Engagement tactics and effects

Please review each article prior to use: grade-level applicability and curricular alignment might not be obvious from the headline alone.

Lawyer argues Meta can’t be held liable for gunmaker’s Instagram posts in Uvalde families’ lawsuit

Itzel Luna, The Associated Press 5 minute read Sunday, Sep. 21, 2025

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A lawsuit filed by families of the Uvalde school shooting victims alleging Instagram allowed gun manufacturers to promote firearms to minors should be thrown out, lawyers for Meta, Instagram's parent company, argued Tuesday.

Nineteen children and two teachers were killed in the May 2022 shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas.

The families sued Meta in Los Angeles in May 2024, saying the social media platform failed to enforce its own rules forbidding firearms advertisements aimed at minors. The families, who were present at last month's hearing, did not appear in court, with a lawyer citing the back-to-school season. Many plaintiffs attended the hearing virtually, he said.

In one ad posted on Instagram, the Georgia-based gunmaker Daniel Defense shows Santa Claus holding an assault rifle. In another post by the same company, a rifle leans against a refrigerator, with the caption: “Let’s normalize kitchen Daniels. What Daniels do you use to protect your kitchen and home?”

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Hijacked satellites and orbiting space weapons: In the 21st century, space is the new battlefield

David Klepper, The Associated Press 7 minute read Preview
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Hijacked satellites and orbiting space weapons: In the 21st century, space is the new battlefield

David Klepper, The Associated Press 7 minute read Wednesday, Oct. 15, 2025

WASHINGTON (AP) — As Russia held its Victory Day parade this year, hackers backing the Kremlin hijacked an orbiting satellite that provides television service to Ukraine.

Instead of normal programing, Ukrainian viewers saw parade footage beamed in from Moscow: waves of tanks, soldiers and weaponry. The message was meant to intimidate and was an illustration that 21st-century war is waged not just on land, sea and air but also in cyberspace and the reaches of outer space.

Disabling a satellite could deal a devastating blow without one bullet, and it can be done by targeting the satellite's security software or disrupting its ability to send or receive signals from Earth.

“If you can impede a satellite's ability to communicate, you can cause a significant disruption,” said Tom Pace, CEO of NetRise, a cybersecurity firm focused on protecting supply chains.

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Wednesday, Oct. 15, 2025

FILE - China's Long March 2F rocket, carrying three astronauts for the Shenzhou 20 manned space mission, blasts off at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in Jiuquan, northwestern China, April 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Andy Wong, File)
FILE - China's Long March 2F rocket, carrying three astronauts for the Shenzhou 20 manned space mission, blasts off at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in Jiuquan, northwestern China, April 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Andy Wong, File)
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Searing heat draws visitors to California’s Death Valley, where it’s tough to communicate the risks

Dorany Pineda, The Associated Press 7 minute read Preview
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Searing heat draws visitors to California’s Death Valley, where it’s tough to communicate the risks

Dorany Pineda, The Associated Press 7 minute read Friday, Oct. 10, 2025

DEATH VALLEY NATIONAL PARK, Calif. (AP) — Ray Estrada's 11-year-old grandson is used to Las Vegas' scorching summers, but he'd always wanted to experience the heat in one of the Earth's hottest places. So Estrada recently drove him to Death Valley National Park, with an umbrella, extra water and electrolytes in tow. That day, the thermometer soared to 118 F (47.78 C).

“We have to be very careful when we go out there,” Estrada told him. “If you start feeling dizzy or whatever... we’re just gonna turn back and be safe so we can do this again another time.”

The extreme temperatures in this stretch of California desert attract visitors every year, some determined to finish a grueling, multiday race, others just curious about the sizzling heat and the landscape's vast beauty. Yet despite the warnings, the heat kills one to three people annually, and park rangers respond to overheated visitors multiple times per week, making communication about heat safety a priority for the National Park Service.

But that's easier said than done.

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Friday, Oct. 10, 2025

People walk up to an overlook at Zabriskie Point, Sunday, Aug. 3, 2025, in Death Valley National Park, Calif. (AP Photo/John Locher)
People walk up to an overlook at Zabriskie Point, Sunday, Aug. 3, 2025, in Death Valley National Park, Calif. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Key things to know about how Elon Musk has boosted hard-right figures in Europe

Erika Kinetz And Aaron Kessler, The Associated Press 6 minute read Preview

Key things to know about how Elon Musk has boosted hard-right figures in Europe

Erika Kinetz And Aaron Kessler, The Associated Press 6 minute read Tuesday, Sep. 23, 2025

ROME (AP) — Elon Musk may have tumbled from political grace in Washington, D.C., but as he seeks to build a new political party, his power on X — where he commands the most popular account — remains unchecked.

Musk is a kingmaker on the platform he acquired in 2022 for $44 billion. He has used his influence to cultivate hard-right politicians and insurgent activists across Europe. A retweet or reply from Musk can lead to millions of views and tens of thousands of new followers, according to an Associated Press analysis of public data.

That fact has not been lost on influencers who have tagged Musk persistently, seeking a reply or a retweet. It has also fueled concerns in Europe about foreign meddling -- not from Russia or China, but from the United States.

“Every alarm bell needs to ring,” Christel Schaldemose, a vice president of the European Parliament who works on electoral interference and digital regulation, told AP.

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Tuesday, Sep. 23, 2025

FILE - Elon Musk speaks at the Conservative Political Action Conference, CPAC, at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center, Thursday, Feb. 20, 2025, in Oxon Hill, Md. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File)
FILE - Elon Musk speaks at the Conservative Political Action Conference, CPAC, at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center, Thursday, Feb. 20, 2025, in Oxon Hill, Md. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File)

Musk, a social media powerhouse, boosts fortunes of hard-right figures in Europe

Erika Kinetz And Aaron Kessler, The Associated Press 14 minute read Preview

Musk, a social media powerhouse, boosts fortunes of hard-right figures in Europe

Erika Kinetz And Aaron Kessler, The Associated Press 14 minute read Friday, Sep. 19, 2025

ROME (AP) — Hard-right commentators, politicians and activists in Europe have uncovered a secret to expanding their influence: engaging with Elon Musk.

Take the German politician from a party whose own domestic intelligence agency has designated as extremist. Her daily audience on X surged from 230,000 to 2.2 million on days Musk interacted with her posts. She went on to lead her party to its best-ever electoral showing.

Or the anti-immigration activist in Britain, who was banned from Twitter and sentenced to 18 months in prison for contempt of court. Since Musk let him back on the platform in late 2023, he’s mentioned, reposted or replied to the billionaire more than 120 times on X — and gained nearly a million followers.

Even a little-known social-media influencer turned politician from Cyprus has benefited from the Musk effect. Before winning a surprise seat in the European Parliament, where he’s advocated for Musk, the influencer seemed to have one ambition: to hug the world’s richest man. He got his hug — and political endorsements. On days Musk has interacted with his account on X, the man’s audience exploded from just over 300,000 to nearly 10 million views.

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Friday, Sep. 19, 2025

AP Illustration / Marshall Ritzel
AP Illustration / Marshall Ritzel

Creating realistic deepfakes is getting easier than ever. Fighting back may take even more AI

David Klepper, The Associated Press 6 minute read Preview

Creating realistic deepfakes is getting easier than ever. Fighting back may take even more AI

David Klepper, The Associated Press 6 minute read Thursday, Sep. 18, 2025

WASHINGTON (AP) — The phone rings. It's the secretary of state calling. Or is it?

For Washington insiders, seeing and hearing is no longer believing, thanks to a spate of recent incidents involving deepfakes impersonating top officials in President Donald Trump's administration.

Digital fakes are coming for corporate America, too, as criminal gangs and hackers associated with adversaries including North Korea use synthetic video and audio to impersonate CEOs and low-level job candidates to gain access to critical systems or business secrets.

Thanks to advances in artificial intelligence, creating realistic deepfakes is easier than ever, causing security problems for governments, businesses and private individuals and making trust the most valuable currency of the digital age.

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Thursday, Sep. 18, 2025

FILE - A person working on a laptop in North Andover, Mass., June 19, 2017. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola, File)
FILE - A person working on a laptop in North Andover, Mass., June 19, 2017. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola, File)
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Book Review: ‘Algospeak’ shows just how much social media is changing us

Rachel S. Hunt, The Associated Press 3 minute read Preview
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Book Review: ‘Algospeak’ shows just how much social media is changing us

Rachel S. Hunt, The Associated Press 3 minute read Friday, Oct. 10, 2025

How much has social media changed the way we talk and behave?

That’s the question linguist and content creator Adam Aleksic sets out to answer in his debut book “Algospeak.”

If you already know what words like “yeet,” “rizz,” “brainrot” or “blackpilled” mean, some of this information might not come as a surprise to you. Still, Aleksic’s analysis reaffirms how this language came about and why it continues to proliferate. For those unfamiliar, it acts as an accessible entry point into social media slang and its evolution.

“Algospeak” touches on a wide array of topics, including in-groups and out-groups, censorship, language appropriation, extremism online, microtrends, clickbait and generational divides. The chapters build on each other with a textbook-level attention to vocabulary.

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Friday, Oct. 10, 2025

This book cover image released by Knopf shows "Algospeak: How Social Media is Transforming the Future of Language" by Adam Aleksic. (Knopf via AP)
This book cover image released by Knopf shows
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First school year of cellphone ban well-received: minister

Maggie Macintosh 4 minute read Preview
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First school year of cellphone ban well-received: minister

Maggie Macintosh 4 minute read Monday, Jun. 30, 2025

Sweeping restrictions on cellphone use in schools are here to stay, despite frustrations related to inconsistent enforcement and student workarounds during the 2024-25 rollout.

Manitoba banned phones in elementary classrooms last summer and introduced new rules to silence devices and keep them out of sight during Grade 9 to 12 lessons.

“How practical is that going to be in the real world? AI exists. Cellphones exist. Banning them is only going to make us sneakier,” said Diana Bonakdar, who just finished Grade 11 in Winnipeg.

Diana and Nadia Lovallo, the new co-presidents of the student council at St. Mary’s Academy, question the effectiveness of the policy and its long-term impact.

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Monday, Jun. 30, 2025

A person uses a cellphone in Ottawa on Monday, July 18, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick Sean Kilpatrick
A person uses a cellphone in Ottawa on Monday, July 18, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick Sean Kilpatrick

Tech industry group sues Arkansas over new social media laws

Andrew Demillo, The Associated Press 3 minute read Preview

Tech industry group sues Arkansas over new social media laws

Andrew Demillo, The Associated Press 3 minute read Sunday, Sep. 21, 2025

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — A tech industry trade group sued Arkansas Friday over two new laws that would place limits on content on social media platforms and would allow parents of children who killed themselves to sue over content on the platforms.

The lawsuit by NetChoice filed in federal court in Fayetteville, Arkansas, comes months after a federal judge struck down a state law requiring parental consent before minors can create new social media accounts. The new laws were signed by Republican Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders earlier this year.

“Despite the overwhelming consensus that laws like the Social Media Safety Act are unconstitutional, Arkansas elected to respond to this Court’s decision not by repealing the provisions that it held unconstitutional but by instead doubling down on its overreach,” NetChoice said in its lawsuit.

Arkansas is among several states that have been enacting restrictions on social media, prompted by concerns about the impact on children's mental health. NetChoice — whose members include Facebook parent Meta and the social platform X — challenged Arkansas' 2023 age-verification law for social media. A federal judge who initially blocked the law struck it down in March.

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Sunday, Sep. 21, 2025

FILE - Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders signs a bill requiring age verification before creating a new social media account as Sen. Tyler Dees, R-Siloam Springs, looks on during a signing ceremony, Wednesday, April 12, 2023, at the state Capitol in Little Rock, Ark. (Thomas Metthe/Arkansas Democrat-Gazette via AP, File)
FILE - Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders signs a bill requiring age verification before creating a new social media account as Sen. Tyler Dees, R-Siloam Springs, looks on during a signing ceremony, Wednesday, April 12, 2023, at the state Capitol in Little Rock, Ark. (Thomas Metthe/Arkansas Democrat-Gazette via AP, File)

Music streaming service Deezer adds AI song tags in fight against fraud

Kelvin Chan, The Associated Press 4 minute read Preview

Music streaming service Deezer adds AI song tags in fight against fraud

Kelvin Chan, The Associated Press 4 minute read Friday, Sep. 19, 2025

LONDON (AP) — Music streaming service Deezer said Friday that it will start flagging albums with AI-generated songs, part of its fight against streaming fraudsters.

Deezer, based in Paris, is grappling with a surge in music on its platform created using artificial intelligence tools it says are being wielded to earn royalties fraudulently.

The app will display an on-screen label warning about “AI-generated content" and notify listeners that some tracks on an album were created with song generators.

Deezer is a small player in music streaming, which is dominated by Spotify, Amazon and Apple, but the company said AI-generated music is an “industry-wide issue.” It's committed to “safeguarding the rights of artists and songwriters at a time where copyright law is being put into question in favor of training AI models," CEO Alexis Lanternier said in a press release.

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Friday, Sep. 19, 2025

FILE - The music streaming services Deezer's logo is pictured at the company headquarters, in Paris, France, Monday, Nov. 9, 2015. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus, File)
FILE - The music streaming services Deezer's logo is pictured at the company headquarters, in Paris, France, Monday, Nov. 9, 2015. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus, File)