claims US legislation banning the app would breach free speech rights.
- Hannah Murphy
How Kim Jong-un’s propaganda song conquered TikTok
“Friendly Father” is the first North Korean composition about the leader to go viral for its musicality.
- Harriet Barber
Billionaire Pratt leads Aussie charge at garden-themed Met Gala
A high-profile annual event, the Met Gala is a benefit for the New York museum and marks the opening of its Costume Institute’s annual fashion exhibit.
- Ben Kellerman
Ad giant Dentsu’s epic losses no big deal for Japanese parent
Dentsu spends more than $1 billion every year in Australia on behalf of its clients, including Woolworths. It has lost $170 million over the past three years.
- Sam Buckingham-Jones
TikTok’s new numbers make useful idiots of us all
The viral video app’s figures for contribution to the Australian economy leave competitors out of the picture.
- Updated
- Mark Di Stefano
April
ATO told scam victim he owed $46k tax refund sent to fraudster
The victim of the scam was told he had to repay the money paid out to someone who had stolen his identity online.
- Tom McIlroy
Why Apple has a $US300b ‘Made in China’ problem
Apple is gradually weaning itself off China as a longstanding and mutually-beneficial relationship between the corporate giant and the country begins to fray.
- James Titcomb
China warns Blinken over ‘negative factors’ in US ties
China’s top diplomat told his US counterpart the relationship is “facing all kinds of disruptions”, signalling Beijing’s impatience with Washington’s policies as the presidential election looms.
- Iain Marlow
Alphabet surges past $3 trillion, announces first-ever dividend
Google’s parent company rose nearly 16 per cent after first-quarter earnings beat expectations and a $US70 billion stock buyback was approved.
- Greg Bensinger and Akash Sriram
- Exclusive
- Social media
TikTok Australia makes its first stand after US ban laws pass
The US congress passed a bill on Wednesday requiring TikTok to be sold within a year or be banned in the country.
- Nick Bonyhady
- Opinion
- The AFR View
Musk sets test for social media without boundaries
The sudden row between Australia and Elon Musk is a test of sovereign writ against the biggest companies – but also where government control of media should begin and end.
- The AFR View
Billionaire Elon Musk ‘shouldn’t be dictating to us our social norms’
We went to western Sydney community leaders and asked if the videos of a church stabbing should be allowed to stay on X. Here’s what they said.
- Max Mason
Green antics give corporates nightmares
After Nick McKim’s savaging of Brad Banducci, business may be wary of co-operating with Greens-led inquiries. Some, it seems, already are.
- Updated
- Myriam Robin
TV networks have lost 83pc of young viewers to TikTok, YouTube
The Seven, Nine and Ten networks are trying to convince the government to protect their role in airing sport for free, as global competitors lure away viewers.
- Updated
- Sam Buckingham-Jones
‘At the end of the day, we’re Aussies’: Assyrians assess church attack
For Sydney’s tight-knit Assyrian community, Monday’s terrorist attack in a church was confronting and triggering for a long-persecuted people.
- Max Mason
US House to vote on Ukraine and Israel aid, despite hardliners
Republican Speaker Mike Johnson says the long-awaited vote on aid for Ukraine, Israel and the Indo-Pacific should go ahead as soon as this weekend.
- Patricia Zengerle
Don’t want your kid to end up as a deepfake? Keep their face offline
The rise of AI has created new anxieties about how an innocent photo could be manipulated, so “sharenting” is out and privacy is in.
- Fortesa Latifi
Nick McKim’s Senate antics make it all worse
This is all entirely on brand for McKim, a man eternally promoting simple, populist solutions to complicated problems.
- Myriam Robin