Tech

Middle East streamer OSN+ is joining forces with Anghami, the Arab world’s rival to Spotify, in what is being touted as a landmark deal. The combination of OSN+ and Anghami will become the first platform in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region to provide customers premium movies, TV series and music. It will combine

Elon Musk, as promised, is hauling Media Matters into court — alleging the liberal watchdog group “knowingly and maliciously manufactured” images depicting neo-Nazi and white-nationalist posts on X next to major marketers’ ads. The complaint seeks unspecified monetary damages, as well as an injunction requiring Media Matters to “immediately delete, take down or otherwise remove”

After a flurry of weekend negotiations, Microsoft said it hired Sam Altman — two days after the board of OpenAI abruptly ousted him as CEO — while OpenAI recruited Emmett Shear, most recently chief executive of livestreaming platform Twitch, to step in as interim CEO. Altman will lead a new artificial-intelligence research team at Microsoft,

Colleen Ballinger has addressed her infamous ukulele apology video, posted in June, in which she denied allegations of grooming through song. In a new video simply titled “fall vlog,” Ballinger returned to YouTube for the first time in four months and acknowledged that the apology was “really embarrassing.” “Obviously, the last video that I posted

After a spate of major advertisers said they were halting spending on X over owner Elon Musk’s support of an antisemitic conspiracy theory, the tech mogul said he plans to file a “thermonuclear lawsuit” against a research group that had claimed to find ads on X/Twitter running against pro-Nazi and white nationalist posts. On Friday,

In a dramatic shakeup at artificial intelligence pioneer OpenAI, the organization said chief exec and co-founder Sam Altman is exiting after its board lost confidence in his “ability to continue leading OpenAI.” San Francisco-based OpenAI is a private research lab that develops AI, founded in 2015 as a nonprofit organization by Altman, Elon Musk (who

Alarmed by an apparent surge of antisemitic content and misinformation on TikTok following the Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist massacre of Israeli civilians, a group of Jewish celebrities and influencers met this week with execs of the video app to voice their concerns. More than 30 people joined the 90-minute video call, including actors Sacha Baron

The White House condemned Elon Musk as promoting “antisemitic and racist hate” after the tech mogul endorsed a conspiracy theory that Jewish people “promote hatred against whites.” On Wednesday, Musk — CEO of Tesla and SpaceX and owner of X — agreed with an X user who promoted the conspiracy theory that Jewish communities “have

Kelly Rizzo, TV personality and entrepreneur who is the wife of the late Bob Saget, is launching “Comfort Food,” a new weekly podcast in which she hosts intimate conversations with guests about life, love and loss — while tucking into emotionally comforting food. In January 2022, Saget died at a Florida hotel at the age

The European Commission has decided to freeze ads on Elon Musk‘s social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, Variety has confirmed. “We have seen an alarming increase in disinformation and hate speech on several social media platforms in recent weeks, and X is certainly quite effective of that,” European Commission spokesperson Johannes Bahrke said

YouTube has updated its monetization policy for adult content in two areas: Creators are now eligible to receive ad revenue from videos that feature “non-sexually graphic dance, such as twerking,” as well as content related to breastfeeding. In a notice posted Thursday, the video platform said certain content showcasing “sensual dancing” is now allowable under

IBM said it was immediately pulling advertising from Elon Musk‘s X, formerly known as Twitter, after a report found that ads for the tech giant had appeared next to posts supporting Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party. “IBM has zero tolerance for hate speech and discrimination and we have immediately suspended all advertising on X

Is it real — or is it YouTube‘s robot singer copying a pop star’s vocal stylings? YouTube announced new AI music experiments it has been developing with Google’s DeepMind artificial intelligence lab. The most interesting (and possibly most disorienting) of YouTube’s AI tests is Dream Track in YouTube Shorts. Here’s how it works: A user

Get ready for Gawker 3.0: The twice-shuttered blog site has a new owner, who plans to bring the gossipy pop-culture brand back to life — but not in exactly the same way. Meng Ru Kuok, CEO and founder of Singapore-based Caldecott Music Group, acquired the assets of Gawker from Bustle Digital Group. In an email

Model, investor and entrepreneur Karlie Kloss is acquiring fashion publication i-D Magazine from Vice Media Group, which recently restructured its business after emerging from bankruptcy. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. As part of the sale, Kloss will lead the British magazine as CEO, with i-D top editor Alastair McKimm to expand his

“La Vie en robots”? More than 60 years after her death, legendary French singer Edith Piaf will come to life in a new biopic that will use AI to recreate her voice and image. Warner Music Group announced that it has partnered with Piaf’s estate for “Edith,” set to be a 90-minute film set in

TikTok has long touted the app as a place to discover new music — and its ability to propel songs into viral hits. Now TikTok is hoping to derive incremental revenue from music fans who use the app. The company’s new Add to Music App feature lets users save songs from TikTok to third-party music

Rachell “Valkyrae” Hofstetter, one of the biggest female streamers and gaming creators in the world, has signed with talent agency WME for representation. She most recently was repped by UTA. Valkyrae is known for streaming games “Among Us,” “Fortnite” and “Valorant,” among others. She has more than 13.5 million followers in total across her social-media

An Elon Musk biopic is in development at A24 with Darren Aronofsky on board to direct, Variety has confirmed. Walter Isaacson’s authorized biography of the controversial tech mogul, which was published in September, will serve as the basis for the screenplay. Isaacson’s “Steve Jobs” book was previously adapted into the 2015 Universal film of the

Director Rob Reiner and journalist Soledad O’Brien have dug into the assassination of President John F. Kennedy — and they claim they have found evidence about who was really behind the killing. Reiner and O’Brien are the co-hosts of “Who Killed JFK?”, a 10-part podcast series featuring interviews with authors, witnesses, CIA officials and forensic

In the two years since Netflix launched its first games, the company has assembled a collection of 80-plus titles — but only a handful of those have been based on the streamer’s TV shows or movies, like a “Stranger Things” puzzle game and a “Queen’s Gambit” chess app. Now Netflix is bringing out four new

After more than 16 years, Jezebel, the sharp-edged feminist news and opinion website, is shutting down. Originally launched in 2007 by Gawker Media, Jezebel — which carried the tagline “Sex. Celebrity. Politics. With Teeth” — is being shuttered by current owner G/O Media, after an unsuccessful attempt to sell the site. In addition, G/O Media

Vice Media Group is undertaking a new restructuring plan — and shedding more staff — in the wake of its bankruptcy and asset sale. The cutbacks and reorg were announced by co-CEOs Bruce Dixon and Hozefa Lokhandwala in a memo to employees of the Brooklyn-based media company Thursday. A “number of Vice News shows have

Veeps, the streaming platform founded by Joel and Benji Madden, is expanding its reach to include a comedy vertical featuring new specials from superstars like David Cross, Brad Williams, Katherine Ryan, and Reggie Watts. The Live Nation Entertainment-affiliated company will also be the exclusive streaming home for select sets from SF Sketchfest’s 21st edition in

Paramount+ has signed a partnership with Microsoft for the streaming service to be available on Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S across several international markets.  Under the deal, Paramount+ will roll out on Xbox consoles in Australia, Austria, Canada, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Latin America (including Brazil), Switzerland and the U.K. The offer will include

Disney, which is in the home stretch of swinging the deal to become the full owner of Hulu, will launch a beta test of an app next month that combines Disney+ and Hulu into a single experience for subscribers of both services, CEO Bob Iger said. Disney still needs to close its deal with Comcast

Binge-watching, America’s new favorite pastime, has become more expensive than ever. In October alone, seven top streaming plans increased their U.S. pricing. Apple TV+ now costs $9.99 a month — marking the second increase in a year — while Netflix raised prices on two plans. Also last month, Disney hiked fees for Disney+ and Hulu

SiriusXM rolled out a new logo, a brand-new app — with a cheaper monthly streaming plan — and a slate of new channels and shows, all aimed at helping the company grow beyond its satellite-radio roots. The new SiriusXM streaming app will be available to subscribers across North America starting Dec. 14 in Apple’s App

Spotify has launched its audiobook perk for Premium subscribers in the U.S., offering access to more than 200,000 audiobooks — available for no extra charge, but limited to only about two titles per month. The rollout comes after the audio streamer launched the audiobooks catalog for paying members in Australia and the U.K. last month.

CAA has signed Haley Kalil, a scientist turned Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue model, comedic content creator and actor. The Minnesota native attended St. Cloud State University where she graduated summa cum laude with a bachelor of science degree in medical biology and psychology and a minor in chemistry. After competing in pageants as a teen