Friday Headlines:

• More Aussies return from Middle East as thousands flee Beirut
• Hizb ut-Tahrir officially banned
• 'From the river to the sea' and 'globalise the intifada' outlawed in Queensland
• Number of kids enrolled in public school drops to record low
• Matildas beat Iran 4-0 in Asian Cup clash
• Britney Spears arrested in California

Deep Dive: Millions of young men’s algorithms are being taken over by looksmaxxing. 

What starts as self-improvement - gym sessions, grooming routines and ‘mewing’ -can spiral into extreme dieting, steroids, cosmetic surgery and even ‘bone-smashing,’ where men attempt to break and reshape their own facial bones to appear more masculine. Critics warn the trend is fuelling a pipeline toward incel culture, wrapped up in the language of optimisation and status. 

In this episode of The Briefing, Helen Smith is joined by Sam Cornell a public health researcher who unpacks how the rise of looksmaxxing has racked up millions of views online and is more than vanity – turning into something darker. 

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