The UK’s media regulator Ofcom has been accused of abandoning “any pretence” of guarding against misleading and biased television coverage, after it refused to investigate a series of complaints about a GB News interview with Donald Trump, reports Michael Savage. www.theguardian.com/media/2026/f...

Many of the girls at risk of FGM are under the age of 5, the UN says. Around 230 million women and girls around the world are survivors of the practice, reports Karl Sexton. www.dw.com/en/female-ge...

Landmark UFO documents smuggled out of Russia 30 years ago — and just publicly revealed — show the Soviets investigated thousands of reports of extraterrestrial craft and encounters with aliens, reports Shane Galvin. archive.ph/cIxLw nypost.com/2026/02/07/w...

Richard Wiseman argues that Psychology is facing a dullness crisis.

The sex-trafficker’s fingerprints are all over the early rise of the alt-right and the far-right conspiracy movements that would follow, new documents reveal, reports Matt Gallagher. bylinetimes.com/2026/02/06/j...

Conspiracist influencers have flooded the internet with baseless claims about Kirk’s killing — and lawyers in his alleged killer’s case are listening, reports Brandy Zadrozny.

Contrary to social-media lore, it is one of the safest cities in the world. archive.ph/zTjW8 www.economist.com/britain/2026...

Holidaymaker Lorna McSorley from Devon vanished without trace in an area of South Africa where belief in the power of muti — and fear — may obstruct the law, reports Jane Flanagan. archive.ph/WBhEl

Freshly released Justice Department files have reopened online debate over Jeffrey Epstein's death, this time over a draft federal statement dated one day earlier than official prison records, reports Anna Good.

Fake AI images went viral suggesting Epstein was alive and living in Israel, as well as claims his Fortnite account also showed him still active. Vedika Bahl goes through it in Truth or Fake.

A new image supposedly captured in Israel shows Epstein alive with grown-out hair and a beard. But the image is a fabrication, reports Bill McCarthy.

Misinformation and disinformation impact people on an individual level. But sometimes, their havoc can spread much, much further, writes Tim Newman.

Major reforms to the United Kingdom’s national research funding agency are aimed at boosting the nation’s economy, reports David Adam. archive.ph/gbkLe www.nature.com/articles/d41...

The public could be frightened or skeptical. A lot depends on how scientists announce it—if they ever find life in space, writes Jeffrey Kluger. archive.ph/3lwly time.com/7372666/scie...

Science funding cuts in the UK are expected to be a "devastasting blow" for physics research, affecting international projects such as particle detection experiments at CERN, reports Matthew Sparkes. archive.ph/Nr8IB www.newscientist.com/article/2514...

Gambia is one of the most difficult places in Africa for FGM survivors to access clitoral reconstruction. The country has one of the continent's highest FGM rates, and activists are fighting to uphold a national ban, report George Okachi and Aminata E. Sanyang. www.dw.com/en/why-clito...

Fruit of the Loom's logo never had a cornucopia and you didn't have pizza for dinner last Friday, writes RJ Mackenzie. www.popsci.com/health/false...

A UFO sighting above a supermarket wasn’t what it seemed, writes Isabella Perrin. www.bracknellnews.co.uk/news/2583497...

Health is complex. It’s difficult to kjnow who to trust. In this article, we ask whether you should trust ChatGPT with your health queries, writes Tim Newman. zoe.com/learn/danger...

FGM/C remains prevalent across Southeast Asia. The region should look to the African Union’s playbook on regional cooperation, writes Nadira Irdiana, Monash University. theconversation.com/female-genit...

As Elon Musk and Pete Hegseth talk about wanting to make Star Trek real, long-time fan Chanda Prescod-Weinstein says they've misconstrued the heart of the story. archive.ph/OJ1Tp www.newscientist.com/article/mg26...

Kennedy later said the purpose of his trip had nothing to do with vaccines. US embassy and UN staff at the time said otherwise, emails show, report Michelle R Smith and Ali Swenson. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

Preliminary studies suggest that a high-fat, low-carbohydrate diet could reduce schizophrenia symptoms in some people, but claiming it’s a cure is misleading, reports Claire Cameron. archive.ph/YKxDq www.scientificamerican.com/article/rfk-...

Hundreds of early career researchers have warned the UK will lose a generation of scientists after the announcement of significant cuts to physics projects and research facilities, writes Ian Sample. www.theguardian.com/science/2026...

Former members of Christian fringe group Shincheonji have alleged financial abuse by the religious organisation, reports Coco Veldkamp. www.abc.net.au/news/2026-02...

Evelyn Nyambura is preparing for clitoral reconstruction — hoping it will heal years of physical and emotional pain. But the thought of another operation for the survivor of female genital mutilation is daunting, report George Okachi and Josephine Karema. www.dw.com/en/fgm-survi...

French authorities say a coordinated campaign, tied to a Russian-linked disinformation network, sought to spread false claims linking President Emmanuel Macron to the Epstein scandal, using a fabricated news article that went viral on social media platform X. www.rfi.fr/en/france/20...

All vaccine recommendations are being reconsidered by the US’s vaccines committee, according to its top adviser, who slammed vaccination requirements for schools and said vaccines should be taken on the advice of an individual’s doctor, reports Melody Schreiber. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

A TikTok video has become the most promising lead in the mysterious disappearance of six people in Missouri nearly three years later, reports Andrea Cavallier. www.independent.co.uk/news/world/a...

The Laird of Glenfeshie has told the Strathy to expect a rare sighting of the Loch Ness Monster soon - round about the time his upgraded lochside pub reopens! Writes Tom Ramage. www.strathspey-herald.co.uk/news/glenfes...

Scientists are showing how exposing people to manipulative techniques through games can act as a ‘psychological vaccine’ against bad health information, writes Priya Joi. www.gavi.org/vaccineswork...

Health misinformation is everywhere. Here, we document the real-world harms caused by medical experts who peddle misleading advice, writes Tim Newman. zoe.com/learn/danger...

The US government has to balance the need to know with the right to privacy. It’s a delicate balancing act, writes Matthew Mokhefi-Ashton, Nottingham Trent University. theconversation.com/epstein-file...

Former His Way Spirit Led Assemblies member Kelli Byrd testified in San Bernardino Superior Court for two hours, providing a rare glimpse inside the religious group that had operated in secret for decades, reports Clara Harter. www.latimes.com/california/s...

A series of graphics reveals how the Trump administration has sought historic cuts to science and the research workforce, report Max Kozlov, Jeff Tollefson and Dan Garisto. www.nature.com/immersive/d4...

The internet and a new film have breathed life into old conspiracy theories about one of the world’s most famous landmarks, reports Steven Lee Myers. archive.ph/oYFvA www.nytimes.com/2026/02/06/b...

Telegram’s lax content moderation policy has turned it into a hotbed of criminal activity, reports Manuel G. Pascual. english.elpais.com/technology/2...

So, we’ve been thinking about a widely circulated student essay, the confidence with which it was discussed, and the rather relaxed approach taken to evidence. wix.to/YWJBcDC #AcademicIntegrity #CitationNeeded #CriticalThinking #HigherEd

A recent study takes a closer look at what’s happening in the human mind when we really want to believe something, writes Darren Orf. www.popularmechanics.com/science/a701...

Jeffrey Epstein aggressively sought access to publishers, mentions of Scientific American and other media in Department of Justice files show, report Dan Vergano and Ari Sen. archive.ph/8OPck www.scientificamerican.com/article/epst...

After years of silent suffering, a Kenyan FGM survivor has turned her pain into purpose. Following a successful surgery abroad, she now advocates for clitoral reconstruction to help other women heal in her home village, report George Okachi and Josephine Karema. www.dw.com/en/how-a-ken...

The UK has lost its measles elimination status, the World Health Organization has announced. Decision made after outbreaks in 2024, when there were nearly 3,000 cases in England and Wales, reports Nick Triggle. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

As a deliverance minister, I regularly confront hauntings and paranormal activity – but I’ve no idea why poltergeists keep throwing shoes, writes Jason Bray. web.archive.org/web/20260203... www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/01...

A viral conspiracy claims Jeffrey Epstein is alive and playing Fortnite from Tel Aviv. Here’s how a username mix-up fueled the rumor, reports Anna Good. dailydot.com/debunked-con...

Trump backs Congressman Burlison to access secret UFO sites, raising hopes of uncovering proof of alien life and government cover-ups, reports Amrita Carroll. archive.ph/aBsW1 www.the-express.com/news/us-news...

Orwell argued that you don’t have to be a scientist to think more scientifically, writes Robert Colls, De Montfort University. theconversation.com/george-orwel...

Misinformation is everywhere online. Here, we share shocking examples of how advice from social media influencers can cause genuine harm, writes Tim Newman. zoe.com/learn/danger...

Persuasive AI assistants, deepfakes and bots are now commonplace. But could they be used by bad actors to influence Scotland’s elections? Asks Jamie Mann. www.theferret.scot/could-ai-mis...

It turns out we really are governed by an overclass of degenerate elites. And now anyone can investigate them, writes Simon van Zuylen-Wood. nymag.com/intelligence...

Tradwife content on social media is more popular than ever, selling an ideal of femininity rooted in nostalgia. But behind the recipes and dresses, Roni Zahavi-Brunner uncovers a pipeline feeding young women into alt-right ideology. archive.ph/JtPNW www.independent.co.uk/life-style/t...