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☆ Opinion | A.I. Is Making the Sexual Exploitation of Girls Even Worse
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-02 | by ( Jessica Grose | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

The superintendent told NBC News the photos included students’ faces superimposed onto nude bodies.”I had heard about this kind of thing happening to high school girls, which is horrible enough. I’m not a technophobe and have, in the past, been somewhat skeptical about the outsize negative impact of social media on teen girls. The possibilities are especially frightening when the technology is used by teens and tweens, groups with notoriously iffy judgment about the permanence of their actions. I have to admit that my gut reaction to the Beverly Hills story was rage — I wanted the book thrown at the kids who made those fakes. But I wanted to hear from someone with more experience talking to teens and thinking deeply about the adolescent relationship with privacy and technology.

Persons: Kat Tenbarge, Liz Kreutz, ”, — Organizations: NBC News, “, Beverly Vista Middle, NBC, Beverly Locations: Beverly Hills, Calif

☆ Microsoft CEO responds to AI-generated Taylor Swift fake nude images
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-29 | by ( Kat Tenbarge | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said Friday that the company has to "move fast" on combatting nonconsensual sexually explicit deepfake images, after AI-generated fake nude pictures of Taylor Swift went viral this week. "Yes, we have to act," Nadella said in response to a question about the deepfakes of Swift. "I think we all benefit when the online world is a safe world. X didn't respond to an NBC News request for comment about the deepfake images of Swift, while the singer's representative declined to comment on the record. We have investigated these reports and have not been able to reproduce the explicit images in these reports.

Persons: Satya Nadella, Taylor Swift, Lester Holt, Nadella, Swift, Bing Organizations: NBC News, NBC, Microsoft, Media, Media Microsoft

☆ Opinion | Why We Need to Talk More Openly About Birth Control Side Effects
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-01 | by ( Jessica Grose | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

Part of the reason that some non-hormonal birth control methods seem to have gained such traction on social media is that there is a tendency among some medical professionals to downplay the side effects of hormonal birth control methods that many women experience. Most women who use birth control are completely or somewhat satisfied with their methods of choice, but a minority of them experience reactions unpleasant enough to seriously impede their daily lives. Over the years, I have heard anecdotally about — and experienced — various side effects to different types of contraception: heavy breakthrough bleeding and abdominal pain with IUDs, mood disturbances with different types of pills, and sexual side effects with everything. Discussion of these issues, often confined to intimate chats among women, was aired out in a great extended bit from the comedian Beth Stelling’s new Netflix special, in which she recounts the various kinds of birth control she’s “experimented recreationally” with over the years. But some physicians say without data that point to the prevalence of some side effects, they find it difficult to respond.

Persons: Beth Stelling’s, she’s “, ”, “, Sara Cravatts, Cravatts, —, Kat Tenbarge, Kate White, they’re Organizations: Netflix, “, Stat, NBC News, Boston Medical Center

☆ How Justin Roiland used his ‘Rick and Morty’ fame to pursue young fans, text messages show
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-13 | by ( Kat Tenbarge | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +22 min

Roiland frequently followed and interacted with the starstruck "Rick and Morty" fans on social media and dating apps. "However, now that the legal case has ended, I'm determined to move forward and focus both on my creative projects and restoring my good name," Roiland wrote. Haha," Roiland wrote. Veronika Sweeney tweeted screenshots of direct messages Roiland sent her in 2014 when she was 22. "But I felt like you weren't okay," Roiland wrote in another text message.

Persons: Justin Roiland, Michael Kovac, Rick, Morty, McDonald's, Roiland, he'd, Andrew Brettler, I'm, Elon Musk —, Ruby, influencers, Janna Waters, Waters, it's, Roiland messaged, Rick Sanchez, …, Jesus Christ, Hailey Long, Long, Veronika Sweeney, Sweeney, wasn't, Uber, RICK, MORTY, Justin, Roiland texted, texted, dicks Organizations: San Diego Comic, NBC News, Squanch Games, NBC, Illinois, biiiiitch, Con, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube Locations: Los Angeles, Roiland, Orange County , California, Boston, Tinder, Roiland's, Massachusetts, San Diego, Raleigh , North Carolina, Pennsylvania

Hulu is cutting ties with "Rick and Morty" co-creator and co-star Justin Roiland, the company said in a statement. Roiland co-created Hulu's animated series “Solar Opposites” with Mike McMahan and he previously voiced the character Korvo. NBC News previously reported that Roiland was charged with two counts of felony domestic violence in California's Orange County Superior Court stemming from a January 2020 incident. On Tuesday, the cable television channel Adult Swim announced it had cut ties with Roiland. Squanch Games, the video game studio Roiland co-founded, also announced Tuesday that Roiland had resigned a week prior, days after NBC News’ initial report on his domestic violence case.

Adult Swim announced Tuesday that it has cut ties with Justin Roiland, the star and a co-creator of the animated comedy series “Rick and Morty," as he faces felony domestic violence charges. Roiland, who voices title characters Rick and Morty, will be recast, said Marie Moore, the senior vice president of communications at Warner Bros. NBC News broke the news that Roiland had been charged with felony domestic violence in Orange County, California, in connection with a 2020 incident. Squanch Games, the video game company co-founded by Roiland, also announced Tuesday on Twitter that Roiland resigned. Details of the case, including police body camera video, police reports, abuse investigation reports, medical reports and recordings of interviews, are being withheld from the public under a protective order.

Andrew Tate once called his sexually explicit webcam business a “total scam” and boasted on his website that he lured women in by getting them to fall in love with him. Romanian authorities arrested him, his brother and two women on suspicion of human trafficking, rape and forming an organized crime group, according to Reuters. The webcam business that Tate ran and openly spoke about is central to these charges, according to Romanian Authorities. Some of the allegations by Romanian authorities echo what Andrew Tate has said publicly about his webcam business. Earlier this month, Vice reported that Tate was arrested in 2015 in the U.K. on suspicion of sexual assault and physical abuse, citing statements from U.K. authorities and Tate himself.

For users with a lot of followers, Twitter has been a place to network with professionals in their chosen field, build successful businesses and share breaking news. In October 2022 the account hit 550,000 Twitter followers, she said. Before Musk, Nelson said he communicated with Twitter staff, who engaged with the platform’s top creators to share new features and get insight. Prominent Twitter users said they have also noticed the quality of discourse on the platform declining, including more hateful messages being sent to them in direct messages and replies. It catalogs tweets from and about Musk, including reporting on the disruption to Twitter’s staff, previously suspended accounts that Musk restored and major moments on Musk’s Twitter.

According to Orange County Superior Court records, Roiland pleaded not guilty to both charges in October 2020. Roiland was arrested and released on a $50,000 bond in August 2020 and arraigned in October 2020. Over the past three years, as the domestic violence case has inched along, Roiland’s career has progressed. Roiland also released the video game “High on Life” in 2022, which he developed through his studio Squanch Games. Roiland won an Emmy for “Rick and Morty” in 2020 and a Hollywood Critics Choice Association TV award for the show in 2022.

On Tuesday, Tate tweeted at Thunberg, referring to his “33 cars” and their “enormous emissions.”Thunberg responded on Wednesday, making a joke about Tate’s genitals. After Tate’s arrest, posts quickly went viral, speculating that the pizza boxes in the video had been an important factor in locating Tate. But Ramona Bolla, a spokesperson for DIICOT, refuted that the pizza boxes had anything to do with Tate’s arrest. On Twitter, many responded to Tate’s days-old Twitter feud with Thunberg with jokes about the interaction and Tate’s arrest. In the video, Afualo said she saw the news about Tate’s arrest.

Megan Thee Stallion isn’t on trial. But if you consume content from some popular hip-hop bloggers, podcasters and social media accounts, you might be misled. Some question if Megan Thee Stallion was even shot at all. The narratives have become viral social media content. Milagro Gramz, a hip-hop news commentator, has been covering Pete and Peterson since before the trial started.

On Thursday, Twitter accounts for at least nine journalists and one left-leaning political pundit were suspended. That is the real problem here.”According to Musk, Thursday’s suspensions were related to new rules around sharing real-time location information, which he tied to an alleged stalking incident. Musk said, “Any account doxxing real-time location info of anyone will be suspended, as it is a physical safety violation. On Wednesday, Musk tweeted that legal action would be taken against Sweeney. Andrew Torba, founder of the far-right social platform Gab, also criticized Musk and touted his company as an alternative to Twitter.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has charged seven social media influencers with securities fraud, saying Wednesday that they were part of a $100 million scheme to use social media platforms Twitter and Discord, as well as podcasts, to manipulate the price of certain stocks. Discord is a private chatroom and messaging platform that is popular with gaming influencers and, more recently, financial influencers. According to the SEC, seven of the defendants promoted stocks to their hundreds of thousands of Twitter followers and in stock trading rooms on Discord since at least January 2020. They would then promote the stock to their followers and inflate the share price, announcing price targets and teasing upcoming news about the company. Those stocks are often ripe for manipulation because they receive less attention and have lower trading volumes.

Some of Signore’s newer content takes aim at the people he said contributed to the allegations against him and their aftermath. Signore recorded the interview and released segments of it in July in a YouTube video criticizing NBC News’ coverage of the trial.) In between clips from the trial, Signore comments that he believes the testimony is true and reflects strongly on Depp’s case. Business Insider reported that the top three Super Chat earners on YouTube during the trial were creators who exclusively streamed it. “There’s no due process,” Signore said in the May video comparing himself to Depp and one of his accusers to Heard.

“After the Infowars interview, we were disgusted by his behavior,” CalmYe said. “We didn’t want to give a platform to what he’s saying anymore.”After the Infowars interview, we were disgusted by his behavior. The subreddit became increasingly difficult to moderate, and Ye’s praise of Hitler was the tipping point. CalmYe said most fans seem “disgusted” with Ye’s recent behavior, and this latest interview caused many to ditch the artist for good. Other Ye-focused creators have tried to steer their followings through the aftermath of the Infowars interview.

Jones and Infowars had already been banned from Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Apple, YouTube, Spotify, Google Play, Vimeo, Pinterest, Mailchimp and LinkedIn. But Ye’s interview had more than 3.1 million views as of publication. On other platforms, clips of the interview got millions more. Twitter suspended Ye later that night after Ye tweeted an image that contained a swastika. He showed clips of Ye praising Hitler, and Foreman speculated that his channel might get a “strike” from YouTube as a result.

“I was just so thirsty to get a BBL,” Velasco said. 7Q Spa also has positive reviews on Yelp and Google, where it averages a 4.5 star rating. The front door of 7Q Spa is side-by-side with Vitality Medical Center, which, according to California business registration documents, has the same CEO as 7Q Spa. After the surgery, Velasco said she felt great and, at first, she couldn’t feel her stitches at all. The California Medical Board revoked her license as part of the settlement, but stayed the revocation and granted her a 35-month probation.

Some right-wing media figures and influencers have doubled down on the use of inflammatory rhetoric against the LGBTQ community in the wake of Saturday night’s shooting at a Colorado gay club that killed five. “We shouldn’t tolerate pedophiles grooming kids,” Pool tweeted. At least one Republican politician also targeted LGBTQ people on social media in the wake of the shooting. Ellis said leaders in the LGBTQ community have “seen a dramatic uptick” in anti-LGBTQ rhetoric. “This is priming some very violent people to do shocking acts of violence, and this is all being pushed on social media and on Fox News, on Tucker Carlson.”

☆ National feminist organizations break their silence on Amber Heard in an open letter of support
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-16 | by ( Kat Tenbarge | Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Kahlan-Rosenblatt.Jpg | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +6 min

It was written by a group of people who identify as domestic violence survivors and supporters of Heard. Many who did speak out in support of Heard, including the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, were met with ferocious backlash from Depp’s supporters online. Others who signed the letter echoed their concerns that reaction to the trial on social media was harmful to everyday victims of domestic violence. Since the trial, there has been more public support for Heard on social media, the spokesperson for the group behind the letter said. She and other anonymous Heard supporters had been “working to combat disinformation for months” when they joined for the open letter initiative.

Donald Trump made his long-awaited announcement about his 2024 bid for president. The former president faces a litany of lawsuits and investigations into his businesses and role in the Capitol riot. Former President Donald Trump made his long-awaited announcement that he will run for president in 2024. While certainly controversial, Trump has lived a unique life. Here is a look at the president's life journey, from the New York Military Academy to the Oval Office and beyond.

Influencer Nikita Dragun was released from jail in Miami on Wednesday, according to her representative and Miami-Dade County criminal justice records. Dragun, 26, was arrested Monday at a hotel and charged with felony assault of a police officer. Dragun, who is transgender, is well-known online for content about her transition, beauty and style. While in the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center in Miami, Dragun’s representative said she was placed in a men’s unit. Dragun was released on recognizance, Miami-Dade County’s records said, meaning she did not have to post bail.

Influencer Nikita Dragun was arrested Monday night at a hotel in Miami and charged with felony assault of a police officer, according to the Miami-Dade Police Department. Over the past week, Dragun has posted videos and photos of herself in Miami, including at The Goodtime Hotel in Miami Beach. Dragun was arrested on the felony assault charge, as well as misdemeanor battery and misdemeanor disorderly conduct charges, the affidavit said. Hours before the arrest, Dragun tweeted about a separate altercation with Miami-based DJ and producer duo Black V Neck. On Sunday, Black V Neck tweeted that Dragun had shoved one of them after he told her not to steal their liquor bottle.

While some creators have been pumping out videos about the midterm elections, searching “midterms” on TikTok shows many young creators are more interested in discussing their midterm exams. “Not a lot of people know about it,” Meadow Treadwell, 20, said about her college-age peers and the midterm elections. “With midterms, I don’t know if it’s because I’m not on that side of TikTok, but I haven’t seen any.”The “midterms” hashtag is full of content about academic midterms. Content with the hashtag “midterm exam” has 16 million views and content with the hashtag “midterm elections 2022” has 12 million views. Polling data suggests young voters are less enthusiastic in 2022 than they were in 2018, when 36% of young voters turned out.

Ye, the artist formerly known as Kanye West, said late Sunday that he was suspended from Instagram for 30 days. Ye posted a screenshot of an Instagram notification about the suspension on Parler, the conservative “free speech” social media platform, which recently announced Ye would acquire it. According to Ye’s posts on Parler, he attempted to post a screenshot of a text message exchange on Instagram. Ye also posted a screenshot of a notification he appears to have received from Instagram. Anti-hate groups like the American Jewish Committee have referred to Ye’s posts about Jewish people as “dangerous” and relying on antisemitic stereotypes about Jewish people.

Now, social media creators and audiences are comparing Jolie to Heard, as evidenced by hundreds of comments NBC News found on Twitter, TikTok, and YouTube that questioned her allegations of abuse. This year, that battle went mainstream, catching the attention of millions of viewers online during the civil trial involving Depp and Heard. “The things we saw, the memes, the clips of the trial, they were overwhelmingly going against Amber Heard. Some of the videos characterized Jolie as a liar in titles and thumbnails, while others asked whether she is using “Amber Heard tactics” or is “the next” Heard. Former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson was labeled “Amber Heard 2.0,” and the phrase trended on Twitter after she testified about former President Donald Trump’s alleged actions during the Jan. 6 Capitol attack.

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