Nicki Minaj fans, Barbz, have created an AI kingdom, Gag City, ahead of the release of the artist’s Pink Friday 2 album. The impressive pink creations have been trending across social media. Barbz turn to AI Gag City is an AI-generated kingdom created by Barbz. The pink alternative universe’s name is a wordplay for “gagged,” a slang to describe something amazing or stunning. After Nicki shared the cover art on her album – with her standing on a pink subway in a pink-tinted city – fans came up with the
Buffalo shooting survivors have filed two lawsuits claiming that YouTube, Reddit and a body armor manufacturer enabled the gunman to kill 10 Black people in a racist attack. The two lawsuits are the latest attempts to hold social media companies accountable for their role in the mass murders. The Buffalo Shooting The 2022 Buffalo mass shooting has sparked a legal battle to hold social media companies responsible for their platforms’ role in radicalization. Earlier this year, two lawsuits were launched by the victims’ loved ones, seeking accountability from tech giants such as
New research has shed light on the extent of misogynoir across social media platforms. The study comes from the Digital Misogynoir Report by Glitch, a charity tackling the online abuse of Black women and marginalized people. What is Misogynoir? Misogynoir, a term coined by the queer Black feminist Moya Bailey in 2010, describes the anti-Black racist misogyny that Black women experience. Glitch uses the term to detail the “continued, unchecked, and often violent dehumanization of Black women on social media, as well as through other forms such as algorithmic discrimination.” The charity highlights
Isaac Hayes III has launched Fanbase, a social media platform designed to enable Black creators to cultivate their audiences and monetize their contributions effectively. An often-observed reality in the social media world is the lack of acknowledgment and monetary reward for Black creators, even when they are the originators of significant trends. A notable instance is when the viral TikTok renegade dance was mistakenly attributed to TikToker Charli D’Amelio, overlooking the actual creator, Jalaiah Harmon. Unfortunately, this extends beyond viral dances. From fashion trends and online ideas to music, the
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
Frequency People is the Black-owned social collaboration platform that lets creators control almost every aspect of the online communities they build. Individual users and businesses can create a public or private community to connect with those with similar interests. Followers can join these communities or networks and choose to pay for access to exclusive content. This means that brands, influencers, artists, and other creatives can seamlessly monetize their followers through ticket sales, ads, subscriptions to exclusive lives, AR content, and NFTs. Atlanta-based duo John York and John McAdory founded Frequency
Ye, also known as Kanye West, has announced his acquisition of Parler, an American alt-tech microblogging social networking service that labels itself as a “free speech network.” What is Parler? Parler, founded in 2018 by John Matze Jr, is a right-wing social media site that provides an alternative for conservatives who have left social sites like Facebook and Twitter due to increased censorship. Parler’s parent company, Parlement Technologies, is headed up by George Farmer, husband of right-wing activist Candace Owens. Farmer is also the son of Michael Farmer, the former treasurer
It’s a universally acknowledged truth that social media can do more harm than good. Even though we know to watch out for disinformation or the insidious effects of constant comparison with other people’s best moments, most of us can’t quit scrolling. Even Facebook’s own studies showed a link between Instagram and teenagers suffering from mental health issues. Because of this, a new social media app called Inpathy wants to create a healthier experience online. Their answer? Asking users to post their real emotions in real-time. The unwritten rules of social
They’ve been spat on, called racist names, harassed in grocery stores, and violently attacked. Since the emergence of COVID-19, some combination of misinformation, disinformation, and conspiracy theory has been weaponized to target people perceived to be Chinese. The violent consequences of online disinformation targeting Asian American and Pacific Islander communities demonstrate the power of the internet to stoke racial resentment. Misinformation, disinformation, and online hate speech have led to widespread violence in India, Myanmar, and Sri Lanka in the past several years. Conspiracy theories targeting the AAPI community have caused upswells in hate crimes
Children’s social media platform Zigazoo has raised $17 million in Series A funding. Liberty City Ventures led the funding round, which included the National Basketball Association (NBA), Causeway Capital Management, Dapper Labs, OneFootball, Medici VC, Animoca Brands, and Lightspeed Venture Partners. Zigazoo, founded by Zak Ringelstein in 2020, has become one of the leading platforms for children’s short-form videos. The digital program, which has recently launched a non-fungible token (NFT) collection, aims to provide children with a safe and positive community where they can find joy, develop healthy online relationships,
