Spill is inviting its members to become investors. The social media platform announced that it is launching an equity crowdfunding round, allowing users to invest in the company as it grows. The crowdfunding round opened on March 10. “While we’ve been successful in raising venture capital for SPILL, we are a community driven product and believe strongly that the community that helps us grow in the early stage should have the opportunity to benefit as well,” it said in a press release. Spill’s crowdfunding round Spill is inviting users to
Yale juniors Nathaneo Johnson and Sean Hargrow have raised $3.1 million in pre-seed funding for their social network platform, Series, which helps users connect with others who offer mutual value. Series, still just a few months old, secured the funding in only 14 days after a trailer posted by Johnson on LinkedIn went viral in the college entrepreneurial community. The buzz attracted strong investor interest, including from former a16z investor Anne Lee Skates, who went on to lead the pre-seed round through her venture fund Parable. Changing the way we
Dove has joined a campaign to bring natural and protective Black hairstyles to the emoji keyboard. Partnering with London-based youth nonprofit RISE.365, the brand is calling on the Unicode Consortium to approve four new emoji designs representing afros, braids, cornrows, and locs. The push comes as Unicode prepares to review new emoji proposals this month. The #CodeMyCrown campaign The #CodeMyCrown campaign, backed by global pop star Mel B, is challenging the lack of representation of Black hair among the nearly 4,000 emojis currently available. While over 90 percent of the
Over the past year, we’ve seen no shortage of deception: some of it clever, some of it outrageous, and some of it deeply revealing. We’ve seen fake identities used to expose bias, deepfakes spread like wildfire, and high-profile figures go to great lengths to hide the truth (or rewrite it entirely) From a lying ex-husband and cross-country Uber pranks to investor fraud, corporate lawsuits, and social media misinformation, here are ten stories to catch up on this April Fools’ Day. 1. 10 years for scamming investors – or not Carlos
On March 11, 2025, United Negro College Fund (UNCF) partnered with TikTok to champion HillmanTok University for using social media to transform education and motivate the Black community. HillmanTok at Capitol Hill HillmanTok educators like Dr. Leah Barlow, Shyia Simmon, CPA Thurman Brooks, Gyllian Carter, Kyra Brown, and Denise Francis went to Capital Hill in Washington, DC, for a special reception to commemorate the educators and meet with members of Congress, according to a TikTok news release viewed by AFROTECH. “UNCF is proud to partner with TikTok to amplify the transformative
Vince Martin, Founder and CEO of Atlanta-based Upsides Network LLC, has announced the launch of his new platform, BlackShares. The platform aims to bring the Black community together for social and professional networking, as stated in a press release. The company is calling for a boycott of X, Threads, Bluesky, and LinkedIn and suggests switching to BlackShares to support a Black-owned platform instead. The platform will allow experts to be paid for their knowledge, encouraging wealth within the Black community. Putting money back into the community Black consumers’ collective economic
The Nigerian parliament recently passed a resolution banning pornographic websites with immediate effect. The decision follows a motion presented by lawmaker Dalhatu Tafoki, who raised concerns about the accessibility of explicit content and its perceived impact on societal values, particularly among youth. Concerns over moral decline According to Peoples Gazette, Tafoki highlighted the psychological and social risks he believes are linked to exposure to pornography, citing global research by psychologists and sociologists. “Renowned psychologists and sociologists worldwide have issued strong warnings about the psychological, sociological, and mental consequences of consuming pornographic content,”
TikTok is profiting from young women and teenagers as young as 15 performing sexual livestreams, the BBC has been told. Three women in Kenya shared they started these activities as teenagers, using TikTok to publicize their business and negotiate payment for more risqué content sent on other messaging platforms. The app takes a cut of roughly 70% from all livestream transactions, according to a previous report by the BBC. Though TikTok forbids solicitation, moderators stated they are aware that it occurs on the platform. Sexual livestreams on TikTok Livestreams in
Facebook, Tinder and Airbnb Apps are being used to lure women into sex trafficking in Colombia. In an investigation carried out by Bloomberg, several girls shared that they were victims of sexual exploitation. Platforms like Facebook, Tinder and Airbnb allowed predators to lure victims into sex work and plan dates and accommodations with tourists overseas. “With the growing availability of good internet service, the technology to enable this type of crime is on the rise,” Pablo César Villeda Ortiz, former regional president for Latin America and the Caribbean at the International
Gossip personality Tasha K will pay rapper Cardi B nearly $1.2 million over the next five years and refrain from making disparaging remarks about Cardi B or her family, The Rolling Stone reports. Cardi B sued Tasha K, the blogger behind UnWinewithTashaK, for defamation in 2019. A federal jury ruled in Cardi’s favor in 2022, awarding her $4 million over false claims made on YouTube and other platforms. Tasha K filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2023, and judge approved the bankruptcy repayment plan on Monday. How much will Tasha
