Publishing
Malinauskas cools on Writers’ Week olive branch
The Sydney Morning Herald’s Kerrie O’Brien reports that South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas says he does not support the Adelaide Festival board’s offer to add Dr Randa Abdel-Fattah to the 2027 Adelaide Writers’ Week program.
The latest development in the never-ending drama comes a week after she was dropped from this year’s line-up.
Malinauskas said he was informed of the decision after the Adelaide Festival Corporation issued an unreserved apology and confirmed the future invitation following backlash linked to the Bondi attack.
Companies
Netflix secures first window on Sony films
Reuters reports that Netflix has struck a new deal that makes it the first streaming stop for movies from Sony Pictures Entertainment, extending an arrangement that already existed in the US.
Under the agreement, Sony films will land globally on Netflix in the Pay-1 window, after cinemas and VOD but before rival streamers.
Upcoming titles include the live-action The Legend of Zelda film and a slate of The Beatles biopics.
Media
Greenland turns into a global media magnet
AP’s Emma Burrows reports that Nuuk has become an unlikely backdrop for wall-to-wall international coverage, with reporters fanning out across the capital to quiz locals on why their island is suddenly front-page news.
The trigger is President Donald Trump, who has again talked up the idea of controlling Greenland.
The result is a rare Arctic media scrum. Crews from The Associated Press, Reuters, CNN, BBC and Al Jazeera have flooded Nuuk, briefly turning one of the world’s quietest capitals into a geopolitical hotspot.
Social Media
Alarm grows over hate crime law push
Free speech, civil liberties and religious groups are urging the Federal Government to slow down plans to expand hate crime laws.
As Rob Harris details in The Sydney Morning Herald, legal experts say the omnibus bill goes too far, lowering criminal thresholds, unwinding long-standing protections and widening executive power in ways that could chill legitimate debate.
The timing, however, is the problem.
Millions of teen accounts wiped under new age rules
It’s been just over a month since the under-16 ban was ruled out, and the data is in.
According to Tess Bennett and Amelia McGuire in The Australian Financial Review, more than 4.7 million youth accounts have been deactivated.
The figure was revealed after platforms reported to the eSafety Commissioner.
Big banks call out Meta over Facebook mule scams
Australia’s big four banks are stepping up pressure on Meta, accusing it of allowing criminal networks to operate openly on Facebook through so-called mule bank accounts.
They say thousands of groups are still buying and selling accounts used for scams, even as banks spend hundreds of millions trying to protect customers.
As Capital Brief’s Jack Derwin details, NAB investigations executive Chris Sheehan says scams are a “scourge on society”, warning that a significant share of mule recruitment begins on Facebook.
AI
Fears over ChatGPT Health diagnoses
Move over Dr Google. There’s a new health oracle in town, and this one may be far more nefarious.
The soft launch of ChatGPT Health in Australia is already raising eyebrows, with experts warning that the technology is outpacing regulation.
Built by OpenAI, the tool allows users to link medical records and wellness apps for more tailored responses.
As Melissa Davey details in The Guardian, it is framed as informational, not clinical, though critics argue that distinction can be hard to spot in practice.
X tightens Grok rules after global backlash
After days of international blowback, Elon Musk’s platform X has moved to rein in its AI chatbot Grok, following reports it could generate sexualised images of real people, including women and children.
news.com.au reports the shift comes as regulators circle.
X says it will geoblock the creation or editing of images showing people in bikinis, underwear or similar attire where such content is illegal.
Entertainment
Eurovision marks 70 years with live tour
The BBC’s Steven McIntosh writes that the Eurovision Song Contest is hitting the road to mark its 70th birthday, announcing a live tour that will launch once this year’s grand final wraps.
According to the European Broadcasting Union, the show will pull from seven decades of Eurovision history, mixing fan favourites with fresh faces.
The tour opens at London’s O2 Arena on 15 June before travelling to nine other European cities, turning Eurovision nostalgia into a full-scale live spectacle.