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A toppled reindeer? A window of pink balloons? These images explore Dana Stirling's depression - and remind us how beauty and sorrow walk together' Continue reading...

After years of politicians and media figures normalising far-right ideas, the billionaire's meddling is falling on fertile groundWhen Elon Musk endorsed the far-right Alternative fur Deutschland on X as the only party that could save Germany", followed by an opinion article in Die Welt promoting the AfD in the forthcoming federal elections the backlash was swift. Germany must not tolerate Musk's transgressions," declared the publisher of the liberal newspaper Tagesspiegel. How did Elon Musk's election propaganda for the AfD make it into Welt?" asked another commentator, accusing Welt's publisher, Axel Springer, of betraying its own principles. The Spiegel columnist Marina Kormbaki labelled Musk's intervention the breaking of a taboo".The outrage was justified. Musk's apocalyptic rhetoric and alignment with forces often labelled extremist are deeply unsettling in a country still grappling with the weight of its 20th-century atrocities. His political meddling - from the US to the UK and now Germany - follows a disturbing pattern of self-aggrandisement cloaked in dangerous ideology.Hanno Hauenstein is a Berlin-based journalist and authorDo you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here. Continue reading...

By jumping on Elon Musk's passing bandwagon and echoing the far right, the Conservative leader has shown she doesn't understand her responsibilitiesThe House of Commons is built for confrontation, with rows of benches facing each other across an aisle. When the original Victorian chamber was blitzed to ashes during the second world war, Winston Churchill was adamant that the antagonistic geometry be preserved in the restoration. He spoke dismissively of the foreign, semi-circular assembly, which enables every individual or every group to move round the centre, adopting various shades of pink according as the weather changes."Churchill was leading a national unity government, but that was a wartime expedient. Normal democratic hostilities resumed as soon as Germany surrendered. MPs might rebel against their whips, or even defect, but it takes a national calamity or international crisis for Labour and Tory leaders to declare themselves on the same side.Rafael Behr is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...

The fierce winds are created by high pressure over the Great Basin - the vast desert interior of the west

Homes evacuated in Los Angeles neighbourhood as blaze spreads amid intense Santa Ana winds in Southern California Continue reading...

This blog has now closed, thanks for following along. You can read all our coverage of US politics hereContinuing his expansionist streak, Donald Trump said the Gulf of Mexico should instead be called the Gulf of America".We're going to be changing the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America, which has a beautiful ring that covers a lot of territory," the president-elect said at his ongoing press conference in Mar-a-Lago. What a beautiful name. And it's appropriate."Mexico has to stop allowing millions of people to pour into our country. They can stop them. And we're going to put very serious tariffs on Mexico and Canada, because Canada, they come through Canada too, and the drugs that are coming through are at record numbers, record numbers. So we're going to make up for that by putting tariffs on Mexico and Canada, substantial tariffs. Continue reading...

Fifth circuit, seen as primed for the Maga era, hears arguments challenging state's newly created mapsA federal appeals court heard arguments Tuesday in a case that could further erode voting rights protecting minority voters or solidify that Louisiana's legislative maps diluted Black voters' power.The fifth circuit court of appeals, which hears cases brought for appeal from Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi, will weigh in on Nairne v Landry, a case in which a federal judge in Louisiana ruled the Republican-controlled legislature had violated section 2 of the Voting Rights Act with its newly created maps. Continue reading...

Remarks likely to set off alarm bells around the world as Trump prepares to return to the White House this monthDonald Trump is refusing to rule out using American military force to retake control of the Panama Canal and seize Greenland, citing economic security as a driving factor.Speaking at a Tuesday press conference at Mar-a-Lago, the incoming US president explicitly declined to give assurances against using military or economic coercion when pressed about his plans regarding Panama and Greenland. Continue reading...

Deployed twice to Afghanistan, the Green Beret searched the AI platform for information on explosives and ammoThe soldier who exploded a Tesla Cybertruck outside the Trump hotel in Las Vegas used generative AI including ChatGPT to help plan the attack, Las Vegas police said on Tuesday.A laptop, cellphone and watch are still under review nearly a week after 37-year-old Matthew Livelsberger fatally shot himself just before the truck blew up. Continue reading...

US treasury accuses Antal Rogan, a close aide of leader Viktor Orban, as key to system of corruption'The United States has imposed sanctions on a senior member of the Hungarian government for alleged corruption, in a move which Budapest said it would challenge as soon as Donald Trump takes office.The US treasury accused Antal Rogan, a close aide of the prime minister, Viktor Orban, of using his role to secure financial benefits for himself and his political allies. Continue reading...

Trump's repeated threats to US allies mark a new and alarming departure, indicating he'll top his first term by going more extremeHollywood actors at Sunday's Golden Globe awards did not make their usual jokes or protests. Silicon Valley titans are falling over each other to donate to his inauguration fund. In Washington, some Democrats who boycotted his first inauguration have signalled their intention to attend this time.There is no doubt the resistance to Donald Trump feels muted second time around. The word fascist" has disappeared from political discourse as quickly as it appeared. The meeker tone gives the impression that Trump 2.0 will be more conventional, moderate and palatable than the first version. Continue reading...

Men charged with felonies after skit leads to third-degree burns over 16% percent of pledge's body, prosecutors sayFour fraternity members at San Diego State University are facing felony charges in connection with a skit performed at a party last year during which a pledge was set on fire, causing third-degree burns that covered more than 16% of his body, prosecutors said.Caden Cooper, 22; Lucas Cowling, 20; Christopher Serrano, 20; and Lars Larsen, 19, were all charged with at least one felony Monday in San Diego superior court. All pleaded not guilty. Continue reading...

Donald Trump is refusing to rule out using US military force to retake control of the Panama Canal and seize Greenland, citing economic security as a driving factor. The incoming US president explicitly declined to give assurances against using military or economic coercion when pressed about his plans regarding Panama and Greenland. Trump also cited taking control of Canada under 'economic force'. The remarks are likely to set off diplomatic alarm bells around the world as Trump prepares to return to the White House later this month.

With infants dying of exposure and desperation growing, a ceasefire and hostage release deal have never been more necessaryThe new year has commenced as bleakly as the last one concluded in Gaza. As December came to an end, the UN announced that the healthcare system was on the brink of outright collapse due to Israel's attacks. Withindays of the new year beginning, an official with Unrwa warned that social order will collapse if Israel ends all cooperation with the aid agency for Palestinians later this month, as scheduled. In between, scores of people were killed in intensified Israeli strikes, including in an area designated as a safezone. Gaza's health ministry said on Monday that at least 45,854 have now died there in the 15 months since the Hamas attacks in southern Israel.The crisis is so familiar and relentless now that international attention has flagged. And yet it is so desperate that the facts must be reiterated. At least seven infants have died from the cold in recent weeks. Almost the entire 1.9m population has been displaced, in most cases repeatedly. They are exhausted and traumatised. An estimated 91% face high levels of acute food insecurity, according to the UN.Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here. Continue reading...

With an outgoing PM, suspended parliament and promised harsh tariffs, Canada scrambles to find a new leaderPresident-elect Donald Trump has said the US will use economic force" against its close ally Canada, doubling down on threats to impose protectionist tariffs on one of the US's biggest trading partners.The remarks are likely to further fuel political turmoil in Canada after the resignation of its prime minister, Justin Trudeau, and the suspension of parliament until late March. Continue reading...

The imprisoned Native American is long overdue for clemency. Joe Biden is probably the last president who can give it to himAs Joe Biden prepares to leave office, he has a chance to do something singularly honorable in the name of American justice and basic human rights. With a grant of clemency to Leonard Peltier, Biden could ameliorate a half-century-old injustice not just against Peltier but, in effect, against Native peoples everywhere, many of whom consider Peltier an enduring symbol of racism and state-sponsored oppression in the US.For those Americans who may not have heard of him, Leonard Peltier is known around the world as the US government's number one political prisoner. A member of the Chippewa and Lakota Nations, Peltier was convicted in 1976 for the deaths, the year before, of two FBI agents killed during a shootout on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. While he was in the area at the time of the shootout, Peltier, who maintains his innocence, has served nearly 50 years and counting for a murder he was never proved to have committed - or even to have aided and abetted.Rose Styron is a poet and longtime human rights activist with Amnesty International. Alex Matthiessen is an environmental advocate and former Clinton administration political appointee. His father, Peter Matthiessen, wrote the definitive account of the Peltier case, In the Spirit of Crazy Horse Continue reading...

Judge Aileen Cannon issued a temporary injunction until an appeals court rules on Trump's arguments

Routine inspection led to discovery of bodies after flight from New York to Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood airportTwo people have been found dead in the landing gear compartment of a JetBlue plane that landed in Florida, the airline said.The grim discovery was made on Monday night. The bodies were found during a routine inspection after the plane had landed. Continue reading...

The US has been for sale to the highest bidder for some time, while democracy dies in plain sight. The difference now? How shamelessly transactional the incoming president isReader, I was wrong. So terribly wrong. It pains me to admit this but, back in the distant past (last year), I wrote some very nasty things about Donald Trump and his family. Now that I am older and wiser I realise how misguided this was. So let me set the record straight: the incoming president is an exceptionally handsome man with an incredibly high IQ. We are all blessed that this very stable genius has taken time out of his busy golfing schedule to lead the free world to prosperity.What do you reckon ... was I sycophantic enough or do I need to lay the flattery on even thicker? I'm asking because, as you've no doubt noticed, genuflecting to the uber-transactional Trump is ramping up now that inauguration day is approaching. Business leaders are breaking records with the amount of money they're dumping into Trump's inaugural fund. EVERYBODY WANTS TO BE MY FRIEND!!!" Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social in December.Arwa Mahdawi is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...

Kamala Harris announces removal of billions in medical debt from credit reports of 15 million AmericansLenders will no longer be able to see whether American borrowers have unpaid medical debt in their credit history, according to a new rule from the outgoing Biden administration.The vice-president, Kamala Harris, announced early on Tuesday that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) was removing $49bn of existing unpaid medical bills from the credit reports of 15 million Americans and will ban the inclusion of medical debt on credit reports. Continue reading...

The Plot Against the King, a thinly veiled take on the stolen' 2020 election, has a few hits and lots of missesYou don't have to agree with someone's politics to appreciate their writing. Roald Dahl was a terrible, antisemitic man, but he came up with a story about four grandparents who stay in bed 24/7 that gives us all something to aspire to.So I was intrigued to find out that Donald Trump's choice for FBI director, Kash Patel, wrote a trilogy of thinly veiled political children's books called The Plot Against the King. The King is - you guessed it - Trump. And the plot? Well, we'll get there. Continue reading...

The unedifying spectacle of would-be strongmen bickering over how to protect women and girls is just the beginningCan it really be three weeks ago that Nigel Farage and Elon Musk were posing adoringly at Mar-a-Lago, in front of that hilariously naff painting of Donald Trump in the tennis sweater? I am as surprised as Nigel that his holiday romance has been built on sand. Or, to put it another way, that the African billionaire who promised to deposit in his account has turned out to be not what he seemed. The Farage dumping seems to have occurred after the Reform UK leader failed to agree with Musk that he should ally with the imprisoned career criminal Tommy Robinson over the latter's stance on grooming gangs.And so to grooming gangs - or rape gangs, as they are rightly and more accurately being called now. Maybe the first week of January has become the time when anger about things that have been going on for a long time reaches significant mass. Last year it was the Post Office, this year it is the rape gangs scandal. As for what it will be next year, the likeliest current forecast is: something that Elon decides. We all live in the Muskoverse now. It's a quirk of the age that the genius leading the race to the stars is also the idiot leading the race to the bottom.Marina Hyde is a Guardian columnistDo you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here. Continue reading...

It doesn't matter if it's Mario Party or my fictional promotion to junior regional manager, my texts deserve more than a digital eff-off

When we talk about the difficult parts of motherhood we provide emotional cushioning for what can be a deeply challenging experience

Claims Canada's prime minister was too leftwing have been overblown. Instead, he was brought down by his lack of popularity and being in charge too longJustin Trudeau has announced he will step down as Canadian prime minister after his successor is chosen, probably by the end of March. Trudeau says he is leaving because despite being a fighter", he cannot lead his party into the forthcoming election while facing internal party divisions. In sum, his caucus, his Liberal party and the country want him gone. So off he goes, perhaps better late than never. But despite his reasoning, his resignation remains difficult to understand.Up until Christmas Trudeau had repeatedly said he was staying on, ready and eager to fight Pierre Poilievre and the Conservative party - who are up by more than 20 points in polls - in this year's election. But calls for him to resign had been creeping into the public view, from former members of parliament, cabinet ministers and even current MPs.David Moscrop is a columnist and political commentator, and the author of Too Dumb for Democracy: Why We Make Bad Political Decisions and How We Can Make Better Ones Continue reading...

Nick Clegg's departure is likely to see Meta following X's tilt towards the right. It leaves the way open for an insidious hollowing out of democracyWill democracy survive a second Trump presidency? A change of senior personnel at a social media company involving a former British deputy prime minister may not seem all too relevant to this heated discussion. But Nick Clegg's decision to leave Meta as head of global affairs, and the choice of his successor, may point to how western democracy dies: not with fireworks, but through quiet attrition.Clegg's job will be taken over by his deputy, Joel Kaplan - a Republican who worked in George W Bush's administration. He is someone who, according to a Washington Post report from 2020, pushed to block Meta taking action against dozens of pages that had peddled false news reports" before the 2020 election, arguing it would disproportionately affect conservatives". As a columnist at MSNBC put it, his elevation is another sign that Meta is getting a Maga-friendly makeover".Owen Jones is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...

Joe Biden urged Americans not to forget the Capitol attack. Plus, Trudeau to resign as Canadian prime minister

Many of the political ideas we thought were taken for granted at the end of the 20th century have cracked and crumbledThe three largest democracies in the history of the world will soon be ruled by intolerant authoritarians who leveraged celebrity and social media dynamics to achieve power.In 2024, India re-elected Hindu nationalist Narendra Modi as prime minister for the third time. The United States has elected Donald Trump as president for the second, non-consecutive time. And in October, Indonesia elected as president the millionaire Prabowo Subianto, a former special-forces commander who was once married to a daughter of late dictator Suharto.Siva Vaidhyanathan is a professor of media studies at the University of Virginia and the author of Antisocial Media: How Facebook Disconnects Us and Undermines Democracy. Continue reading...

Resolutions are undeniably terrible when we make them for ourselves. But what about if we began making them for each other?What's the right age to realise new year's resolutions are trash that won't last until February? By about 12 years old, the data should be in: nothing is in any better order than it was this time last year and you're a damn fool to think this year will be any different. Now give yourself a couple of decades' leeway while you work other things out, such as who you are, and then you'll realise that January is a time to relax and concentrate on keeping warm rather than making lists. This is something I should have learned many moons ago.But January's pull is irresistible. David Bowie is my earworm, crooning ch-ch-ch-changes", quietly, but not quietly enough. One tiny yet significant improvement must be manageable, surely? Yes, is 2025's answer, but with a difference: I have decided that this is the year you should make resolutions for your friends. Continue reading...

Fundraising page launched for Adam Coste, who had spent 12 years in army before working at National WWII MuseumThe former US army soldier who carried out the New Orleans truck attack that killed 14 victims - and injured dozens more - on New Year's Day has left a fellow veteran of that military branch fighting to regain his ability to walk", according to supporters of the wounded service member.Before joining other revelers on the city's famous Bourbon Street to celebrate the start of 2025, Adam Coste had spent more than 12 years in the US army as an infantry company commander and headquarters company commander while serving on multiple combat deployments, according to information posted on a verified GoFundMe campaign established for him. Continue reading...

The Vikings' surprise package was one of the NFL best quarterbacks all season long until Sunday night's stinker in Detroit. Was it an anomaly or regression to the norm?If you were waiting this season for Minnesota Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold to fail - not in an evil schadenfreude sense, but more in an Oh, there's the Sam Darnold of old" sense - then Darnold's Sunday night performance against Detroit in a 31-9 Lions win gave you a lot of ballast for that position.Darnold had become one of the NFL's best stories this season. The third overall pick by the New York Jets in the 2018 draft had three middling seasons with his original team, two more with the Carolina Panthers in 2021 and 2022, and a backup role with the San Francisco 49ers in 2023. He signed a one-year, $10m deal with the Vikings this past offseason to be first-round rookie JJ McCarthy's backup, but when McCarthy suffered a turn meniscus in the preseason, it was all on Darnold and he responded brilliantly. He proved to be the perfect foil for head coach and offensive shot-caller Kevin O'Connell's game, which is one of the NFL's best and most diverse. Continue reading...

Despite the doom-mongers, the outlook for the economy, the NHS and vital services is good. Coming months should bear that outLook up, despite the bleak midwinter, the flu crisis and this dismal mood of political cynicism. Despite, too, the daily doom that pumps out of the most hostile media any new government ever faced, savaging whatever Labour does in extravagant language borrowed from Elon Musk. Good grief, the ever-rightward travelling Times just published a leader praising Musk's wild attacks on Keir Starmer, subheaded His fundamental critique is correct". Monday's tweet from Musk was Prison for Starmer".Other blasts of bare-knuckle nonsense include the Mail on Sunday's bombshell" front-page news saying: Keir Starmer will be out of No 10 within a year, poll predicts". Read further to find that 30% of those polled plan to vote Labour in the next election, compared with 23% for the Tories and 22% for Reform. That's not good, but it's not yet a crisis, not least because Kemi Badenoch's Tory unelectables are capsizing in the backwash of Faragism. Labour looks pretty solid in comparison: despite the unpopular winter fuel means-testing, it is closer to voters on key issues, as VAT on private schools is hugely popular, and twice as many think the budget's tax rises were necessary" as not.Polly Toynbee is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...

President flew into city where US army veteran drove truck into crowd, killing 14 and injuring 30 othersJoe Biden arrived in New Orleans late on Monday afternoon with a message to the grieving families of victims in the deadly new year's attack during celebrations in the city's famed French Quarter: It takes time. You got to hang on."The US president flew into the city where an army veteran drove a truck into revelers on Bourbon Street, killing 14 and injuring 30 more. It could be the last time Biden travels to the scene of a horrific crime as president, with less than two weeks left in office. Continue reading...

Republican confirmed as victor over Kamala Harris, four years to day since mob of Trump followers attacked CapitolThe US Congress certified Donald Trump's presidential election victory on Monday in an event heavy with symbolism, four years to the day since he incited a violent mob to disrupt a similar ceremony in an attempt to overturn his 2020 election defeat.The vice-president, Kamala Harris, Trump's defeated Democratic opponent in November's election, presided over a joint Senate and House of Representatives session to validate the result. As the certificates confirming Trump's victory were brought into the House chamber, Harris took her place on the dais alongside the Republican speaker of the House, Mike Johnson. Continue reading...

At the Golden Globes, the spotlight was on women playing multilayered, courageous and middle-aged lead rolesThere's something spectacular happening in movies and television at the moment and it's not a superhero fight sequence or a motorcycle stunt off a cliff. No, it's the celebration of courageous, multilayered middle-aged and older female characters being portrayed in all their complexity on screen.The Golden Globes highlighted this trend, handing out a swag of awards to the women who played these characters - often to their surprise. Continue reading...

Fast-food company decides to scale back plans after 2023 US supreme court ruling and conservative backlash to DEIFour years after launching a push for more diversity in its ranks, McDonald's is ending some of its diversity practices, citing a US supreme court decision that outlawed affirmative action in college admissions.McDonald's is the latest big company to shift its tactics in the wake of the 2023 ruling and a conservative backlash against diversity, equity and inclusion programs. Walmart, John Deere, Harley-Davidson and others rolled back their DEI initiatives last year. Continue reading...

Major resettlement reduces population in US detention facility in south-eastern Cuba to just 15 peopleThe United States has sent 11 Yemeni detainees at the Guantanamo Bay detention center to Oman, the Pentagon said on Monday, in a major resettlement that nearly halves the detention facility's remaining number of prisoners.The released men include Tawfiq al-Bihani, who had been cleared for transfer since 2010; Khalid Qassim, a long-term hunger striker who has spoken about spending most of his adult life in Guantanamo; and Hassan bin Attash, who was captured in a security raid in Pakistan in 2002.Reuters contributed reporting Continue reading...

Consent decree had been under negotiation since justice department issued a critique of authorities in June 2023The Minneapolis city council on Monday approved an agreement with the federal government in response to the murder of George Floyd that would require reforms within the city's police department under longterm court supervision.The agreement was not immediately released publicly, but it was expected to incorporate and build on changes the police department has already made to its policies on the use of force and training of officers following Floyd's death in 2020. Continue reading...

President-elect to be sentenced on Friday over conviction stemming from money paid to porn star Stormy DanielsDonald Trump on Monday lost a bid to put off his sentencing on Friday for his criminal conviction stemming from hush money paid to a porn star.Citing both presidential immunity and the demands of Trump's impending January 20 inauguration as the 47th US president, his lawyers on Monday morning said judge Juan Merchan's intention not to penalize Trump was of no moment". Continue reading...

Young adults living in states likely to ban abortion obtained tubal sterilizations and vasectomies in months after rulingIn the months after the US supreme court overturned Roe v Wade, permanent contraception in the form of tubal sterilizations and vasectomies surged among young adults living in states likely to ban abortion, new research released on Monday found.Compared to May 2022, when the opinion overturning Roe leaked, August 2022 saw 95% more vasectomies and 70% more tubal sterilizations performed on people between the ages of 19 and 26, according to the study, which was conducted by researchers at the George Washington University, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the University of Michigan. Continue reading...

Hundreds of thousands left without power and flights canceled as state of emergencies declared in several statesMillions of Americans were hit by a major winter storm on Monday that brought heavy snow, ice, strong winds and freezing temperatures as it moved east out of the center of the country and into the mid-Atlantic region, having killed at least four people the day before.The US National Weather Service (NWS) issued winter storm warnings and advisories stretching from Kansas and Missouri to New Jersey as moderate to heavy snow fell from the Ohio Valley to the mid-Atlantic region. Continue reading...

Kamala Harris said she was simply doing her constitutional duty in presiding over the certification of her presidential election defeat by Donald Trump on Monday. The certification was over quickly after no Democrats rose to object the results from any state - in contrast with four years ago when dozens of Republican lawmakers formally disputed Joe Biden's victory in key swing states Continue reading...

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Officers in Antioch near San Francisco sent racist and sexist messages and boasted about fabricating evidenceA San Francisco Bay area police department mired in scandal over racist and sexist texts implicating dozens of officers has agreed to reforms and five years of outside monitoring, the US Department of Justice announced.According to the agreement made public on Friday, the Antioch police department and the city of Antioch will select an expert law enforcement consultant approved by the justice department to review and update its practices on nondiscriminatory policing, use of force, hiring and promotions and discipline, among other topics, over a five-year period. Continue reading...

Sheriff's deputies captured the monkey, which had opened a door to escape, before arrival of winter stormA monkey in a pink tutu that slipped out of a Missouri home was captured just before a winter storm slammed the state.The Jefferson county sheriff's office described the apprehension of the primate in a Facebook post as Bananas". Continue reading...

Schiff says Trump's nominee lacks experience needed for FBI role and believes in deep state' conspiracy thinkingAdam Schiff says the deadly truck attack in New Orleans on New Year's Day demonstrates why Congress should reject Donald Trump's nominee to lead the FBI, Kash Patel, after his second presidency begins.Kash Patel should not be confirmed," the California senator said on NBC's Meet the Press. I think the terrorist attack on New Orleans ... just underscores again the importance of having someone directing the FBI that has experience, that has judgment, that has character, [and] that will prioritize defending the country against the violence we saw in New Orleans" or that from Trump supporters during the US Capitol attack on 6 January 2021 after he lost the presidency to Joe Biden weeks earlier. Continue reading...

The UK prime minister calls out the reckless amplification of conspiracy theories by the world's richest man on child sexual abuse. GoodOn Monday, Sir Keir Starmer rightly defended robust debate but insisted it must be grounded in facts, not lies", in response to Elon Musk's falsehoods about his role in dealing with child sexual exploitation. The prime minister has wisely not engaged Mr Musk directly, partly because the world's richest man is a member of Donald Trump's inner circle. Sir Keir recognises this epistemic crisis as a coordinated campaign to spread disinformation, sow division, and erode trust. As the philosopher Lee McIntyre aptly notes: The truth isn't dying - it's being killed."The goal is clear: to create groups in society that unquestioningly accept an authoritarian leader's word. In this way, opinions are no longer based on facts but rooted in identity. Disinformation becomes a potent political weapon, making voters believe falsehoods while distrusting - even hating - those who don't. MrMusk values the power to shape belief systems to enable pliable governance. Politicians who refuse to align with his agenda can be discarded, as he bets his followers will support whichever candidate he endorses. The Reform UK leader, NigelFarage, has learned this the hard way, and the Tories' KemiBadenoch risks repeating the same error.Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here. Continue reading...