Social media giant Meta has offered to pay up to $5,000 (£4,040) to popular creators in the United States who join Facebook and Instagram.

It says those joining from “third-party social apps” will get cash based on “an evaluation of your social presence”.

Though it does not mention TikTok by name, the timing would suggest Meta is attempting to capitalise on the uncertainty surrounding its rival, as questions swirl about whether President Trump can find a way of preserving it for US users.

TikTok says it has 170 million users in the US – with many of them relying on it for their livelihoods – meaning lots of people would be seeking an alternative place to post if the platform disappeared.

Meta says on its website that those accepted into the so-called “Breakthrough bonus programme” will be paid the money during their first 90 days on the app, so long as they post regularly.

Users must post at least 20 reels on Facebook and 10 reels on Instagram – Meta’s version of vertical TikTok videos – during each 30-day period.

It also dictates that these must be original videos, rather than those previously shared on other platforms.

But not everyone can join – the cash will only be available to those people who are completely new to either Facebook or Instagram.

And the firm will seemingly decide who to accept on a case-by-case basis, as people must apply to be accepted onto the programme.

It is also offering other perks, such as a free subscription to its blue check verification system.

This is not the first move by Meta to go after ByteDance’s users.

On Sunday, the firm announced Edits, an app strikingly similar to ByteDance’s CapCut – a video editing app which went offline when the ByteDance ban took effect that same day.

And two days earlier, Meta posted a video in which two creators discussed Facebook’s “new affiliate link experience for your shoppable content” – in other words Meta’s attempt to build its own version of the highly successful TikTok Shop.

In the new system, Meta users will be able to add prominent affiliate links directly on their videos – rather than in the comments – exactly how it works on TikTok.

But that’s not all the changes Meta has made – and perhaps the most visually significant is a direct change to how Instagram looks.

Rather than posts and videos being square on user profiles, they are now rectangular – again, clearly taking inspiration from TikTok.

This has led to some backlash from creators frustrated that their profiles now look different, and Instagram boss Adam Mosseri said he was aware of the criticisms.

“One of the mistakes I made was not giving people enough of a heads up,” he said in a post on Threads – a platform which was itself launched by Meta in attempt to capitalise on the turbulence at Twitter, now X.

Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world

Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email

Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email

The top children’s slang words have been revealed by Oxford University Press, with many of the words leaving people scratching their heads.

While “Artificial intelligence” lost out to “Kindness” as the 2024 Children’s Word of the Year, children also had the opportunity to vote on their favourite slang words.

More than 3,000 children across the UK aged six to 14 were asked for their word of the year, with “kindness”, “artificial intelligence” and “conflict” among the most common suggestions, according to publisher Oxford University Press (OUP).

These three words, along with three shortlisted slang words chosen from a a survey of 1,200 children, were then put to a vote by a further 2,000 children.

More than one in four surveyed for a slang word chose “slay”, which has appeared on the colloquial shortlist for the past two years. The terms “sigma” and “skibidi” were voted as second and third choices respectively.

Sigma – a term popularised by figures such as controversial influencer Andrew Tate – is used to describe a highly successful and independent person. The slang term is typically used to describe a “self-reliant” male. It is not to be confused with the eighteenth letter of the Greek alphabet.

The term “slay”, refers to someone who is stylish or successful. It can also mean to impress someone very much or to be very good. It was voted children’s most preferred slang term.

The third most popular term was “skibidi”, which has become prevalent among Gen Alpha – those born after 2010.

open image in gallery

Skibidi has no real meaning – it can simultaneously mean bad or good or weird, depending on the context of the conversation. It can also be used a gibberish filler word.

Children surveyed for the OUP poll gave examples of when they would use the term, including, “my chances of winning are very skibidi” and, “oh, it’s totally skibidi mode”.

The phrase first appeared in the “Skibidi Toilet” online series on YouTube. Alexey Gerasimov posted the first video in the series to the website in February 2023,and it swiftly gained popularity online, especially among kids. The animated film sees a battle between human-headed toilets and humanoid beings with electric devices for heads.

All three terms have been increasing in popularity due to social media, particularly TikTok and Instagram. More than one million children under 14 in the UK use TikTok, according to recent estimates.

Away from the perplexing slang terms, 61 per cent of children surveyed chose “kindness” as the Children’s Word of the Year, with some of them associating the word with mental health.

One child said that “it’s always important to be kind as a lot of people struggle with their mental health” while another said kindness is important “as you don’t know who is suffering”.

A quarter who were surveyed chose AI and 53 per cent of the children who selected the word associated it with positive adjectives including “excited” and “optimistic”.

Andrea Quincey, director of early years and primary publishing at OUP, said: “It is so encouraging that kindness has been voted — by a considerable majority — as the Oxford Children’s Word of the Year for 2024.

“We know from previous years that young people are very conscious of the big issues that can divide us as a society and attuned to the important role which language can play in bringing people together.

“This choice suggests something more personal: an awareness of mental health issues and of the hidden challenges others may be facing.

“It tells us that empathy and tolerance and the language we use matter, and that kindness is not only a solution to so many problems but is something everyone and anyone can do to make a difference.”

A Labour minister has defended “important judgements” made about withholding information in the Southport killings case, after police claimed they were “gagged” by the Crown Prosecution Service.

Employment minister Alison McGovern said decisions around information disclosure were crucial to protect the possibility of a trial and achieving justice.

READ THE FULL STORY HERE

Police officers hunting the killer of a senior banking executive who was found dead in her south-east London home are investigating whether the suspect may have fled abroad.

Marianne Kilonzi was found fatally beaten in her flat in Woolwich on Friday evening, the Met Police said.

A post-mortem examination gave the cause of death as blunt-force trauma and a head injury.

The 43-year-old, who was a vice president at the major financial institution Citibank, is believed to have known her attacker, the force said, adding that whether the suspect had fled abroad was one line of inquiry.

Officers had been called to Ms Kilonzi’s flat following reports of concerns for her welfare.

On Tuesday, Det Ch Insp Soren, who is leading the murder investigation, said: “We believe the suspect was known to Marianne and there is no wider risk to the public.

“This is a tragic crime and our thoughts at this incredibly difficult time are with Marianne’s loved ones and colleagues.”

In a statement, a Citibank spokesperson said: “We are deeply saddened by the tragic loss of our colleague.

“Our thoughts are with Marianne’s family and friends during this difficult time.”

People buying knives online will be asked for two types of identification as the government plans to prevent underage sales following the murder of three girls in Southport.

Axel Rudakubana, who admitted this week to killing the young girls last summer, bought the knife he killed them with from Amazon when he was 17, despite it being illegal to sell knives to under-18s.

Rudakubana, who also admitted 10 counts of attempted murder, had been referred to the anti-terror programme Prevent three times.

Politics latest: New powers needed to tackle knife crime, says minister

The government is proposing buyers will be asked to record a live video and submit an identity document, such as a passport, to prove their age.

Currently, when someone orders knives on Amazon they have to enter their date of birth and are told: “Valid photographic ID with a date of birth may also be required upon delivery.

“The driver will input your year of birth into their device and may then require an ID check to complete the age verification process.”

Amazon said it takes its “responsibility around the sale of all age-restricted items – including bladed products – extremely seriously” and has launched an investigation following the Southport attack.

A review of online knife sales by Commander Stephen Clayman, the National Police Chiefs’ Council’s lead for knife crime, has suggested stronger ID checks.

Commander Clayman was due to report at the end of this month, but the plans are now being brought forward after questions were raised about how easy it was for Rudakubana to buy a knife.

Read more:
Starmer says terrorism has changed and UK faces new threat
Family of Southport attacker ‘moved to secret location’
How Southport is trying to make sense of horror

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper announced an inquiry into the Southport attack on Monday, hours after Rudakubana’s unexpected guilty plea.

Minister Alison McGovern told Sky News’ Breakfast with Kay Burley: “I hope the inquiry can be as quick as possible.

“I don’t want to prejudge what the person, independently of government doing the inquiry might say, but I want it to be as quick as humanly possible.”

The home secretary said it was a “total disgrace” Rudakubana had been “easily able to order a knife on Amazon”.

Labour won the summer’s election, just before the Southport attack, with a manifesto pledge to halve serious violence, including knife crime, over the next decade.

In September, zombie-style knives and machetes were added to the list of banned weapons and the government launched the Coalition to Tackle Knife Crime to bring together campaign groups, families of victims, young people impacted and community leaders.

New sanctions have also been announced for executives at tech companies that fail to halt illegal knife sales on their platforms.

Knife crime in areas of England has soared over the past five years, with the City of London seeing a 72.73% rise up to June 2024, Northumbria having a 46.2% increase and Avon and Somerset having a 25.56% rise, according to government statistics.

Between 2022 and 2024 knife crime surged by 307% in London.

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inbox

Get our free View from Westminster email

Get our free View from Westminster email

Sir Keir Starmer promised urgent action to prevent under-18s buying knives online, saying it was “shockingly easy” for killers such as Southport murderer Axel Rudakubana to get their hands on weapons.

Rudakubana used a knife bought from Amazon to kill three girls at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in Southport, Merseyside, in July.

The Government has promised new laws, which could see retailers forced to ask anyone buying a knife for two types of identification.

At Prime Minister’s Questions, Sir Keir said: “It is unacceptable that these murder weapons could be bought with two clicks. Technology is there to stop it, and we’re going to take action.”

He told MPs: “The senseless, barbaric murder of three young girls in Southport was devastating.

“A measure of justice has been done, but for the victims, the injured and the affected, we must see a fundamental change in how Britain protects its citizens and its children.”

He promised that the public inquiry announced by the Government “will not let any institution deflect from their failings” in the case.

Under the shake-up of online knife sale laws, buyers could be asked to submit an official identity document, such as a passport or driving licence, and also record a live video to prove their age.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper told MPs it is “a total disgrace” that Rudakubana, then 17 and with a history of violence, was able to buy a weapon online, and promised new measures in the Crime and Policing Bill this spring.

Writing in The Sun, Sir Keir said: “It remains shockingly easy for our children to get their hands on deadly knives. The lessons of this case could not be clearer.

“Time and again, as a child, the Southport murderer carried knives. Time and again, he showed clear intent to use them.

“And yet, tragically, he was still able to order the murder weapon off of the internet without any checks or barriers.”

The need for action on knife crime has been further illustrated after a 12-year-old boy was stabbed to death in Birmingham on Tuesday.

A 14-year-old boy has been arrested on suspicion of murder after the youngster was found with serious injuries near Scribers Lane in Hall Green shortly after 3pm on Tuesday.

Commander Stephen Clayman, of the National Police Chiefs’ Council, is leading a review of online knife sales and had been due to report at the end of this month, but the plans are now being brought forward.

The forthcoming Crime and Policing Bill is also set to introduce new sanctions for senior tech executives whose companies fail to operate within the law on knife sales.

The current law states that retailers must verify the age of the customer before selling a knife and, for those bought online, at the point of collection or delivery.

An Amazon spokesman said: “We take our responsibility around the sale of all age-restricted items – including bladed products – extremely seriously and have launched an urgent investigation in relation to this tragic case.

“We use trusted ID verification services to check name, date of birth and address details whenever an order is placed for these bladed items.

“We have an age-verification-on-delivery process that requires drivers to verify the recipient’s age through an app on their devices before handing over a parcel containing an age-restricted item.”

GMP

‘Safe and reintegrated’

The shocking details of a bill giving the government unprecedented power to pursue net zero and other eco-goals have been revealed.

The ‘Climate and Nature Bill’, which will have its second reading on Friday, will legally bind the UK government and the Secretary of State for Energy to achieving net zero and a slew of other green targets described by some as ‘national self-harm’.

Roz Savage, Lib Dem MP and leader of the Climate and Nature Bill

HoC Official Portrait