Surged

• Sportsbook operators report that betting on the 2026 World Cup has surged past expectations, setting new records for the event. • The surge is driven by the tournament being hosted in North America, which allows U.S. audiences to attend and watch matches live. • High expectations for the U.S. national team and the presence of global stars like Lionel Messi are fueling increased wagering activity.

• Sportsbook operators are reporting record-breaking betting activity for the 2026 World Cup, with volume surging past initial expectations. • The surge is driven by the tournament being hosted in North America, which allows U.S. audiences to attend and watch matches live. • Increased interest is further fueled by high expectations for the U.S. national team and the presence of global stars like Lionel Messi.

Nearly one in six pieces of news shared in local Facebook groups during the campaign is false, Social Market Foundation report findsGood morning. Andy Burnham seems to be on course to win the Makerfield byelection on Thursday. But, if he does win, it will be despite a huge increase in the amount of hostile, fake news about him circulating on local Facebook groups. This has been documented in a report out today by the Social Market Foundation thinktank that has important implications not just for Makerfield, but for how politics functions today in a social media environment awash with lies.In its report, the SMF says:Nearly 1 in 6 pieces of news shared in local Facebook groups during the campaign is false, with misinformation heavily targeting Labour and its candidate Andy Burnham, a new study has found.The Social Market Foundation analysed over 1,800 posts across four local Facebook groups – representing different towns and settlements within the constituency with 66,000 members across them in total – and found that the share of news posts classified as misinformation jumped from 4% before the by-election was called to 16% during the campaign, a four-fold increase. Continue reading...

Party spent £252,000 in last two weeks of campaign on its main Facebook pages compared with Labour’s £276,000UK politics live – latest updatesReform UK ramped up the funding and sophistication of its political Facebook ads in the final weeks of campaigning for the May elections, in a sign of the growing financial muscle of Nigel Farage’s party.There were several days in the fortnight before the party’s breakthrough electoral performance when Reform spent more than any other party on the influential platform. Continue reading...