Monday, 7 September - My soul slides away

Good morning, it’s Monday, 7 September. In your Squiz Today…

• How your social media algorithms might be about to change

• The United Nations makes a change to the World Map

• And Oasis hits up the Venice Film Festival… 🎸

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🙋🏻‍♀️ This newsletter was written by Andrew Williams, Anna Pykett, Larissa Huntington and Sophie Felice

Squiz the Weather

Squiz Sayings

Said Chicken Shop Date host Amelia Dimoldenberg before announcing that her YouTube interview series would end after a 12-year run as she moves on to other things. Even after dating for 12 years, those 4 words are never good news…

Algorithm and blues

The Squiz

Get ready for more social media news this week, because the Albanese Government is set to introduce new draft laws around our algorithms. These are the processes big tech uses to decide what we see on our feeds, but Team Albo wants Facebook/Insta/X etc. to send us a pop-up telling us we can turn them off if we want to. If they don’t, they could be fined up to $100 million. It’s part of the Digital Duty of Care laws, and it’s an attempt to tackle some of the online harm experts say the algorithm is playing a role in. All that to say that the thing that decides what’s in your social media feed is about to be all over it… 

What’s the thinking behind this?

For a while now, some experts have been raising the alarm that our algorithms might be doing more harm than good. Consent educator Chanel Contos has been warning about this, including at the National Press Club last week. She says that in particular, algorithms are showing young men hateful, misogynistic and violent content that is leading to higher rates of sexual violence amongst young people. But it’s worth noting that reports say the Albanese Government’s draft laws don’t go as far as Contos’ recommendation - she wants algorithms to be opt-in (aka they’re switched off by default, and you have to choose to switch them on). The laws as they stand are opt-out - they’ll simply force social media companies to prompt (or poke, to use 2010s Facebook language) you to switch them off if you want to.

Has this been done anywhere else?

Yep - Europe had a crack at it a few years back, which set a rule that the biggest platforms must offer at least one recommendation option that isn’t based on the old algo. Instead, you’d get your content the old-fashioned way: in chronological order, from the people you follow. Trouble is, as QUT Professor Patrik Wikstrom points out - lots of users love the algorithm because they enjoy scrolling through videos they might like, and big tech loves it because it boosts engagement. So this might face some pushback… As far as the political reaction goes, Coalition leader Angus Taylor says he’s “deeply sceptical”, but he’ll wait and see what the laws look like, and Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young says only an opt-in system will suffice. Labor would need either the Greens or the Coalition to agree to pass the laws, so we’ll see how they land this week.

It starts with a conversation…

For many people experiencing financial abuse, recognising what’s happening can take time and reaching out for support can feel overwhelming - especially when money and relationships are deeply connected. But there is support, and even learning more about available options can be important. CommBank’s Next Chapter program connects people with free and confidential support through specialist services, even for those who don’t bank with CommBank. You can find out more here, or call 1800 222 387 Monday to Friday, 9am-6pm (AEST).

Squiz the Rest

A push for peace in Ukraine

US negotiators have had a busy weekend - they’ve met with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to push for an end to the war in Ukraine. Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner spent 3 hours with Putin behind closed doors on Saturday in talks that Moscow described as “constructive and extremely frank”. And yesterday, Witkoff and Kushner travelled to the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv - it’s their first visit there since the war began. Kushner says they were sent by US President Donald Trump with instructions to find a way to end the war, and both sides have agreed not to strike the other’s capital for 3 days. Whether it will lead to anything more lasting is an open question - Witkoff says he’s “very encouraged” about their progress, but Zelensky says he thinks the war is likely to continue for months.

A pain in the ash

Around 170,000 passengers heading to and from Indonesia have been left stranded overnight, after a volcanic eruption closed a bunch of the country’s airports. Mount Anak Krakatoa got a bit cranky for the second straight day yesterday, sending ash 15,000m in the air in an eruption that reports say you could hear hundreds of kilometres away. As ash spread across the country, it ended up in the airspace around Indonesia’s major airports - leading aviation authorities to shut things down. The Indonesian aviation ministry says 1,558 flights have been affected, including flights between Jakarta, Sydney and Melbourne. Anak Krakatoa (which means ‘child of Krakatoa’) is a volatile volcano - its 2018 eruption and partial collapse led to a deadly tsunami, but authorities say there’s no imminent risk of that this time around.

Closing the map gap

The United Nations accepted a plan on Friday to change the go-to world map (you know, this one) with a new version that gives us a better idea of how big continents actually are. This plan has been driven by Africa, which has been massively downsized in the map we know (known as the Mercator map after Flemish cartographer Gerardus Mercator), and is much bigger than you think it is. The UN is now suggesting that we replace the old map with this version, which is more accurate (and bonus: Oz looks a bit bigger too). Aside from the accuracy, though, advocates also say diminishing Africa’s size also diminishes its importance. The only country to vote no to the resolution was the US - which, as it happens, looks smaller in the new version. Maybe size does matter…

Aussie chances go down the toilet…

…at Flushing Meadows, with our last Aussie singles hope Dane Sweeny knocked out of the US Open tennis tournament yesterday. Sweeny lost his third-round match in straight sets, following Aussie seed Alex De Minaur out the door. With several top chances being eliminated early, De Minaur was considered a good shot to make his first grand slam semi-final - but it wasn’t to be, as he lost in straight sets in the second round. Our women didn’t fare any better in the singles, with no one making it into the third round - that’s Australia’s worst US Open performance in 5 years. But at least we had some joy in the doubles: Aussie Maya Joint and partner Hao-Ching Chan defeated fairly useful tennis players Serena and Venus Williams to make the second round.

From tennis to Venice

The Venice Film Festival is in full swing at the moment, and we thought we’d give you a heads-up on some of the movies making a splash… First up, Primetime, which is a thriller about the popular US TV segment To Catch a Predator. Starring Robert Pattinson playing US TV host Chris Hansen, it’s getting great reviews ahead of its 29 October release date in Oz. Critics are also very positive about a documentary on the recent Oasis world tour - it’s called Oasis: Don’t Look Back in Anger, it’s coming out in cinemas this week and will be on Disney+ later in the year (here’s the Gallagher brothers arriving by water taxi ahead of its world premiere). So keep an eye on both of those - and beyond the films themselves, the red carpet also threw up plenty of highlights - check out a gallery of the best looks.

Apropos of Nothing - Animal antics edition

This video of 2 mice appearing to fight on a London Underground platform went viral late last week - partly because viewers said it reminded them of this famous photo from 2019. And look, it’s comfortably the cutest train station fight we’ve ever seen…

Some ornithological experts have weighed in on a recent viral video involving 2 myna birds casually catching a Sydney train, something they do on a regular basis. This might not shock you, but it’s not about commuting - those trains are just a good place to find snacks. 

And everyone has to audition for the latest show from the Metropolitan Opera in New York - even the snakes. A serpent will take centre stage in the Opera’s production of Cosi fan tutte - it’s always rude to boo, but you might be allowed to hiss…

Squiz the Day

Senate and House sitting in Federal Parliament (until 17 September)

7:00am (AEST) - Veterans will lay down their medals at Federation Mall in front of Parliament House to protest changes to benefits and a $5000 allied health cap, before a press conference in Mural Hall at 9am - Canberra

8:00am (AEST) - AFR Property Summit, speakers include Minister for Housing Clare O'Neil, Assistant Governor (Economic) Reserve Bank of Australia Sarah Hunter and industry leaders (until 8 September) - Sydney

9:00am (AEST) - Data Centre World Australia AI Summit begins - which will look at the building of data centres around Australia and the environmental concerns attached - Melbourne

10:00am (AEST) - Day one of the World Seabird Conference, which will hear presentations on bird flu among other diseases and conservation efforts (until 11 September) - Hobart 

1:30pm (AEST) - Oxford Economics bi-annual construction and economic outlook conference - Sydney 

7:30pm (AEST) - Basketball: FIBA Women's World Cup Group C Australia v Belgium - Berlin, watch on Kayo 

The Australian men’s cricket team will announce its squad for the upcoming Test series against South Africa - keep an eye on whether under-pressure batter Marnus Labuschagne holds his spot or not

Women’s Health Week begins (until 11 September)

Independence Day in Brazil

Threatened Species Day, on the anniversary of the death of the last Tassie Tiger Benjamin, at the Hobart Zoo (1936) 

A birthday for singer Gloria Gaynor (1943)

Anniversary of:

• the start of the Blitz when Germany bombed London for 57 nights as the Nazis prepared for an invasion (1940)

• the shooting of rapper Tupac Shakur (1996)

• Tony Abbott being elected as PM after the Coalition defeated the Rudd-Gillard-Rudd Labor Government (2013)

• the death of rapper Mac Miller (2018)

Housekeeping

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