Workers around the world have been finding humour in a global Microsoft outage that disrupted Outlook, Teams and Copilot in 74 countries. But while some welcomed an unexpected break from their inboxes, the disruption has also affected businesses, governments and health services.
Published On 13 Nov 202613 Nov 2026
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AFTER finally securing his match on a dating app, a young man attempts to craft the ‘perfect’ message to show he’s an alpha male, a provider, and the best sex she’ll ever have.
He types out a message saying “I know women find it hard to make a decision, but you should hook up with me tonight for great sex”, but before it sends, AI flags it as potentially inappropriate and he gets a message from the app, saying: “Are you sure you want to send? Think twice – your match may find this language disrespectful.”
It’s the first time the young man has been confronted with the idea that his ‘manosphere’ rhetoric – typically used to promote aggressive masculinity and anti-feminist messages – might cause upset.
He deletes the inflammatory and types out “Hi, how are you? What’s your ideal date?”
The AI is trained to pick up words and phrases that are known to be offensive, and as of March 2026 it now recognises harmful tones of messages. It also has a “does this bother you” counterpart which asks the recipient of a dodgy message how they are doing.
And this is exactly how Georgia Harrison, 31, wants all social media apps to work – putting the safety of women and girls first while challenging the impact of toxic online views.
Data from Match Group shows that more than 700 million harmful messages haven’t been sent since 2021 after receiving the prompt, and one in five users rewrite their message after getting an are you sure message.
“It’s so powerful,” she tells The Sun.
“The app is subconsciously questioning them on some things they are saying which are misogynistic.
“This might be one of the first times that a lot of these young men have actually been questioned on the wording that they’re using.
“It’s not only preventing the young woman from receiving a message that could offend her.
“It’s making them question how they speak to women and what is the best way to speak to women and how they want to be spoken to and treated.
“I’ve been told by Match Group a significant number of people rewrote their messages after seeing the prompts. So they actually deleted that and changed the way they speak.
“And that could change the way that they view the way that they use their terminology in their entire future.
“I think that’s a really powerful tool and something that really stood out for me as a campaigner for women.”
Former The Only Way Is Essex star Georgia has vowed to take on the manosphere with the Georgia Harrison Foundation, which will aim to tackle the toxic online culture that the younger generation is growing up with.
Match Group’s Spark Report, a survey of adults dating online, found that a third of Brits didn’t meet anyone new in person in the last month and spend 4.7 hours each week doing their socialising through a screen, her mission is more important than ever.
Georgia, who gained widespread fame on Love Island, is asking social media to take more responsibility for the content posted on their apps – just like Match Group is.
The company, which also runs Hinge, Match, Plenty of Fish among others, has brought in verification requirements for all users to increase trust.
As of this year, the verification process requires users to take a video selfie to show that they’re a real person, not a deepfake or borrowing someone’s pictures.
Then, the app uses facial geometry to confirm that your photos match the video you have submitted. Two screenshots from the initial video are held on file to ensure future photos are of the person who made the account. They are deleted once the account is closed.
Their recent Spark study of 3,007 single adults found that the majority of people meet their romantic partner online.
It also found 69 per cent of singles would feel more confident meeting up with matches if they have a verified profile.
When dating sites and apps first launched, there were limited ways to verify who you were talking to, until you met in person.
Something scam artists and serial predators happily took advantage of.
Scot Christopher Harkins found multiple victims to defraud and in some cases abuse on Tinder and other dating apps, even at one point changing his name.
Scam alerts are now live across the Match Group platform and prompts will pop up when a conversation shows signs of a scam such as asking for money, or a push to swap contact details off the platform.
He was convicted and sentenced to 12 years in jail in July 2024 for defrauding his victims of more than £214,000, as well as charges including rape, assault, and physical abuse.
Known as the Tinder Swindler, Simon Leviev also used Tinder to pose as a wealthy playboy and is alleged to have defrauded singletons out of an estimated £7.4million. He is banned from all Match Group platforms.
Match Group CEO Spencer Rascoff said: “It’s incumbent upon us to apply technology and resources to make our apps as safe as possible.
“We’ve done that through photo verification to confirm users are a real human and you match your photos.
“We also share ‘bad actor bans’ between our apps. This means someone who is a scammer, a fake profile, an organised crime group or someone who caused harm to someone on or off platform using Tinder will be banned on Hinge and Match.com and vice versa.
“My daughter uses our apps, so have my brother and sister. It’s a family affair. Keeping users safe is so important.”
Bad actors are people that can be flagged by AI or users to Match Group who will then investigate, and if required create the ban of a certain person across the portfolio of dating apps.
Alongside facial recognition, users can report people for on-platform harm, such as abusive or aggressive messages, as well as off-platform harm including behaviour on dates or when messaging outside the dating app.
Spencer added: “If I could wave a magic wand and change one thing to improve society and our business results, it would be to make men behave better. That’s what we’re hoping to do with the Are You Sure? feature.”
He also told The Sun his team works closely with law enforcement across the globe when there are reports of dangerous behaviour.
Georgia said: “Younger people find it really hard to meet people the way we used to.
“But dating apps shouldn’t feel like they could be dangerous. If anything it should be safer.
“Women should feel safe knowing that whoever they’re messaging isn’t a catfish. That they’re not going to be a victim of sextortion because this person is verified that they are who they say they are to be on the platform.
“I’ve had messages on Instagram of people who have become victims of financial fraud and sextortion after meeting someone online.”
Match Group surveyed British daters to find out more about how they date. Here are the key takeaways from The Spark Report.
“This can be avoided with something as simple as verification. Dating is meant to be fun, not something that you’re scared or worried about.”
Georgia met her partner Jack on a dating app back in 2024, and the couple now share daughter Sahara.
He’s been by her side during her campaigning journey against intimate image abuse initiated by her own experience.
In 2023, Georgia’s ex-boyfriend Stephen Bear was sentenced to 21 months and handed a five-year restraining order after sharing sexually explicit photos without her consent.
Then in August this year, he was jailed again for 16 months after repeatedly breaching the restraining order by harassing and posting about Georgia on social media.
Back in 2023 Georgia struggled to get the video taken down from OnlyFans and other sites, leaving her determined to get change for future victims of intimate image abuse.
And while she’s got a long way to go, she’s hoping big companies will take their cue from Match Group.
“Over my experience campaigning for the last five years, I’ve just felt like so many tech platforms are more concerned about their traffic and their numbers rather than their actual users,” she said.
Match Group say they have stood firm on safety measures despite the company seeing a drop in user numbers since introducing photo verification.
Georgia said of the company: “I really hope that a lot of other tech platforms take the same approach and make sure that their users are more important by far than just a spreadsheet.”
RUSSELL Brand’s Instagram account has been taken down but someone keeps posting on another platform despite the rapist being locked up.
An unknown person has posted on the disgraced comedian’s X account, which is still active, a notice from Meta saying his Instagram had been disabled.
It was ruled that it went against the social media platform’s community standards.
A Meta spokesperson has confirmed that his account had been taken down because it “violates our policies.”
The account violated the company’s integrity policy, which says Meta will will restrict or disable accounts that “engage in off-platform activity that can lead to harm,” according to TMZ.
The policy says this includes accounts owned by convicted sex offenders.
Read More on Russell Brand
It is not known who posted on Brand’s X account.
The message said: “There never was a Russell Brand, according to @Meta.
“Thank God for @elonmusk.
“Stay tuned.”
It then added screenshots of the ruling by Meta.
Brand, 51, was jailed for ten-and-a-half years following a sentencing hearing on November 9.
Brand was convicted by the jury of rape and three sexual assaults and cleared of two further charges of rape and one allegation of attempted indecent assault.
Mr Justice Bennathan told Brand: “About 20 years ago, Russell Brand, you were becoming famous.
“You were clever – and in many people’s eyes, funny and charismatic.
“You had also become a sexual predator.”
A harrowing trial heard how Brand raped a a 21-year-old fan at his Hampstead mansion after meeting her at a 2009 stand-up show.
He also sexually assaulted a Channel 4 worker in 2009 after she was forced to give him a massage and “sloppily” kissed a Capital Radio worker at her offices.
The predator was further convicted of groping an MTV worker during a party at a Soho bar in 2004.
In recent years, Brand had re-invented himself into a born-again Christian influencer – an image he bolstered in court by clutching a bible each day.
Brand is now facing fresh allegations in the wake of his jail sentence.
Following the trial it has now been revealed more women have bravely come forward.
Prosecutors are assessing whether to bring further charges.
The Metropolitan Police has confirmed that investigations are ongoing into two allegations of rape made against Brand.
At pre-trial court hearings, it was revealed that one of the complaints comes from a woman who dated Brand when he was 30 years old and she was a 16-year-old schoolgirl.
The force confirmed further criminal allegations have been made.
It said several people have been in contact during and since the conclusion of the trial.
The force said those who have been in contact have either provided further information or reported potential criminal allegations.
Detectives are assessing the information as part of ongoing inquiries, the Met added.
It comes as Brand’s ex Jemima Goldsmith has also accused him of “violence, coercive control and abuse”.
The spate of further charges were first raised in court hearings in March and May, when Brand’s legal team sought assurances that the new charges would not be brought shortly before the trial took place.
A SOCIAL media influencer shared a health update revealing she was rushed to hospital after going BLIND.
Abbi Ratcliffe is a SEN (special education needs) mum influencer, with her son Mason being autistic.
The content creator, who has over 100,000 followers, shares updates with fans on her TikTok account Abbi’s Chaotic Life.
Taking to the online platform, Abbi – who also has daughter Ellie – opened up to her followers about a recent health worry.
She penned: “Hey everyone. “I can now confirm I’ve had a mini stroke (TIA).
“It’s been an absolutely terrifying evening, but thankfully I’m back home and my eyesight has returned to normal.”
Read more on social media
According to the NHS, a transient ischaemic attack (TIA) occurs during a temporary disruption in blood supply to part of the brain.
Resulting symptoms are said to be similar to a stroke, including visual and speech disturbance, as well as numbness in face, legs and arms.
Abbi added: “I’m waiting to speak to the stroke team tomorrow morning.
“I’m going to take some time to rest and process everything that’s happened.
“Thank you for all the love and support. Love, Abbi xxx.”
One person commented: “Bless you. Get well soon xx.”
Another added: “Lots of love coming your way, hope you recover and feel stronger soon.”
A third wrote: “Lots of love coming your way, hope you recover and feel stronger soon.”
A fourth penned: “Lots of love coming your way, hope you recover and feel stronger soon.”
As Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva celebrated his election victory on Sunday in Sao Paulo, he placed his hand on the head of a man standing beside him and beaming in a green and yellow Brazilian football jersey.
Lula thanked him for his role in the campaign, calling him “our general”.
list of 4 itemsend of list
Andre Janones, a 42-year-old Brazilian congressman who had spent the final weeks of the presidential run-off building a mass online movement to get Lula re-elected, then embraced the president.
“He played an exponential role in this campaign in lifting the morale of our troops every day, morning, noon and night,” Lula told thousands of supporters who packed Paulista Avenue, the city’s main artery.
Just three weeks earlier, the president seemed to be in trouble. He had finished behind his right-wing rival Flavio Bolsonaro after the first round of voting, his campaign struggling to keep up with the right’s powerful social media operation.
Janones, who had also helped coordinate Lula’s digital operation in his run-off against Jair Bolsonaro in 2022, was convinced Lula’s campaign needed a change – and that he could help turn things around.
He posted a video declaring, “We are going to win this election. Lula will be re-elected president of Brazil.”
His plan centred on a WhatsApp channel he had launched months earlier.
Called Exercito do Lula, or “Lula’s Army”, it had about 60,000 followers after the first round.
By election day, Lula’s Army had grown to almost 11 million subscribers, with Janones widely credited with helping Lula stage his comeback.
Janones is a lawyer and congressman who grew up in a working-class family in Minas Gerais. He made a name for himself through his social media commentary during Brazil’s 2018 truckers’ strike and was elected to Congress that year.
In 2022, he dropped his own presidential bid to endorse Lula, joining his run-off campaign.
“At the time, he became widely known for employing tactics similar to those used by Bolsonarism, despite operating on the left,” said Viktor Chagas, a professor at Fluminense Federal University who studies digital politics and online campaigning.
Janones coined the term “cultural Janonism” to describe his approach, which relied on urgent messages, memes and calls for supporters to take action, as well as what Chagas described as the occasional use of negative campaigning and “content of questionable origin”.
But the scale of Lula’s Army in 2026 was unprecedented, Chagas said.
In the video declaring that Lula would win, Janones urged supporters to enlist as “soldiers” by posting saluting emojis and joining his WhatsApp channel, where he assigned them what he called “missions”.
The tasks were simple, from recruiting three friends to sharing campaign videos to promoting hashtags.
They came in a relentless stream of messages from Janones himself, often written in capital letters. Supporters couldn’t reply, but they could forward the messages or react with emojis, often doing so in the tens of thousands.
Chagas described the strategy as a form of “electoral gamification”, with Janones setting targets for supporters to reach together.
For Andre Pagliarini, an assistant professor of history and international studies at Louisiana State University and the author of a book on Lula, the appeal of Janones’s approach was giving people something they could actually do to help Lula win.
“It became an organising platform that grew exponentially because it spoke to a desire that many Lula supporters evidently had to do something tangible to defeat Flavio Bolsonaro,” he said.
But the path to victory wasn’t just about mobilising supporters online.
Pagliarini credited the campaign for also finding a more effective way to tell the story of the president’s working-class past.
“The campaign’s mistake in the first round was to present this history as a finished monument, worthy of admiration but distant from the lives of the people it was meant to represent,” he wrote.
After Bolsonaro mocked the president for having nine fingers during the final televised debate, for example, Lula responded by recalling how he lost a finger at 17 while working a night shift at a factory. He then linked his experience to workers injured as a result of employers’ negligence.
“Unlike Flavio, he reminded voters, he knew the world of work because he had lived in it,” said Pagliarini.
After the debate, Janones spread the message online, promoting the hashtag #SomosTodos9Dedos, or “We Are All Nine Fingers”. Supporters shared the slogan, with some posting photographs of their own amputated fingers in solidarity.
Janones had also publicly called for simpler, less polished campaign videos that showed a more relatable side of Lula, drinking coffee, visiting people’s homes and talking to ordinary Brazilians. Around the same time, the campaign started posting more informal, selfie-style videos.
“Lula was looser in his political communication, less mediated,” Pagliarini said.
![Screenshots from Andre Janones’s WhatsApp channel, Exército do Lula, or “Lula’s Army,” show messages urging supporters to gather on São Paulo’s Paulista Avenue to celebrate Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s election victory on October 25, 2026 [Exército do Lula]](https://i0.wp.com/occasionaldigest.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/Untitled-1-21-1793120665.jpg?w=640&ssl=1)
It is difficult to establish whether Janones’s digital army actually delivered votes.
“I am not sure there is a way to empirically connect the group to the outcome,” Pagliarini said.
But he believes Janones helped turn the campaign around.
“Janones himself became a kind of character in the campaign, a cheerleading strategist who seemed confident in a plan that had been missing throughout much of the race,” wrote Pagliarini.
Chagas agreed that it was “difficult to imagine the outcome we achieved without Lula’s Army”, adding that the channel brought together left-wing supporters who had previously been scattered across fragmented online communities, and gave them a way to work together.
The challenge now is keeping that momentum going, Chagas said, pointing to the far right’s use of “permanent campaigning”, maintaining the engagement of supporters between elections.
On election night, at least, Janones kept his soldiers busy.
“EVERYONE TO PAULISTA TO CELEBRATE,” he wrote, urging them to gather on Sao Paulo’s Paulista Avenue. “NOW.”
Later, he asked them not to go to sleep, adding that he’d let them go once he got back from the celebrations.
“Then we’ll discuss a few days off for you,” he joked in a message that drew more than 225,000 reactions.
KATIE Price is continuing to fuel rumours she has secretly got back together with her conman ex-husband, as she flashed her huge engagement ring again.
The couple have been estranged since the summer, with Katie, 48, telling The Sun that she had dumped Lee Andrews, 43, after becoming fed up with his lies.
But over the last few weeks the pair of them have been dropping clues that they have secretly reunited.
While her ex, Lee, has been sharing cryptic messages, Katie has been suggesting they are back together by putting her sparkling engagement ring back on her wedding finger.
The Sun reported last week that the TV star was spotted wearing the huge bling again, and in latest social media posts, the ring has remained firmly on her left hand.
In a video posted on Snapchat from Sunday morning, Katie can be seen flashing the huge diamond rock.
Then in a new Instagram post of the star wearing a fur coat, the ring is in full view for all to see.
It comes after Lee has also dropped several clues he is back with his famous wife.
Last Friday, the former jailbird was spotted liking Katie’s post about her son Harvey, 24.
Then the next day, Lee posted a cryptic love poem, suggesting they were getting back together.
The Sun previously revealed that Katie ended their marriage via WhatsApp last month.
It came after she found out he had been lying to her and had just £2.22 in his bank account.
DAVID Beckham has showed off his ripped torso in a shirtless snap from New York City – and made a subtle nod to his estranged son Brooklyn.
Brooklyn let loose on his family in a scathing social media post in January, with things remaining tense ever since.
David shared the stunning snap on Instagram, which showed him standing topless on a NYC balcony with his morning coffee.
In later posts, he revealed he was having dinner in Brooklyn — the place his son was named after.
This appeared to be a subtle nod to Brooklyn as his mum Victoria discovered she was pregnant there with him.
Brooklyn said at the start of the year that he did “not want to reconcile” with his family, and accused his parents of “controlling” the narrative.
His initial statement read: “I have been silent for years and made every effort to keep these matters private.
“Unfortunately my parents and their team have continued to go to the press, leaving me with no choice but to speak for myself and tell the truth about only some of the lies that have been printed.
“I do not want to reconcile with my family. I’m not being controlled, I’m standing up for myself for the first time in my life.”
He then went on to recall the night of his wedding and how his mother danced in an “inappropriate way”.
Brooklyn also sent his parents David and Victoria a legal notice warning they can now contact him only via lawyers.
The extraordinary “desist” letter also instructed them not to “tag” him on social media.
Things then led to Brooklyn snubbing his father’s Hollywood star unveiling in June.
Just this month, Brooklyn let his shirt do the talking as he ramped up his family feud once more.
The telling message on Brooklyn’s top read: “It’s not clocking to you.”
It refers to pop star Justin Bieber’s 2025 paparazzi meltdown, when he complained: “It’s not clocking to you I’m standing on business.”
The singer meant photographers were not understanding he was busy and wanted to be left alone.
CHRISTINE McGuinness left little to the imagination as she stripped off for a bath.
The model, 38, took to her Instagram account to share a video of her enjoying some downtime during a recent hotel stay.
Christine filmed herself in a robe as she walked towards the mirror in her room at the Meliá White House in London.
She then filled her bathtub with hot water, dropped her robe to the ground and stepped into the bath with her back facing the camera.
Christine captioned the post: “Solo System Season is going extremely well.
“Enjoying my body, bank and bath on an unapologetic, unavailable and uncompromising level because my solo system needs this on prescription!
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“Especially at ‘The Level’ suites @themeliawhitehouse. No sharing and no caring.
“DND for the foreseeable.”
Fans rushed to the comments section to share how incredible she looked.
One said: “You look amazing Christine
“Gorgeous as always,” a second chimed in.
A third added: “Sensational.”
A fourth simply wrote: “Wowzers.”
LEE Andrews has continued to hint that he’s back with Katie Price with a cryptic love poem – as she’s seen wearing her wedding ring again.
The latest piece of the puzzle comes just days after the conman was spotted liking Katie’s post about her son Harvey.
The couple have been estranged since the summer, with Katie telling The Sun that she had dumped conman Lee after becoming fed up with his lies.
But recently, there have been clues they have secretly got back together, and today it was Lee‘s turn again.
It comes after Katie was spotted with her ring back on, hinting at a reconciliation with her jailbird hubby.
Now, Lee has posted a poem which reads: “There’s something about her eyes which f**** with my head.
“And don’t give me that mascara or makeup bulls***.
“Makeup’s got nothing to do with it. You can’t buy a look like that at a f***ing beauty counter.
“Those eyes are a drug. Devastating. Beautiful. And I can’t get clean.”
Katie had previously spoken about how she had started wearing her engagement ring on her right hand instead of the left after the split.
But she has now swapped it back to her left wedding ring finger – as she continues to fuel speculation that she is back with Lee.
The TV personality was seen emerging from a nail salon after a pampering session with the ring firmly back on her finger.
The Sun previously revealed that Katie ended their marriage via WhatsApp last month after finding out he had just £2.22 in his bank account.
We then told how the former glamour model is bracing herself for a “messy” divorce battle with her ex as the conman vowed to return to the UK.
But just days after scrubbing all his images from her Instagram page in a subtle swipe, she appeared to have given him grace on social media.
Eagle-eyed followers spotted how the mum of five is re-following his account and Lee, who previously erased her from his page, is doing likewise.
Lee was recently released from the notorious Al Awir prison after a four-month stint, but is now eyeing up flying back to his home country.
The conman launched a Go Get Funding page this month in a bid to collect bail cash so he can return to Britain.
And as Lee vows to fly back to England, Katie is understood to be “naturally worried” that Lee will come after her money, in what could be one of showbiz’s messiest divorces.
IT was the end of a perfect summer in the South of France, but within days of returning to the UK, Chloe Khan’s world came crashing down.
Almost all of her incredible designer collection of bags and shoes was stolen, in what she believes could have been a targeted attack.
And now two weeks on, the 35-year-old, who first rose to fame on X Factor, is no closer to finding any of her items – despite offering a £10k reward for information.
But Chloe, who believes she lost £400k of designer clothes in the robbery, has vowed to continue shopping and sharing her glam life online.
“I am a materialistic person and I do love beautiful stuff, but at the same time my family’s all healthy and happy,” she said.
“They’ve already taken all my physical items off me, they’re not going to take my personality off me as well.
“That’s what I enjoy posting, that’s my lifestyle post, I’m not going to wear an average outfit.”
Speaking for the first time about the devastating blow, Chloe, who lives in Belgravia with her private businessman boyfriend, said: “I was completely wiped out.
“It was around £400k worth of stuff – it was like my lifelong collection of stuff. I took everything over so that my closet was nice over there.”
The items included a pink Birkin bag, worth £30k, another orange Birkin, a Christian Dior Himalayan Lady Dior worth £26k, as well as numerous luxury items and one- off pieces that have never been worn.
Chloe travelled back to England via train so her beloved pomeranian pooch could be with her – while her driver was tasked with bringing her belongings back via car.
She loaded up the car with five cases full to the brim with her expensive wardrobe, but three days after she arrived home there was no sign of her items.
“I presumed it was still in transit. But it turns out after arriving back in the UK our driver parked the vehicle near to where he lives instead of my home.
“Without me knowing that my items were already back in the UK, he left the car there, the vehicle there for three days in a car park that says ‘do not leave valuable items’ and the car was smashed into and everything was taken.”
Her valuables were later found in a field a mile away from the car park by a dog walker, who managed to track Chloe down.
The police were contacted and CCTV showed a car entering the carpark around the time the robbery was expected to have taken place. No arrests have been made.
It’s been incredibly difficult for Chloe to deal with and has left her questioning her driver.
She said: “I’ve been really suspicious of the driver, but he’s worked for my boyfriend for 23 years, they’ve got a really close relationship.
“The whole family all really trusted him, but the day after it happened, the driver resigned the same day. There was no apology, not even an ‘oh my God, are you okay?’
“So obviously at the time I thought I had clearly been set up here.
“But now after speaking with my boyfriend and his family – we think he’s mentioned to someone he’s bringing all this stuff over and I think they’ve targeted it.
“The information has got to the wrong person. So I think it’s more of a loose lips, stupid situation. Regardless, it’s just such a neglectful thing to do and it was so avoidable by him.”
Chloe has been dating her boyfriend for the past year but is yet to reveal his identity.
She decided to share news of her robbery on social media in the hope she could retrieve some of the items.
But Chloe came under fire from trolls who told her “you deserve it for sharing all your stuff online”.
It didn’t deter the star though and the next day she headed to Harrods to try and build up her collection once again.
Unfortunately she didn’t have the right insurance, which means she’s been unable to claim any money back.
Speaking to me as they holidayed in the Serengeti – in the same villa Jeff Bezos stayed in the week before – she said: “I don’t think this has happened because of what I share online although I do know obviously it can make you a big target to share stuff like that online.
“What it has done is give me a trauma about suitcases to be honest because just a few days before this my daughter was in France travelling with my Louis Vuitton suitcase and it was stolen.
“I just never want to see a suitcase again and I also don’t want to transport my stuff from place to place.”
Despite everything she has been through, Chloe isn’t letting it put a damper on her incredible life.
“I’ve actually surprised myself how I’ve dealt with it because I’ve not cried once, I’ve not actually let it get me down,” she said.
Chloe has come a long way from when she first appeared on TV back in 2009 on the BBC Three show Snog, Marry, Avoid.
But it was the following year that the star – who went by the name Chloe Mafia – really became a household name.
In 2010, she auditioned for the X Factor and warbled her way through Summertime and a Shakira song – and got through to boot camp.
But she was kicked off the show after admitting she’d stayed up all night partying.
A few other reality TV shows followed and Chloe – who had her daughter Destiny when she was just 16 – went on to earn millions through a webcam business.
During lockdown she was earning $700k a month on OnlyFans, which she gave up last year when she met her man.
Reflecting on her success, she said: “It just feels like a completely different life.
“It doesn’t feel like two chapters of one book, it feels like two separate books.”
Now Chloe and her daughter, who is now 18, spend their days travelling the world in luxury.
She describes her little girl as a ‘stay at home daughter’, while she is a ‘spoilt girlfriend’ and is enjoying every second of it.
It’s also meant she has been able to move on from the robbery – with a very positive outlook.
“I thought to myself the other day – there are people in life that have struggles, some people might struggle with mental health or some people with actual physical health conditions or some people might have financial difficulties,” she said.
“For me, for some reason, mine is that I always get robbed. And I think if that’s my worst thing in life then my life’s actually quite good then, because it could be so much worse.
“When I got the news that all my stuff had been robbed I thought, do you know what, at this exact same minute someone’s got the news that they’ve got a month to live. Being robbed is not the worst thing in the world yet, it’s s**t. But it’s happened before and I’ll start again.”
KENDALL Jenner has sparked further rumors she’s feuding with sisters after snubbing a second major family event this week.
After the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show snub earlier this week, Kendall, 30, has seemingly snubbed someone else in her famous family.
Last night, Kim Kardashian held a huge birthday bash to mark her 46th.
All of the SKIMS founder’s loved ones were in attendance, spotted as they attended the event.
But Kendall was nowhere to be seen, and fans have clocked it.
An eagle-eyed social media user on Reddit said: “@KendallJenner not going to Kim’s birthday…Really girl?”
“Kendall must be fighting with Kylie and everyone, first she skips the VS show and now this,” noted one person in the comments.
“I think she just didn’t wanna do the pap walk,” said a second.
“With a family of this size it has to be someone’s birthday every month…can’t make every event every time I assume,” added a third.
This isn’t the first glimmer of a feud between the famous family that we’ve had in recent days.
Kylie strutted down the runway at the annual VS show on Sunday night wearing a $50 million bra, and Kendall was nowhere to be seen.
Kylie is the first non-Angel to wear the coveted Fantasy Bra, which she paired with a white thong, a sheer miniskirt, and massive white angel wings.
But her sister Kendall, who had walked in the show in the past, didn’t participate this year.
Kendall wasn’t even in the audience supporting her baby sister, alongside their mother, Kris Jenner, and Kylie’s boyfriend, Timothee Chalamet.
The supermodel also didn’t shout out Kylie’s monumental moment on social media, despite their sisters Kim and Khloe Kardashian doing so on their Instagram pages.
“There is no way Kendall is not seething at Kylie being in the show,” one person suspected in a popular Kardashian family Reddit forum at the time.
But Kendall did acknowledge her younger sister’s fashion show stint.
She reposted of Kylie strutting her stuff down the runway, writing: “My perfect baby sister.”
A statement was then shared with Page Six.
“Kendall thought Kylie absolutely killed it,” a source told the outlet.
“Even though Kylie has some runway experience, she still asked Kendall for a few tips ahead of the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show.”
Class action could be first in Australia to blame social media for harming its users.
Published On 22 Oct 202622 Oct 2026
Meta and its social media platforms Facebook and Instagram are facing a class action lawsuit in Australia over allegations that addictive design features are harming children and teenagers.
The lawsuit, filed by MinterEllison in the Australian Federal Court, seeks to recover compensation for current and former users of Facebook and Instagram who claim they were exposed to harmful content or developed an addiction to social media as a result of using those platforms, the law firm said in a statement released on Thursday.
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“This proceeding raises important questions about the design and operation of social media platforms and their impact on children and teenagers in Australia. Those questions will now be considered through the Federal Court process,” MinterEllison Partner William Nolan said in the statement.
The class action suit was filed on behalf of eight plaintiffs who allege they were harmed by Meta while they were below the age of 18.
In a suppression order on Monday, the court prohibited the reporting of any information that could reveal their identities and the statement of claim.
“We are aware of this claim and we will defend ourselves vigorously,” a Meta spokesperson said.
Litigation Lending Services said it was funding the class action for Australian families who “would have no practical means of pursuing these claims against a global technology giant”.
The lawsuit comes amid rising tensions between Australia and Big Tech after a world-first ban on social media for children below 16 in 2025, and newly proposed rules that could let users switch off algorithm-driven content on their feeds.
Meta agreed in August to pay $18bn to settle with nearly all US states to resolve claims that it designed social media to addict children.
Published On 21 Oct 202621 Oct 2026
Both candidates for the Brazilian presidency have called for the disqualification of their rivals over allegations of social media interference, ramping up political drama ahead of the close-fought October 25 runoff election.
Brazil’s right-wing presidential candidate Flavio Bolsonaro has requested the annulment of the candidacy of his rival, President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, over what he called unlawful propaganda.
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Lawyers for Bolsonaro filed a request with the Superior Electoral Court on Tuesday, alleging Lula’s “abuse of power” in the mass dissemination of government postings during the campaign period via WhatsApp.
Bolsonaro’s camp claimed the Brazilian government sent mass messages to millions of Brazilians via the messaging service, promoting social programmes, benefits and government initiatives in the midst of the presidential race, Brazilian media reported.
The request to the electoral court seeks to declare Lula and Social Communications Minister Sidonio Palmeira ineligible to hold public office for a period of eight years.
In the other camp, Lula’s campaign said on Tuesday that it would request the disqualification of Bolsonaro on Wednesday over alleged election interference by WhatsApp parent company, the tech giant Meta.
Lula’s petition, which has yet to be officially filed, alleges “algorithmic manipulation” by Meta aimed at harming Lula’s chances of winning, a campaign source told AFP.
The electoral court had given Meta 24 hours on Monday to prove it was complying with an order to treat both campaigns equally, threatening a daily fine of around $200,000 if it didn’t.
The order came after Lula’s campaign alleged that Meta, which owns Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram, was suppressing his online content to boost Bolsonaro.
“We have completed the implementation of the measures to comply with the Superior Electoral Court’s decision,” the company said on Tuesday.
Lula and Bolsonaro are locked in a heated presidential race after the right-wing candidate, son of former president Jair Bolsonaro, won the initial round of voting earlier this month with 47 percent of the vote to the incumbent’s 45 percent.
Polls show a very close race ahead of Sunday’s runoff round.
The messages, reported by a Brazilian daily, say the platform recommended Bolsonaro’s profile and his WhatsApp channel.
Published On 16 Oct 202616 Oct 2026
Employees at Meta have acknowledged in internal communications that the Instagram accounts of Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva were negatively affected by restrictions during the country’s election, media reports say.
The messages, reported on Friday by Brazilian daily Folha de S Paulo, also acknowledged the platform recommended the profile of Lula challenger Senator Flavio Bolsonaro, as well as his WhatsApp channel. Folha, the Sao Paulo-based paper, cited messages it had reviewed.
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Meta told the Reuters news agency that the technical issues cited in the report were already public and the conversations it referenced related solely to the severity of the issues, not political interference.
“Any suggestion that Meta favors one side is false,” it added in a statement.
Lula, the left-wing incumbent, will face right-wing challenger Bolsonaro in a presidential runoff on October 25, following a stronger-than-expected performance by the senator in the first-round vote earlier this month.
Friday’s report came on the heels of a Brazilian court ruling on Thursday that ordered Meta to immediately adopt measures to provide equal treatment of the two candidates ahead of the runoff.
The ruling by a judge in Brazil’s top electoral court was made shortly after Lula filed a complaint that accused the tech giant – which owns Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp – of using biased algorithms and AI restrictions to favour opposition candidate Bolsonaro ahead of the election.
Justice Marco Aurelio Bellizze ruled that Meta cannot reduce the distribution of political content, restrict searches or remove posts in a way that creates an imbalance between Lula and Bolsonaro. His ruling also orders the company to ensure its artificial intelligence tool applies identical criteria to both candidacies.
Bellizze said in his ruling that Meta must pay a fine of 500,000 reais ($98,700) per day if it fails to comply.
According to Lula’s party, some of his posts appeared without a share button and had reduced reach. Options for reactions, sharing, audio or accelerated speed were also missing.
Just visiting a page or refreshing an app can be enough to fall victim to a malware attack in which your personal data is stolen from a laptop or phone, researchers have found. You are not even required to “click” on anything.
An Israeli spyware firm has been found to be behind the first-known instance of “zero-click” targeted advertising in which fraudsters or spies can steal private data and send it to external servers, with Al Jazeera journalists among the victims.
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In June 2025, 45 devices used by Al Jazeera staff – including several who reported on sensitive subjects – were targeted with spyware which installed itself without the need to open or download any files.
An investigation by the Canada-based academic research unit Citizen Lab, prompted by Al Jazeera’s initial internal probe into the issue, discovered that the Israeli company Candiru was behind the attacks.
Analysts say the findings are “incredibly concerning”, as they confirm the existence of a new global security threat. “We knew we were headed in this direction and now it is out in the public,” Remesh Srinivasan, professor of information studies at the University of California in Los Angeles, US, told Al Jazeera.
“This is the next level, because people are being microtargeted,” he said. “This is the point we’ve come to when it comes to surveillance.”
Al Jazeera’s in-house technology team first discovered unusual patterns on devices used by some journalists in 2024. Analysis of network logs provided to the Citizen Lab by Al Jazeera in 2025 provided a clear temporal signature of how the attack was executed.
Malicious advertisements were bought by Discover-Tech, an Israeli company presenting itself as a legitimate advertising firm, but which actually operates as a facilitator for mercenary spyware partners.
Its advertisement network identified Al Jazeera staff, then quietly redirected them to an infected server belonging to Candiru. The spyware firm was blacklisted by the US government in 2021, when Citizen Lab found it was responsible for the illegal hacking and surveillance of at least 100 activists, journalists and political activists across 10 countries.
Al Jazeera Media Network has condemned the targeting of its staff members’ devices and called for those responsible to be held accountable.
Cybersecurity analyst and author Eddy Willems said the advertisements used automatically infect devices the moment they pop up on the screen, but there is an important technical nuance. “Executing code inside the browser does not automatically give an attacker full control over the computer,” Willems told Al Jazeera.
“To escape the browser’s isolated environment – the ‘sandbox’ – the attacker may need a second vulnerability,” Willems said, adding that an advanced spyware operation can combine several vulnerabilities.
“The attacker attempts to exploit vulnerabilities to bypass security boundaries. This is precisely what makes this type of attack so dangerous,” the analyst said.
Once the device is infected, the malicious software is designed to collect a wide range of sensitive data, including files, documents, and browser data such as cookies, bookmarks, and saved credentials.
It can also capture keystrokes, take screenshots, record microphone and webcam input, and extract emails and messages from popular communication platforms. To avoid triggering security mechanisms, the spyware often uses encrypted communication channels and breaks up stolen data into smaller chunks sent over time.
Analysts say Citizen Lab’s findings point to the escalation of an existing threat, which expands the scale and reach of traditional cyberattacks and makes them much harder to detect.
While “zero-click” attacks are not completely new, the findings outline a new technique through which online advertisements are used as a route to infection.
Stephen O’Shaughnessy, a lecturer in cybersecurity at the TU Dublin Blanchardstown campus in Ireland, explained that when a user opens a website or app, an automated auction sells the advertisement space in a fraction of a second. That auction shares data about the victim, including the device ID, IP address, rough location and the app or site they are on.
“Discover-Tech posed as an ordinary advertiser, used that data to find their target and win the auction for that person’s screen,” O’Shaughnessy told Al Jazeera. “Anyone with a phone or browser that shows ads can be reached, without the attacker needing their phone number or email.”
“Because no message or link is involved, there is almost nothing for the victim to notice,” he added.
Discover-Tech appeared on lists of “certified” and “approved” vendors maintained by Google and advertising industry association IAB Europe, and has served advertisements via major networks such as Google, Yandex and Beeswax.
In its report, Citizen Lab said this illustrates the structural flaws in the online advertising system, which essentially failed to detect or prevent the abuse.
Discover-Tech advertisements have popped up on devices used by personnel in national-security-sensitive networks around the world, including those of various ministries of defence, armed forces, national cyber agencies, intergovernmental organisations and media outlets, Citizen Lab found.
The research unit said these advertisements have also appeared on networks used by the United Nations, NATO, the European Parliament, the European Commission and the Council of the European Union’s General Secretariat.
Government networks have also been targeted in at least 24 countries, including the United States, Italy, Denmark, Norway, Australia, Russia, Mexico and Israel itself. Networks of media organisations have also been targeted, mainly in Australia, Denmark and Sweden, according to Citizen Lab.
In a separate report, New York-based advertising security firm Confiant said its own investigations had found that some of Discover-Tech’s advertisements also appeared in critical networks used by the Pentagon, the United Nations International Atomic Energy Agency and the International Criminal Court.
O’Shaughnessy said infection has not been confirmed there – only profiling of users. “But that alone is concerning, he said. “The ad system was built to send code from strangers to billions of screens with pinpoint targeting. Almost nobody was watching it from a security angle.”
The analyst said the risk remains low for most people as these attacks are expensive and aimed at specific targets. “For individuals at high risk, like journalists and officials, the best first defence is to install an ad blocker, switch off their advertising ID through their phone’s privacy settings, keep everything updated, and turn on Lockdown Mode or Android’s Advanced Protection,” he said.
Precautions also need to be taken within the industry and at government level. “To combat this, the ad industry needs to properly vet who’s buying ads,” O’Shaughnessy said, while “regulators need to stop personal data being sprayed out to thousands of unknown bidders in every auction.”
