In partnership with
Your inside scoop on the week’s biggest stories
{{current_date_full}}
From far-right influencers on social media platforms to sensationalist newspaper headlines, the Hate Economy is on the rise. We’re fundraising for our project to expose who is profiting from the spread of hate, and who is being targeted the most. Any donation you can spare, no matter how big or small, will go towards this vital work.
Frankie Goodway,
Saturday Editor
Hi there. This week’s Uncovered is landing in your inbox a day later than normal so that you can be the first to read our latest stories –a two-part investigation into a company under investigation for running illegal children’s homes, and the ex-soldier accused of multiple rapes allowed to have a management role there.
These stories include accounts of sexual violence, domestic abuse and neglect of vulnerable children. They are hard to read. They were extremely hard to report. But the scandal of illegal homes will not go away without focused attention and journalism.
Ex-army officer accused of raping two women is running children’s homes
Richard Douglas, a former army medic who has been reported to the police twice for rape by different women, is helping to run illegal children’s homes in Merseyside. He’s also, we can reveal, the man who gave positive references for two other ex-soldiers who later plied a 15-year-old girl with drugs and alcohol and then sexually abused her – even though both men had been investigated for safeguarding failures while he was their manager. Douglas denies all allegations against him.
Inside the story
I’ve read a lot of legal letters as part of my job here at the Bureau. I’ve never read one as astonishing as the one from Douglas’s representative. It failed to respond to one set of allegations, while dismissing the other with a glib “hell hath no fury like a woman scorned”. Our reporting team had to call Douglas multiple times just to make sure he had an opportunity to answer all our claims.
SafeSpace4U and an illegal childcare empire
SafeSpace4U, the company that employs Douglas, is currently under criminal investigation for running illegal children’s homes across England. The business has been paid £1.3m in public money to house some of the UK’s most vulnerable children, with no oversight from Ofsted. And neighbours have reported worrying lapses in care, including seeing kids dragged down the street.
⚡ Immediate impact
At least seven councils had placed children in SafeSpace4U homes over the past two years. We contacted all of them, and two told us they would no longer use the company.
Insecure romantic chatbot app taken down
Two months ago, our reporter Effie Webb published an investigation into some of the apps that were cashing in on AI relationships, offering virtual girlfriends for personal, intimate conversations. In doing so, she uncovered that one app, Seewa AI, had promised users that every chat was encrypted and private. In fact, the developer behind the app could read every conversation. Now the app has been taken down – and the CEO no longer wants to talk to us.
⚡ Impact this week
The impact network meet-up that our impact producer Grace Murray ran a few weeks ago had a lovely write up in the News Alchemists newsletter. A key highlight? Grace’s excellent delineation of the boundary between journalism and activism: “As journalists, we are providing the diagnostics; we are not necessarily prescribing the cure.” Through the network, we’re helping to ensure that it’s not just our journalism that goes the extra mile to make change, but that other newsrooms are equipped with the tools we’ve developed to do the same.
Niamh McIntyre, our senior tech reporter, was on Follow The Money’s podcast this week to talk about her work digging into AI-generated hateful slop. You can watch or listen to the episode here.
Emiliano Mellino, our Bureau Local senior reporter, was one of the helping hands on this brilliant comic by Tom Humberstone on the difficulties faced by delivery riders. (And so was our old friend Rachel Hamada, formerly of this parish!) You may remember our investigation into Deliveroo that revealed some riders were earning as little as £2 an hour.
Enjoy reading Uncovered? There’s more available with a TBIJ membership. You’ll get access to our behind-the-scenes newsletter Classified, free and discounted tickets for our events, and more. Sign up today:
What we’ve been reading
🔴 Strolling around Portland with infrared cameras reveals the impact of urban architecture on how hot – or not – a neighbourhood gets grist.org
🔴 How a group of YouTubers built an army of AI influencers to hawk supplements that had been recalled by the US Food and Drug Administration 404media.co
🔴 Four young women say they were sexually assaulted and harassed as teenagers while attending the Army Foundation College in Harrogate bbc.co.uk
If you like Uncovered, feel free to forward it to a friend. It’s free to subscribe.
ADVERTISEMENT
Smart starts here.
You don't have to read everything — just the right thing. 1440's daily newsletter distills the day's biggest stories from 100+ sources into one quick, 5-minute read. It's the fastest way to stay sharp, sound informed, and actually understand what's happening in the world. Join 4.5 million readers who start their day the smart way.
