INFLUENCE

Apr 11 2026ENTERTAINMENT

Stream Fight Over Money: A Streamer's Take on the Pushy Fundraiser

The big charity stream started in April 2025. YouTuber MrBeast launched a long live session on Kick to raise five million dollars for clean water. The twist was simple: the show would keep going until all money was collected. He didn’t do it alone. Popular gamers like Adin Ross and XQC joined him.

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Apr 10 2026POLITICS

Austin’s Police Unions Push Back Against Accountability

Austin’s police unions have found a new way to shift blame away from officers accused of misconduct. When an officer injured a protester in 2020, the unions filed a legal motion arguing that poor training—not the officer—should take the fall. But here’s the catch: they’ve known about training issues

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Apr 09 2026TECHNOLOGY

Checking the facts: How the U. S. and China tackle fake influencers differently

Social media stars giving health tips without medical school degrees. Investors posting stock advice after watching a YouTube video. Tutors selling homework help with no teaching license. Both China and the U. S. now say this can’t go on. In China, the rule is simple: prove you’re qualified before

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Apr 09 2026POLITICS

How Trump's Iran Move Showed His Playbook in Action

Trump’s decision on Iran didn’t come out of nowhere. Experts who studied his patterns saw it coming because his style is consistent—he starts tough, then shifts course when it suits him. Instead of softening demands over time, he begins with extreme threats to grab attention. In Iran’s case, he warn

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Apr 08 2026BUSINESS

Who’s really scraping the bottom of the barrel in the influencer game?

Phoebe Gates, the 23-year-old founder of Phia—a New York-based AI shopping tool valued near $180 million—is facing backlash for allegedly trying to book a lifestyle influencer for less than her standard rate. Kacie Margis, a California-based content creator, shared screenshots of an Instagram DM fro

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Apr 08 2026EDUCATION

How UK Universities Shape Views on Muslims

Research shows universities in the UK can change how students see Muslims—but the effect depends on exposure. Many students enter higher education with some level of bias, often tied to stereotypes or limited interaction with Muslim communities. Universities, traditionally seen as places for open-mi

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Apr 07 2026HEALTH

Online health advice: when guesses beat facts

Many influencers now push quick-fix chemicals sold through short videos rather than proven medicines backed by mountains of research. One doctor reports seeing patients who trust glowing testimonials over decades of clinical trials. A common example is peptides—tiny proteins—hyped online as youth se

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Apr 05 2026POLITICS

California’s problems: Could one leader really be behind it all?

Jillian Michaels, known for her tough-love fitness advice, has lived in California long enough to see its economy crack under pressure. Expenses keep climbing while public services seem to stay the same. Gas, housing, taxes—every cost hits a new record, yet roads stay pothole-ridden and schools stru

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Apr 04 2026POLITICS

Judge Blocks Subpoenas Against Fed Chief—What Comes Next?

A federal judge recently refused to reopen a criminal case against Jerome Powell, the head of the U. S. Federal Reserve. The case started after a prosecutor close to former President Trump tried to force Powell out by digging up unrelated complaints. The prosecutors wanted records about renovations

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Apr 04 2026POLITICS

Why Iran keeps its grip on the world’s oil highway

The Strait of Hormuz is a narrow waterway where a fifth of the planet’s oil moves. Iran sits on one side and Oman on the other. For decades this choke point gave Iran almost no leverage over global trade, but that changed when war broke out in late February. Since day one, Iran’s Revolutionary Guar

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