Content creator and entrepreneur Ashley Grayson, formerly Ashley Massengill, is facing RICO charges of racketeering and murder alongside her husband, Joshua Grayson. Who is Ashely Grayson? Grayson is a content creator and entrepreneur who became widely known after claiming to have made $1 million within 40 minutes through her online platform, Digital Course Recipe. In a now-deleted Facebook post, she labeled herself a #MillionaireMentor and had become an inspiration for many young Black girls online. However, several TikTok users accused Grayson of scamming people through her online courses last year.
Spill, a new social platform, has recently launched in beta on iOS and has quickly gained popularity within the Black community. Its surge in users can be attributed in part to Elon Musk’s announcement to limit the number of daily tweets visible on Twitter as well as several technical mishaps in recent months. What is Spill? The platform is invite-only while in beta and has been described as a visual-first, multimedia microblogging app with an interface similar to Tumblr. The app has a live news feed and allows people to
The Fifteen Percent Pledge was launched three years ago by creative director, activist and fashion designer Aurora James to urge major retailers and corporations to commit 15% of their shelf space to Black-owned businesses. Since then, more than 625 Black-owned businesses have developed business relationships with 29 companies across three countries that have taken the pledge such as Ulta, Sephora, Vogue, Macy’s and Old Navy. According to Forbes, the Pledge’s work with its partners has created the potential to shift $14 billion to Black entrepreneurs and businesses. Now, to mark
The regulation and ethics of AI image generators have been a topic of conversation for several years, with EU lawmakers considering proposals for safeguards to address some of the issues. In March, more than 31,000 people signed an open letter calling for a six-month pause in AI research and development to answer questions about regulation and ethics. Recently, the free-to-use graphic design tool Canva came under fire after DEI Thought Partner Adriele Parker prompted its text-to-image app to generate a Black woman with Bantu knots. An error appeared and told
Following Elon Musk’s announcement to buy Twitter in April 2022, many users, particularly Black users, opposed it. Some have found other platforms, such as Mastodon, Spill, and Bluesky. Bluesky, however, has recently raised some alarm bells after a moderation policy change following a death threat against a Black woman left many questioning the safety of the platform. What is Bluesky? Bluesky is a decentralized social app that started off as a project by Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey in 2019 when he was Twitter’s CEO. Dorsey chose Jay Graber to lead
TikTok, as we know, has the potential to change lives and shine a light on talents that may have gone unnoticed previously. Elvis Muchiri, more commonly known as Evolve with Elvis, has become a topic of conversation on TikTok, YouTube, and Twitter as he teaches his audiences how to use keyboard shortcuts with his younger sister Megan. The young boy started posting on TikTok in March of this year and has already gained 125,300 followers and over 1.7 million likes. He also has gained a platform on YouTube with 8,490
Tragedy struck in Senegal as a 26-year-old student, Elhaji Cisse, was killed shortly after pleading with Elon Musk for Starlink internet access amidst social unrest. Senegal has experienced widespread protests following the sentencing of opposition leader Ousmane Sonko. As tensions escalated, the government imposed restrictions on social media and messaging platforms. The restrictions limited the flow of information and communication, forcing tech-savvy citizens to use virtual private network (VPN) to connect to the wider world. Elhaji Cisse Elhaji Cisse, a 26-year-old student, was an active participant in the protests. Through
A Kenyan court has ruled that Meta is the primary employer of content moderators involved in a lawsuit against the social media giant and is prohibited from laying them off until the case is resolved. In March, the moderators, who worked for Meta’s content review partner, Sama, filed a lawsuit accusing Meta, Sama and a second subcontractor, Majorel, of union-busting operation masquerading as a mass redundancy. Meta sought to dismiss the case, arguing that it was outside the jurisdiction of Kenyan courts. However, the court rejected Meta’s claim and asserted its
In a watershed moment for the global tech industry, more than 150 African content moderators—who have provided moderation services for AI tools used by Facebook, TikTok, and ChatGPT—have voted to unionize, TIME reports. At an event in Nairobi this week, content moderators employed by third-party outsourcing companies voted to establish the first African Content Moderators Union. A long time coming The union’s establishment is the culmination of a process that began in 2019 when former Facebook content moderator Daniel Motaung was fired after attempting to unionize workers at the outsourcing
Wisdom is an audio-first social discovery app fostering deeper connections and lasting friendships between like-minded users. Founded by British computer science graduate Dayo Akinrinade, Wisdom leverages advanced AI with the power of social audio to make the world a little wiser. “Wisdom offers women a safe space to converse about topics that matter to them, such as women’s rights, domestic violence, leadership, and wellness,” Akinrinade told Apple. “Our users who don’t identify as women consider themselves allies, and provide support by participating in the conversations or simply listening.” On Wisdom, users
