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Richard Luscombe

@richlusc.bsky.social
2.5K followers 459 following 166 posts

Journalist @theguardian.com, husband, father. But not always in that order. My latest scribblings: www.theguardian.com/profile/richard…

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Richard Luscombe @richlusc.bsky.social · 22h
All hail Backpack!!
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Reposted by Richard Luscombe
Will Craft @wcraft.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
This story was a big collaboration between graphics, data, photo, and immigration. A story with bylines across 4 desks, which I think shows the seriousness with which The Guardian takes covering this
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Richard Luscombe @richlusc.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Powerful stuff by my @us.theguardian.com colleague José Olivares: www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
theguardian.com
Three deaths, three states, 24 hours: one day in ICE’s quiet but ‘gruesome’ surge
These men in Maine, Georgia and Florida shared no ties – until they became casualties in Trump’s anti-immigration campaign
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Richard Luscombe @richlusc.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
In December, DeSantis’s spokesperson told me it was a “fabrication” that Alligator Alcatraz guards were shackling detainees in tiny metal cages. Today the governor’s office was caught in that lie. Its response was “we’d make the cages even smaller if we could”. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
theguardian.com
Alligator Alcatraz held detainees in cages the size of phone booths, DHS watchdog says
Office of inspector general’s report says practice at Florida immigration jail is not aligned with ‘humane treatment’
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Richard Luscombe @richlusc.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
This guy is 100% running for president again in 2028. Whether the red half of the nation finds him any more personable than last time remains to be seen. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
theguardian.com
Ron DeSantis offers ‘asylum’ to holdout juror in Lindsay Clancy trial
Governor believes Florida would ‘welcome’ juror if under harassment after alleged domestic violence incident in 2021
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Richard Luscombe @richlusc.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
Ron DeSantis will be gone as Florida governor in January. His legacy in higher education definitely won't be. Here's a look at how he installed allies, acolytes and cronies in plum roles on university and college campuses @us.theguardian.com www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
theguardian.com
How Ron DeSantis politicized Florida’s higher education by placing his loyalists at the top
Term-limited, hard-right governor instituted an ideological infiltration of universities by placing allies in powerful posts
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Richard Luscombe @richlusc.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
"Trespassing, trigger-happy" cop in Georgia shoots and kills family's pet donkey @guardianus.bsky.social www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
theguardian.com
Georgia police officer put on leave after family’s pet donkey killed during search
Donkey named HeeHaw was shot and killed as authorities reportedly looked on property in search of a missing person
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Richard Luscombe @richlusc.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
A look at Angie Nixon's Florida upset @guardianus.bsky.social www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
theguardian.com
Another democratic socialist victory – Angie Nixon in Florida – sends shock waves through party establishment
‘They call us extreme, they call us radical,’ the progressive Senate candidate said. ‘But I think people see through that’
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Richard Luscombe @richlusc.bsky.social · 11/08/2026
There's usually very little environmental news that comes out of Florida these days that's good or uplifting. This one is an exception @us.theguardian.com www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
theguardian.com
Can Florida’s ‘coastal corridor’ project safeguard wildlife and boost economy?
Conservationists have created a ‘coastal corridor’ of ocean-based projects designed to preserve and nourish vulnerable marine life
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Richard Luscombe @richlusc.bsky.social · 07/08/2026
Donald Trump launched an assault on America's national parks, and their history. Meet the amateur archivists determined to thwart him @us.theguardian.com www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-i...
theguardian.com
The amateur archivists racing to save US history in national parks against Trump administration censorship
Save Our Signs aims to document every sign in the more than 400 national parks and historic sites across the country before the Trump administration removes them
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Richard Luscombe @richlusc.bsky.social · 04/08/2026
Probably not the kind of publicity James Fishback was wanting as the FL governor’s primary approaches www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
theguardian.com
Far-right Republican accused of stiffing student debate champion of $8,000
Florida gubernatorial candidate James Fishback calls failure to pay Briana Whatley money owed ‘an oversight’
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Richard Luscombe @richlusc.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
"Our country is the mission": retired NASA crews form Astronauts for America to restore faith in constitutional and democratic principles @us.theguardian.com www.theguardian.com/science/2026...
theguardian.com
‘Our country is the mission’: more than 100 ex-Nasa astronauts launch new voting campaign
Astronauts for America liken effort to instill trust and faith back in constitution’s principles and democratic institutions to ‘making a course correction’
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Richard Luscombe @richlusc.bsky.social · 23/07/2026
"The things I’m doing are so preposterous that it’s hard to believe they’re real" An ever-modest Elon Musk presents himself as a modern-day Cassandra, as he reflects on Trump, AI, and the UK's upcoming "civil war" @us.theguardian.com www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
theguardian.com
Elon Musk says he got ‘carried away’ with Trump – but still holds on to contentious political views
In interview, billionaire says instead of running ‘Doge’ he should’ve ‘worked on my companies’ and shares extreme predictions
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Richard Luscombe @richlusc.bsky.social · 19/07/2026
Bumpy landings: Trump’s airport takeover runs into a little turbulence www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
theguardian.com
Trump’s rebranding of Palm Beach airport hasn’t taken off as he planned
Changes inside the Florida international airport are hardly evident as state and county hold back funds for full remodel
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Richard Luscombe @richlusc.bsky.social · 17/07/2026
End-of-week timeline cleanser: the best wildlife photos in one place to set you up for a much-needed, relaxing weekend. www.theguardian.com/environment/...
theguardian.com
Week in wildlife: a stuck raccoon, a hardy mouse and a well-camouflaged wildcat
This week’s best wildlife photographs from around the world
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Richard Luscombe @richlusc.bsky.social · 11/07/2026
"There’s a petulance and a vindictiveness endemic in these people”: powerful @us.theguardian.com investigation into a campaign of fear by Trump loyalists as they took over and gutted the Department of Homeland Security www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-i...
theguardian.com
Six-hour polygraphs, forced reassignments: inside homeland security’s campaign of fear
The ruthless gutting and reforming of the Department of Homeland Security has traumatized both workers and the most vulnerable immigrants
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Reposted by Richard Luscombe
Pablo Maurer @mlsist.bsky.social · 09/07/2026
New on the Guardian: The charter airline & aircraft used by the French national team for their travel during this summer's World Cup has flown dozens of deportation flights for ICE. More details - www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
theguardian.com
France national team uses ICE deportation planes for World Cup travel
The plane that French team used after match with Paraguay flew 44 deportation-related flights this year alone
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Richard Luscombe @richlusc.bsky.social · 02/07/2026
Stunning journalism here from The Guardian's Deleted Data initiative. How the Trump administration tried, and almost succeeded, in rewriting hundreds of years of National Park history; and the scars created by its campaign of censorship @guardianus.bsky.social www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-i...
theguardian.com
‘A sanitized view of America’: inside Trump’s campaign to erase US history from national parks
Critics say the Trump administration is trying to rewrite and whitewash history by removing and altering scores of signs on public lands
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Richard Luscombe @richlusc.bsky.social · 30/06/2026
A salutary and very sad reminder that alligators can lurk everywhere in Florida's waterways. During mating season, and times of drought when the water is low, they can be particularly aggressive www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
theguardian.com
Florida woman swimming in river killed in rare alligator attack at state forest
Officials say 31-year-old woman’s arm was severed in attack at a river in Seminole county’s Little Big Econ forest
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Richard Luscombe @richlusc.bsky.social · 24/06/2026
"If you spot a giraffe out and about in the Texas hill country, check its ears first before calling it in. Wouldn’t want to flood the hotline with mistaken identity"... thankfully a happy conclusion to the saga of Gracie the roaming giraffe @guardianus.bsky.social www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
theguardian.com
Gracie the giraffe who loves to wander found safe after search with community help
Local sheriff’s office appealed for citizens to keep their eye out for Gracie’s ‘rounded ears’ – to distinguish from any other missing giraffes
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Richard Luscombe @richlusc.bsky.social · 18/06/2026
This entertaining take by @craigtimes.bsky.social about the good work of some amazing scientists being overshadowed by Florida's carnival of crazy is well worth your time.
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Richard Luscombe @richlusc.bsky.social · 16/06/2026
As Kermit the frog used to sing: "It's not easy being green". Things going from bad to worse for Trump's makeover of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. Top work by @callumj.bsky.social @us.theguardian.com www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
theguardian.com
Algae thwarts Trump’s $14.2m attempt to turn reflecting pool ‘American flag blue’
Administration had claimed algae at Lincoln Memorial pool would be cleared after the renovation, but it has proliferated amid warm weather
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Richard Luscombe @richlusc.bsky.social · 11/06/2026
Things I never knew I never: what a "nanobubbler" is www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
theguardian.com
Before-and-after photos: Trump’s $14.2m makeover delivers … a blue pool
President steered no-bid contract for project that went from $1.8m to $14.2m to company that worked on his golf resort
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Richard Luscombe @richlusc.bsky.social · 09/06/2026
"A search of news archives turned up one other example of a reptile assisting law enforcement – a drug-sniffing bearded dragon named Iroh, sworn in by Arizona’s Avondale police department in 2017. The episode, however, turned out to be an April fool’s prank." www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
theguardian.com
Man attacked by alligator in swamp while fleeing police in Louisiana
Suspect, charged with driving while impaired, was eventually captured and arrested with injuries to his arms
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Richard Luscombe @richlusc.bsky.social · 09/06/2026
www.theguardian.com/science/2026...
theguardian.com
‘Earth’s first starfleet’: Nasa reveals Artemis III crew and project’s next steps
Luca Parmitano to pilot all-male crew of four paving way for planned first human landing on Artemis IV in 2028
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Richard Luscombe @richlusc.bsky.social · 05/06/2026
The call I listened to was distressing. Multiple detainees described filthy water and withholding of food and fresh water, and all were keen that their story is told. DeSantis's administration has not yet responded to their claims. My story for @us.theguardian.com www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
theguardian.com
‘Alligator Alcatraz’ detainees say guards deny them food and clean water until they sign English documents
Detainees say they’re given ‘rotten’ water and denied meals for not signing papers in English that they don’t understand
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Richard Luscombe @richlusc.bsky.social · 03/06/2026
Scott Pelley has something to say, and I think you'll want to hear it. Topmost account here by my @us.theguardian.com colleagues @annabetts.bsky.social and Jeremy Barr www.theguardian.com/media/2026/j...
theguardian.com
Fired 60 Minutes correspondent Scott Pelley says CBS told him to inject ‘falsehoods’ into reporting
Veteran journalist says executives pushed unverified claims and gave politicians a say in interviews
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Richard Luscombe @richlusc.bsky.social · 02/06/2026
Here's one of my favorite stories of the day. You can almost see the musket flashes and smell the gunpowder, as well as envisioning a parrot on a pirate's shoulder crowing "Pieces of eight"! Great work by the @theguardian.com's Dalya Alberge www.theguardian.com/world/2026/j...
theguardian.com
Musket balls and a burnt hull: evidence of real pirates of the Caribbean found in Bahamas
Exclusive: First shipwrecks found in Nassau harbour on New Providence, once the hideout of Blackbeard and Calico Jack
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Richard Luscombe @richlusc.bsky.social · 29/05/2026
Probably the funniest and most incisive read you'll find today. My colleague Drew Lawrence nails the post-Colbert foolishness on CBS www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio...
theguardian.com
Stephen Colbert’s Late Show replacement is a depressing sign of the times
After the politically incisive late-night host said his final goodnight last week, Byron Allen’s Comics Unleashed offered a grim look at where TV is heading
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Richard Luscombe @richlusc.bsky.social · 28/05/2026
Harambe, remember him? The silverback gorilla is back in the spotlight 10 years after his death, courtesy of a White House tweet lauding the primate as a great American patriot. Six months ago, the same WH ignored the passing of Republican former VP Dick Cheney www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
theguardian.com
‘True patriot’: White House pays bizarre tribute to Harambe 10 years after gorilla’s death
White House made lengthy post about gorilla shot dead at Cincinnati zoo after a toddler entered his enclosure in 2016
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Richard Luscombe @richlusc.bsky.social · 20/05/2026
Not certain we'll see Raúl Castro, 94, inside a Miami courtroom any time soon, but the Trump administration seems confident we will www.theguardian.com/world/2026/m...
theguardian.com
US indicts former Cuban president Raúl Castro as it seeks to oust regime
Charges filed in Miami against 94-year-old for allegedly shooting down exiles’ planes in 1996
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Richard Luscombe @richlusc.bsky.social · 18/05/2026
First vigil at Alligator Alcatraz since news that the notoriously harsh immigration jail in Florida’s Everglades might close. Protestors here say they will be here every week until that happens. “As long as it takes,” they say. @workerscircle.bsky.social www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
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Richard Luscombe @richlusc.bsky.social · 08/05/2026
Trump said he would deport "the worst of the worst" but my @us.theguardian.com colleagues @maanvisingh.bsky.social and @wcraft.bsky.social found that his immigration police arrested parents of up to 32,000 children, more than one-third of them US citizens www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
theguardian.com
We sued the Trump administration for these immigration records
The Guardian wanted to know who, exactly, was pulled into the mass-deportation dragnet of Trump’s second term
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Richard Luscombe @richlusc.bsky.social · 06/05/2026
We need a little good news, don’t we? www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle...
theguardian.com
Stuck on you: kitten rescued from bucket of glue bonds with foster parent
Two-month-old Elmer, painstakingly saved by canola oil baths, finds home with volunteer Leah Owens, 72
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Richard Luscombe @richlusc.bsky.social · 27/04/2026
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
theguardian.com
Cool as a cucumber: man calmly ate salad as press dinner shooting unfolded
Michael Glantz, a senior talent agent, says he ‘wasn’t scared’ and ‘wanted to watch’ as chaos unfolded at the event
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Richard Luscombe @richlusc.bsky.social · 24/04/2026
Big game hunter culled. So sad. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
theguardian.com
US millionaire big-game hunter dies after being crushed by elephants
Ernie Dosio, a 75-year-old vineyard owner, was hunting an antelope species in Africa when the incident occured
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Richard Luscombe @richlusc.bsky.social · 15/04/2026
Kudos to this quick-reacting Oklahoma high school principal for preventing a tragedy www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
theguardian.com
Oklahoma principal shot disarming ex-student with semi-automatic guns
Kirk Moore was injured as he tackled a former pupil who opened fire at Pauls Valley high school
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Richard Luscombe @richlusc.bsky.social · 11/04/2026
Artemis II splashdown. How wonderful are these images? www.theguardian.com/science/gall...
theguardian.com
Artemis II splashdown! – in pictures
Four astronauts landed in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California on Friday, concluding a historic 10-day mission around the moon
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Richard Luscombe @richlusc.bsky.social · 10/04/2026
Please follow along as we bring you live blog coverage of the splashdown of Artemis II and its four astronauts in the Pacific Ocean a short while from now www.theguardian.com/science/live...
theguardian.com
Artemis II splashdown: Orion capsule scheduled to land off California coast at just after 5pm local time – live updates
Follow the latest updates as astronauts prepare for fiery re-entry in Earth’s atmosphere after 10-day mission to fly around the moon
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Richard Luscombe @richlusc.bsky.social · 10/04/2026
They're coming home! www.theguardian.com/science/2026...
theguardian.com
Artemis II crew to end record-setting mission with Pacific Ocean splashdown
The four astronauts are set to touch down on Earth and conclude the 10-day mission after completing moon flyby
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Richard Luscombe @richlusc.bsky.social · 02/04/2026
Some amazing pictures of Artemis II from some very talented photographers! www.theguardian.com/science/gall...
theguardian.com
Artemis II lifts off from the Kennedy Space Center – in pictures
Nasa’s moon rocket Artemis II launched on Wednesday evening (US time), carrying astronauts to the moon for the first time in almost 54 years. The launch marks the first time since the Apollo 17 missio...
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Richard Luscombe @richlusc.bsky.social · 01/04/2026
Ran into AZ Senator & former astronaut Mark Kelly at the Kennedy Space Center awaiting the Artemis II launch. He’d love to clamber on board the Orion capsule. “If something happens in there, they need somebody to replace one of them, I'll be ready!” @us.theguardian.com
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Richard Luscombe @richlusc.bsky.social · 31/03/2026
Had a lot of fun talking to the @theguardian.com podcast folks about Wednesday's scheduled launch of Nasa's Artemis II moon rocket, ably assisted by Tim Peake, a promising young British astronaut recruit from the @ukspaceagency.bsky.social www.theguardian.com/news/audio/2...
theguardian.com
Blast off! Nasa goes back to the moon – podcast
Astronaut Tim Peake and Guardian journalist Richard Luscombe talk through Artemis II, the first manned mission to the moon for 50 years
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Richard Luscombe @richlusc.bsky.social · 30/03/2026
Spent some time at the Cape, where something's a-happening this week. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
theguardian.com
Florida space coast cities abuzz before Nasa’s Artemis launch: ‘At the doorstep of the future’
Cape Canaveral and Titusville, long ghost towns after 1969 moon landing, have witnessed space industry ‘renaissance’
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Richard Luscombe @richlusc.bsky.social · 17/03/2026
Don't think you want to be American any more? The exit ramp just got cheaper www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
theguardian.com
Trump administration to slash fee to renounce US citizenship from $2,350 to $450
White House will take a financial loss to make it easier for Americans to walk away from citizenship starting in April
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Richard Luscombe @richlusc.bsky.social · 10/03/2026
Here's a little piece I did with the space startup Lunar Outpost and its co-founder/CEO Justin Cyrus as it works to get rovers on the moon www.theguardian.com/science/2026...
theguardian.com
How Nasa contractors are pressing on to bring humans to the moon with Artemis
As the US space agency misses its launch window for the second month, smaller firms continue work on their parts
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Richard Luscombe @richlusc.bsky.social · 08/03/2026
The truth is out there, but it’s a little bit stormy right now so we’ll just have to wait www.theguardian.com/science/2026...
theguardian.com
Stormy space weather may be garbling messages from aliens, new research suggests
Researchers who listen for signs of non-human life say signals ‘can slip below detection thresholds, even if it’s there’
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Richard Luscombe @richlusc.bsky.social · 06/03/2026
This week’s gorgeous collection of our best wildlife photos, including a guest appearance from Florida www.theguardian.com/environment/...
theguardian.com
Week in wildlife: a watchful egret, a sun-seeking swan and a procession of caterpillars
This week’s best wildlife photographs from around the world
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Richard Luscombe @richlusc.bsky.social · 24/02/2026
"They go and see sex offenders not because they’re concerned about their crimes, but because [these people] might be able to pay some bills for them" - devastating takedown of the former Yorks by @theguardian.com colleague @zoesqwilliams.bsky.social www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...
theguardian.com
‘We’ve been paying for happy endings for Andrew for years’: the inside story of a royal disgrace, by his biographer
Andrew Lownie spent years investigating the greed and excesses of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and Sarah Ferguson for his book Entitled. Here, the writer reveals the barriers he faced in getting to the ...
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Richard Luscombe @richlusc.bsky.social · 23/02/2026
We have close friends with teenage daughters who grew up alongside our own sons. It breaks my heart they and their peers must deal with this online misogynistic toxicity every day. This girl's account of her journey through social media is powerful and compelling www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
theguardian.com
I am a 15-year-old girl. Let me show you the vile misogyny that confronts me on social media every day | Anonymous
Objectification, hate, rape threats: the politicians debating online abuse mean well, but to truly understand, they need to see what I see
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