☕️ Teen arrested over fake AI images

Somehow we’re nearly halfway through the year, which means it is about to be tax time. The joy!

Last week, we asked our audience to send in any questions they had about tax, and then we answered them as simply as we could in this bonus episode of TDA’s podcast.

I think it’s one of my favourite episodes we’ve done. Highly recommend listening!

“I’m absolutely, 150%, prepared to take accountability for those things that I did and mistakes that I made. Bad, bad, bad behaviour, sometimes. Pushing the boundaries… being too handsy, touching someone sexually in a way that I didn’t know at the time they didn’t want.”
Actor Kevin Spacey in an interview with Piers Morgan about allegations of sexual assault and harassment against him. Spacey has denied all allegations and has never been found guilty in any trial.

130,600
The number of New Zealanders who migrated to other countries in the year to April — the highest rate of migrant departures from New Zealand on record, according to Stats NZ. Departures were up by a third compared to the previous year.

1971
The New York Times published the first instalment of the Pentagon Papers, leaking government information about U.S. political and military involvement during the Vietnam War.

A Victorian teenager has been arrested after AI-generated nude photos of dozens of school girls were shared online.

The victims are students of Bacchus Marsh Grammar, west of Melbourne.

Acting Principal Kevin Richardson told TDA the school became aware of explicit images of some of its students spreading online.

Victoria Police confirmed a teen boy was questioned and released from police custody this morning.

Explicit photos and videos containing doctored images of female Bacchus Marsh Grammar students first began appearing online last Friday.

The school contacted Victoria Police once it became aware of the photos.

It's been widely reported the images of around 50 students were generated by artificial intelligence.

Police confirmed to TDA that a teenage boy was arrested this week in connection to the explicit photos. It’s not known if the boy was a Bacchus Marsh Grammar student.

Police said he has been released from custody as their investigations continue.

Acting Principal Kevin Richardson said “all students” affected by the incident were being offered support from their Wellbeing Staff.

Response

Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan called the incident “disgraceful and misogynistic.”

“Women and girls deserve respect in class, online and everywhere else in our community,” Allan told TDA.

The eSafety Commissioner has urged anyone concerned about the non-consensual sharing of their intimate images to report it to eSafety.

Commissioner Julie Inman Grant told TDA: “Deepfakes, especially deepfake pornography, can be devastating to the person whose image is taken and altered without their knowledge or consent, no matter who they are.”

Millions of voters favoured right-wing parties in last week’s European Union elections.

Polls were held over four days to determine the European parliament’s 720 members.

A right-wing surge saw parties to the centre and left of European politics lose seats in the parliamentary body.

This included wins for France’s far-right Opposition, led by Marine Le Pen — prompting current President Emmanuel Macron to call a national election.

Parliamentary elections are held every five years. This year, around 51% of 370 million eligible voters turned up to cast their ballots.

The 27 EU countries elect a number of MPs based on the size of their population, ranging from Malta’s six to Germany’s 96.

Voters choose a party in their respective country. Based on how many votes they get, the parties are then grouped into “blocs”, ranging from the left-wing “Socialists and Democrats” (S&D) to the centre-right “European People's Party” (EPP).

Polling company Focaldata surveyed 6,000 voters before the election.

Voters’ top issues were the cost of living (20%), immigration (14%), and climate change (10%).

Many Europeans have been affected by Russia’s war in Ukraine (not EU members), which has caused gas shortages and grocery price spikes.

The centre-right EPP has increased its share of the vote compared to the last election in 2019.

It won 186 out of 720 seats, making it the largest bloc in the European Parliament.

The centre-left S&D lost four seats, but remained in second place at 135.

Renew Europe, a centrist pro-Europe group, lost 23 seats, while the progressive Green alliance lost 18 seats.

Two major right-wing political blocs – the European Conservatives and Reformists Group (ECR) and the far-right Identity and Democracy Group (ID) – both increased their vote share.

Voters in France, Germany, and Italy all increased their support for far-right parties in their respective elections.

In Italy, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s far-right ‘Brothers of Italy’ party increased its vote share from around 6% to 29%.

Meanwhile, the AfD in Germany – a far-right, anti-immigration party – lifted its support from 11% to 16%.

The new European Parliament will be largely controlled by the EPP, Renew Europe, and S&D parties.

However, right-wing parties have a larger overall presence.

Susi Dennison, an analyst at the European Council on Foreign Relations (an international think tank), said it was a “good night for the far right”.

She said more progressive parties lost support, signalling a broader shift to the right.

Renew Europe President Valérie Hayer, whose party lost a significant amount of support, said: “The rise of the far-right in some countries is an alarm that must be taken seriously if we want to preserve Europe”.

In France, the far-right group Rassemblement National increased its vote to more than 31%, up from 23% in 2019. The group is led by Marine Le Pen, President Emmanuel Macron’s main opponent over the last two presidential elections.

In response, Macron called a snap election for the parliamentary assembly, which will be held on 30 June and 7 July.

In a televised address, Macron told voters he “heard [their] message, and will not let it go without a response”.

Navigating skincare terms on the back of a bottle can often feel like you're deep in code... You might have heard of ingredients like niacinamide and hyaluronic acid, but what about Melasyl?

Melasyl is the key ingredient in La Roche Posay’s new Mela B3 Dark Spot Niacinamide Serum. It is designed to target pigmentation, including sun and age spots. After 18 years of research, this formula has been shown to reduce dark spots by 85%.*

So, next time you encounter those perplexing skincare terms, consider Melasyl—an option for those hoping to address concerns of radiant, spot-free skin.

^{*According to La Roche Posay clinical scoring.}

The 66 million year old fossil, aptly nicknamed Victoria, was discovered in 2013 in the U.S. state of South Dakota.

At 12 metres long it’s one of the most complete T-rex fossils in the world, and will be the first real T-rex fossil ever exhibited in the state of Victoria.

“No cheese, Gromit. Look at all this cruelty on RSPCA farms!”

That’s what a vandalised portrait of King Charles briefly said, after protesters covered his face with an image of Wallace from the UK film and TV series “Wallace and Gromit”, alongside a text bubble.

Protesters from Animal Rising vandalised the portrait to draw attention to overcrowding in sheds and cages at ‘RSPCA approved’ farms.

The portrait is housed behind a protective glass covering, so the actual painting wasn’t damaged by the protest.

The portrait of King Charles III by Jonathon Yeo is on public display at the Philip Mould Gallery in London.

Global levels of peace deteriorated at historic rates over the past year, according to new data from the Institute for Economics & Peace. The independent think tank compared levels of peacefulness across 163 countries for its annual Global Peace Index, finding global conflicts have reached their highest rate since World War II.

But how do you define peace, and how is it measured? The Institute for Economics and Peace Executive Director Americas Michael Collins joins us in the deep dive.