Behind the Somali daycare panic is a mother-and-son duo angling to be top Maga influencers

YouTube influencer Nick Shirley, whose viral video alleging fraud by daycare centers servicing Minneapolis’s Somali American community came days ahead of the Trump administration’s declaration of a national funding freeze, has for years published conspiracy-minded takes on hot-button rightwing issues.The Guardian’s journalism is independent. We will earn a commission if you buy something through an affiliate link. Learn more.He also has close ties to the White House, Republicans, and to representatives of an earlier generation of rightwing partisan “ambush journalists” such as James O’Keefe

Elon Musk’s X threatened with UK ban over wave of indecent AI images

Elon Musk’s X has been ordered by the UK government to tackle a wave of indecent AI images or face a de facto ban, as an expert said the platform was no longer a “safe space” for women.The media watchdog, Ofcom, confirmed it would accelerate an investigation into X as a backlash grew against the site, which has hosted a deluge of images depicting partially stripped women and children.X announced a restriction on creating images via the Grok AI tool on Friday morning in response to the global outcry. A post on the platform said the ability to generate and edit images would now be “limited to paying subscribers”. Those who pay have to provide personal details, meaning they could be identified if the function was misused

Robots that can do laundry and more, plus unrolling laptops: the standout tech from CES 2026

This year will be filled with robots that can fold your laundry, pick up objects and climb stairs, fridges that you can command to open by voice, laptops with screens that can follow you around the room on motorised hinges and the reimagining of the BlackBerry phone.Those are the predictions from the annual CES tech show in Las Vegas that took place this week. The sprawling event aims to showcase cutting-edge technology developed by startups and big brands.Many of these fancy developments will be available to actually buy, moving from outlandish concepts to production devices, although some are still limited to costly prototypes.The rise of the humanoid robot continues, with the show floor filled with myriad prototypes, some of which operated autonomously rather than being remotely controlled or performing set routines this year

No 10 condemns ‘insulting’ move by X to restrict Grok AI image tool

Downing Street has condemned the move by X to restrict its AI image creation tool to paying subscribers as insulting, saying it simply made the ability to generate explicit and unlawful images a premium service.There has been widespread anger after the image tool for Grok, the AI element of X, was used to manipulate thousands of images of women and sometimes children to remove their clothing or put them in sexual positions.Grok announced in a post on X, which is owned by Elon Musk, that the ability to generate and edit images would be “limited to paying subscribers”. Those who pay have to provide personal details, meaning they could be identified if the function was misused.Asked about the change, a Downing Street spokesperson said it was unacceptable

X UK revenues drop nearly 60% in a year as content concerns spook advertisers

UK revenues at Elon Musk’s X fell by almost 60% in a year as advertisers pulled their spending over concerns about the social media platform’s content.News of the plummeting financial performance comes after X switched off the image creation function on its AI tool Grok for the vast majority of users after a widespread outcry about its use to create sexually explicit and violent imagery.In the UK, the social media site recorded a 58.3% fall in revenues from £69.1m in 2023 to £28

Spotify no longer running ICE recruitment ads, after US government campaign ends

Spotify is no long running advertisements for the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the streaming service has confirmed, after the Trump administration campaign ended in late 2025.“There are currently no ICE ads running on Spotify,” the Swedish company said in a statement. “The advertisements mentioned were part of a US government recruitment campaign that ran across all major media and platforms.”Since April, the government ads have also run on Amazon, YouTube, Hulu and Max among other streaming companies, with the aim of recruiting more than 10,000 deportation officers by the end of 2025.Previously, Spotify said that the ads, which encouraged US listeners to “fulfil your mission to protect America” and offered $50,000 in signing bonuses, did not “violate our advertising policies”