US news consumers are turning to Joe Rogan, AI chatbots

Prominent podcasters like Joe Rogan are playing a bigger role in news dissemination in the United States, as are AI chatbots, contributing to the further erosion of traditional media, according to a report.
In the week following the January 2025 US presidential inauguration, more Americans said they got their news from social and video networks than from TV and news websites and apps - the first time that shift has occurred, the report said.
Traditional US news media increasingly risks being eclipsed by online personalities and creators, the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism said in its annual Digital News Report, which is based on an online survey of almost 100,000 people in 48 markets, including the United States.
The trend is particularly acute among young Americans.
Over half of people under age 35 in the US are relying on social media and video networks as their main source for news, the report found. Across the countries the report surveyed, 44 per cent of people aged 18 to 24 said these networks are their main source of news.
One-fifth of a sampled group of Americans came across news or commentary from podcaster Rogan in the week following the presidential inauguration, the report found, while 14 per cent of respondents said they had come across former Fox News anchor Tucker Carlson discussing or commenting on news during that period. Carlson now generates content across multiple social media and video networks.
The vast majority of the most followed commentators who discuss politics are men, the report found.
"These are not just big numbers in themselves," wrote Nic Newman, Senior Research Associate at the Oxford, UK-based Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism.
"These creators are also attracting audiences that traditional media struggle to reach. Some of the most popular personalities over-index with young men, with right-leaning audiences, and with those that have low levels of trust in mainstream media outlets, seeing them as biased or part of a liberal elite."
Despite their popularity, online influencers and personalities are seen as the biggest sources of false or misleading information worldwide, along with politicians, the report found.
Over 70 per cent of Americans say they remain concerned about their ability to tell what is true from what is false when it comes to news online, a similar proportion to last year.
AI is another emerging theme in news consumption, particularly for young people. Of respondents under age 25, 15 per cent rely on AI chatbots and interfaces for news each week, compared to seven per cent of respondents overall, the report found.
ChatGPT was the most mentioned AI service for news, followed by Google's Gemini and Meta AI.
The trend is raising concerns about a potential loss of search referral traffic to publisher websites and apps, the report found, as chatbots eliminate the need for users to click on a story link.
Text remains the most preferred way for people worldwide to consume news, although around a third say they prefer to watch the news online and 15 per cent say they prefer to listen.
Social media platform X, formerly Twitter, is also becoming a more popular source of news in the United States, particularly among right-leaning users and young men, with 23 per cent of sampled Americans consuming news there - up eight percentage points from last year.
Levels of trust in news across markets are currently stable at 40 per cent, and unchanged for the last three years, the report found.
Prominent podcasters like Joe Rogan are playing a bigger role in news dissemination in the United States, as are AI chatbots, contributing to the further erosion of traditional media, according to a report.
In the week following the January 2025 US presidential inauguration, more Americans said they got their news from social and video networks than from TV and news websites and apps - the first time that shift has occurred, the report said.
Traditional US news media increasingly risks being eclipsed by online personalities and creators, the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism said in its annual Digital News Report, which is based on an online survey of almost 100,000 people in 48 markets, including the United States.
The trend is particularly acute among young Americans.
Over half of people under age 35 in the US are relying on social media and video networks as their main source for news, the report found. Across the countries the report surveyed, 44 per cent of people aged 18 to 24 said these networks are their main source of news.
One-fifth of a sampled group of Americans came across news or commentary from podcaster Rogan in the week following the presidential inauguration, the report found, while 14 per cent of respondents said they had come across former Fox News anchor Tucker Carlson discussing or commenting on news during that period. Carlson now generates content across multiple social media and video networks.
The vast majority of the most followed commentators who discuss politics are men, the report found.
"These are not just big numbers in themselves," wrote Nic Newman, Senior Research Associate at the Oxford, UK-based Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism.
"These creators are also attracting audiences that traditional media struggle to reach. Some of the most popular personalities over-index with young men, with right-leaning audiences, and with those that have low levels of trust in mainstream media outlets, seeing them as biased or part of a liberal elite."
Despite their popularity, online influencers and personalities are seen as the biggest sources of false or misleading information worldwide, along with politicians, the report found.
Over 70 per cent of Americans say they remain concerned about their ability to tell what is true from what is false when it comes to news online, a similar proportion to last year.
AI is another emerging theme in news consumption, particularly for young people. Of respondents under age 25, 15 per cent rely on AI chatbots and interfaces for news each week, compared to seven per cent of respondents overall, the report found.
ChatGPT was the most mentioned AI service for news, followed by Google's Gemini and Meta AI.
The trend is raising concerns about a potential loss of search referral traffic to publisher websites and apps, the report found, as chatbots eliminate the need for users to click on a story link.
Text remains the most preferred way for people worldwide to consume news, although around a third say they prefer to watch the news online and 15 per cent say they prefer to listen.
Social media platform X, formerly Twitter, is also becoming a more popular source of news in the United States, particularly among right-leaning users and young men, with 23 per cent of sampled Americans consuming news there - up eight percentage points from last year.
Levels of trust in news across markets are currently stable at 40 per cent, and unchanged for the last three years, the report found.
Prominent podcasters like Joe Rogan are playing a bigger role in news dissemination in the United States, as are AI chatbots, contributing to the further erosion of traditional media, according to a report.
In the week following the January 2025 US presidential inauguration, more Americans said they got their news from social and video networks than from TV and news websites and apps - the first time that shift has occurred, the report said.
Traditional US news media increasingly risks being eclipsed by online personalities and creators, the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism said in its annual Digital News Report, which is based on an online survey of almost 100,000 people in 48 markets, including the United States.
The trend is particularly acute among young Americans.
Over half of people under age 35 in the US are relying on social media and video networks as their main source for news, the report found. Across the countries the report surveyed, 44 per cent of people aged 18 to 24 said these networks are their main source of news.
One-fifth of a sampled group of Americans came across news or commentary from podcaster Rogan in the week following the presidential inauguration, the report found, while 14 per cent of respondents said they had come across former Fox News anchor Tucker Carlson discussing or commenting on news during that period. Carlson now generates content across multiple social media and video networks.
The vast majority of the most followed commentators who discuss politics are men, the report found.
"These are not just big numbers in themselves," wrote Nic Newman, Senior Research Associate at the Oxford, UK-based Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism.
"These creators are also attracting audiences that traditional media struggle to reach. Some of the most popular personalities over-index with young men, with right-leaning audiences, and with those that have low levels of trust in mainstream media outlets, seeing them as biased or part of a liberal elite."
Despite their popularity, online influencers and personalities are seen as the biggest sources of false or misleading information worldwide, along with politicians, the report found.
Over 70 per cent of Americans say they remain concerned about their ability to tell what is true from what is false when it comes to news online, a similar proportion to last year.
AI is another emerging theme in news consumption, particularly for young people. Of respondents under age 25, 15 per cent rely on AI chatbots and interfaces for news each week, compared to seven per cent of respondents overall, the report found.
ChatGPT was the most mentioned AI service for news, followed by Google's Gemini and Meta AI.
The trend is raising concerns about a potential loss of search referral traffic to publisher websites and apps, the report found, as chatbots eliminate the need for users to click on a story link.
Text remains the most preferred way for people worldwide to consume news, although around a third say they prefer to watch the news online and 15 per cent say they prefer to listen.
Social media platform X, formerly Twitter, is also becoming a more popular source of news in the United States, particularly among right-leaning users and young men, with 23 per cent of sampled Americans consuming news there - up eight percentage points from last year.
Levels of trust in news across markets are currently stable at 40 per cent, and unchanged for the last three years, the report found.
Prominent podcasters like Joe Rogan are playing a bigger role in news dissemination in the United States, as are AI chatbots, contributing to the further erosion of traditional media, according to a report.
In the week following the January 2025 US presidential inauguration, more Americans said they got their news from social and video networks than from TV and news websites and apps - the first time that shift has occurred, the report said.
Traditional US news media increasingly risks being eclipsed by online personalities and creators, the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism said in its annual Digital News Report, which is based on an online survey of almost 100,000 people in 48 markets, including the United States.
The trend is particularly acute among young Americans.
Over half of people under age 35 in the US are relying on social media and video networks as their main source for news, the report found. Across the countries the report surveyed, 44 per cent of people aged 18 to 24 said these networks are their main source of news.
One-fifth of a sampled group of Americans came across news or commentary from podcaster Rogan in the week following the presidential inauguration, the report found, while 14 per cent of respondents said they had come across former Fox News anchor Tucker Carlson discussing or commenting on news during that period. Carlson now generates content across multiple social media and video networks.
The vast majority of the most followed commentators who discuss politics are men, the report found.
"These are not just big numbers in themselves," wrote Nic Newman, Senior Research Associate at the Oxford, UK-based Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism.
"These creators are also attracting audiences that traditional media struggle to reach. Some of the most popular personalities over-index with young men, with right-leaning audiences, and with those that have low levels of trust in mainstream media outlets, seeing them as biased or part of a liberal elite."
Despite their popularity, online influencers and personalities are seen as the biggest sources of false or misleading information worldwide, along with politicians, the report found.
Over 70 per cent of Americans say they remain concerned about their ability to tell what is true from what is false when it comes to news online, a similar proportion to last year.
AI is another emerging theme in news consumption, particularly for young people. Of respondents under age 25, 15 per cent rely on AI chatbots and interfaces for news each week, compared to seven per cent of respondents overall, the report found.
ChatGPT was the most mentioned AI service for news, followed by Google's Gemini and Meta AI.
The trend is raising concerns about a potential loss of search referral traffic to publisher websites and apps, the report found, as chatbots eliminate the need for users to click on a story link.
Text remains the most preferred way for people worldwide to consume news, although around a third say they prefer to watch the news online and 15 per cent say they prefer to listen.
Social media platform X, formerly Twitter, is also becoming a more popular source of news in the United States, particularly among right-leaning users and young men, with 23 per cent of sampled Americans consuming news there - up eight percentage points from last year.
Levels of trust in news across markets are currently stable at 40 per cent, and unchanged for the last three years, the report found.

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Sydney Morning Herald

5 hours ago

• Sydney Morning Herald

‘Unpolished' Rogan's style wins the popular vote

Jordan Baker's article on Joe Rogan started off strong and nuanced, but ultimately fell short in a few areas (' Joe Rogan is unpolished. So why do men idolise him? ' June 15). At least three times Baker calls Joe Rogan a vaccine sceptic, yet does not include any evidence for this (such as a quote) other than just saying he is mates with RFK Jr. I'm a long-time listener of Joe Rogan and I thought this was a bit unfair. Baker also claims that Rogan declined an interview with Kamala Harris, yet the only evidence relating to this actually points to the opposite. Rogan has said he reached out to Harris, as well as Tim Walz, JD Vance and Donald Trump. I consider myself very left-wing, yet appreciate Rogan's generous and accommodating approach to conservatives and people who don't fit into mainstream politics, media and science. What journalists like Baker fail to consider is that to get three hours of unfiltered commentary from these people, you can't hammer them with questions Laura Tingle-style. I believe if a podcast is good enough for Bono and Bernie Sanders to appear on, then it's good enough for me to listen to. Wesley Thomas, Lilyfield Motley mobs Parnell Palme McGuinness is right, of course, about the loathsomeness of online mobs, and some of the treatment she received after appearing on the ABC's Q+A is truly disgusting (' I loved confronting the lefties on Q+A ', June 15), but these extremists aren't the only online group guilty of 'lazy thinking'. If you've ever been on the sewer that is X, formerly Twitter, and engaged with those challenging the Australian election result, the provision of social welfare, the plight of Ukraine, the championing of diversity in all its forms, the human rights of the LGBTQIA+ community and refugees, or the benefits of sunscreen (yes, I kid you not) and the efficacy of vaccines, you'd know what I mean. Idiots, zealots and trolls who subscribe to 'maxi-hatreds' come in all stripes, from far left to far right. Kerrie Wehbe, Blacktown Palme McGuinness suggests that the ABC's Q+A audiences didn't reflect the spectrum of community opinion as evenly as they were purported to. She seems not to have considered that they may have been representative of public opinion. Perhaps those representatives of social conservatism, to whom she refers as feeling intimidated and outnumbered when they go on such discussion panels, should consider why their contributions often meet such resistance from an audience that may, in fact, represent a fair balance of Australian social opinion. Alynn Pratt, Grenfell Parnell, since you are at the extreme right of opinions, those with views to the left of you aren't the 'left-wing mob', rather they are in the sensible centre. Peter Kamenyitzky, Castle Hill Young at heart The joy and exuberance exhibited in Sam Mooy's photo is simply wonderful (' Want to be bright? Talk to a 90-year-old ', June 15). The regular experience of the youthful meeting of young and old minds raises us all up as a community. Our public schools and our aged care facilities should all be commended for their deep links. It is a very special program and should be widened where possible around the state. Janice Creenaune, Austinmer

The Advertiser

9 hours ago

• The Advertiser

No diplomatic breakthrough as Israel-Iran war drags on

Talks aimed at de-escalating fighting between Israel and Iran have failed to produce a diplomatic breakthrough as the war enters its second week with a fresh round of strikes between the two adversaries. European ministers and Iran's top diplomat met on Friday in Geneva, Switzerland, as President Donald Trump continued to weigh US military involvement and worries rose over potential strikes on nuclear reactors. European officials expressed hope for future negotiations, and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said he was open to further dialogue while emphasising that Tehran had no interest in negotiating with the US while Israel continued attacking. "Iran is ready to consider diplomacy if aggression ceases and the aggressor is held accountable for its committed crimes," he told reporters. No date was set for the next round of talks. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel's military operation in Iran would continue "for as long as it takes" to eliminate what he called the existential threat of Iran's nuclear program and arsenal of ballistic missiles. But Netanyahu's goal could be out of reach without US help. Iran's underground Fordo uranium enrichment facility is considered to be out of reach to all but America's "bunker-buster" bombs. Trump said he would put off deciding whether to join Israel's air campaign against Iran for up to two weeks. The war between Israel and Iran erupted June 13, with Israeli air strikes targeting nuclear and military sites, top generals and nuclear scientists. At least 657 people, including 263 civilians, have been killed in Iran and more than 2000 wounded, according to a Washington-based Iranian human rights group. Iran has retaliated by firing 450 missiles and 1000 drones at Israel, according to Israeli army estimates. Most have been shot down by Israel's air defences, but at least 24 people in Israel have been killed and hundreds wounded. Israel's defence minister said on Saturday it killed a commander in Iran's Revolutionary Guard who financed and armed Hamas in preparation for the October 7, 2023, attack on Israel that sparked the 20-month long war in Gaza. Saeed Izadi, who was commander of the Palestine Corps for the elite Iranian Quds Force, was killed in an apartment in the city of Qom. Addressing an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council, Rafael Grossi, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, warned against attacks on Iran's nuclear reactors, particularly its only commercial nuclear power plant in the southern city of Bushehr. Israel has not targeted Iran's nuclear reactors, instead focusing its strikes on the main uranium enrichment facility at Natanz, centrifuge workshops near Tehran, laboratories in Isfahan and the country's Arak heavy water reactor southwest of the capital. Iran previously agreed to limit its uranium enrichment and allow international inspectors access to its nuclear sites under a 2015 deal with the US, France, China, Russia, Britain and Germany in exchange for sanctions relief. But after Trump pulled the US out of the deal during his first term, Iran began enriching uranium closer to weapons-grade levels and restricting access to its nuclear facilities. Iran has long maintained its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes. Israel said its warplanes hit dozens of military targets across Iran on Friday, including missile-manufacturing facilities, while an Iranian missile hit Israel's northern city of Haifa, wounding at least 31 people. Iranian state media reported explosions from Israeli strikes in an industrial area of Rasht, along the coast of the Caspian Sea. Israel's military had warned Iranians to leave the area around Rasht's Industrial City, but with Iran's internet shut off - now for more than 48 hours - it's unclear how many people could see the message. The Israeli military believes it has destroyed most of Iran's ballistic missile launchers, contributing to the steady decline in Iranian attacks. But several of the roughly three dozen missiles that Israel said Iran fired on Friday slipped through the country's aerial defences, setting off air-raid sirens across the country and sending shrapnel flying into a residential area in the southern city of Beersheba, where a hospital was hit on Thursday. Talks aimed at de-escalating fighting between Israel and Iran have failed to produce a diplomatic breakthrough as the war enters its second week with a fresh round of strikes between the two adversaries. European ministers and Iran's top diplomat met on Friday in Geneva, Switzerland, as President Donald Trump continued to weigh US military involvement and worries rose over potential strikes on nuclear reactors. European officials expressed hope for future negotiations, and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said he was open to further dialogue while emphasising that Tehran had no interest in negotiating with the US while Israel continued attacking. "Iran is ready to consider diplomacy if aggression ceases and the aggressor is held accountable for its committed crimes," he told reporters. No date was set for the next round of talks. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel's military operation in Iran would continue "for as long as it takes" to eliminate what he called the existential threat of Iran's nuclear program and arsenal of ballistic missiles. But Netanyahu's goal could be out of reach without US help. Iran's underground Fordo uranium enrichment facility is considered to be out of reach to all but America's "bunker-buster" bombs. Trump said he would put off deciding whether to join Israel's air campaign against Iran for up to two weeks. The war between Israel and Iran erupted June 13, with Israeli air strikes targeting nuclear and military sites, top generals and nuclear scientists. At least 657 people, including 263 civilians, have been killed in Iran and more than 2000 wounded, according to a Washington-based Iranian human rights group. Iran has retaliated by firing 450 missiles and 1000 drones at Israel, according to Israeli army estimates. Most have been shot down by Israel's air defences, but at least 24 people in Israel have been killed and hundreds wounded. Israel's defence minister said on Saturday it killed a commander in Iran's Revolutionary Guard who financed and armed Hamas in preparation for the October 7, 2023, attack on Israel that sparked the 20-month long war in Gaza. Saeed Izadi, who was commander of the Palestine Corps for the elite Iranian Quds Force, was killed in an apartment in the city of Qom. Addressing an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council, Rafael Grossi, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, warned against attacks on Iran's nuclear reactors, particularly its only commercial nuclear power plant in the southern city of Bushehr. Israel has not targeted Iran's nuclear reactors, instead focusing its strikes on the main uranium enrichment facility at Natanz, centrifuge workshops near Tehran, laboratories in Isfahan and the country's Arak heavy water reactor southwest of the capital. Iran previously agreed to limit its uranium enrichment and allow international inspectors access to its nuclear sites under a 2015 deal with the US, France, China, Russia, Britain and Germany in exchange for sanctions relief. But after Trump pulled the US out of the deal during his first term, Iran began enriching uranium closer to weapons-grade levels and restricting access to its nuclear facilities. Iran has long maintained its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes. Israel said its warplanes hit dozens of military targets across Iran on Friday, including missile-manufacturing facilities, while an Iranian missile hit Israel's northern city of Haifa, wounding at least 31 people. Iranian state media reported explosions from Israeli strikes in an industrial area of Rasht, along the coast of the Caspian Sea. Israel's military had warned Iranians to leave the area around Rasht's Industrial City, but with Iran's internet shut off - now for more than 48 hours - it's unclear how many people could see the message. The Israeli military believes it has destroyed most of Iran's ballistic missile launchers, contributing to the steady decline in Iranian attacks. But several of the roughly three dozen missiles that Israel said Iran fired on Friday slipped through the country's aerial defences, setting off air-raid sirens across the country and sending shrapnel flying into a residential area in the southern city of Beersheba, where a hospital was hit on Thursday. Talks aimed at de-escalating fighting between Israel and Iran have failed to produce a diplomatic breakthrough as the war enters its second week with a fresh round of strikes between the two adversaries. European ministers and Iran's top diplomat met on Friday in Geneva, Switzerland, as President Donald Trump continued to weigh US military involvement and worries rose over potential strikes on nuclear reactors. European officials expressed hope for future negotiations, and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said he was open to further dialogue while emphasising that Tehran had no interest in negotiating with the US while Israel continued attacking. "Iran is ready to consider diplomacy if aggression ceases and the aggressor is held accountable for its committed crimes," he told reporters. No date was set for the next round of talks. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel's military operation in Iran would continue "for as long as it takes" to eliminate what he called the existential threat of Iran's nuclear program and arsenal of ballistic missiles. But Netanyahu's goal could be out of reach without US help. Iran's underground Fordo uranium enrichment facility is considered to be out of reach to all but America's "bunker-buster" bombs. Trump said he would put off deciding whether to join Israel's air campaign against Iran for up to two weeks. The war between Israel and Iran erupted June 13, with Israeli air strikes targeting nuclear and military sites, top generals and nuclear scientists. At least 657 people, including 263 civilians, have been killed in Iran and more than 2000 wounded, according to a Washington-based Iranian human rights group. Iran has retaliated by firing 450 missiles and 1000 drones at Israel, according to Israeli army estimates. Most have been shot down by Israel's air defences, but at least 24 people in Israel have been killed and hundreds wounded. Israel's defence minister said on Saturday it killed a commander in Iran's Revolutionary Guard who financed and armed Hamas in preparation for the October 7, 2023, attack on Israel that sparked the 20-month long war in Gaza. Saeed Izadi, who was commander of the Palestine Corps for the elite Iranian Quds Force, was killed in an apartment in the city of Qom. Addressing an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council, Rafael Grossi, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, warned against attacks on Iran's nuclear reactors, particularly its only commercial nuclear power plant in the southern city of Bushehr. Israel has not targeted Iran's nuclear reactors, instead focusing its strikes on the main uranium enrichment facility at Natanz, centrifuge workshops near Tehran, laboratories in Isfahan and the country's Arak heavy water reactor southwest of the capital. Iran previously agreed to limit its uranium enrichment and allow international inspectors access to its nuclear sites under a 2015 deal with the US, France, China, Russia, Britain and Germany in exchange for sanctions relief. But after Trump pulled the US out of the deal during his first term, Iran began enriching uranium closer to weapons-grade levels and restricting access to its nuclear facilities. Iran has long maintained its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes. Israel said its warplanes hit dozens of military targets across Iran on Friday, including missile-manufacturing facilities, while an Iranian missile hit Israel's northern city of Haifa, wounding at least 31 people. Iranian state media reported explosions from Israeli strikes in an industrial area of Rasht, along the coast of the Caspian Sea. Israel's military had warned Iranians to leave the area around Rasht's Industrial City, but with Iran's internet shut off - now for more than 48 hours - it's unclear how many people could see the message. The Israeli military believes it has destroyed most of Iran's ballistic missile launchers, contributing to the steady decline in Iranian attacks. But several of the roughly three dozen missiles that Israel said Iran fired on Friday slipped through the country's aerial defences, setting off air-raid sirens across the country and sending shrapnel flying into a residential area in the southern city of Beersheba, where a hospital was hit on Thursday. Talks aimed at de-escalating fighting between Israel and Iran have failed to produce a diplomatic breakthrough as the war enters its second week with a fresh round of strikes between the two adversaries. European ministers and Iran's top diplomat met on Friday in Geneva, Switzerland, as President Donald Trump continued to weigh US military involvement and worries rose over potential strikes on nuclear reactors. European officials expressed hope for future negotiations, and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said he was open to further dialogue while emphasising that Tehran had no interest in negotiating with the US while Israel continued attacking. "Iran is ready to consider diplomacy if aggression ceases and the aggressor is held accountable for its committed crimes," he told reporters. No date was set for the next round of talks. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel's military operation in Iran would continue "for as long as it takes" to eliminate what he called the existential threat of Iran's nuclear program and arsenal of ballistic missiles. But Netanyahu's goal could be out of reach without US help. Iran's underground Fordo uranium enrichment facility is considered to be out of reach to all but America's "bunker-buster" bombs. Trump said he would put off deciding whether to join Israel's air campaign against Iran for up to two weeks. The war between Israel and Iran erupted June 13, with Israeli air strikes targeting nuclear and military sites, top generals and nuclear scientists. At least 657 people, including 263 civilians, have been killed in Iran and more than 2000 wounded, according to a Washington-based Iranian human rights group. Iran has retaliated by firing 450 missiles and 1000 drones at Israel, according to Israeli army estimates. Most have been shot down by Israel's air defences, but at least 24 people in Israel have been killed and hundreds wounded. Israel's defence minister said on Saturday it killed a commander in Iran's Revolutionary Guard who financed and armed Hamas in preparation for the October 7, 2023, attack on Israel that sparked the 20-month long war in Gaza. Saeed Izadi, who was commander of the Palestine Corps for the elite Iranian Quds Force, was killed in an apartment in the city of Qom. Addressing an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council, Rafael Grossi, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, warned against attacks on Iran's nuclear reactors, particularly its only commercial nuclear power plant in the southern city of Bushehr. Israel has not targeted Iran's nuclear reactors, instead focusing its strikes on the main uranium enrichment facility at Natanz, centrifuge workshops near Tehran, laboratories in Isfahan and the country's Arak heavy water reactor southwest of the capital. Iran previously agreed to limit its uranium enrichment and allow international inspectors access to its nuclear sites under a 2015 deal with the US, France, China, Russia, Britain and Germany in exchange for sanctions relief. But after Trump pulled the US out of the deal during his first term, Iran began enriching uranium closer to weapons-grade levels and restricting access to its nuclear facilities. Iran has long maintained its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes. Israel said its warplanes hit dozens of military targets across Iran on Friday, including missile-manufacturing facilities, while an Iranian missile hit Israel's northern city of Haifa, wounding at least 31 people. Iranian state media reported explosions from Israeli strikes in an industrial area of Rasht, along the coast of the Caspian Sea. Israel's military had warned Iranians to leave the area around Rasht's Industrial City, but with Iran's internet shut off - now for more than 48 hours - it's unclear how many people could see the message. The Israeli military believes it has destroyed most of Iran's ballistic missile launchers, contributing to the steady decline in Iranian attacks. But several of the roughly three dozen missiles that Israel said Iran fired on Friday slipped through the country's aerial defences, setting off air-raid sirens across the country and sending shrapnel flying into a residential area in the southern city of Beersheba, where a hospital was hit on Thursday.

Mercury

11 hours ago

• Mercury

Barron Trump may have made millions from family's lucrative crypto firm: report

Don't miss out on the headlines from World. Followed categories will be added to My News. Barron Trump, the youngest son of the 47th President, may have raked in millions of dollars from the sale of crypto tokens linked to the family's lucrative venture into digital tokens, according to a report. The 19-year-old New York University student could have picked up a cool $40 million (AU$61 million) — $25 million (AU$38 million) after taxes — from the sale of digital assets by World Liberty Financial, the Trump family firm launched nine months ago after Barron persuaded his dad about the benefits of crypto, Forbes reported. 'Barron knows so much about this,' commander-in-chief said during an interview in September after the launch. 'Barron's a young guy, but he knows it — he talks about his wallet. He's got four wallets or something, and I'm saying, 'What is a wallet?'' Barron Trump may have raked in millions. Picture: ANGELA WEISS / AFP. World Liberty has been a financial bonanza for the family. In March, World Liberty announced that it had sold $550 million (AU$850 million) worth of tokens. An Office of Government Ethics filing released by President Trump last week declared he had made $57 million (AU$88 million) from token sales. It also said that the real estate mogul held a 75 per cent stake in his umbrella company, DT Marks Defi LLC, with unnamed 'third parties' holding the other 25 per cent. Barron Trump is listed as a 'co-founder' of World Liberty Financial alongside the president, as well as Eric and Donald Trump Jr, the president's two eldest sons. Forbes, which provided no direct evidence for its claims of Barron Trump's massive digital windfall, suggested that he owned a 7.5 per cent stake in the Delaware-based umbrella firm. The stake would mirror what the NYU freshman holds in the Trump Organization's Washington, DC hotel, Forbes said. The 19-year-old New York University student could have picked up a cool US$40 million. Picture: Jim WATSON / AFP. Barron Trump's name does not appear in the company's solitary SEC filing from October 30 last year. Also listed as business partners in the venture are Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff and his son, Zachary. An analysis by Bloomberg, the financial news outlet, estimates the president's net worth has doubled since the start of his 2024 campaign, standing at just over US$5.4 billion This article originally appeared on the New York Post and has been republished with permission Originally published as Barron Trump may have made millions from family's lucrative crypto firm: report