Australia to force Google, Facebook to pay for news content

The Pakistani government's media watchdog has imposed a ban on "intimate" scenes on television amid growing religious conservativism in the country. Activists have decried the move.

Fear mongering content became viral on social media this week, as Ukrainian civilians prepare for an imminent Russian attack.

Here are a few reasons to pick up a copy of The Guardian on Wednesday⁣.⁣

Many posts on social media claiming to pertain to the current conflict in Ukraine are in fact videos and photos different events in other regions that happened several years ago. We tell you more in this edition of Truth or Fake.

Many posts on social media claiming to pertain to the current conflict in Ukraine are in fact videos and photos of different events in other regions that happened several years ago. We tell you more in this edition of Truth or Fake.

Social media posts may seem insignificant when compared with the brutality on the ground in Ukraine, but what goes viral is directly affecting the war and Russia knows this. This Friday, the chairman of the Russian parliament Vyacheslav Volodin railed against foreign social media, calling it a "weapon" that Russia "must oppose". This comes after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky secured a series of victories against Russia on the international stage, thanks in no small part to his internet star power.

We bring you the front pages, which focus on the victims of Vladimir Putin's brutal war in Ukraine. Also, we look at the origins of the "Z" symbol, which has become a way to express support for Putin and the invasion. Papers dedicate their editions to the women of Ukraine, whether they are fighting on the frontlines or giving birth in basements. Finally, we look at how Ukraine's first lady has emerged from the shadows to rally Ukrainians and boost morale.

The European Commission and the UK's Market Authority each launched an investigation to see if a 2018 deal between Google and Meta aimed at distorting competition in the digital ad business.

Facebook and Instagram's parent company, Meta, has been designated as an "extremist" organization by a Russian court. But Meta's WhatsApp is excluded from the ban.

State media have published a series of critical articles against Chinese journalists, accusing them of helping foreign media with "anti-China reports."

We look at the Russian commander dubbed the "butcher of Mariupol" by the Times of London. We also discover a photo from a paediatric hospital that has come to define the war in Ukraine. Plus, Prince William and Kate are accused of colonial overtones in their official tour of the Caribbean, Italy crashes and burns in its World Cup qualifier and the founder of modern Internet culture, the GIF, passes away.

Sri Lanka's government said restrictions on access to social media platforms came a day after protesters defied a nationwide curfew to demand government accountability.