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Facebook tests charging users to share links in potential blow for news outlets

News organisations fear move could hit newsrooms and other media publishers by stopping users sharing their content

Facebook is testing a system that charges users for sharing web links, in a move that could prove to be a further blow to news outlets and other publishers.

Meta, the social media platform’s owner, said it is carrying out a “limited test” in which those without a paid Meta Verified subscription, costing at least £9.99 a month, can only post two external links a month.

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© Photograph: mundissima/Alamy

© Photograph: mundissima/Alamy

© Photograph: mundissima/Alamy

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Love Island is UK’s most complained about programme of 2025, says Ofcom

Regulator received thousands of complaints over treatment of Shakira Khan by other female contestants on ITV series

ITV’s Love Island has proved a hit for the broadcaster, but the reality dating show has also dominated a more unwelcome chart – comprehensively winning the title of this year’s most complained about programme.

The treatment of Shakira Khan, a contestant many viewers believed had faced bullying, was the main issue ensuring the show took all three top spots in a list of TV output provoking the most protests to Ofcom, the broadcasting regulator.

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© Photograph: ITV/Shutterstock

© Photograph: ITV/Shutterstock

© Photograph: ITV/Shutterstock

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BBC to fight Trump’s $10bn lawsuit, saying it should be dismissed

Corporation will argue it did not have rights to air film in US and it did not cause serious reputational harm

The BBC is preparing to argue Donald Trump’s $10bn court case against it should be dismissed, arguing it has no case to answer over the US president’s claims he was defamed by an episode of Panorama.

The development comes after Trump filed a 33-page complaint to a Florida court on Monday, accusing the broadcaster of “a false, defamatory, deceptive, disparaging, inflammatory and malicious depiction” of the president in the documentary.

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© Photograph: Bonnie Cash/Pool/Bonnie Cash - Pool/CNP/Shutterstock

© Photograph: Bonnie Cash/Pool/Bonnie Cash - Pool/CNP/Shutterstock

© Photograph: Bonnie Cash/Pool/Bonnie Cash - Pool/CNP/Shutterstock

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How might the BBC be funded if the licence fee is scrapped?

As green paper on corporation’s charter renewal is launced, what funding options might be under consideration?

Advertising. Subscriptions. A household levy. The government claims to be considering all options for funding the BBC. In reality, however, many industry insiders believe radical reforms will be dodged in favour of sticking to the licence fee model – perhaps for the last time.

Advocates for the licence fee have long argued it is the only model that allows the corporation to stick to its guiding “universality” principle – producing programming for everyone.

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© Photograph: Leon Neal/Getty Images

© Photograph: Leon Neal/Getty Images

© Photograph: Leon Neal/Getty Images

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YouTube channels spreading fake, anti-Labour videos viewed 1.2bn times in 2025

Exclusive: More than 150 anonymous channels using cheap AI tools to spread false stories about Keir Starmer, study finds

YouTube channels spreading fake, anti-Labour videos have amassed more than a billion views this year, as opportunists attempt to use AI-generated content to profit from political division in the UK.

More than 150 channels have been detected in the last year that promote anti-Labour narratives, as well as outright fake and inflammatory accusations about Keir Starmer.

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© Photograph: Jacob King/PA

© Photograph: Jacob King/PA

© Photograph: Jacob King/PA

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Meghan accuses Daily Mail of ethics breach over reporting from father’s bedside

Paper criticised over coverage of Duchess of Sussex’s attempt to contact Thomas Markle after surgery

The Duchess of Sussex has accused the Daily Mail of breaching “clear ethical boundaries” by reporting from the bedside of her estranged father, following his claims he had not received his daughter’s messages.

Thomas Markle appealed to Meghan to see him in a Mail on Sunday interview at the weekend, after he underwent serious surgery in the Philippines.

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© Photograph: Robin Utrecht/REX/Shutterstock

© Photograph: Robin Utrecht/REX/Shutterstock

© Photograph: Robin Utrecht/REX/Shutterstock

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