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Google loses defamation fight against Australian politician

AFP

Australia’s federal court ordered Google on Monday to pay more than $500,000 in damages to a politician after finding he had been defamed by a comedian’s videos hosted on YouTube.

John Barilaro was deputy premier of the state of New South Wales in 2020, when an Australian comedian known as friendlyjordies uploaded a series of videos to YouTube, accusing the politician of corruption and using an Italian accent to mock his heritage.

Barilaro labelled the videos racist, and broke down in court watching one that had been filmed by friendlyjordies at a luxurious property that the politician owned and rented out on Airbnb.

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“I’m traumatised by it,” Barilaro said during his testimony.

Barilaro settled with friendlyjordies, whose real name is Jordan Shanks, in late 2021, with the comedian issuing an apology and agreeing to edit the videos, which have now been viewed more than one million times on YouTube.

While Google, which owns YouTube, had initially defended the case, the search giant eventually abandoned its defences, some of which the court said were “obviously hopeless”.

Justice Steven Rares found Google liable for the harm caused to Barilaro from December 2020 — when the politician’s lawyers wrote to the company demanding the offending videos be removed — and ordered it to pay aggravated damages. 

The judge found Google’s publication of the videos drove Barilaro from public office prematurely — he resigned from parliament in October 2020 — “and traumatised him significantly”. 

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He also said Shanks “needed YouTube to disseminate his poison” and said Google was willing to join the comedian “to earn revenue as part of its business model”.

Google has been approached for comment.

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International

President Boric announces curfew following triple police homicide in Chile

Chile offers residency and Chilean nationality to Nicaraguan opponents

Chilean President Gabriel Boric has implemented a nighttime curfew in three municipalities of the Biobío region following the murder of three police officers. The Chilean leader emphasized that “criminals will answer to Chile and its justice system.”

In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, Boric stated that he made the decision “after discussing with the General Director of the Carabineros, the Chiefs of Staff of the Armed Forces, the Head of National Defense, and the Chief of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, having also considered various alternatives and taking into account the needs of the ongoing investigation.”

He further detailed that “I have instructed to decree a curfew in the municipalities of Cañete, Contulmo, and Tirúa from midnight to 7:00 AM. Additionally, police and military presence will be intensified to our utmost capacity with joint patrols in the area.”

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International

President López Obrador meets with Astros and Rockies ahead of Mexico City Series

Last Friday, before the 2024 Mexico City Series between the Astros and Rockies at Alfredo Harp Helú Stadium in Mexico City, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador met with representatives from both teams.

Through his social media, the President shared his interaction with executives from the Houston and Colorado teams, as well as with Astros’ Mexican pitcher, José Urquidy.

“Yesterday (Friday), before starting the tour, I had breakfast with executives and friends from the Houston Astros and the Colorado Rockies. There’s increasingly more baseball fever in our country,” López Obrador wrote.

The photos also featured former Mexican major leaguers Vinicio “Vinny” Castilla and Jorge de la Rosa, both of whom played for the Colorado team.

On Saturday night, the Houston Astros won the first game in the “capital inferno,” home of the Mexico City Red Devils, with a commanding score of 12 to 4.

This Sunday, the second game of the series will take place at AHH, with both teams arriving in Mexico on a losing streak. Another great Major League celebration is anticipated at the “fire diamond.”

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International

Social media star Om Fahad fatally shot in Baghdad

An Iraqi TikToker, previously sentenced to prison last year for posting content deemed “indecent” on social media, was fatally shot in Baghdad on Friday, according to two security officials.

Om Fahad, who had tens of thousands of followers on TikTok and Instagram, gained fame for her videos featuring her in tight outfits dancing to Iraqi music, in a country that is predominantly conservative and patriarchal.

The young woman was shot by an assailant on a motorcycle while she was in her vehicle outside her home in central Baghdad, two security officials reported anonymously to AFP.

In February 2023, a court initially sentenced Om Fahad to six months in jail for “publishing various videos with indecent intentions that violate modesty and public morals.”

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