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Meta’s chief AI scientist departs to launch startup As Meta founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg has shifted away from prioritizing Meta’s Fundamental AI Research Lab in favor of rapidly-released AI products to compete with OpenAI and Google, Meta’s chief AI scientist Yann LeCun plans to depart from the tech giant, the Financial Times reported on Tuesday. Known by the tech community as a pioneer of modern AI, LeCun plans to leave Meta in coming months and has begun fundraising for his own startup. He’s led Meta’s Fundamental AI Research Lab — which focused on long-term AI research — since 2013.  Declining cable trends bog down Disney’s earnings While Walt Disney’s theme parks and streaming services are on the up-and-up, its overall revenue stopped short of Wall Street estimates due to the decline of its cable unit, the entertainment and media giant reported Thursday.  According to Disney’s earnings report, earnings from streaming spiked 39% to $352 million. While 12.5 million new viewers subscribed to Disney+ and Hulu this quarter with the addition of box office hits — for example, Lilo & Stitch amassed 14.3 million views in its first five days on Disney+ — traditional TV profit dropped 21% to $391

This bike was stolen and then immediately offered for sale on a named person’s Snapchat account, resulting in two Garda searches in Dublin An Irish club cyclist has had his €10,000 new bike stolen and then saw it immediately offered for sale on snapchat and on an internet marketplace. Gardaí then believed they had tracked down the bike, and the man believed to be selling it online, with a search operation taking place. However, those searches drew a blank and, frustratingly, the bike remains unaccounted for while its owner has been receiving updates from other cyclists reporting they have spotted the bike being ridden in central Dublin. The owner – Dunboyne Cycling Club member Micheál Bailey – had the Fifty One Assassin stolen in Dublin’s south inner city on Tuesday night. The bike was offered for sale on a Snapchat account, and on an online marketplace, the following day. It appears the Snapchat account, registered by a named individual, published a photograph of the bike, saying it was in “mint” condition as he offered it for sale. On the basis of that post, gardaí decided to carry out two searches, though the bike was not at those locations and remains

Grooming gang inquiry will never be watered down, says Starmer Online grooming offences have reached a record high in the UK, with 7,263 cases recorded in the year to March, nearly doubling the figures from 2018. The youngest victim identified was a four-year-old boy, and girls accounted for 80 per cent of victims where gender was known. Snapchat was linked to 40 per cent of identified tech platform offences, while WhatsApp, Facebook, and Instagram each accounted for 9 per cent. The NSPCC described the figures as “deeply alarming” and urged tech companies to analyse metadata for suspicious patterns and restrict adult profiles. Police and the Internet Watch Foundation also called on tech firms to prioritise child safety in platform design, including in encrypted spaces, to protect children. In full Boy, 4, victim of online grooming as offences reach record high

Online grooming crimes have doubled in the UK since 2017 to a record high, with one victim just four years old, according to the NSPCC. Warning: Readers may find details in this story distressing. The children's charity said 7,263 offences were recorded by police in the year to March - almost double the 3,728 in the 12 months to March 2018. Its new report, which described the eight-year rise as "deeply alarming", was based on data from police across the country via freedom of information requests, with Lincolnshire Police the only force failing to provide information. A tech platform was identified in a little more than 2,100 offences, with messaging app Snapchat the most widely used - in around 40% of the cases. The NSPCC said 9% of cases happened on WhatsApp, and 9% on Facebook and Instagram. All those platforms are owned by Meta. While girls made up 80% of victims in cases where the gender was known in the past year, the youngest victim in that period was a four-year-old boy, the charity said. The NSPCC said it wasn't told how the boy had been groomed, and declined to say which police force recorded this crime for fear

Sick Snapchat messages sent by a vile ex Coventry hospital boss have been revealed. Child rapist Paul Lipscombe used the platform to lure in underage girls and groom them. The former NHS manager in Coventry admitted 34 offences, including two counts of rape, three sexual assaults and 22 offences of sexual activity or incitement involving a child, relating to six victims aged between 12 and 15. The married executive – described as “devious” and “manipulative” – was seen to raise his eyebrows but remained calm as he was sentenced to a total of 28 years and a month at Leicester Crown Court. Leicestershire Police found more than sickening 17,000 child abuse images on his devices after he was arrested in April last year, LeicestershireLive reported. They also found messages to another paedophile advising him how to meet underage girls online to have sex with. READ MORE: Snapchat child rapist gets 28 years as ex-Coventry hospital boss's vile crimes revealed READ MORE: Police investigation after girl sexually assaulted in Coventry Officers also found on his devices a young girl, who had not been identified, in a "distressed" state as Lipscombe forced her to perform a sex act on him. The girl

Paul Lipscombe, a senior NHS manager from Rothley, Leicestershire, has been sentenced to 28 years in prison after admitting to a shocking series of sexual offences against young girls he groomed on Snapchat. Described by Judge Keith Raynor as "devious, scheming and manipulative," Lipscombe’s crimes have sent shockwaves through the medical community, law enforcement, and the wider public, raising urgent questions about the safety of children on social media platforms and the adequacy of online safeguards. According to Sky News, the 51-year-old, who worked as an associate director of NHS performance in Coventry and earned at least £91,000 a year, pleaded guilty to 34 offences against six girls aged between 12 and 15. The offences, which occurred between September 2023 and April 2024, included two counts of rape of a child under 13, 21 counts of sexual activity with a child, three counts of sexual assault of a child under 13, causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity, making indecent photographs of children, and distributing indecent photographs of children. Lipscombe’s predatory campaign began with the creation of multiple Snapchat profiles under fake names such as 'Dom Woodmore' and 'George.' BBC News reported that he used these identities

JAKARTA - Snap Inc. will bring nostalgia to the digital world by bringing back 2D comic-style Bitmoji for Snapchat+ subscribers. So, in the coming days, they will see a new feature called Comic Bitmoji. This feature allows Snapchat+ subscriber users to view all Bitmoji avatars in their applications in 2D images, and send stickers to their friends that reflect the style they choose. "Think of it as a filter for your avatar: the same custom and expression you like, redesigned to remind comic-inspired iconic views," the company wrote in an announcement on its official website. Bitmoji is known as a unique means of self-expression from the start of its appearance. Now, Snap reveals, there are more than 320 million people worldwide who use Bitmoji every day. Even today, Bitmoji has integrated into many ways both inside and outside Snapchat, from profiles and Snap Maps, to AR Lens and stickers in Chat, text, or even email. Along with the development of the digital world and the user community, Bitmoji also evolved. In 2023, Snapchat introduced a Bitmoji 3D avatar with a high level of customization covering various body types, hairstyles, makeup, and facial details such as spots. SEE ALSO: However, in

Snapchat no longer shows someone else’s “Best Friends” list publicly, but users may still want to figure out whom a contact interacts with the most. November 11, 2025 / 13:42 IST 1/5 Use the ‘Find Friends’ sectionOpen Snapchat, tap the profile icon and navigate to “Add Friends”. In the “Find Friends” list, you’ll see suggestions of people based on your contacts or mutual friends. While this does not reveal someone’s official Best Friends list, it can highlight users with whom they likely interact frequently. Scroll through the suggestions: repeated names might signal frequent snaps. 2/5 Monitor through Family CentreSnapchat’s Family Centre lets parents or guardians monitor a minor’s account if added to the system. Within a child’s account (under 18), you can view their list of friends and most-interacted users. Go to Profile → Settings → Privacy Control → Family Centre → Send invite to the child’s account. Once accepted, you get access to their friend list and interaction patterns. 3/5 Look for ‘Mutual Friends’ tagsWhen you view someone’s profile or suggestions in Snapchat, you may see tags like “Mutual Friends”. This indicates that you and the other person share one or more common connections. It won’t tell you exactly

This article discusses suicide and suicidal ideation. If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available. Call or text 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org In September on Capitol Hill, while sitting across from the most recent survivor parents who bravely testified on the horrors unleashed by chatbots resulting in their children’s deaths, I suddenly felt ancient and obsolete.   Five years ago, I lost my 16-year-old son, Carson, to suicide after he was viciously cyberbullied by his high school classmates over Snapchat’s anonymous app, Yolo.  This dangerous product design allowed teens to hurl anonymous insults at a known teen victim.  I, too, testified before Congress in 2023 and strongly advocated for legislation to address this completely unregulated industry, which is harming our children. This marked the beginning of my harrowing journey – repeatedly telling the story of the worst day of my life to an endless list of staff members on Capitol Hill.   My story was told alongside other survivor parents whose children died of sextortion, fentanyl poisoning from drugs marketed, purchased and delivered over Snapchat, deadly online challenges and pro-suicide content fed to vulnerable children over Instagram, TikTok and YouTube. Sometimes, staffers would shed sincere

Social media usage is nuanced and ever-evolving, but don’t let that complexity leave you feeling directionless. For every question that arises as you build your next social strategy, there’s a guidepost to be found in the data on digital behaviors and habits. Comprehensive and reliable data, that is. That’s why, even in the era of information overload, marketers need resources like the Digital 2026: Global Overview Report , featuring over 600 pages of statistics from trusted sources that illuminate how audiences navigate the digital world. Over the past year, there has been no shortage of new developments in the social marketing landscape. Find them all in the Digital 2026 report, but in the meantime, here are three stats that sum up what the social media landscape looks like entering the new year. 72.3% of online audiences use social media for brand research. Social media presence and monitoring can't be an afterthought in 2026. The narrative around your brand on social — whether true or not —  impacts purchase decisions, particularly among high-intent buyers. In fact, 72.3% of internet users aged 16 and older use social media to learn more about products they’re thinking of buying. And while Instagram has the