YouTube, Meta, TikTok reveal misinformation tidal wave
More than 25,000 videos deemed to feature "harmful" fake claims were removed from TikTok and YouTube, reports showed, while unverified and misleading election ads ranked among the most commonly removed content by Meta and Google.
Eight technology companies outlined their actions in transparency reports published on Thursday in accordance with the voluntary Australian Code of Practice on Disinformation and Misinformation.
Several tech firms declined to detail their efforts to tackle fraudulent content in Australia, including social media platforms X and Snapchat.
The statistics follow heightened concern about misinformation online after the emergence of generative artificial intelligence tools, and warnings they may be used to create convincing deepfakes and political ads.
US firms including Google, Meta, Twitch, Apple and Microsoft released transparency reports under the industry code, and addressed issues including the identification of misleading claims, safeguards for users, and content removal.
TikTok revealed it removed more than 8.4 million videos from its Australian platform during 2024, including more than 148,000 videos deemed to be inauthentic.
Almost 21,000 of the videos violated the company's "harmful misinformation policies" during the year, the report said, and 80 per cent, on average, were removed before users could view them.
Google removed more than 5100 YouTube videos from Australia identified as misleading, its report said, out of more than 748,000 misleading videos removed worldwide.
Election advertising also raised red flags for tech platforms in Australia, with Google rejecting more than 42,000 political ads from unverified advertisers and Meta removing more than 95,000 ads for failing to comply with its social issues, elections and politics policies.
Meta purged more than 14,000 ads in Australia for violating misinformation rules, took down 350 posts on Facebook and Instagram for misinformation, and showed warnings on 6.9 million posts based on articles from fact-checking partners.
In January, the tech giant announced plans to end fact-checking in the US and its report said it would "continue to evaluate the applicability of these practices" in Australia.
Striking a balance between allowing content to be shared online and ensuring it would not harm others was a "difficult job," Digital Industry Group code reviewer Shaun Davies said, and the reports showed some companies were using AI tools to flag potential violations.
"I was struck in this year's reports by examples of how generative AI is being leveraged for both the creation and detection of (misinformation) and disinformation," he said.
"I'm also heartened that multiple initiatives that make the provenance of AI-generated content more visible to users are starting to bear fruit."
In its report, Microsoft also revealed it had removed more than 1200 users from LinkedIn for sharing misinformation, while Apple identified 2700 valid complaints against 1300 news articles.
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West Australian
2 hours ago
- West Australian
Aaron Patrick: Penny Wong can't answer the pivotal question about Gaza
When Foreign Minister Penny Wong was asked the pivotal question about her Government's recognition of a Palestinian state - why would Hamas give up power? - the woman who spent more than a year working on a historic shift in Australian policy had no answer. 'I speak for Australia,' she told Sarah Ferguson on the 7.30 program Monday evening. 'We are working to deliver a change in the cycle of violence that we have seen, and to work with others to try and provide some hope in what has been a very dark time.' Senator Wong, though, was clearer about another crucial point: Australia's recognition is not conditional on any actions by the Palestinians. The decision has been made, come what may. There was a different emphasis earlier Monday, when Anthony Albanese referred to the 'conditions' he had placed upon the Palestinian Authority's leader, Mahmoud Abbas. The Prime Minister said Mr Abbas had promised to reform the corrupt but largely compliant institution, which Australia will, in a month's time, consider represents a new country, the State of Palestine. 'And the conditions are ones that are consistent with the declaration in June, that recognition of the State of Israel, which of course the Palestinian Authority would argue had occurred with the Oslo Accords,' Mr Albanese said. He was referring to a letter sent in June by Mr Abbas to French President Emmanuel Macron that said: 'Hamas will no longer rule Gaza and must hand over its weapons and military capabilities to the Palestinian Security Forces.' Mr Abbas said he was 'ready to invite Arab and international forces to be deployed as part of a stabilisation/protection mission with a (UN) Security Council mandate'. In other words, the nominal Palestinian leader was asking for the international community to give him the Gaza Strip, from which the Palestinian Authority was violently ejected in 2007. Rather than the agreement towards peace Mr Albanese portrayed the conversation as, Mr Abbas seems to have repeated the offer he made to Mr Macron. On Monday, two months after the French president posted Mr Abbas' Hamas denunciation on X, Mr Albanese claimed credit: 'This is one of the commitments Australia has sought – and received – from President Abbas and the Palestinian Authority.' Mr Albanese's grasp of the intricacies of Middle East politics, and geography, has been questioned by people who have discussed the region with him in private. On Tuesday, appearing on the Sunrise program, he did not appear to know or remember that Israel abuts the Mediterranean Sea. 'Hamas don't support two states,' he said. 'They support one state. In their own words, 'from the river to the sea', from the Jordan river to the ocean.' In the US, a Democratic diplomatic veteran of the conflict did not agree with the switch. Former US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said recognising a Palestinian state before Hamas was removed 'would fortify proponents of terror on the Palestinian side and rejectionists of Palestinian statehood on the Israeli side.' Mr Albanese and Ms Wong say their decision was influenced by a call from 22 Arab countries on July 31 for Hamas to stop fighting and release its hostages. As anti-Israel fervour swept through the streets of the Western world, the Arab position was seen as tacit recognition of Hamas's responsibility for the war. The Arab's position showed that Hamas is being isolated, and a combination of Western pressure on Israel's right-wing government and international support for the Palestinian Authority could help remove it from power, end the violence in Gaza and bring peace closer, Mr Albanese and Ms Wong argued. 'We need to make sure that Hamas is isolated,' the Prime Minister said on Monday. 'The comments by Arab League nations have made it clear that that is their position as well.' There's an important problem with the position. Hamas is not an Arab-sponsored organisation. It is funded by Iran, the Persian power seen as a destabilising force across the Middle East by most Arab leaders. Iran's Islamist leaders are extreme anti-Semites impervious to Arab pressure. Why they would stop funding their Hamas proxies in a war against what they call the Zionist Entity is unclear. Without Iranian pressure, why Hamas's remaining leaders would retire from war and politics is a question not even Australia's formidable Foreign Minister could answer. Amid arguments about the pros and cons of international recognition, less symbolic steps towards peace seem to be happening. A regional media outlet, Sky News Arabia, reported Egypt, Qatar and Turkey are drawing up a cease-fire and hostage-release for consideration by Hamas. The deal would require the release of all hostages, and the bodies of some who have died, in exchange for Palestinian prisoners. The Israeli army would move to less aggressive posture and Hamas fighters would pause attacks while negotiations were held for a permanent cease-fire. The impetus for the renewed peace effort appears to be a desire to avoid another mass Israeli incursion into Gaza, which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu foreshadowed on Sunday. Which suggests that, sadly, violence rather than talk can bring an opponent to the negotiating table.
The Age
4 hours ago
- The Age
Don't keep your olive oil by the stove – and more tips to make it go further
The high price of olive oil has made it almost a luxury ingredient these days, but relief may be in sight. Here's what you need to know to get more bang for your 'liquid gold' buck. The cost of groceries just keeps on soaring, and 'liquid gold' is no exception, with a three-litre tin of olive oil now costing around $75 at major supermarkets − that's a massive jump from just $25 in 2021. So what's behind this particular price hike, and how can you make your olive oil go further? Here's what you need to know. Why so expensive? In 2023, droughts and heatwaves in Spain and Italy, combined with an unexpectedly short, cold growing season here in Australia, led to a global shortage. According to Leandro Ravetti, co-CEO of Australia's largest olive oil supplier, Cobram Estate, supply simply can't keep up with demand for extra virgin olive oil (EVOO). 'We really don't anticipate a major drop in retail prices anytime soon,' he says. 'We had no oil last year,' says Sarah Asciutto of the family-run Rio Vista Olives in the Adelaide Hills. 'You're trying to fill up an empty cup of demand.' The good news While the world's olive oil supply is currently a trickle, solid harvests in Australia and Spain mean global olive oil supply is slowly stabilising in 2025. Ravetti predicts that while retail prices won't drop dramatically anytime soon, we can expect to see more frequent promotions on olive oil in the coming months. While we wait for those deals to drop, the experts share their tips on how to choose, store, and make the most of this kitchen hero. Why do we love olive oil? Often called 'liquid gold,' EVOO is a powerhouse of a plant oil. It's packed with heart-healthy monounsaturated fats and antioxidants. 'It's natural. It's sustainable. It's tasty,' says Ravetti, who calls it a 'superfood.' New research from La Trobe University even found that four tablespoons a day can significantly lower blood pressure. EVOO v olive oil: what's the difference? Both oils come from olives, but they use different extraction techniques. Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO) is the highest quality oil, made from the first cold pressing. It has a robust flavour and the most health benefits. It's perfect for drizzling over salads and vegetables or for light frying. Olive Oil is a lower-quality blend, made from a mix of oils from subsequent pressings and a small amount of EVOO. It has a milder flavour and fewer health properties. Because it has a higher smoke point, it's better for deep-frying and baking. However, experts agree that using EVOO is always the best choice due to its superior health benefits. How to choose the best olive oil 'With extra virgin olive oil, the fresher, the better,' says Ravetti, advising you check the harvest date on the bottle. Olive oil is at its peak flavour and antioxidant level when it's made from green olives before they ripen. If you see a best-before date of 2026, it means the oil is from the latest Australian harvest and is as fresh as it gets. 'If you cannot find any harvest date on the bottle, that's a red flag that the oil is a probably a blend,' says Ravetti. How to store your liquid gold 'The enemies to olive oil are light, heat and oxygen, so store your oil in glass or tin, and keep it in a cool, dark place after opening,' says Asciutto. And don't keep it next to the stove. If your glass bottle has a stopper spout for pouring, replace the lid. Properly stored olive oil can last for 18 months but aim to consume your oil within six weeks for maximum freshness. Oil stored in plastic bottles allows oxygen in, which means your olive oil will degrade a lot quicker. How to make olive oil last longer TikTokers are loving 'frozen olive oil herb cubes' to preserve out-of-season herbs, but can you freeze olive oil without it affecting the flavour? 'It's not going to harm the olive oil,' says Asciutto. For frying, she says virgin olive oil can be a more affordable option. After frying, cool, strain and freeze the oil in an airtight container to use down the track. Another way to make olive oil last is to decant it into a spray bottle when baking and use to grease trays. How to dispose of olive oil Never pour used cooking oil down the drain. According to recycler Planet Ark, the best way to safely dispose of cooking oil is to let it cool, pour it into an airtight metal or plastic container, and throw it in the bin. For small amounts, you can mix it with sawdust or cat litter before binning it. Many local tips and recycling centres also have facilities for recycling cooking oil.
Sydney Morning Herald
4 hours ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
The Dubai connection that laid the seeds for a $1b superannuation disaster
In early 2022, financial planner Ferras Merhi walked into a mosque to seal a deal that would change his life and those of thousands of Australians. Merhi, a 196-centimetre, former top-grade footballer and the boss of financial planning group Venture Egg, soon locked onto who he was there to meet. There, with a broad smile, was Rashid Alshakshir, a cafe owner and social media expert with colourful connections, and the former business partner of notorious Comanchero bikie and suspected double murderer Hasan Topal. The pair were meeting for the first time on the instruction of a mutual contact in the United Arab Emirates who was working with two unknown Australian clients looking to drum up business for two struggling fund managers, First Guardian Master Fund 's David Anderson and Shield Master Fund 's Paul Chiodo. Together Merhi and Alshakshir would create a money-making machine that used a marketing campaign built on social media ads and call centres to lure 12,000 people from around Australia into switching $1 billion worth of super into the two funds. Many of those customers would pass through Merhi's various financial services businesses, Venture Egg and Financial Services Group Australia. Along the way, Alshakshir, Merhi and football buddy and business partner Osama 'Sammy' Saad earned $100 million in allegedly illegal commissions. A portion of that money would flow back to companies in Dubai overseen by Ishak Hassan, cryptocurrency spruiker and dabbler in falconry. Within two years, First Guardian and Shield had collapsed, and the corporate watchdog had launched a major probe amid concerns that vast amounts of the money invested by superannuation savers had been squandered on Chiodo and Anderson's pet projects, lavish lifestyles, luxury real estate and on those huge fees for the marketing campaign. The regulator has since described the marketing campaign as 'industrial-scale misconduct'. Liquidators are picking through the wreckage of each group and have found many investments made by Anderson and Chiodo 'have no value'. Returns for investors, particularly in the First Guardian business, are expected to be as low as 20¢ in the dollar. Alshakshir outlined the mosque meeting, the instructions from Dubai and Hassan's involvement in the scheme in written answers provided to ASIC as part of its probe. Those answers form part of the 12,000 pages of documents filed by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission in the Federal Court as part of its investigations into the two funds and the marketing campaign. Just over half that trove was released to this masthead. Loading ASIC compiled the dossier when it successfully convinced a judge to take the serious step of freezing the assets of all five men and banning them from leaving the country. The regulator has not yet launched substantive court proceedings against any of the players, and may not, but to win the orders, which are regarded as draconian, it had to show it would have a good case. Those who are the subject of applications of freezing orders are usually not told of the application, meaning they have not had the chance to test the evidence put forward by ASIC. The cache of information includes company documents outlining the super scheme and their marketing campaigns, business ledgers showing the commission payments, emails, transcripts of calls with customers and invoices billing the fund managers on behalf of Hassan and detailed responses provided by Chiodo to the regulator. ASIC has used these documents to allege in court that it is investigating Anderson and Chiodo – the men who ran the failed funds – and Merhi, Saad and Alshakshir – who funnelled their clients into the funds – for a litany of criminal offences and civil breaches, including fraud. There is no suggestion that Merhi, Saad and Alshakshir had knowledge of the funds' investments or any misuse of their clients' money. They did not have access to client funds or make decisions about the funds' investments. Instead, the allegations against them relate to excessive commissions. (Chiodo's legal team recently told the Federal Court he was facing the real prospect of being criminally charged, though he denied to this masthead he was under investigation for any criminal offences.) This masthead is not suggesting any substantive case brought by ASIC would be successful, just that it has successfully obtained orders as part of ASIC's long-running and ongoing investigation into the men. For their part, the men involved deny any wrongdoing. Chiodo has long said he has been unfairly targeted by ASIC, and the payments made by his fund were not for illegal commissions but for marketing services, a practice he says is common in the industry. Merhi and Saad – who this masthead captured high-fiving during a game of Friday night football this month when Merhi was named best on ground – have also denied any wrongdoing. The pair both insist they received no 'commissions', describing the payments as marketing fees and insisting that their planning groups recommended the two funds because they were approved by Macquarie and other high-standard investment groups. Meanwhile, Anderson – who was spotted in April decamping from his home in Melbourne's affluent Hawthorn, overlooking the Yarra, to his parents' home around the corner – has not responded to requests for comment but has denied the allegations in court, saying ASIC has misunderstood his business and that its suspicions of mismanagement are unfounded. For his part, Alshakshir told this masthead that he only has to answer to ASIC. That day in early 2022 at the mosque, Alshakshir was ready to put the past behind him after the sad end of his gym business with Topal after the bikie's elevation to national president of the feared gang in 2017. He had recently completed a course known as The Mastermind that helps people turbocharge their business. In the case of Alshakshir, that involved learning how to build a social media presence via targeted ads and arrangements with call centres to process customers. His sister, Sumaiah Alshakshir, who was sentenced in NSW to a two-year community corrections order for fraud and conspiracy to defraud over her role in an NDIS swindle in 2021, would become the general manager of Merhi's Venture Egg financial planning business and the operations manager of Alshakshir's marketing group, Bespoke. Merhi brought two aces to the new friends' arrangement. The first was his relationship with Anderson, who had worked with Merhi's Venture Egg business for about a year. The other was Chiodo, who has previously told this masthead that he met Merhi through Anderson. Merhi knew both men through his role as a financial planner and both had approached him for help growing their super funds. Chiodo and Anderson's ventures had a joint problem – Anderson had invested $95 million into Chiodo's property fund, which was in serious financial strife. To save the fund and release the money back to Anderson's fund, they needed a lot of money quickly, board minutes of Anderson's business indicate – a reading supported by three people briefed on the matter who declined to be named for this story. With the assistance of Merhi and his new connection Alshakshir, that would soon be possible. Together, Merhi and Alshakshir would help build a campaign of advertisements that would encourage people to 'find your lost super', undertake a 'super health check' or consolidate multiple accounts. Alshakshir would later explain to investigators that once people had clicked on the ads and filled out a brief form about their super, a call centre operative would contact them with a sales pitch. It sometimes included telling customers that their industry super fund was under-performing and warning that the customer would lose money. As one transcript of a call set out: 'Are you aware that ASIC are preparing to sue AustralianSuper? Not many people know about it. They have done a good job of keeping it quiet … ultimately the members will pay for that. So that will come through all of the member accounts.' Then the call centre operator would dial in a financial planner sourced from Merhi and Saad's network of groups. Those planners would in turn recommend Anderson and Chiodo's investment vehicles. It is these recommendations and the resulting fees that are at the heart of ASIC's investigation into whether Merhi and Saad breached their obligations as financial planners. If the customer agreed to switch their super to either fund, Chiodo and Anderson would pay a fee to the scheme promoters. Loading Alshakshir told the regulator those marketing fees would then flow to Hassan's companies, including Heinrich Wolff (HR) 'as part of an agreement'. Alshakshir provided the regulator with invoices sent to Chiodo for $35 million in marketing fees in 18 months – all were marked on behalf of Hassan's company. Alshakshir explained the fees were for 'services such as the construction, planning and execution of marketing, promotional and/or advertising campaigns designed by HR and invoicing of HR's clients in Australia'. While ASIC has included its concerns about the payments to the Hassan companies in its court action relating to the funds, it has not taken any action against him. The Dubai-inspired marketing strategy worked a treat. In October 2022, Alshakshir emailed Chiodo to say: 'Looking forward to more business (and pleasure) together.' Records for the Shield Master Fund show it grew from $38 million at June 2022 to $378 million a year later and then $480 million in two years of heavy activity. First Guardian's accounts show its funds grew – albeit at a more modest pace – from $314 million in June 2022 to $466 million two years later. Court documents show Alshakshir earned $42 million in fees from both schemes between early 2022 and late 2024. He used that money to buy a stately $3 million home, a Bentley and a massive diamond ring for his fiancee – a Melbourne DJ and kundalini expert who is living in Indonesia. Meanwhile, Merhi, who made about $12 million and Saad $21 million, according to court documents, expanded their local property holdings to include a farm and beach houses. Unfortunately, for investors it was not such a good deal. In late 2023, ASIC had cottoned onto the scheme and was investigating allegations large sums of investor money – supposed to be destined for the sharemarket and real estate – had been improperly invested by Anderson and Chiodo's ventures. For Chiodo, that included paying an associate $165 million for building developments without any contracts in place or that person holding a building licence. Millions more had been spent developing projects where the land had not been acquired or, if it had, no building had commenced. For craft beer enthusiast and die-hard foodie, Anderson, $70 million of his super members' money would be spent on granting loans to hospitality venues, brewers and taphouses he had privately invested in and then waiving repayment. Also sadly for investors, the First Guardian investment in the Chiodo fund that inspired efforts by the fund's founders to draw in thousands more clients would never be recouped, forever intertwining the twin disasters of First Guardian and Shield. Now the race is on for liquidators to claw back the 'marketing' payments by finding and selling the assets of the people involved and figuring out exactly who is to blame for the mess. So far, that's been a hard task. Last month, the Federal Court heard that Merhi had initially not properly complied with the orders requiring him to disclose his assets. Counsel for ASIC, St John Hibble, also told the court the watchdog 'has raised issues with Mr Merhi and Mr Saad's cooperation' during compulsory interviews. Alshakshir, who has business interests in Dubai, Indonesia and the UK including a high-end cologne brand, has had to update his asset disclosures to include his cryptocurrency holdings. Back in Dubai, Hassan is living the high life operating a cryptocurrency business and online investment opportunities. When this masthead tracked him down spruiking gold stocks on messaging platform Telegram, he requested our questions be sent to him directly. We did. He did not respond.
