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12 June 2026, SUN EXTRA - Social media case study. Social media ban. Six months in, is it working? Lara is a high school student who was kicked off social media.  Photo: Ruby Alexander.

Australia banned under-16s from social media. The world is split on whether to follow

No platform has been fined and the rift between regulator and minister is in the open. How are our world-first social media laws faring?

  • David Swan and Bronte Gossling

Latest

Backrooms film

How this 20-year-old went from building worlds in Minecraft to making Hollywood movies

Kane Parsons has long been fascinated with mapping out new spaces, but it wasn’t until he came across a creepy picture on the internet that his own world began to quickly expand.

  • Nell Geraets
Samuel Felinton, the eponymous Talented Mr F.

He stole their film – so they made a movie about him as revenge

When two young filmmakers in Germany discovered an American was passing off their work as his own, they confronted him – with the cameras rolling.

  • Karl Quinn
Obsession

The algorithm of fear: How YouTubers became the new masters of horror

From Curry Barker to Markiplier, online creators are infiltrating Hollywood.

  • Nell Geraets
Geese perform at Laneway Festival in Melbourne in February, 2026.

Heard Geese, the ‘saviours of rock’n’roll’? That might not be an accident

What we encounter online is often down to algorithms and algorithms can be manipulated. Is this the future of music?

  • Benjamin Potter
Peptides’ biggest backers spruik more youthful skin, better workouts, greater sexual performance.

They promise glowing skin, a ripped body and better sex. Peptides are having a moment – but are they safe?

The hype around a new class of injectable drugs is in overdrive, but they have yet to be properly tested.

  • Kishor Napier-Raman
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Skibidi: The word originated from the absurdist viral YouTube animation Skibidi Toilet.

Hollywood wants to turn this viral meme into a juggernaut. Fans aren’t happy

Could Skibidi Toilet, the bizarre animated YouTube series that gets more views than the NBA on the site, become the next Transformers?

  • Kishor Napier-Raman
xxx

You may not have heard of her, but this ‘Polynesian kid’ has millions of listeners

RISSA is among the children of migrants who grew up listening to ’90s R&B, hip-hop and gospel music and are now creating a fresh western Sydney sound.

  • Kayla Olaya and Audrey Richardson
Michael Bengston is 22, and has a brick phone instead of a smart one.

Something’s got to give. Maybe, finally, it’s Big Tech

Big Tech in the US have been ordered to pay millions for causing harm to children, while Australians under 25 say they are unhappier than ever due to social media use. What, or who, is next in the reckoning?

  • Bronte Gossling
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg arrives for a landmark trial over whether social media platforms deliberately addict and harm children, Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Ryan Sun)

Zuckerberg faces his ‘Big Tobacco’ moment

Mark Zuckerberg and Silicon Valley are on edge after a pair of landmark court losses.

  • David Swan