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☆ 'Real Housewives of Orange County' star admits she's unsure — at times — about being so public with her son's identity. But she knows it'll help LGBTQ+ families like hers.
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-26 | by ( Jane Ridley | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

AdvertisementIn 2021 — the year that the family was featured in the 16th season of "RHOC" — Max's then 14-year-old younger sister, Katerina (known as Kat), came out as a lesbian. The star told BI she asked the teen if she was OK with the exchange being aired on TV. He's in middle school, and he's got enough to deal with," she told BI. "You just have to create a safe and comfortable environment for them and just let them know that you care," she told BI. As for her own parents, Dubrow told BI that she "came from a very 1950s family," and matters like sex were pushed under the rug.

Persons: —, Heather Dubrow, Maximilla, Max, I'd, Max's, Katerina, Kat, she'd, Dubrow, Lauren Miller, Nicholas, misgendering, Terry Dubrow, he's Organizations: Service, Housewives, Business, Instagram Locations: Orange County

☆ Scotland’s new hate crime law was meant to protect against prejudice. It ended up sowing further division
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-10 | by ( Amy Cassidy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

Scotland’s Hate Crime and Public Order Act came into force last week, a contentious law that expands existing legislation to include transgender identity as a protected characteristic from hate crimes. In the first week of the law’s enactment, a feminist group, “Let Women Speak,” organized a rally against the legislation in Scotland’s capital on Saturday. Another major concern for those who oppose the Hate Crime Act is the supposed lack of clarity on what type of behavior could constitute an offense under the new law. But 25-year-old Scottish trans student Lucy (who asked not to be identified by her real name due to concerns about continued online abuse), said the new law does not reassure her. Scotland’s proposed reforms would have allowed transgender people to self-identify, without the need for a medical diagnosis or certificate.

Persons: –, – Humza Yousaf, ”, JK Rowling, Elon Musk, Joe Rogan, Jane Barlow, ’, Susan Smith, “, ’ ” Smith, Siobhan Brown, Rowling, Harry Potter, Yousaf, J, Rowling waded, Angela Weiss, ” Vic Valentine, Lucy, Scotland’s, hadn’t, Musk, Ian Miles Cheong Organizations: CNN, ” Scottish, Reuters, Scottish, Women Scotland, Community Safety, Police Scotland, BBC, Getty, Scottish Trans, Public Affairs, Equality Network, Scottish Police Federation, ” Police, Courier, PA Media, Police Locations: Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom, British, Scottish, Malaysian

☆ A top LGBTQ+ advocacy org is quitting X over safety concerns
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-09 | by ( Clare Duffy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Fellow civil rights organization the Human Rights Campaign in June declared a “state of emergency” for members of the LGBTQ+ community. “We have seen this rhetoric transcend politics and appear on social media platforms,” a representative for the Trevor Project told CNN. “The content we share on social media is intended to uplift and affirm LGBTQ young people, shedding light on stories to deepen the public understanding of their experiences. The company has also been attempting to convince many advertisers to resume or increase their spending on the platform despite concerns that ads could show up alongside hateful content or misinformation. CNN has reached out to X about the Trevor Project deleting its account.

Persons: Trevor, ”, Elon Musk, “, ” Musk, —, Musk, we’ve, Jack Dorsey, Linda Yaccarino Organizations: New, New York CNN, LinkedIn, Facebook, Center, Anti, Defamation League, ADL, Human, Trevor Project, CNN, Twitter Locations: New York, United States

☆ Ella Irwin says working at X was ‘the hardest experience’ of her career
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-20 | by ( Ben Goggin | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +11 min

"It absolutely was the hardest experience that I've gone through in my career," Irwin, 48, said. Adding clarity to her sudden departure from the company, Irwin said that she resigned because it had become clear to her that "there was no longer alignment" between the company and her "nonnegotiable principles." Shortly after Irwin re-joined the company, Musk published a series of incendiary anti-LGBTQ posts to X. "I don't want to have a negative experience every time I log into Twitter," Irwin said about the idea. Irwin wouldn't divulge which companies, but asked if she would ever return to X, Irwin was taken aback.

Persons: Ella Irwin wasn't, Irwin, Musk, NBC News —, — Irwin, Elon, Jess Anderson, she's, Yoel Roth, Roth, Yoel, X, It's, I've Organizations: Twitter, Google, NBC News, Elon Musk's, Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, European Commission, NBC, Daily, Conservative Locations: San Francisco, Israel, Siberia

☆ Exclusive: Musk-owned X's content moderation shift complicated effort to win back brands -former exec
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-07 | by ( Sheila Dang | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

'X' logo is seen on the top of the headquarters of the messaging platform X, formerly known as Twitter, in downtown San Francisco, California, U.S., July 30, 2023. "I didn't always have access to other people who were doing (brand safety) work," he said of his time at Twitter. Before acquiring Twitter, Musk had criticized the platform for limiting free speech by removing certain content and having a politically liberal bias. Still, Brown said he felt supported in his brand safety work by Musk and Ella Irwin, Twitter's then-head of trust and safety, who resigned days before Brown. FALLING REVENUEOn Monday, Musk said X's declining ad revenue was primarily due to pressure from the Anti-Defamation League (ADL).

Persons: Carlos Barria, AJ Brown, Musk, Linda Yaccarino, Brown, NBCUniversal, Ella Irwin, Twitter's, AJ, Jonathan Greenblatt, X, Sheila Dang, Kenneth Li Organizations: REUTERS, Elon Musk, Twitter, Brand Safety Institute, BSI, Kroger, Defamation League, Anti, Defamation, ADL, Center, X, Thomson Locations: San Francisco , California, U.S, Dallas

☆ Elon Musk blames ADL for lost revenue, says he opposes antisemitism 'of any kind'
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-05 | by ( Doha Madani | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Elon Musk on Monday posted that he was against antisemitism and blamed the Anti-Defamation League for lost advertising revenue since his acquisition of X, formerly known as Twitter. "If this continues, we will have no choice but to file a defamation suit against, ironically, the 'Anti-Defamation' League," Musk wrote. An email to attorneys representing Musk and X asking whether a complaint has been drafted was not immediately returned. X filed a lawsuit last month against the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH), a nonprofit organization that monitors hate speech and disinformation. The ADL also posted a report in March accusing the platform of failing to take action against hate speech.

Persons: Elon Musk, Porte, Musk, CCDH, Imran Ahmed, Ahmed Organizations: SpaceX, Tesla, Twitter, Viva Technology, Porte de, Defamation League, ADL, Defamation, League, NBC, Center, Northern, Northern District of, ADL Center for Technology, Society, Montclair State University, GLAAD, Social Media Locations: Paris, France, U.S, America, Northern District, Northern District of California

☆ Twitter is a more dangerous platform for the LGBTQ community now than it was a year ago, GLAAD finds
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-15 | by ( Brandon Gomez | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Twitter is a more dangerous social platform for LGBTQ users now than it was a year ago, according to a new survey from LGBTQ+ rights organization GLAAD. GLAAD found that the platforms continue to fall short at establishing and enforcing safeguards meant to protect LGBTQ users from hate speech. "You can think of community notes as like an error correction on information in the network. And the effect of community notes is actually bigger than it would seem. The debate over a community notes approach is that it leaves the burden on those affected by hate speech to report harmful posts.

Persons: Kara Swisher, Sarah Kate Ellis, Jack Malon, we've, we're, Elon Musk, Musk, CNBC's David Faber Organizations: CNBC, New York, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, GLAAD, Machine

☆ Nikki Haley town hall: What to watch for
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-04 | by ( Gregory Krieg | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Nikki Haley entered the Republican primary in February with a call for “generational change.” But her message has largely been drowned out by former President Donald Trump and Florida Gov. Here are four things to watch for:What kind of abortion law does Haley want? We’re not even close to that on the Republican or Democratic side,” Haley recently told CBS News. “Why try and divide people further?”During her time as governor of the Palmetto State, Haley signed a 20-week abortion ban. Late last month, Republican Gov.

Persons: Nikki Haley, Donald Trump, Ron DeSantis, Haley, upend Trump, Joe Biden, Haley’s, Trump, Mike Pence, Chris Christie, I’m, We’re, ” Haley, Henry McMaster, Marjorie Dannenfelser, Susan B, Anthony Pro, ” Dannenfelser, “, Biden, ”, DeSantis, Vladimir Putin’s, MAGA, –, influencer Dylan Mulvaney, Bud Light, Mulvaney, Will Haley Organizations: CNN, Former South Carolina Gov, Republican, Florida Gov, Trump, Republican Party, United Nations, New, New Jersey Gov, Democratic, CBS News, Palmetto State, Republican Gov, America, Confederate, Capitol, Conservative Political, Conference, Social Security, GOP, Medicare, Fox News Locations: Iowa, New Jersey, Washington, Ukraine, Vladimir Putin’s Russia, South Carolina

☆ Twitter loses its top content moderation official at a key moment
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-02 | by ( Brian Fung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Irwin has not addressed the reasons for her departure, but the move coincided with the company’s content moderation dispute with the Daily Wire, a conservative outlet. But the sudden and unexpected vacancy at Twitter could leave the company without a key content moderation official at a sensitive moment. That law, known as the Digital Services Act, will require so-called “very large online platforms” including Twitter to abide by tough content moderation standards by as early as August. For months, as Musk has increasingly welcomed more incendiary speech onto the platform Twitter had previously restricted, EU officials have been reminding Twitter of its content moderation obligations under the DSA. The warnings have also come amid mass layoffs at the company that have eliminated entire teams, including much of its content moderation staff.

Persons: Elon Musk, Twitter’s, Ella Irwin, Irwin, Jeremy Boreing, Musk, it’s, It’s, “, Thierry Breton, ” Breton, Linda Yaccarino Organizations: CNN, Twitter, European Union, Reuters, Daily, Twitter’s San, Digital Services, DSA, Services, Trust, Safety, European Commission, Companies Locations: Twitter’s, Twitter’s San Francisco

☆ Fact Check-UK teacher who misgendered pupil banned for numerous reasons
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-31 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

A British man has been banned from teaching for numerous breaches of the Teachers’ Standards code, a Department for Education (DfE) panel report shows, contrary to claims that Joshua Sutcliffe was banned only for using the wrong pronoun when addressing a transgender male pupil. One Facebook user (here) wrote: “So a teacher has been ‘banned’ from HIS profession, simply because HE ‘misgendered’ a student (is it ok to say student?). All the maths teacher did was praise a group of pupils by saying: 'Well done girls'.”Similar posts can be seen here and here. “His conduct... demonstrated a failure to treat pupils with dignity and/or respect and/or a failure to safeguard pupils’ well-being,” the panel added. Joshua Sutcliffe was banned from teaching for numerous reasons, which included, but was not limited to, his misgendering a pupil.

Persons: Joshua Sutcliffe, ”, Sutcliffe, –, “, Mr Sutcliffe, ” Sutcliffe, Tom Allen, Joshua, Read Organizations: Department, Education, LIFE, Agency, Christian Concern, TRA, Reuters Locations: B.i, B.ii

☆ Montana's House speaker is preventing a transgender legislator from speaking about bills on the House floor
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-21 | by ( Madison Hall | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The Montana House speaker is now refusing to recognize her until she apologizes for her speech. "It is up to me to maintain decorum here on the House floor to protect the dignity and integrity, and any representative I don't feel can do that will not be recognized," the speaker said. Her attempt to speak, however, was futile after House Speaker Matt Regier refused to recognize her. That evening, the Montana Freedom Caucus published a letter to Twitter misgendering Zephyr and calling for the Montana House of Representatives to censure her. Moving forward, Zephyr said she'd continue to show up and advocate for her constituents, even without the ability to speak on the House floor.

☆ Montana Republicans are trying to censure a transgender legislator for castigating them about a bill banning gender-affirming care for minors
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( Madison Hall | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Democratic Montana Rep. Zooey Zephyr is the state's first openly transgender legislator. Following her speech, Montana's Freedom Caucus demanded Zephyr be censured. Additionally, the caucus also misgendered Zephyr, the first openly transgender member of the Montana legislature, in the letter. House Minority Leader Kim Abbott, in a statement to the Helena Independent Record, admonished the Montana Freedom Caucus for disrespecting her colleague. "I stand by my accurate description of the devastating consequences of banning essential medical care for transgender youth," Zephyr wrote.

☆ Twitter removes transgender protections from hateful conduct policy
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( Clare Duffy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

New York CNN —Twitter appears to have quietly rolled back a portion of its hateful conduct policy that included specific protections for transgender people. The policy previously stated that Twitter prohibits “targeting others with repeated slurs, tropes or other content that intends to degrade or reinforce negative or harmful stereotypes about a protected category. The change to the hateful conduct policy is one of a number of updates Twitter has made to its safety and content moderation practices since Elon Musk took over the company last fall. LGBTQ advocacy group GLAAD called out the hateful conduct policy change in a Tuesday statement. The billionaire tried to assuage advertisers about Twitter’s approach to hateful conduct at a marketing conference Tuesday, saying, “If somebody has something hateful to say, it doesn’t mean you should give them a megaphone,” according to a report from the Wall Street Journal.

☆ Fact Check-Fabricated tweet about Nashville shooting attributed to trans entertainer and activist
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

A fabricated tweet alluding to the recent Nashville school shooting is being falsely attributed to trans entertainer and activist Peppermint. However, the tweet does not exist on Peppermint’s official Twitter page (twitter.com/Peppermint247). The tweet does not exist in an archived version of the Twitter page (here). anti-trans comments misgendering me don't deter me from uplifting people from marginalized communities.”She also addressed the claim on her Instagram page (here). A tweet attributed to trans performer and activist Peppermint being shared online has been fabricated.

☆ Fact Check-Image does not show authentic Norm Macdonald tweet about the media misgendering trans shooter
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

(Please note offensive language in second paragraph)Image appearing to show a 2016 tweet from late Canadian stand-up comedian and actor Norm Macdonald about media misgendering is digitally altered. The original tweet referred to the Islamic State and a potential “backlash against peaceful Muslims.” The edited version circulated after the shooter at a Nashville school on March 27 was identified as transgender. “Norm was ahead of his time,” states a tweet sharing the image (here), (archive.is/BC4b7). Imagine the backlash against peaceful Muslims?” (here)Macdonald was a Canadian comedian who died at the age of 61 on Sept. 14, 2021, following a “nine-year private battle with cancer,” Deadline reported (here). This image does not show an authentic tweet by Norm MacDonald, who died in 2021.

☆ Civil rights audit at Google proposes better tackling of hate speech, misinformation
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-04 | by ( Kanishka Singh | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, March 3 (Reuters) - Google (GOOGL.O) on Friday released an audit that examined how its policies and services impacted civil rights, and recommended the tech giant take steps to tackle misinformation and hate speech, following pressure by advocates to hold such a review. The disclosure by the company came after the Washington Post reported earlier on Friday that Google tapped an outside law firm to conduct a civil rights review. "We are committed to constantly improving, and that includes efforts to strengthen our approaches to civil and human rights. To help guide us, we conducted and released a voluntary civil rights audit of our policies, practices, and products," Chanelle Hardy, head of civil rights at Google, said in an emailed statement on Friday. In recent years, human rights groups like Amnesty International have accused big tech firms such as Google of not prioritizing rights issues.

☆ Shake Shack agreed to pay $20,000 to an ex-employee who said he was repeatedly asked 'to explain his gender to co-workers'
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-14 | by ( Nancy Luna | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Shake Shack is a New York fast-food chain known for its premium burgers and custard shakes. An ex-employee in California said he was constantly asked "to explain his gender to co-workers." The state's Civil Rights Department investigated, which led to a $20,000 settlement. "Creating a welcoming and fulfilling environment for all our employees and guests is critical," a Shake Shack spokesperson told Insider in a statement. Shake Shake is a fast food chain that sells burgers, fries, and custard shakes.

☆ History-making nonbinary government official is out of a job after theft accusations
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-13 | by ( Jo Yurcaba | Jo Yurcaba Is A Reporter For Nbc Out. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

A department spokesperson confirmed Tuesday that Brinton is no longer the deputy assistant secretary of the Office of Spent Fuel and Waste Disposition but would not elaborate. “By law, the Department of Energy cannot comment further on personnel matters,” the spokesperson said in an email. NBC News has requested a copy of the warrant from the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department but has not received it yet. If convicted, Brinton could face five years in prison, a $10,000 fine or both, according to the complaint. Prior to joining the Energy Department, Brinton served as the vice president of advocacy and government affairs for The Trevor Project, a national LGBTQ youth suicide prevention and crisis intervention organization.

Originally reported Sunday by The Verge, a plan to charge verified users to get or keep their blue checks was expected to cost $20 a month. By Tuesday afternoon, Musk had posted a thread on the platform outlining his plan to charge $8 a month instead — part of an overhaul of Twitter’s existing Blue service. Along with the coveted blue check, Twitter Blue subscribers will be able to post longer video and audio clips. Right now, Twitter’s verification system has no cost and is designed to ensure users can identify legitimate accounts and know they’re trustworthy. The blue check makes it harder for verified users to be impersonated and provides them with some additional tools to manage their notifications since many have a lot of followers.

☆ Far-right figures appear to be testing Twitter's boundaries for anti-LGBTQ speech
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-31 | by ( Matt Lavietes | Matt Lavietes Is A Reporter For Nbc Out. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +7 min

Shields did not respond to NBC News' request for comment. The word “grooming” has long been associated with mischaracterizing LGBTQ people, particularly gay men and transgender women, as child sex abusers. The day before, within hours of Musk's Twitter acquisition, the far-right account Libs of TikTok — which has over 1.4 million Twitter followers and has largely built its following by mocking liberals — tweeted out a post with the word "groomer" written over a dozen times. The far-right celebration comes as homophobic and transphobic slurs and rhetoric have had a resurgence within Republican politics this year. Twitter did not immediately respond to a request for comment concerning several of the more high-profile tweets that included anti-LGBTQ slurs or sentiments.

☆ Joe Rogan praises Elon Musk for wanting to bring a 'reasonable exchange of ideas' back to Twitter
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-30 | by ( Sam Tabahriti | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Joe Rogan praised Elon Musk's Twitter takeover in his latest podcast with comedian Bridget Phetasy. He said Musk wants to bring back a "reasonable exchange of ideas" and thinks "this is important." In his latest episode of The Joe Rogan Experience, he speaks with writer and comedian Bridget Phetasy about Musk's $44 billion deal. Rogan said it was important that Musk wanted to restore a "reasonable exchange of ideas" on Twitter, and notable coming from someone who is "that wealthy" and had been "left-leaning most of his life." Texas Sen. Ted Cruz told Fox News: "I think Elon Musk buying Twitter is one of the most significant developments for free speech in modern times."

☆ Elon Musk now owns Twitter. Here’s what he could change
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-28 | by ( Clare Duffy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

New York CNN Business —After spending months attempting to get out of his deal to buy Twitter, Elon Musk officially owns the hugely influential platform. Musk has said Twitter, under his leadership, would have more lenient content moderation policies. Unbanning Trump and other accountsBut the most striking early change could come from who is and is not allowed on a Musk-owned Twitter. Musk, for his part, has focused on bringing back one of Twitter’s most prominent former users: Trump. The same day he sent his letter to Twitter attempting to revive the deal, Musk was widely panned for comments he made on the platform about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

☆ How Elon Musk could change Twitter
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-06 | by ( Clare Duffy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Musk has said Twitter, under his leadership, would have more lenient content moderation policies. But the most striking early change could come from who is and is not allowed on a Musk-owned Twitter. Musk, for his part, has focused on bringing back one of Twitter’s most prominent former users: Trump. “There are exceptions … but generally permanent bans are a failure of ours and don’t work,” he said. The same day he sent his letter to Twitter attempting to revive the deal, Musk was widely panned for comments he made on the platform about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

☆ Virginia governor seeks to roll back transgender student protections
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-19 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

Glenn Youngkin’s administration has rewritten Virginia’s model policies for the treatment of transgender students, issuing guidance for school divisions that would roll back some accommodations and tighten parental notification requirements. Regarding parental notification, the guidelines say school divisions may not encourage teachers to conceal information about a student’s gender from his or her parents. And they say parents must be given an opportunity to object before counseling services pertaining to gender are offered. Democrats, the Virginia Education Association and LGBTQ advocacy groups, meanwhile, criticized Youngkin, saying the changes would harm vulnerable children. But many school boards never complied, according to a recent analysis by Equality Virginia, an LGBTQ advocacy group.

We took over four school boards.”“Eleven seats on school boards, took over four!” Bannon shouted as a crowd of CPAC attendees erupted in applause. In the neighboring city of Southlake, Patriot Mobile donated framed posters that read “In God We Trust” to the Carroll Independent School District during a special presentation before the school board. Nearly 200 people signed up to speak during public comments before the board vote at the school board meeting in Grapevine, Texas. Patriot Mobile paid Vanguard Field Strategies nearly $150,000 to run get-out-the-vote canvassing operations across the four school districts, according to financial disclosures. “This is the most extreme board policy that we have seen related to classroom censorship,” Huddleston said.

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