UK government officials have criticized Elon Musk, owner of social media platform X (formerly known as Twitter), for commenting, “civil war is inevitable” under a video of violent, far-right attacks in England. Musk’s Posts Ignite Political Reactions Hundreds have been arrested during a wave of racist, Islamophobic, and anti-immigrant violence sparked by the disinformation surrounding the murder of three young girls last Monday. False claims that the murder suspect was a Muslim asylum seeker led violent right-wing mobs to attack mosques and set fire to hotels housing asylum seekers across
Over 100 scholars, advocates, and human rights organizations have signed an urgent open letter demanding the Venezuelan government cease its technological repression and ensure unfettered access to the internet. This call to action comes amidst escalating political violence following the South American country’s controversial presidential elections on July 28. The open letter’s signatories include the Center on Race & Digital Justice, Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights, the Distributed AI Research Institute (DAIR) and its founder Timnit Gebru. Escalation of Surveillance Post-Elections In the wake of the recent elections, Venezuela has
Google has withdrawn its Olympics ad for the AI chatbot Gemini, titled “Dear Sydney,” following backlash over its portrayal of AI in crafting a child’s letter to her favorite athlete. Controversial Ad Sparks Outrage The “Dear Sydney” commercial features a young girl’s father using Google’s AI chatbot, Gemini, to help write a letter to U.S. hurdler and sprinter Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone. The ad, which includes a scene of the AI-generated letter and concludes with the child running on a track, aimed to demonstrate Gemini’s potential as a supportive tool in creative
Former CNN journalist Don Lemon has filed a lawsuit against Elon Musk and X (formerly known as Twitter), accusing them of fraud, negligent misrepresentation, and breach of contract. The lawsuit, filed on August 1 in the Superior Court of California for the County of San Francisco, follows the abrupt cancellation of a content partnership deal between Lemon and X. Allegations of Fraud and Breach of Contract According to the lawsuit, Musk and X agreed to a content partnership with Lemon in January 2024, where Lemon was to host an exclusive
Four students from Pinelands High School in Cape Town, South Africa are facing disciplinary hearings after a video depicting a mock “slave auction” went viral on social media, according to the BBC. The video, which shows Black students being auctioned off while others bid for them, has prompted outrage and an official investigation by the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC). Incident Details and Investigation The footage, reportedly filmed by Grade 8 students, shows Black pupils inside a cage while other students shout bids. This incident has drawn significant public
Elon Musk, owner of social media platform X, is facing widespread criticism after sharing a deceptively edited video of Vice President Kamala Harris. The video, which makes it appear that Harris is disparaging President Joe Biden and boasting about being the “ultimate diversity hire,” was reposted by Musk without any disclaimer that it was a parody. This action seemingly violates X’s own policy on manipulated media. A Violation of Platform Policies? The controversial video originally posted by @MrReaganUSA was labeled as a “parody” by the creator. However, Musk’s repost, accompanied
Runway AI, a multi-billion dollar company, has been training its AI video tool, Gen-3, on thousands of YouTube videos without permssion, 404 Media has revealed. Among the videos used were over 1,600 from tech influencer Marques Brownlee (MKBHD). The exposé follows an investigation by Proof News, copublished with Wired, which found that tech firms including Apple, Anthropic, Nvidia, and Salesforce had training their AI systems on subtitle data from more than 170,000 YouTube videos. Runway Secretly Trained On YouTube Videos In June, Runway AI launched Gen-3, initially called Jupiter, which received high praise
On Sunday, hours after Joe Biden withdrew from the presidental race, thousands of Black women met on Zoom, raising over $1.6 million for Kamala Harris in three hours. Black Women for Kamala Harris Every Sunday at 8:30 p.m. ET for the past four years, Black women have been virtually gathering, strategizing, encouraging, and supporting one another through the collective “Win With Black Women“. This organization, born out of frustration over the treatment of Black women being considered as running mates for then-candidate Joe Biden in 2020, has grown exponentially. On
SheerLuxe, a renowned UK lifestyle and fashion magazine, recently introduced Reem Bot, a woman of color AI-powered fashion and lifestyle editor, causing backlash. Presented as a new team member, Reem is designed to provide recommendations on fashion, beauty, travel, and more. However, the announcement was met with significant backlash, particularly regarding the ethical implications and the portrayal of Reem as a person of color. Public Reaction and Concerns The introduction of Reem Bot sparked controversy among SheerLuxe’s audience, which includes nearly half a million Instagram followers. “We’re thrilled to introduce
In a recent viral TikTok video, user Monte Washington challenged the narrow stereotype of “Black jobs” by showcasing the diverse and successful careers of Black professionals. This video emerged as a response to controversial comments made by former President Trump during a presidential debate, where he claimed immigrants were taking jobs from Black and Hispanic people. “They’re taking Black jobs now, and it could be 18, it could be 19 and even 20 million people,” Trump said during his debate. This statement, perceived by many as racially charged, spurred a
