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
Rapper Kanye West, known as Ye, sold swastika shirts on a site hosted by Shopify Inc. during the Super Bowl, according to Bloomberg. During the NFL championship, West ran a commercial on Sunday night instructing viewers to “go to yeezy.com.” Days before this, the rapper had praised Hitler and posted antisemitic content on his now-deactivated X account. Hate speech on Shopify On Monday, West’s website featured one item for sale: a white shirt with a black Nazi swastika in its center, listed under the product name HH-01. The site’s source
Viriginia-based entrepreneur DeShuna Spencer launched a website to track corporate responsibility for DEI initiatives. DEI Watch aims to help consumers decide which brands to support (or not). A former journalist, Spencer, created the site to promote transparency and empower buying decisions. Though she is not promoting boycotts, she says, “But if you want to, we wanted to create a platform that’s as accurate as possible,” Spencer told Axios. Spencer is also the founder of kweliTV (sometimes referred to as Black Netflix), a streaming service with over 800 international films, documentaries, and kids’
A key Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) employee has resigned from his role after he was connected to a deleted social media account supporting racism and eugenics, as first reported by The Wall Street Journal. Marko Elez, 25, had access to the Treasury Department’s central payments system. Elon Musk says he will rehire Marko Elez, after the software engineer gained the backing of Vice President Vance and President Trump. DOGE employee’s racist posts The 25-year-old engineer, Marko Elez, was a previous staff worker for two of Elon Musk’s companies. As
Target’s shareholders are suing the company as they believe Target hid the risks of its DEI initiatives, as stated by USA Today. Why are shareholders suing Target? In a proposed class action, Target’s shareholders claim that they felt that the company was unaware of the consequences that would surface due to DEI efforts. Additionally, the shareholders claim they were swindled into paying higher fees for its stocks and unknowingly supported its “misuse of investor funds to serve political and social goals.” In addition, before Target announced it was rolling back
