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Nikki Carreon started Creators for Palestine with a single image of Snoopy on her Close Friends story on Instagram. The 25-year-old YouTuber wanted to raise money for humanitarian relief in Gaza. Three weeks later, Carreon sat in the Try Guys video studio, watching as Keith Habersberger from the Try Guys tried various Palestinian foods as viewers sent in cash. The money raised for organizations on the ground — Medical Aide for Palestine, HEAL Palestine, and UNRWA — steadily grew to $1.6 million.

SEE ALSO: Why fandom wars aren't helping pro-Palestine organizing

Habersberger, an early YouTube star, is one of many online creators who increasingly see themselves as necessary amplifiers and fundraisers for social movements. In this case, the feeling was supercharged by the lack of response from the United States government to the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, and so Creators for Palestine was born. Creators for Palestine’s livestream was an undeniable fundraising success and a potential roadmap for future creator collectives. 

But, regardless of their altruistic intent, efforts like these come with all the potential treachery of being famous online, as creators must navigate unyielding community guidelines and the whims of their audiences.

A response to the suppression of Palestinian content

Following the events of Oct. 7, major social media platforms have failed to support the surge of online activism: Meta has faced accusations of shadowbanning pro-Palestinian content; Instagram apologized for translating Palestine in Arabic to "Palestinian terrorist" in English; Human Rights Watch later found Meta's censorship of Palestine content "systemic;" and in October, a popular account dedicated to sharing on-the-ground footage of Gaza, @Eye.on.Palestine, was locked on Instagram and removed by X — it's since been restored on both platforms. 

For most onlookers, the suppression of Palestine content is undeniable. For creators whose livelihoods depend on their reach and engagement, pivoting their content to the humanitarian crisis has been a risky venture. In the creator economy, issues like war are impossible to monetize. 

That's not to mention the harassment from viewers and trolls toward those publicly supporting Palestine. But creators like Carreon believe that speaking up is worth the risks.

Creators for Palestine shows how unwavering support for Palestine inspired creators to adapt to platform limitations and provide a support system for harassment. Those involved see the livestream fundraiser as only the beginning. "It's not something we plan to go away now that we have the network of creators," said Hassan Khadair, a 25-year-old content creator in Birmingham, Alabama, who is part of the "admin chat" of Creators for Palestine. 

Tweet may have been deleted

What spurred Carreon (who uses all pronouns) to action was a graphic image from Rafah that spread across X / Twitter. “It was so horrible that I immediately scrolled away. It was so shocking to me. That made me feel like I want to do more,” she told Mashable. She set out with a $2,000 fundraising goal, generated interest from three friends, and imagined raising money via an informative graphic the small group would repost across their social media platforms. 

An Instagram group chat-turned-collective

The first sign that Carreon’s Instagram group chat would become something bigger was when well-known creators joined, expanding their reach and goals.

Fellow YouTuber Saji Sharma added the first large creator, Kurtis Conner, a YouTube comedian with 5 million subscribers, to the Instagram chat. Conner then connected Creators for Palestine with Hasan Piker, a popular Twitch streamer with over 2.6 million followers with experience fundraising on Twitch. Creators for Palestine ultimately morphed into a Discord with over 120 creators.

As more creators joined the group, their fundraising goals also expanded, first to $20,000 and then to $100,000. But Piker had previously raised a lofty $1 million in just two weeks and encouraged the group to raise the goal to the same. Carreon told Mashable she felt relieved that people who knew how internet-based fundraisers worked were helping her cause.

After Conner joined, Carreon knew the group would start being taken seriously. Creators for Palestine's first infographic announcing their $1 million goal (with a note that at the $750,000 mark they'd host a livestream to close the gap) featured 32 creators, including Conner, Piker, and other popular YouTubers like Jarvis Johnson, a reactor with 2.09 million followers, and Mina Le, a video essayist with 1.35 million followers. 

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By the following graphic, they were up to 59. Their final post before the livestream featured so many creators that they made a video instead. 

With the more prominent creators came connections and a tone of legitimacy. 

“At first, I was very anti-doing a livestream just because I didn't know how to. But once the streamers joined, I let them take the wheel,” said Carreon. 

A livestream choosing to celebrate Palestinian culture

Among the streamers integral to planning the livestream programming were Twitch streamers Frogan and CapriSunnPapi (Capri), both going by their streaming names for privacy reasons. 

"I [was] the only Palestinian planning the live[stream], so I was trying to figure out how [to] make this both fun, so we're able to raise money and have a good time, and, at the same time, informative," Capri told Mashable. 

That meant a variety of personalities, activities, and consciousness-raising. The livestream opened with another Try Guys member, Zach Kornfeld, setting the tone, including a statement that, as a Jewish man, he wanted to reassure viewers that it is not antisemitic to criticize the Israeli government and support Palestine. In addition to Habersberger trying Palestinian food, creators painted watermelon, and Capri and Piker interviewed Steve Sosebee, the founder of Palestinian Children's Relief Fund (PCRF), who now runs HEAL Palestine. 

"We wanted to make sure to highlight the culture of the Palestinian people to continue to humanize them since, on social media, that has been lost. And to highlight the positives of Palestinian people versus the death and destruction and sadness that has been on the timeline," Frogan told Mashable. 

"I was able to take my mom's and my grandma's stuff from Palestine and decorate the Try Guys studio with it,” said Capri. 

Tweet may have been deleted A need for creative approaches to platform roadblocks

With only three weeks until the headlining livestream, individual creators faced obstacles in getting the word out, often from the platforms themselves. 

Creators for Palestine's members decided to take a "blackout social media approach," where each creator uploaded the same graphics and videos to flood feeds to reach as many people as possible, Khadair told Mashable. However, TikTokkers' videos immediately started to be taken down due to the platform's policy against "non-original content."

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"Only three of our videos would stay up, and some of us got demonetized for uploading our initial Creators for Palestine video when our strategy was to be a unified front," said Khadair. 

In the Discord, creators compared the metrics of their Creators for Palestine posts on TikTok and their regular content, noticing that the ratio of likes to views was notably different, raising questions about censorship. 

Amanda Golka, a 26-year-old YouTuber and Twitch streamer, tried to combat the lack of reach of her videos related to Palestine. "I found the best way to get engagement on the posts would be to sandwich it in a different unrelated video, tricking the algorithm," Golka told Mashable. She opened the TikTok video where she announced joining Creators for Palestine by teasing creator gossip, saying, "You're never going to believe what this creator did." Then, she made her decision to join the collective. 

The strategy is growing in popularity among creators and is one of several ways TikTokkers and users drive engagement towards information about and fundraisers for Palestine. For example, in May, Estefania "Teffi" Pessoa, a TikTok personality with over 1.8 million followers, staged a feud with Kendra DePinto, a TikTokker focused on providing accessible recipes. Through a series of videos, the pair urged their viewers to check "the receipts" of the drama in their bios, where there's a GoFundMe to help evacuate a family in Gaza.

Similarly, in what's known as Operation Watermelon, users strategically comment on popular TikToks to train the algorithm-generated suggested search that appears at the top of the comments section to veiled references to Palestine, intending to spur viewers down a rabbit hole of information.

SEE ALSO: How 'blue comments' turned the TikTok algorithm into a protest tool

These tactics build upon other ways TikTok creators have tried to circumvent platform guidelines, like "algospeak," a workaround for content moderation in which users change the pronunciation and spelling of targeted words, such as referring to sex as "seggs."

Meanwhile, despite the platform's censorship, Instagram's design allowed for a more fluid dissemination of information as it enabled collaborative posting. The same video that was repeatedly removed from TikTok was collaboratively posted on Instagram by Conner, Khadair, Golka, Carreon, Chad Chad, Stanzi, and the Creators for Palestine page, resulting in 3.4 million views. 

Beyond these strategies, creators trying to advocate for Palestine aren't only fighting against the algorithm. They are also beholden to their audiences. 

"There's always this talk about creators having a more tenuous hold on their audiences and their jobs because it’s built on people liking you in some capacity," explained Golka. "A lot of creators wanted to speak out but were worried about saying the wrong thing and saying something alone. Creators for Palestine helped give people the confidence to say what they really felt."

Being a lone dissenter can be scary and intimidating in a lonely industry that relies on a creator's likeability. Still, Creators for Palestine allowed creators another option with the security of big names standing behind them. 

Creators for Palestine helped give people the confidence to say what they really felt.

But despite safety in numbers, some creators still paid a cost for their staunch position. For his commitment to Creators for Palestine, Khadair lost 15,000 followers on Instagram alone. "It's a dramatic number, but the comments on the third [Creators for Palestine] graphic I posted are a lot nicer than the first," said Khadair. But, despite losing Instagram followers, his other metrics stayed consistent. "If you truly believe in it, you should fight for it. The ramifications of follower counts are very unimportant in the grand scheme of things." Neither Golka nor Carreon had a notable change in followers. 

The Creators for Palestine Discord provided a place for those involved to feel less alone dealing with the harassment in response to their stance and an opportunity to share positive responses. "A lot of creators are very worried about standing alone on topics. I wish they weren't, but this is such an isolating job," said Golka. 

A potential future of collaboration between creators and social movements

The financial impact of Creators for Palestine makes the case for creators to bolster social movements, and those interviewed all envision more involvement in the future. "You'll have dissenting voices like Brittany Broski say that creators shouldn't be talking about politics. That's insane. Politics aren't just what a bunch of congressmen are yelling about. They are about human lives — especially [Palestine] is a humanitarian issue," said one of the creators involved.

Frogan echoed the sentiment: "If there are injustices happening, and you're aware of it and you're educated about it, you should be posting about it."

Still, others see the role of creators as even more integral, with coverage of the Palestinian struggle falling short across many U.S. publications. At CNN, the publication's staff called its pro-Israel bias "journalistic malpractice," and The New York Times came under fire for censoring the use of words like "genocide," "occupied territory," "ethnic cleansing," "massacre," and "slaughter." On an international level, Israeli control of the borders of the Gaza Strip has prevented foreign journalists from entering the region for on-the-ground reporting. At the same time, the conflict is the most dangerous for Palestinian journalists on the ground, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists. 

Some creators see themselves as alternative sources of information about the conflict, reposting on-the-ground footage or educating their followers on Palestinian history. As a Palestinian creator, Capri tries to fill in the gaps, yet he sees the fact that his viewers are learning about Palestine from him as a larger systemic failure. 

"There is no major publication that was pro-Palestinian... They were basically repeating the lines of the State Department, and then just softly being like, 'But Israel may have some issues.' They were never really critical of Israel. Creators had to fill that role," said Capri. 

For them, their role as creators is to recognize their potential power. Carreon is still in awe of what she created. "This whole thing opened my eyes. We're YouTubers and Twitch streamers, and we're almost at $2 million [raised]. Imagine if we were actual important celebrities?"

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Can British TV slow down for a second? This year has already been a monster of a year for must-see series out of the UK, and we're only halfway done.

From the spectacular return of Doctor Who to the most talked-about show of the year, not one but two brilliant comedies about 18th-century outlaws, a series that makes us cry still thinking about it, the steamy return to the Ton, and the triumphant second chapter of our favourite all-women Muslim punk band, 2024's TV offerings have been top tier.

SEE ALSO: The 13 best TV shows of 2024 (so far)

Here's the 15 best British TV shows of 2024 (so far) and where you can watch them, both within the UK and outside it.

15. Trying, Season 4 Esther Smith and Rafe Spall return for another delightful season of "Trying." Credit: Apple TV+

Andy Wolton's uplifting series Trying returned for a fourth season, digging into some deeper themes around death and identity all while keeping us afloat with comedy. A heartfelt journey through the trials and tribulations of starting a family, Trying has long been one of Apple TV+'s underrated gems. This season, eternal optimist Nikki and deadpan delight Jason (Esther Smith and Rafe Spall) help their kids navigate major questions about family, including question marks about Princess' birth mother. Episode 2, entailing an old-fashioned date with Jim Broadbent as George, is a season highlight. — Shannon Connellan, UK Editor

How to watch: Trying Season 4 is now streaming on Apple TV+.

14. The Outlaws, Season 3 They're baaaack. Credit: BBC / Big Talk

Stephen Merchant and Elgin James' sharply scripted and hilariously performed comedy series The Outlaws returned for a third round this year, and it's as fresh as the day it began its mandated community service. The series follows a group of random miscreants in Bristol charged with payback duty who've ended up an unlikely and steadfast modern-day heist crew. Though they've done some things they're not so proud of, the crew have bonded over the last few seasons with some harebrained schemes, major operations, and moving moments of friendship. In Season 3? There's a dead body, new careers, higher stakes, and the wondrous addition of Richard E. Grant. Wait, did we say dead body? — S.C.

How to watch: The Outlaws Season 3 is streaming on BBC iPlayer in the UK and Prime Video in the U.S.

13. The Completely Made-Up Adventures of Dick Turpin Hugh Bonneville and Noel Fielding in "The Completely Made-Up Adventures of Dick Turpin." Credit: Apple TV+

One of two tales of highway robbery in 18th-century England this year, The Completely Made-Up Adventures of Dick Turpin is as silly and fun as its lengthy name suggests. Based on the exploits of Essex brigand Dick Turpin (Noel Fielding in full Vince Noir mode), the series seizes on the fact that Turpin's life was wildly romanticised after his death at 33 (by hanging, for horse theft) — then amps it up to 11. Rolling about the woods with his Essex Gang of misfits, Turpin takes on a peril of the week in Monty Python meets Our Flag Means Death meets The Mighty Boosh fashion. Throw in some cameos from Britain's biggest comedians, with standout appearances by Tamsin Greig, Greg Davies, and Sex Education's Connor Swindells, and you've got a surreal, satisfying, history-adjacent adventure on your hands. — S.C.

How to watch: The Completely Made-Up Adventures of Dick Turpin is now streaming on Apple TV+.

12. Renegade Nell Louisa Harland in "Renegade Nell." Credit: Robert Viglasky / Disney

Proving that you can never have too many highwaymen on screen, the delightful Renegade Nell continues the trend set by The Completely Made-Up Adventures of Dick Turpin.

Created by Happy Valley's Sally Wainwright and starring Derry Girls' Louisa Harland, Renegade Nell delivers a new heroine to root for in Nell Jackson (Harland). Framed for murder by nobles, Nell and her sisters find themselves caught up in a life of crime, with all of 18th-century England fearing Nell as a notorious highway robber. Expect stunts to die for, historical adventure, and magic, courtesy of Nell's guardian spirit Billy Bly (Ted Lasso's Nick Mohammed). Plus, Harland cements her star status with a performance that is as charming as it is badass. — Belen Edwards, Entertainment Reporter

How to watch: Renegade Nell is now streaming on Disney+.

11. Big Mood Lydia West and Nicola Coughlan knock it out of the park in "Big Mood." Credit: Channel 4

It's officially the year of Nicola Coughlan, with both Bridgerton and Big Mood making this best-of list. The latter sees Coughlan in a brilliant pairing with It's a Sin star Lydia West as two best friends in Londo who are navigating their thirties and all the social pressure that comes with it. Written by playwright Camilla Whitehill and directed by Rebecca Asher (Dead to Me, Grace and Frankie) Big Mood is a funny, moving, and superbly acted exploration of mental health and friendship, specifically through bipolar disorder and unprocessed grief. If you liked This Way Up, you might like Big Mood. — S.C.

How to watch: Big Mood is now streaming on All4 in the UK and Tubi in the U.S.

10. Queenie Dionne Brown as Queenie Jenkins in "Queenie." Credit: Lionsgate / Latoya Okuneye

Candice Carty-Williams' incredibly popular and critically lauded novel Queenie came to TV this year, produced by Channel 4 and launched on Hulu in the U.S. with Disney's Onyx Collective. Dionne Brown is sublime as the titular protagonist Queenie Jenkins, a 25-year-old Jamaican British woman who's putting one foot in front of the other after a major breakup. Set in London, the series sees Queenie attempting to move on with her life through casual hookups while processing unresolved trauma and finding her way to self-love.

As Liv Facey wrote for Mashable, "Queenie is a realistic representation of a young woman just trying to figure things out. She makes viewers question how different from her we really are. Yes, she is a mess and can be annoying, but she’s also smart, funny, and all the things in between, and isn't that something we can all be? 

"Queenie stresses the importance of portraying Black women in their complete complexity, including their messy sides. The series reminds us that we need more characters like her, whom we are forced to look at with nuance and connect on a deeper level — even if that comes with discomfort." — S.C.

How to watch: Queenie is now streaming on All4 in the UK and Hulu in the U.S.

9. The Responder, Season 2 Martin Freeman and Adelayo Adedayo are exceptional in "The Responder." Credit: BBC / Dancing Ledge

One of the best shows of 2022, Tony Schumacher's tense, gritty police drama The Responder finally returned for a second season, bringing with it two of the best performances on TV this year. Martin Freeman continues his exceptional run as corner-cutting Liverpool cop Chris Carson, alongside superb Supacell star Adelayo Adedayo as his response team partner Rachel Hargreaves. As in the first season, Season 2 is a marathon of gray-area choices, with right and wrong thrown in the bin as the characters merely try to keep their heads above water. If you want to watch actors at the top of their game within a compelling drama that rattles the police procedural, this is it. — S.C.

How to watch: The Responder is streaming on BBC iPlayer in the UK. Season 1 is streaming on Prime Video in the U.S., with Season 2 coming soon.

8. Bridgerton, Season 3 Luke Newton and Nicola Coughlan in "Bridgerton." Credit: Liam Daniel / Netflix

First there was Daphne and the Duke. Then came Kate and Anthony and Queen Charlotte and George III. Now, with Season 3, Shondaland's beloved adaptation of Julia Quinn's romance novels brings us Penelope and Colin's love story, the slowest-burn romance yet — she's been burning for him since Season 1! It took traveling around the world for Colin Bridgerton to get a glow-up and realize what a great girl he had back home. Thankfully by the end of part one, he showed her his deep, probing affection in a carriage scene that left fans hot and bothered. 

Part two throws these lovers into each other's arms and fresh drama. And we're here for every moment, because Nicola Coughlan is our queen. Sure, there's other plotlines this season, some spicy, some bewildering, and one involving a vegetarian who deserves better! But it's Coughlan and her grace, her comedic timing, and her swoon-inducing charms that has made Bridgerton Season 3 among Netflix's very best in 2024.* — Kristy Puchko, Film Editor

How to watch: Bridgerton Season 3 is now streaming on Netflix.

7. Mary and George Julianne Moore and Nicholas Galitzine in "Mary & George." Credit: Starz

Julianne Moore and Nicholas Galitzine scheme and seduce their way to the top in Mary and George, a period drama all about the heady pursuit of power. 

Moore plays Mary Villiers, a countess in Jacobean England who pushes her son George (Galitzine) to be King James VI and I's (Tony Curran) new lover. Rival suitors and political opponents have it out for the Villiers family, and while George claims his feelings for James are real, there's no doubt he and his mother are using the fragile king for their own gain. As Mary and George's influence continues to grow, the series weaves an intoxicating web of sex, politics, and scandal — one that threatens to collapse around the Villiers as they sacrifice anything and anyone to get ahead.* — B.E.

How to watch: Mary and George is now streaming on Sky and NOW TV in the UK and on Starz in the U.S.

6. Supacell Rapman's Netflix series is finally here. Credit: Netflix

Showrunner, creator, and director Rapman's Netflix series is finally here, and it's a dynamite new approach to the superhero genre. Supacell sees five Black strangers in South London — Michael (Tosin Cole), Sabrina (Nadine Mills), Andre (Eric Kofi Abrefa), Rodney (Calvin Demba), and Tazer (Josh Tedeku) — who develop different superpowers, all while navigating the realism of everyday life. Some use their power to protect those they love (including an excellent Adelayo Adedayo as Michael's girlfriend Dionne) or simply to put food on the table, while others crave power and respect. When Michael's ability to travel through time gives him a glimpse at a terrible future, he needs to find and unite the five as sinister forces begin to circle. With deeply compelling performances, a tightly woven story, and some impressive visual effects deployed across London, Supacell shakes up the superpowers format. — S.C.

How to watch: Supacell begins streaming on Netflix June 27.

5. 3 Body Problem Gang's all here. For now. Credit: Ed Miller / Netflix

Sometimes you want a light comedy; other times, you want to lean into potentially world-ending existential terror. The latter is firmly on offer in 3 Body Problem, a sci-fi epic based on Cixin Liu's trilogy and brought to the screen by Game of Thrones creators David Benioff and D.B. Weiss and The Terror's Alexander Woo. The series tells the story of an alien race called the San-Ti, who have been forced to leave their home planet and are several hundred years away from landing on their new home: Earth. 3 Body Problem is impressive because it asks some pretty big questions of the universe while also creating a very human story about how people might react when faced with possible future extinction. Oh, and there are some sequences that will never leave your head — hello, episode 5. * — Sam Haysom, Deputy UK Editor

How to watch: 3 Body Problem is now streaming on Netflix.

4. We Are Lady Parts, Season 2 Faith Omole, Sarah Kameela Impey, Juliette Motamed, Anjana Vasan, and Malala Yousafzai in "We Are Lady Parts." Credit: Saima Khalid / Peacock / NBC International / C4

After three long years on hiatus, We Are Lady Parts is back with a second season that was well worth the wait. 

SEE ALSO: Malala Yousafzai in 'We Are Lady Parts' is the cameo of the year

Created by Nida Manzoor, this sensational comedy series centers on Lady Parts, a punk band made up of Muslim women who are figuring out life, love, friendship, and faith in contemporary London. Between the setting and some familiar themes, Season 2 has echoes of Bridgerton, but with an irreverent sense of humor that is not only totally modern but also absolutely hilarious. Whether following wallflower guitarist Amina (Anjana Vasan), hard-headed frontwoman Saira (Sarah Kameela Impey), warm-hearted bassist Bisma (Faith Omole), mercurial drummer Ayesha (Juliette Motamed), or their ever-strategic manager Momtaz (Lucie Shorthouse), We Are Lady Parts rocks, peppered with playful punchlines, rapturous fantasy sequences, rousing musical numbers, and a cameo from the one-and-only Malala Yousafzai. Whether you're new to this series or not, Season 2 is too good to be missed.* — K.P.

How to watch: We Are Lady Parts is now streaming on Channel 4 in the UK and Peacock in the U.S.

3. One Day Leo Woodall and Ambika Mod in "One Day." Credit: Matt Towers / Netflix

In February, we did a whole lot of TV-induced crying, as Netflix's One Day broke our damn hearts. An ambitious, romantic, and fresh adaptation of David Nicholls' novel, this impeccable, slow burn series gave the story more room to breathe than Lone Scherfig's 2011 film. Following students Emma and Dex (magnetic, lived-in performances by Ambika Mod and Leo Woodall) across decades of their complex friendship, One Day makes a cinematic epic of long-game love while unpacking the politics of privilege in relationships. Even hearing the name of the series will induce starry-eyed looks into the horizon and a palm to the heart.* — S.C.

How to watch: One Day is now streaming on Netflix.

2. Doctor Who, Season 14 The Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa) and Ruby Sunday (Millie Gibson). Credit: James Pardon / Bad Wolf / BBC Studios

Showrunner Russell T Davies returned to Doctor Who this season, bringing with him plenty of panache. Not only did he gift audiences the splendor of Ncuti Gatwa as the ever-charming Fifteenth Doctor and Millie Gibson as the irrepressible Ruby Sunday, he also offered thrilling guest stars, like Broadway's Jonathan Groff as the dashing Rogue, Susan Twist as the season's biggest mystery, and RuPaul's Drag Race two-time champion Jinkx Monsoon as the melodic and maleficent baddie called Maestro.

Week after week, Davies and his company introduced compelling new creatures to the Whoniverse, like Bridgerton-obsessed bodysnatchers, while tapping into classic lore for fresh reveals. And with each new adventure, Davies presented a different flavor for fans established and brand new. So, "Space Babies" gave us a creepy yet silly monster-of-the-week fairy tale, while "Devil's Chord" got boldly theatrical. Want a war story? A folk horror story? A Black Mirror episode? A period romance? No matter what kind of Who you hunger for, Davies kept the children fed in "the queerest season" the series has ever seen. And it's been marvelous. —K.P.

How to watch: Doctor Who is now streaming on BBC iPlayer in the UK and on Disney+ where available.

1. Baby Reindeer Richard Gadd and Jessica Gunning in "Baby Reindeer." Credit: Ed Miller / Netflix

For better or worse, Baby Reindeer is a show that sticks with you: It's amusing in parts, tense in others, and emotionally shattering overall. Based on creator Richard Gadd's own experience of being stalked, the series follows the budding comedian (who plays a version of himself) as he balances career disappointment with his job in a London pub — until a woman named Martha (a brilliant and terrifying Jessica Gunning) comes in one day and develops an obsession with him. "This isn't the type of show with a clear resolution," I wrote in my review for Mashable. "It's messy, thought-provoking, and — like a dream that's difficult to shake — you'll find your mind going back to it long after the credits have rolled."* — S.H.

How to watch: Baby Reindeer is now streaming on Netflix.

Earlier this month, OpenAI's ChatGPT app became available for Apple's macOS platform, but only for ChatGPT Plus subscribers.

Now, this restriction has been removed, and ChatGPT for macOS is available for all users.

SEE ALSO: ChatGPT is ableist toward applicants with disabilities, new study finds

You can get the app for free through OpenAI's website, but have in mind that there are a few limitations: The app will only work on Macs running macOS 14 Sonoma or later, and only those running on Apple silicon, meaning the company's M1 chip or later.

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Oddly, the app is still not available for Windows; according to OpenAI, this should happen "later this year." As a reminder, Microsoft has a big investment in OpenAI, so you'd expect Windows to be prioritized, but this time Mac users get first dibs.

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The advantages of running ChatGPT in the app instead of a browser window include faster access to ChatGPT via the Option + Space shortcut, the ability to ask about stuff (such as documents) on your computer, upload files, or take a screenshot of a window on your desktop and ask ChatGPT about it.

Featured Video For You How to use ChatGPT from a mobile device

During this year's WWDC in June, Apple also announced it would integrate ChatGPT with iPhones and iPads, though those features will gradually be rolling out in beta versions as we get close to official launch of iOS 18 and iPadOS 18.

The Bear's second season introduced us to an onslaught of guest stars: Jamie Lee Curtis! Olivia Colman! Bob Odenkirk! Sarah Paulson! John Mulaney! Gillian Jacobs! Will Poulter!

Now, with Season 3, The Bear does it again, bringing some new guest stars into the fray, as well as repeat appearances from many of the above. While this new crop of big-name cameos isn't as sizable as those from Season 2, these appearances still pack a punch.

Here's a guide to the new guest stars joining the cast of The Bear in Season 3.

SEE ALSO: 'The Bear' falls victim to its own success: Full Season 3 review Josh Hartnett

Between Oppenheimer, the upcoming Trap, and now The Bear, it's clear the Hartnett-aissance is upon us. Here, he plays Frank, the fiancé of Richie's (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) ex-wife Tiffany (Gillian Jacobs).

The first (and only) time we meet Frank is when Richie drops off his daughter Eva (Annabelle Toomey) at his house in episode 4, "Violet." When Frank opens the door, you can hear the sound of Taylor Swift's "Long Live" playing in the background, so he's clearly down with Eva being a Swiftie. What are the odds of a Richie/Frank "Love Story" duet in Season 4?

SEE ALSO: M. Night Shyamalan's 'Trap' trailer has Josh Hartnett as a doting dad with a killer twist John Cena

Professional wrestler turned scene-stealer John Cena joins the Fak clan in Season 3 of The Bear, appearing as Neil (Matty Matheson) and Ted Fak's (Ricky Staffieri) brother Sammy.

Cena bursts on the scene in episode 5, "Children," bringing with him a floor buffer, a penchant for smoking indoors, and a vendetta against Ted for stealing his SD cards. The beef with Ted prompts Sammy to "haunt" him; basically, Sammy inconveniences and spooks Ted until he relents and gives Sammy the password he so desperately craves.

SEE ALSO: How to watch 'The Bear' online for free: when does Season 3 start streaming? So. Many. Chefs.

The Bear is no stranger to featuring stars from the culinary world. On Sydney's (Ayo Edebiri) Season 2 food tour of Chicago, she chatted with famed restaurateurs like Rob Levitt, Dylan Patel, Donnie Madia, and David Posey.

Season 3 kicks the chef cameos up a notch throughout, featuring Daniel Boulud of New York City's Daniel, René Redzepi of Copenhagen's Noma, and Thomas Keller of California's The French Laundry.

The season finale, "Forever," is also bursting at the scenes with culinary cameos, as flocks of real-life chefs join Carmy (Jeremy Allen White) and Sydney at the funeral dinner for Ever, run by Andrea Terry (Olivia Colman). Among them are the heads of several Chicago-based restaurants: Grant Achatz, chef at Alinea; Anna Posey, pastry chef at Elske; Genie Kwon, chef at Kasama; and Kevin Boehm, head of the Boka Restaurant Group.

Other guests at Ever's funeral dinner include Rosio Sanchez, a Chicago native who now runs Sanchez in Copenhagen; Christina Tosi, CEO of Milkbar; Malcolm Livingston II, former pastry chef at Noma; Wylie Dufresne, chef at New York's now-closed wd~50; and Will Guidara, former co-owner of the Make It Nice hospitality group, which operates NoMad hotels and restaurants.

All episodes of The Bear Season 3 are now streaming on Hulu.

Like any exciting recipe, The Bear's first two seasons established a solid mix of tradition and experimentation.

At first glance, the show operates like a workplace dramedy. Yet the more time we spent getting to know the various workers of The Bear (formerly The Beef), the more comfortable The Bear became with playing with its own form. Season 1 treated us to the anxiety-inducing "Review," a blistering one-take episode that played out in real time. Season 2 turned up the heat with "Fishes," its nightmarish, hour-long take on a Christmas special.

SEE ALSO: 'Fishes' vs. 'Forks': What's the best episode of 'The Bear'?

But The Bear also proved it could do more than stress us out. Single character-centric episodes like "Honeydew" and "Forks" — focusing on Marcus (Lionel Boyce) and Richie (Ebon Moss-Bachrach), respectively — served as surprisingly mindful oases in a sea of screaming chefs. By switching up its own formula with episodes like these, The Bear cemented itself as something special. It's no wonder, then, that "Review," "Honeydew," "Fishes," and "Forks" all wound up on various best-of-the-year lists.

Unfortunately, The Bear appears to have taken all the wrong lessons from these episodes' successes. Its highly anticipated third season strives (and fails) again and again to recreate these lightning-in-a-bottle moments, delivering a batch of tonally dissonant episodes that feels frustratingly inert as a whole.

The Bear is off its rhythm in Season 3. Jeremy Allen White in "The Bear." Credit: FX

The Bear Season 3's imbalance begins right with its first episode "Tomorrow," which picks up the morning after the Season 2 finale. As Carmy (Jeremy Allen White) processes his accidental imprisonment in The Bear's walk-in fridge — including all the horrible things he said to Richie and his now-ex Claire (Molly Gordon) — he begins cooking a new menu from scratch. With that project come memories of all the prior restaurant experiences and family tragedies that led him to where he is today.

The memories range from peaceful sequences of cooking to toxic experiences with an old boss (Joel McHale). It's a neat encapsulation of the show's double-edged view of restaurant work. On the one hand, there's a joy in crafting something that will nurture diners. On the other, the obsession over perfection leads to conflict and harm. (Think of "Forks" and "Honeydew" as one end of the spectrum of what it's like to work in a restaurant, and "Review" as the other.) Underscored by looping ambient music, Carmy's cycle of memories lures you into a near-meditative state. Yet after a while, the loop (all 37 minutes of it) becomes stale, repetitive, borderline tedious.

SEE ALSO: A guide to the guest stars of 'The Bear' Season 3

After the languid recollections of "Tomorrow," The Bear Season 3 switches gears for a rapid-fire episode that focuses on an extended conversation between Carmy, Sydney (Ayo Edebiri), and the rest of The Bear's staff. Then, with its third episode, Season 3 changes again for an extended montage detailing a month in the life of the restaurant.

The change-ups from episode to episode keep the audience off balance, not unlike how the staff of The Bear are constantly walking a knife's edge between competence and chaos. But as the formal inconsistency piles up across 10 episodes, it begins to read more like co-showrunners Christopher Storer and Joanna Calo trying to create standout episodes instead of a standout season.

The two clearest attempts at this come in the latter half of Season 3. "Napkins," Edebiri's directorial debut, works to capitalize on the success of "Forks" and "Honeydew," crafting a narrative centered on Tina (Liza Colón-Zayas). Only instead of focusing on Tina's current inner life and the challenges and triumphs she might face at The Bear, "Napkins" takes us back in time to show us how Tina came to work at The Beef. The flashback format of the episode is disappointing: We've already seen Tina grow leaps and bounds as a chef and a person since the beginning of The Bear. Why can't we hone in on that growth as The Bear gets up and running? Why do we have to look to the past, when other character-centric episodes root us in the present? The entire episode, while it does feature some nice story beats, stings as a missed opportunity to give both Tina and Colón-Zayas the showcase they deserve.

SEE ALSO: The 13 best TV shows of 2024 (so far)

Then there's "Ice Chips," a late-season response to "Fishes" that sees Natalie (Abby Elliott) in labor with only her mother Donna (Jamie Lee Curtis) to help her. Here, The Bear teases out their fraught relationship further from what we saw in Season 2, leading to some some genuinely sweet bonding between the two, as well as tense arguments. Yet just like with "Tomorrow," the pacing begins to drag, and you wonder what the rest of The Bear's ensemble is up to. More an Emmy reel for Curtis's performance than an engaging episode, "Ice Chips" — and all the episodes that came before it — reads as a fundamental misunderstanding of why people cared about "Forks" and "Fishes" in the first place.

People gravitated towards "Forks" and "Fishes" so much because they serve as special departures from The Bear's familiar (yet excellent) structure. Once we return to The Bear's "normal" state, the work these episodes do enhance the show's usual framework, letting us gain an even better understanding of our characters and why they do what they do. However, in Season 3, there is barely any standard framework to enhance or depart from. Instead, the novelty of these episodes quickly wears off and loops all the way around to being The Bear's norm. If you're always doing something different, don't the differences meld into sameness?

The excessive variety calls to mind Carmy's insistence that The Bear change its menu every night, a demand that no one else finds feasible. Confusion sets in, with characters mistaking ravioli for agnolotti for cavatelli. The Bear Season 3 finds itself in a similar identity crisis.

The Bear Season 3 is more frustrating than anything. Ayo Edebiri in "The Bear." Credit: FX

With all these constant changes, you might expect this season of The Bear to be propulsive. That's not the case. If Seasons 1 and 2 of The Bear were about letting it rip, Season 3 is about letting it stagnate, constantly teasing huge plot points — sometimes for episodes at a time — without following through.

Take the fact that Carmy needs to apologize to Claire. Or that Sydney gets offered a prestigious position at a new restaurant and needs to make a decision about where her loyalties lie. Or that the threat of a review hangs over The Bear for over half the season. All of these are key storylines built up throughout Season 3, yet none receive any kind of closure. The way the finale handles the review in particular is some of the most aggravating TV I've witnessed this year. It's less a cliffhanger than it is an infuriating moment of stringing the audience along.

Elsewhere, The Bear's over-reliance on seconds-long flashbacks proves stifling. It's almost impossible to make it through an episode without a snapshot of the "Fishes" fight, or to Sydney and Carmy's many conversations, or to Carmy and Claire's relationship. Once the review comes into play, The Bear switches up these flashes a bit, incorporating Carmy's best-case and worst-case ideas of what a restaurant review of The Bear might say. Even that isn't enough to make these memory montages feel fresh.

Of course, the reliance on memory — established extra thoroughly in "Tomorrow" — has thematic relevance. Carmy is so caught up on past mistakes and past traumas that he is incapable of moving forward. As such, he traps those around him in a cycle of miscommunication and emotional turmoil, and on and on it goes. From a stylistic standpoint, though, the nonstop flashbacks halt what little momentum The Bear Season 3 has. They also read as if The Bear doesn't trust its audience to make connections between a character's past and their present. Why, after Carmy parrots something his old toxic boss once told him, do we need a clip we've already seen of said boss repeating that exact same line? The comparison comes through even without the flashback — and given that The Bear is released all at once, you can bet that eager binge-watchers will pick up on that moment right away.

The Bear being The Bear, there are still strong moments across the season. The entire main cast continues to excel, especially the core trio of White, Edebiri, and Moss-Bachrach. Plus, discussions about everything from legacy to the reason why chefs cook in the first place make for strong emotional touchpoints throughout.

It's a shame, then, that so much good stuff is buried under mountains of dissonance and bizarre stylistic choices. Following in the footsteps of its sublime second season, The Bear Season 3 feels like an overlong exercise in experimentation that doesn't fully pay off. Perhaps it would have benefitted from one of the non-negotiables Carmy preaches this season: Subtract.

All episodes of The Bear Season 3 are now streaming on Hulu.

A covert campaign to target a writer critical of the country’s Communist Party has extended to sexually suggestive threats against his 16-year-old daughter.

TL;DR: The Autio Unlimited Plan just got a price drop: New members can save 56% on lifetime access to this unique, award-winning app, which tells you location-based stories narrated by celebrities as you travel the world. Normally £237.61, you can now get a lifetime membership for £102.94.

Opens in a new window Credit: Autio Autio Unlimited Plan: Lifetime Subscription £102.94 at the Mashable Shop
£237.61 Save £134.67 Get Deal

When you’re packing your bags for a summer holiday, don’t forget to bring celebs like Kevin Costner and John Lithgow with you. They're inside the Autio app, which gives you celebrity-narrated audio stories about an area’s history, people, and folklore. If you’re a podcast nerd, this unique audio app was made for you.

Autio costs £28.51 per year on the App Store or Google Play, but you can get a lifetime subscription on sale for £102.94 (reg. £237.61) this summer and save 56%.

The app is designed for road trips and exploration, so when you arrive to a new area, it alerts you that a new story is within range. Hit play and learn about that area’s unique history, culture, music, sports, and geology, and wait for more stories to automatically play as you keep driving. Listen to what famous voices have to say about popular destinations all over the world.

If you're traveling to America, Autio has more than 11,000 audio stories to discover. For global travelers, you can access 12,000 audio stories and counting.

Watch how playback works and listen to a sample of the stories:

Since you can download content for offline playback, Autio can also be used for remote areas and in-flight entertainment.

Explore 23,000 stories right after you download the app and enjoy new content weekly for the rest of your travel days. That means no two trips will ever be the same.

Download an Autio Unlimited lifetime subscription while it’s on sale for £102.94 (reg. £237.61).

StackSocial prices subject to change.

TL;DR: The first Biden-Trump 2024 presidential debate will live stream for free on USA TODAY via YouTube. Access this free live stream from anywhere in the world with ExpressVPN.

We don't know about you, but we can't think of a better way to spend an evening than watching two elderly gentlemen go back and forth over the crucial issues that could determine the future of the country (and planet). The November election might seem like a distant point on the horizon, but the first Biden-Trump 2024 presidential debate means there is no escaping it. Things are about to really heat up.

If you want to watch the first Biden-Trump 2024 presidential debate for free from anywhere in the world, we have all the information you need.

When is the Biden-Trump 2024 presidential debate?

The first Biden-Trump 2024 presidential debate will take place at 9 p.m. ET on June 27. CNN is hosting the debate, with moderation from network anchors Jake Tapper and Dana Bash. The debate will run for 90 minutes with two commercial breaks.

How to watch the Biden-Trump 2024 presidential debate for free

The good news is that there are a number of ways to watch the first 2024 presidential debate between Biden and Trump.

The Biden-Trump debate will air live on CNN, CNN International, CNN en Español, and Max, with live streaming available on CNN.com. The likes of Fox News, ABC, NBC, and C-SPAN will also carry a free simulcast of the debate.

Alternatively, you can access free live streams of the first Biden-Trump 2024 presidential debate on PBS and USA TODAY via YouTube.

If you're unable to access these free live streams due to geo-restrictions, you can use a VPN. These handy tools can hide your real IP address (digital location) and connect you to secure servers in the U.S., meaning you can access free streaming platforms from around the world in just a few clicks.

Unblock free live streams of the Biden-Trump debate by following these simple steps:

1. Subscribe to a streaming-friendly VPN (like ExpressVPN)

2. Download the app to your device of choice (the best VPNs have apps for Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, Linux, and more)

3. Open up the app and connect to a server in the U.S.

4. Access free live streams of the first Biden-Trump 2024 presidential debate from anywhere in the world

Opens in a new window Credit: ExpressVPN ExpressVPN (1-Year Subscription + 3 Months Free) $99.95 only at ExpressVPN (with money-back guarantee) Get Deal

The best VPNs for streaming are not free, but leading VPNs do tend to offer free-trial periods or money-back guarantees. By leveraging these offers, you can gain access to free live streams without committing with your cash. This is obviously not a long-term solution, but it does give you time to watch the first Biden-Trump 2024 presidential debate before recovering your investment.

What is the best VPN for streaming?

ExpressVPN is the best service for bypassing geo-restrictions to stream content from around the world, for a number of reasons:

• Servers in 105 countries

• Easy-to-use app available on all major devices including iPhone, Android, Windows, Mac, and more

• Strict no-logging policy so your data is always secure

• Fast connection speeds

• Up to eight simultaneous connections

• 30-day money-back guarantee

A one-year subscription to ExpressVPN is on sale for $99.95 and includes an extra three months for free — 49% off for a limited time. This plan also includes a year of free unlimited cloud backup and a generous 30-day money-back guarantee.

TL;DR: Watch India vs. England in the 2024 Men's T20 World Cup semi final for free on Disney+ Hotstar. Access this free streaming platform from anywhere in the world with ExpressVPN.

The 2024 Men's T20 World Cup final is looming on the horizon, but only two sides can compete for the prize. India and England both came into the tournament will aspirations of winning the whole thing, and they face off in an absolutely massive semi-final clash. It's set to be one of the biggest matches of the competition, and you can watch all the action without spending anything.

If you want to watch India vs. England in the 2024 Men's T20 World Cup semi final for free from anywhere in the world, we have all the information you need.

When is India vs. England?

India vs. England in the 2024 Men's T20 World Cup semi final starts at 10:30 a.m. ET on June 27. This fixture takes place at the Providence Stadium in Guyana.

How to watch India vs. England for free

Smartphone users in India can watch the 2024 Men’s T20 Cricket World Cup for free on Disney+ Hotstar, including the semi final between India and England.

This content is geo-restricted to India, but anyone from around the world can access these free live streams with a VPN. These tools can hide your real IP address (digital location) and connect you to a secure server in India, meaning you can access Disney+ Hotstar from anywhere in the world. The process is actually really straightforward.

Access free live streams of the T20 Cricket World Cup by following these simple steps:

1. Subscribe to a streaming-friendly VPN (like ExpressVPN)

2. Download the app to your device of choice (the best VPNs have apps for Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, Linux, and more)

3. Open up the app and connect to a server in India

4. Download the Disney+ Hotstar mobile app

5. Watch India vs. England in the 2024 T20 Cricket World Cup semi final for free from anywhere in the world

Opens in a new window Credit: ExpressVPN ExpressVPN (1-Year Subscription + 3 Months Free) $99.95 only at ExpressVPN (with money-back guarantee) Get Deal

The best VPNs for streaming are not free, but top VPNs do tend to offer free-trial periods or money-back guarantees. By taking advantage of these offers, you can gain access to free live streams of the T20 World Cup without parting with any cash. This is clearly not a long-term streaming solution, but it does give you time to watch India vs. England (and the final) before recovering your investment.

What is the best VPN for Disney+ Hotstar?

ExpressVPN is the best service for streaming live sport on Disney+ Hotstar, for a number of reasons:

• Servers in 105 countries including India

• Easy-to-use app available on all major devices including iPhone, Android, Windows, Mac, and more

• Strict no-logging policy so your data is always secure

• Fast connection speeds

• Up to eight simultaneous connections

• 30-day money-back guarantee

A one-year subscription to ExpressVPN is on sale for $99.95 and includes an extra three months for free — 49% off for a limited time. This plan also includes a year of free unlimited cloud backup and a generous 30-day money-back guarantee.

Watch India vs. England in the 2024 T20 World Cup semi final for free with ExpressVPN.

TL;DR: Watch Uruguay vs. Bolivia in the 2024 Copa America for free on Sportitalia. Access this free streaming platform from anywhere in the world with ExpressVPN.

Did you know Uruguay won the first ever World Cup? Perhaps even more impressive is the fact that Uruguay have won the Copa America an incredible 15 times across its 108-year history. That record is currently tied with defending champions Argentina. Can Uruguay win the 2024 Copa America and pull ahead of the Argentinians?

First Uruguay will have to beat Bolivia and advance from Group C. It's true that Bolivia aren't the strongest team in the competition, but you can never count anyone out in the group stage. That's the beauty of tournament football.

If you want to watch Uruguay vs. Bolivia in the 2024 Copa America for free from anywhere in the world, we have all the information you need.

When is Uruguay vs. Bolivia?

Uruguay vs. Bolivia in the 2024 Copa America kicks off at 9 p.m. ET on June 27. This fixture takes place at the MetLife Stadium, New York/New Jersey.

How to watch Uruguay vs. Bolivia for free

Uruguay vs. Bolivia in the 2024 Copa America is available to live stream for free on Sportitalia.

Sportitalia is a free streaming platform that's geo-restricted to Italy. That means that viewers outside of Italy can't usually access it, but you'll be able to bypass the geo-restrictions by using a VPN. If you've never used one before, a VPN is a handy tool that can hide your IP address (digital location) and connect you to a secure server based in Italy. That will allow you to access Sportitalia from anywhere in the world, as long as you have a good enough internet connection for live streaming.

Access free live streams of Copa America by following these simple steps:

1. Subscribe to a streaming-friendly VPN (like ExpressVPN)

2. Download the app to your device of choice (the best VPNs have apps for Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, Linux, and more)

3. Open up the app and connect to a server in Italy

4. Visit Sportitalia

5. Watch the 2024 Copa America for free from anywhere in the world

Opens in a new window Credit: ExpressVPN ExpressVPN (1-Year Subscription + 3 Months Free) $99.95 only at ExpressVPN (with money-back guarantee) Get Deal

The best VPNs for streaming are not free, but leading VPN providers often have incentive deals such as free-trial periods or money-back guarantees. To take advantage, simply sign up and gain access for the trial period, which will give you time to watch all the 2024 Copa America action, including Uruguay vs. Bolivia. And all without spending a penny. Who knows? With the improved online security and streaming access you get with a VPN, you may decide to use it beyond the 2024 Copa America.

What is the best VPN for Sportitalia?

ExpressVPN is the best choice for unblocking Sportitalia to stream live sport for free, for a number of reasons:

• Servers in 105 countries including Italy

• Easy-to-use app available on all major devices including iPhone, Android, Windows, Mac, and more

• Strict no-logging policy so your data is secure

• Fast connection speeds free from throttling

• Up to eight simultaneous connections

• 30-day money-back guarantee

A one-year subscription to ExpressVPN is on sale for $99.95, including an extra three months for free. That's an impressive 40% off the standard price, but for a limited time only. This plan also includes a year of free unlimited cloud backup and a generous 30-day money-back guarantee.

Live stream Uruguay vs. Bolivia for free with ExpressVPN.

TL;DR: Watch Panama vs. United States in the 2024 Copa America for free on Sportitalia. Access this free streaming platform from anywhere in the world with ExpressVPN.

The 2024 Copa America is delivering a stellar lineup of massive matchups, with the likes of Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay looking to win the competition. Panama vs. United States is not the biggest game on the schedule, but that doesn't mean that it doesn't matter. Both teams will be doing everything they can to win and progress to the knockout rounds.

If you want to watch Panama vs. United States in the 2024 Copa America for free from anywhere in the world, we have all the information you need.

When is Panama vs. United States?

Panama vs. United States in the 2024 Copa America kicks off at 6 p.m. ET on June 27. This fixture takes place at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia.

How to watch Panama vs. United States for free

Panama vs. United States in the 2024 Copa America is available to live stream for free on Sportitalia.

Sportitalia is geo-restricted to Italy, but anyone can access this free streaming platform with a VPN. These powerful tools can hide your real IP address (digital location) and connect you to a secure server in Italy, meaning you can access Sportitalia from anywhere in the world.

Access free live streams of Copa America by following these simple steps:

1. Subscribe to a streaming-friendly VPN (like ExpressVPN)

2. Download the app to your device of choice (the best VPNs have apps for Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, Linux, and more)

3. Open up the app and connect to a server in Italy

4. Visit Sportitalia

5. Watch the 2024 Copa America for free from anywhere in the world

Opens in a new window Credit: ExpressVPN ExpressVPN (1-Year Subscription + 3 Months Free) $99.95 only at ExpressVPN (with money-back guarantee) Get Deal

The best VPNs for streaming are not free, but top VPNs do tend to offer free-trial periods or money-back guarantees. By taking advantage of these offers, you can gain access to free live streams without committing with your cash. This is clearly not a long-term solution, but it does give you time to watch Panama vs. United States (plus every game in the 2024 Copa America) before recovering your investment.

What is the best VPN for Sportitalia?

ExpressVPN is the best choice for unblocking Sportitalia to stream live sport for free, for a number of reasons:

• Servers in 105 countries including Italy

• Easy-to-use app available on all major devices including iPhone, Android, Windows, Mac, and more

• Strict no-logging policy so your data is secure

• Fast connection speeds free from throttling

• Up to eight simultaneous connections

• 30-day money-back guarantee

A one-year subscription to ExpressVPN is on sale for $99.95 and includes an extra three months for free — 49% off for a limited time. This plan also includes a year of free unlimited cloud backup and a generous 30-day money-back guarantee.

Live stream Panama vs. United States for free with ExpressVPN.

Oh hey there! If you're here, it must be time for Wordle. As always, we're serving up our daily hints and tips to help you figure out today's answer.

If you just want to be told today's word, you can jump to the bottom of this article for June 27's Wordle solution revealed. But if you'd rather solve it yourself, keep reading for some clues, tips, and strategies to assist you.

Where did Wordle come from?

Originally created by engineer Josh Wardle as a gift for his partner, Wordle rapidly spread to become an international phenomenon, with thousands of people around the globe playing every day. Alternate Wordle versions created by fans also sprang up, including battle royale Squabble, music identification game Heardle, and variations like Dordle and Quordle that make you guess multiple words at once. 

Wordle eventually became so popular that it was purchased by the New York Times, and TikTok creators even livestream themselves playing.

Not the day you're after? Here's the solution to yesterday's Wordle.

What's the best Wordle starting word?

The best Wordle starting word is the one that speaks to you. But if you prefer to be strategic in your approach, we have a few ideas to help you pick a word that might help you find the solution faster. One tip is to select a word that includes at least two different vowels, plus some common consonants like S, T, R, or N.

What happened to the Wordle archive?

The entire archive of past Wordle puzzles used to be available for anyone to enjoy whenever they felt like it. Unfortunately, it has since been taken down, with the website's creator stating it was done at the request of the New York Times.

Is Wordle getting harder?

It might feel like Wordle is getting harder, but it actually isn't any more difficult than when it first began. You can turn on Wordle's Hard Mode if you're after more of a challenge, though.

Here's a subtle hint for today's Wordle answer:

A certain rule to life in a community.

Does today's Wordle answer have a double letter?

The letter R appears twice.

Today's Wordle is a 5-letter word that starts with...

Today's Wordle starts with the letter O.

SEE ALSO: Wordle-obsessed? These are the best word games to play IRL. The Wordle answer today is...

Get your last guesses in now, because it's your final chance to solve today's Wordle before we reveal the solution.

Drumroll please!

The solution to Wordle #1104 is...

ORDER.

Don't feel down if you didn't manage to guess it this time. There will be a new Wordle for you to stretch your brain with tomorrow, and we'll be back again to guide you with more helpful hints.

Reporting by Caitlin Welsh, Sam Haysom, Amanda Yeo, Shannon Connellan, Cecily Mauran, Mike Pearl, and Adam Rosenberg contributed to this article.

Connections is the latest New York Times word game that's captured the public's attention. The game is all about finding the "common threads between words." And just like Wordle, Connections resets after midnight and each new set of words gets trickier and trickier—so we've served up some hints and tips to get you over the hurdle.

If you just want to be told today's puzzle, you can jump to the end of this article for June 27's Connections solution. But if you'd rather solve it yourself, keep reading for some clues, tips, and strategies to assist you.

What is Connections?

The NYT's latest daily word game has become a social media hit. The Times credits associate puzzle editor Wyna Liu with helping to create the new word game and bringing it to the publications' Games section. Connections can be played on both web browsers and mobile devices and require players to group four words that share something in common.

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Each puzzle features 16 words and each grouping of words is split into four categories. These sets could comprise of anything from book titles, software, country names, etc. Even though multiple words will seem like they fit together, there's only one correct answer. If a player gets all four words in a set correct, those words are removed from the board. Guess wrong and it counts as a mistake—players get up to four mistakes until the game ends.

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Players can also rearrange and shuffle the board to make spotting connections easier. Additionally, each group is color-coded with yellow being the easiest, followed by green, blue, and purple. Like Wordle, you can share the results with your friends on social media.

Here's a hint for today's Connections categories

Want a hit about the categories without being told the categories? Then give these a try:

• Yellow: Pursuing someone

• Green: XOXO

• Blue: A small team of people

• Purple: Gold

Featured Video For You Connections: How to play and how to win Here are today's Connections categories

Need a little extra help? Today's connections fall into the following categories:

• Yellow: Pursuit

• Green: Romatinc Letter Sign-Offs

• Blue: Group Within a Group

• Purple: Gold___

Looking for Wordle today? Here's the answer to today's Wordle.

Ready for the answers? This is your last chance to turn back and solve today's puzzle before we reveal the solutions.

Drumroll, please!

The solution to Connections #382 is...

What is the answer to Connections today

• Pursuit: CHASE, HUNT, QUEST, SEARCH

• Romantic Letter Sign-Offs: ALWAYS, KISSES, LOVE, YOURS

• Group Within a Group: CAMP, PARTY, SIDE, WING

• Gold___: BOND, LEAF, MINE, RUSH

Don't feel down if you didn't manage to guess it this time. There will be new Connections for you to stretch your brain with tomorrow, and we'll be back again to guide you with more helpful hints.

Is this not the Connections game you were looking for? Here are the hints and answers to yesterday's Connections.

What's this? A bipartisan politics-related decision from Elon Musk?!

The owner of X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, has weighed in more and more on politics in recent years, boosting far-right wing online influencers and spreading far right conspiracies. Musk has also altered policies on X in order to be more amenable to those right wing figures. As a result, Musk himself has become a controversial figure in politics, eliciting condemnation from civil rights groups.

However, on Monday night, Musk made a rare popular political decision: X would allow third-party streams of Thursday's presidential debate between Joe Biden and Donald Trump. According to Musk, his company would not take down commentary feeds streaming the debate if CNN filed such a request.

"The public has a right to see Presidential debates however they would like," Musk said in reply to right wing YouTuber Tim Pool. "DMCA does not apply."

Tweet may have been deleted CNN's presidential debate broadcast rules

This Thursday's debate, the first of only two scheduled 2024 presidential debates, will be hosted by CNN. As a result, the cable news network has the rights to airing the debate between Biden and Trump.

CNN has granted rights to other networks like ABC News, CBS, Fox News, and PBS to also air the live debate on their respective channels.

There are some rules and requirements that CNN has laid out for those networks, such as CNN's insignia being visible throughout the entire broadcast, in exchange for being able to air the debate. The most crucial CNN request that would affect livestream debate commentary, though, is the rule that any added commentary be added before or after the debate. The other networks cannot add commentary during the debate or interrupt or replace CNN's hosts during the broadcast.

However, CNN has also recently made it clear that the offer to broadcast the debate is not open to online streamers. In an email shared by Breaking Points co-host Saagar Enjeti, CNN said that it is "not offering the feed for other YouTube channels."

But, apparently, CNN might have a problem enforcing its rules over on Elon Musk's X. Right wing YouTuber Tim Pool asked Musk if "live commentary and fact checking shows for the CNN Debate" would be "taken down if CNN files a DMCA." And that's when Musk replied saying the DMCA would not apply.

DMCA refers to the 1998 Digital Millennium Copyright Act, which covers copyright on the internet. Rights holders typically file DMCA requests with online platforms in order to get copyrighted material removed when a platform's users publish the copyrighted material.

Politics YouTubers and Twitch streamers are very familiar with battling purported copyright holders over their commentary content. Much of what these creators publish would, the prevailing wisdom goes, fall under fair use, which allows copyrighted material to be used for educational purposes, commentary, criticism, or in transformative use cases. However, major corporations often file copyright claims against fair use material and online platforms abide by them.

Musk's stance, especially when it comes to an event as important to the voting public as a presidential debate, is a rare type of decision from the X owner lately, assuming he follows through: it's a decision that doesn't lean firmly on the right. Streamers of any political background will be able to safely stream commentary during the live presidential debate that may very well be taken down on any other online platform.

It will be interesting to see if CNN escalates matters and sues Musk and company if X does indeed refuse to remove presidential debate streams after takedown requests from the cable news network.

Annual innovation and entertainment festival SXSW is changing up its funding streams for next year's events, with the organization announcing it would stop taking sponsorship money from military affiliates.

The organization's brief official statement (found in its updated Music Showcase FAQ) reads:

After careful consideration, we are revising our sponsorship model. As a result, the U.S. Army, and companies who engage in weapons manufacturing, will not be sponsors of SXSW 2025.

SEE ALSO: On social media, the conversation about pinkwashing and Palestine is amplified

In March, several notable musicians and celebrities condemned the festival for its ties to the U.S. Army and its historic backing of Israeli militarization, with more than 80 acts and panelists dropping out of the 2024 event in total.

Activists and attendees called out SXSW sponsors RTX (formerly Raytheon), Collins Aerospace, and BAE Systems, all weapons manufacturers, in addition to the U.S. Army's involvement (it was deemed a "Super Sponsor" of the festivities). "The defense industry has historically been a proving ground for many of the systems we rely on today," SXSW explained at the time. "These institutions are often leaders in emerging technologies, and we believe it’s better to understand how their approach will impact our lives."

Among those speaking out against the ties was Irish political rap group Kneecap, which wrote in a statement on X that they would be dropping out due to "solidarity with the people of Palestine and to highlight the unacceptable deep links the festival has to weapons companies and the U.S. military who at this very moment are enabling a genocide and famine against a trapped population."

In addition, local Austin, Texas, activist groups coordinated protest shows and an anti-SXSW rally featuring several of the boycotting artists.

SXSW responded to the criticism at the time, saying the organization “fully respect[ed] the decision these artists made to exercise their right to free speech.”

Robert Zemeckis reunites with Tom Hanks and Robin Wright for "Here," based on the graphic novel by Richard McGuire. Trailer.

Using a Visa gift card on Amazon is more convenient than you may think. Since it seems very similar to Amazon's gift card, users might mistakenly try to register their Visa card as a gift card on Amazon. Sadly, that won't work, but there's a pretty simple way to make Amazon purchases with a Visa gift card: register the card like you register debit/credit cards on your profile to start using it as a payment method.

SEE ALSO: Prime Day 2024 is coming: Here are the best live deals to shop early How to add a Visa gift card to make purchases on Amazon:

Step 1: Go to the Amazon website and hover over Accounts & Lists at the top right corner of the webpage. Select Account from the dropdown menu that appears.

Step 2: Once the new page opens up, click on the Your Payments tab. This option will take you to your digital wallet where you can view your added payment methods.

Step 3: Click on Add a payment method. Because the gift card is a Visa, it functions like a regular debit or credit card, so scroll down to the credit or debit cards category to add the new card.

Step 4: A new webpage will appear, prompting you to add the necessary card information like your card number, card holder's name, and expiry date.

Step 5: Now, a new page will open asking for the Billing Address. Add the information to activate your card.

To add the Visa gift card on the Amazon app, click on the three horizontal lines at the bottom right of the screen and a new page will open. Go to Your Shortcuts at the bottom of the page and click on Account. Now, you can follow the same steps as mentioned above to add and activate your Visa gift card.

There are a few caveats to consider when using a Visa gift card on Amazon. First, not all Visa gift cards may work as debit or credit cards on Amazon. Some may require users to use a CVV to authorize a purchase. Since Amazon doesn't ask for this information while adding payment methods, these Visa gift cards might not go through.

Also, Amazon doesn't allow users to combine multiple Visa gift cards, or use a gift card and another credit or debit card on a single transaction. This means that every time you make a purchase from the gift card, you must keep an eye on the balance and make sure that the total order cost (including shipping and taxes) doesn't exceed the account balance.

There is, however, a workaround for tracking that Visa gift card balance. You can use the Visa gift card to add or reload funds on an Amazon gift card, which you can then apply toward future Amazon purchases. Once you add a Visa gift card as an Amazon payment method to your account following the steps above, you can purchase an Amazon gift card for the full amount of the Visa gift card balance (taking into account any fees the Visa card may deduct upon use), or follow these steps to access your existing Amazon gift card balance and reload funds.

Opens in a new window Credit: Visa Add a Visa gift card to your Amazon account Learn More