Archive for November 2025

Since 2017 when the MeToo hashtag went viral, people have been trying to create online whisper networks. Projects like the Shitty Media Men list and the Facebook group Are We Dating the Same Guy are both examples of trying to build a larger warning system. The Tea app sells itself as a digital platform that gives women tools to protect themselves and others when dating men. However, important components of whisper networks get lost when they are moved to anonymous nationwide warning systems.

The flexible, general and relatively autonomous nature of chatbots makes it difficult to be sure they will adhere to updates, says Nick Haber, an AI researcher and professor at Stanford University. For example, OpenAI had trouble reigning in earlier model GPT-4’s tendency to excessively compliment users. Chatbots are generative and build upon their past knowledge and training, so an update doesn’t guarantee the model will completely stop undesired behavior.

But earlier this year, journalists at the Russian newspaper Izvestiya submitted pills they had purchased online for testing and found they contained a substance called sibutramine. First used as an antidepressant in the 1980s and later as an appetite suppressant, studies later found sibutramine increased the risk of heart attacks and strokes – while only slightly promoting weight loss.

The review panel was convened to look at the child protection system after the death of four-year-old Megan Khung, who was abused by her mother and the woman’s boyfriend. It found that there were lapses at multiple points across the system, and a lack of coordination between agencies. One of its seven recommendations was to ensure child abuse cases are mainly managed by child protection case management agencies, like the Ministry of Social and Family Development’s (MSF) Child Protective Service (CPS).