With leadership battles, Pride, and Facebook’s copycatting, it’s been a big week in news and communications. 

New South Wales state election campaigns have been heating up, with leaders of both major parties taking to TikTok. Dominic Perrotet showcased a classic family values approach, with a ‘day in the life’ style video featuring his daughter. Meanwhile, Labor used memes, appropriating a speech from Rom-Com ‘10 Things I Hate About You’ to talk about Perrotet’s policies.  

As Sydney celebrates WorldPride – with brands from Zambrero to Optus sharing LGQTQIA+ solidarity messaging (read more here) – the WA government has made moves to criminalise conversion therapy, a long-overdue step forward in the human rights of LGBTQIA+ people.  

In world news, this week marks a year since Russia invaded Ukraine, with Joe Biden flying out to the country at the start of the week, and Australia making a parliamentary demonstration of solidarity with Ukraine.  

Over to social media, where it appears Mark Zuckerberg has been copying Elon Musk’s homework, with Meta announcing a monthly subscription for Facebook and Instagram verification. A few dollars more expensive than Twitter’s, the service allows users to verify their accounts using a government ID, includes extra protection against impersonation, and offers direct access to customer support. 

Meanwhile, a new Instagram account has amassed 1.1 million followers, and garnered plenty of media interest. A Polish woman who “truly believes” she is missing child Madeleine McCann has shared images that apparently prove her story, and Kate and Gerry McCann have now agreed to a DNA test.