Tag: Instagram

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Study: Social Media Platforms ‘Categorically Unsafe’ For LGBTQs

A young gay man on social media

A young gay man on social media
(photo: Eddy Billard/Unsplash)
GLAAD, the world’s largest LGBTQ media advocacy organization, has announced the findings of its inaugural Social Media Safety Index (SMSI), a 50-page report on LGBTQ user safety across five major social media platforms: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, and TikTok. The overall takeaway is that  all five platforms are “categorically unsafe” for LGBTQ people. From Axios:

GLAAD had planned to give each of the sites a grade as part of its inaugural social media index, but opted not to give individual grades this year after determining all the leading sites would receive a failing grade.

“They are categorically unsafe, across the board,” GLAAD president and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis said. The findings follow a several month effort by GLAAD and a team of outside experts who looked at each of the sites, their policies and track record of enforcing those policies.

Ellis said that all of the sites hold themselves out as LGBTQ-friendly and nonetheless allow for LGBTQ people to be harassed on a daily basis as well as allowing harmful misinformation to spread unchecked.

Each of the social media platforms defended their efforts to protect LGBTQ people. Facebook/Instagram CMO Alex Schultz declared their deep belief in “the representation of and visibility for the LGBTQ+ community that GLAAD champions.” “Finding the right balance between giving voice and taking action on harmful content is hard,” added Schultz. “This is why we partner with experts, non-profits and other stakeholders – like GLAAD – to try to get it right.” YouTube issued a statement noting its ‘significant progress’ in removing “hateful and harassing content against the LGBTQ+ community that violates our policies, prominently surface content in search results and recommendations from authoritative sources and limit the spread of extreme content by our recommendations.” Twitter says it welcomes GLAAD’s initiative and the chance to “better understand the experiences and needs of the LGBTQ+ communities on our service.” And TikTok promised it is “committed to supporting and uplifting LGBTQ+ voices on and off the platform and we care deeply about fostering a welcoming and supportive experience for everyone.”

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Instagram Announces ‘Live Rooms’ With Up To 4 Participants

Up to four people can now take part in a public video chat on Instagram

Up to four people can now take part in a public video chat on Instagram
(image via Instagram)
Instagram is upping its IG Live function today by allowing users to invite up to three people to join a Live broadcast. Via Mashable:

Called Live Rooms, the feature ups the number of accounts that can join an IG Live from two to four. So it’s kind of like Zoom, but publicly viewable and restricted to four participants.

“We hope that doubling up on Live will open up more creative opportunities — start a talk show, host a jam session or co-create with other artists, host more engaging Q&As or tutorials with your following, or just hang out with more of your friends,” said Instagram in their blog post.

Starting a Live Room is much the same as starting a Live — simply swipe left, add a title, then tap the Rooms icons to add other users.

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News Round-Up: December 27, 2020

Scarlett sleeps on my head
Me and my sleeping companion, Scarlett
Some news items you might have missed: • Life: In an attempt to escape Brody’s over-the-top puppy energy last night, this (above) was where Scarlett decided she wanted to sleep. #doglife You can check out more photos of the pups first Christmas with us here. • Gr8erDays: The Santa and Rudolph puppets used in the 1964 stop-motion classic Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (the only known survivors), were appraised and sold in 2006 for $10,000. Last month, the pair sold at auction for $368,000, and are now on loan to the Center for Puppetry Arts in Atlanta. • KIT212: Check out Kenneth’s weekly round-up of the what’s what in LGBTQ publications like Eric Guilmette covering the latest from Wire Magazine.
Eric Guilmette covers Wire Magazine
Eric Guilmette covers the latest issue of Wire Magazine
• Deadline: I was excited for, but somewhat disappointed by, the recently released Wonder Woman 1984. Most of the smart folks I follow on social media felt the same way. And yet, the film did well enough ($85 million worldwide so far) that Wonder Woman 3 has been fast-tracked. • Mediaite: During an appearance on Fox News Sunday, Assistant Secretary for Health Admiral Brett Giroir said Sunday he’s encouraged by the timeline of the vaccine rollout and expects that “any American who wants a vaccine can be vaccinated by June.”

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News Round-Up: November 8, 2020

(image via Instagram/KarensGoingWild)
Some news items you might have missed: • Instagram: The above image is from the hysterical Karens Going Wild account. I laughed out loud at this. Follow the account here. • Boy Culture: Matt Rettenmund’s venerable LGBTQ blog turns 15! Matt reflects on how ‘blogging’ has changed over the years, what it’s like to be a trailblazer plus his 100 Favorite Posts over the years. Congrats and thanks to Boy Culture! • The Guardian: New diagnoses of HIV among gay and bisexual men in the UK have dropped to their lowest level in 20 years. A PHE report reveals that overall, across all genders and sexualities, the number of people with a new HIV diagnosis dropped by 10% from 4,580 cases in 2018 to 4,139 in 2019. • American Independent: I’ve been receiving money begs from the Trump campaign practically every hour since Joe Biden was projected to be the winner of the 2020 election. The emails say they are looking for help with Trump’s legal defense fund, but the fine print indicates that less than half of each donation will go toward the campaign’s “recount account,” while 60% will go to pay off the Trump campaign’s debt. • Washington Post: More than 107,607 new cases of the coronavirus were reported in the U.S. on Sunday. The country’s seven-day new case average was more than 100,000 and for five of the past seven days, more than 1,000 deaths were recorded. More than half of states reported a new high for their seven-day average of cases • Newsweek: Meanwhile, just a day after hearing the news that he had lost the 2020 election while on a golf course in Virginia, Donald Trump returned for what is believed to be his 300th round of golf since he was inaugurated. • The Advocate: Exit polling of over 15,000+ for the presidential election show LGBTQ support for Donald Trump doubled since 2016 from 14 percent to 28 percent of self-identified LGBTQ people. The so-called #GaysForTrump are not taking it well.

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Fitness Influencer Denied COVID Existed Until He Got It (And Died)

Dmitriy Stuzhuk (images via Instagram)
Dimitriy Stuzhuk, a social media fitness ‘influencer’ with over a million followers on Instagram, has died of COVID-19 after spending months denying the virus even existed. While he may have been in top physical shape, the 33-year-old sports and healthy living proponent was not able to survive the effects of the coronavirus. Four days ago, Stuzhuk told his followers in a post that he contracted the disease while traveling in Turkey. After a few days of body aches, a swollen neck, and a recurring cough, the fitness lifestyle returned home to Ukraine where underwent a battery of tests which showed he had tested positive for the coronavirus. While in the hospital he was given oxygen and additional medications. He was discharged after 8 days in the hospital, at which point he told his Instagram followers, “I was one who thought that Covid does not exist…until I got sick.” Accompanied by a photo wearing an oxygen mask, he added, “COVID IS NOT A SHORT-LIVED DISEASE! And it is heavy,” according to Sky News.

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КОРОНАВИРУС «COVID», ДЕНЬ 8 ⠀ Как вы все знаете из историй, я болею корлнавирусом. Сегодня, вернувшись домой, первый раз появился энтузиазм хотя бы что-то написать. Хочу поделиться, как я заболел и убедительно предостеречь всех: я тоже думал, что нет никакого ковида, и это все относительно. Пока сам не заболел. COVID-19 БОЛЕЗНЬ НЕ ЭФЕМЕРНАЯ! И тяжелая. Но обо всем по порядку. ⠀ Как это было? Плохо мне стало на второй день в Турции. Я проснулся среди ночи от того, что у меня отекла шея и было тяжело дышать. При этом немного побаливал живот. ⠀ На следующий день начал появляться кашель, но температуры никакой не было. Особых симптомов болезни тоже не было, поэтому я подумал, что это могут быть последствия после занятия спортом, смены климата и питания ну и плюс сон под кондиционером. ⠀ После возвращения из Турции я сразу же пошел сдавать разные анализы, делать УЗИ и на всякий случай решил пройти тест на COVID. Он оказался положительным😔 ⠀ На следующий день я поехал делать КТ. Мне назначили лечение и стали настаивать на госпитализации. Это отдельная история, потому что сейчас там идут ремонтные работы, больница полностью набита людьми, некоторые из них живут в коридоре😱😱 Питания никакого нет, бумаги нет, столовых приборов тоже нет! Меня никто об этом не предупреждал. Медицине в нашей стране будет посвящён отдельный пост — что уж там, она это заслужила. ⠀ ПРО ЛЕЧЕНИЕ. Мне назначили курс лечения и сказали, что нужно его продолжать. Дали кислородный аппарат для дыхания, так как у меня низкий уровень кислорода (хотя я считаю, критическим он считается после 90, у меня же 94-96 это вполне позволительно для лечения дома, врач в приемной мне сказал тоже самое😄). ⠀ ☝🏻Учитывая все эти факторы, я принимаю решение, что мне будет удобней и комфортней находиться на дистанционной опеке у себя дома, где у меня есть все условия для нормального лечения. В конце концов я всегда могу обратиться в нужные службы. Та и дома, как говорится, и стены лечат🙌🏻 ⠀ Мое состояние стабильное.

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In his post, he described less-than-optimal conditions in his Ukraine hospital, which surprised him, and he promised a future post about “medicine in our country.” But that post wasn’t to be. His recovery proved to be a brief reprieve as he was rushed back to the hospital with cardiovascular complications due to the virus. His ex-wife, Sofia, shared on her own Instagram account that Stuzhuk was in “grave condition” and “unconscious.” Shortly thereafter, she announced Stuzhuk’s passing writing, “Only warm memories remain, three beautiful kids and valuable experience.” As you can see in recent Instagram posts, Stuzhuk appeared to be in peak physical shape. Ukraine has reported 307,301 cases of COVID-19 in the country resulting in 5,762 deaths. There have been 39,845,660 cases worldwide with 1,111,957 reported deaths at this writing according to Johns Hopkins University.

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RuPaul Found A Great Reason To Return To Social Media

RuPaul takes to the SNL stage as host

RuPaul takes to the SNL stage as host
RuPaul is back on social media (screen capture via SNL)
Back in July, RuPaul quietly and inexplicably erased all posts from his Instagram and Twitter accounts. He even temporarily deactivated his Twitter. Was it the coronavirus pandemic? Social unrest across the country after the killing of George Floyd? It’s not like Ru went into hiding. We’ve seen the drag star hosting his show and making a virtual appearance during the 72nd Primetime Emmy Awards to accept his 5th trophy for Outstanding Host for a Reality or Competition Program At the time, no one seemed to know what or why the Supermodel of the World retreated from social media. But now we know what brought him back to the Gram of Insta and Twitterverse. Wednesday night, Mama Ru reactivated Twitter to post a photo of international pop star Dame Olivia Newton-John along with the caption, “Olivia Newton-John has started a new foundation to find kinder ways to treat, prevent & cure all cancers, with a strong focus on plant medicine. Follow & support @onjfoundation #beyondcancer @therealonj#onjfoundation onjfoundation.org.” RuPaul also shared the message on Instagram.

The messages came just a day after Olivia announced the launch of the Olivia Newton-John Foundation which will “fund the discovery of kinder therapies and advocate for more effective ways to prevent, treat and cure all cancers.” Olivia, who shared in recent years her breast cancer from 1992 had reoccurred, has said in interviews she’s interested in helping explore the science behind more plant-based medicine. As fans of both stars know, Ru and Olivia have been friends for a long time. Last fall, RuPaul attended Olivia’s charity auction at Julien’s where the Grease star put her famous black leather jacket and pants from the movie’s finale on the bidding block and garnered over $500,000 for charity.
Dame Olivia Newton-John and RuPaul at Julien’s Auctions
Dame Olivia Newton-John and RuPaul at the Flamingo Las Vegas (photo: Denise Truscello)
Ru also traveled to attend the “Physical” singer’s opening night of her Las Vegas residency. And of course, ONJ has been a guest on The RuPaul Show, the web series RuPaul Drives…, and a guest judge on RuPaul’s Drag Race. Here’s hoping this is just the beginning of RuPaul’s return to social media.

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News Round-Up: September 3, 2020

Anderson Cooper (art design: Sean Penn)
Some news items you might have missed: • The Advocate: Dictionary.com has replaced references to homosexual and homosexuality with gay, gay man, gay woman, or gay sexual orientation. Additionally, Pride is now capitalized and its own separate entry that refers to the celebration of LGBTQ+ identity and events that raise the visibility of the community. The website also added a host of other LGBTQ+ terms including ace, ambisextrous, asexual, biromantic, deadname, gender-inclusive, gender diversity, and trans+. • ABC News: Russia has sought to “amplify” concerns over the integrity of U.S. elections by promoting allegations that mail-in voting will lead to widespread fraud, according to an intelligence bulletin obtained by ABC News. The warning was issued after finding with “high confidence” that “Russian malign influence actors” have targeted the absentee voting process “by spreading disinformation” since at least March. • Instinct Magazine: Get your first look at the upcoming LGBTQ-themed Christmas season film, Happiest Season, starring Kristen Stewart, Mackenzie Davis, Victor Garber, Mary Steenburgen, and Dan Levy. The filmmakers hope to release the film in theaters around Thanksgiving.

 

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Happiest #Pride from #HappiestSeason. 🏳️‍🌈 In theaters this Thanksgiving. Photo by: Lacey Terrell

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• The Gaily Grind: A married youth minister, Thomas “Tommy” Callaway, who slapped a female reporter’s butt on live television as she delivered a report in Georgia has pleaded guilty to a sexual battery charge. The 44-year-old was sentenced to a year probation, 200 hours of community service, and fined $1,000 by a Savannah judge who accepted his plea for the misdemeanor count on Tuesday. • USA Today: Rick Synder, former GOP governor of Michigan, endorses Joe Biden for president – “For years, I mentioned in most of my speeches the need to bring back civility to our nation. We will not continue to be the greatest nation in the world if we can’t get along among ourselves. We have only become more divided over the past four years. We need a leader who believes in civility and bringing Americans closer together.” • Variety: Filming has been suspended in the United Kingdom on the upcoming movie The Batman as the star of the flick, Robert Pattinson, has tested positive for COVID-19. • Instagram: Bravo’s Andy Cohen decided to have some fun sharing a shirtless pic of his buddy, CNN anchor Anderson Cooper, as a lighthearted way to rib his pal. But 2-time Academy Award-winner Sean Penn took things to another level as he celebrated the photo posting his own updated version including rainbows and hearts along with the caption, “Good morning to Twunk Zaddy Anderson Cooper and his tiny hard sharp nips.” #AforEffort

 

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Good morning to Twunk Zaddy Anderson Cooper 🔥 and his tiny hard sharp nips 😍 🔪

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News Round-Up: July 24, 2020

(via Instagram)
Some news items you might have missed: • Instagram: The above is from one of my current favorite Instagram accounts, BigKidProblems. Follow them here for more witticisms on adulting. • The Advocate: A new study makes clear what we already knew to be an absolute truth: Male bisexuality exists. The study notes that the most equal bisexual response from the participants were found in men who rated themselves as Kinsey 2s, i.e. straight leaning, despite the vast majority of their arousal tests displaying at Kinsey 3. • New Music: Led by out frontman Tyler Glenn, alt-pop group Neon Trees drops its long-awaited 4th studio album today, I Can Feel You Forgetting Me. I’m digging the latest single, “Night,” which reminds me of 1980s Phil Collins/Genesis pop-rock – in a very good way. Between the brooding, catchy chorus and the pulsing, new wave beat, this is a good thing.

• Buzzfeed News: As the US grapples with a global pandemic that has stretched hospitals to the limit, a Christian university in Tennessee has rescinded a student’s offer of acceptance after learning he is gay. Alex Duron, an ICU nurse treating COVID-19 patients in San Antonio, says a few days after his interview the school called to say he’d “blown them away” and offered him admission. At no point did the school indicate that being gay was an issue. • Theatermania: Writer Alex Wood recently attended the first West End show staged with social distancing. Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber hosted an evening at London’s famed Palladium using only 500 of the venue’s 2,000 seats and included a new, refined air filtering system and temperature checks. • CBS-LA: An employee at a Los Angeles area Ralphs grocery store asked a male customer to wear a mask or leave the store. Instead, he rammed her with a shopping cart, so she pepper-sprayed him and called police. Witnesses to the altercation said the employee was defending herself, but she was still suspended for her part in the incident. • Gr8erDays: Matt Rettenmund’s nostalgic Instagram account that remembers stars of yesteryear celebrates uber-handsome Mark Goddard, who played Major Don West in the 1960s sci-fi TV series, Lost In Space. Goddard turns 84 years young today.

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News Round-Up: July 15, 2020

Joe Blizzard (via Instagram)
Some news items you might have missed: • InstaHunks: Woofy Joe Blizzard (above), signaling in from Yosemite National Park, calls this “being a nerd, as usual.” Nerd??? • LGBTQ Nation: Colorado Gov. Jared Polis signed four pro-LGBTQ bills into law this week. The new laws range from banning gay/trans panic legal defenses in cases of violence, making PrEP easier for gay folks to obtain to prevent HIV infection, and making it easier for trans people to change the gender markers on their state ID documents. • GMA: Mary Trump, niece to President Trump, whose new book, Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the World’s Most Dangerous Man, was just released, speaking to ABC News chief anchor George Stephanopoulos about her uncle: “He is utterly incapable of leading this country, and it’s dangerous to allow him to do so.” It’s worth noting that Ms. Trump is a trained clinical psychologist.

• Washington Blade: Facebook and Instagram have announced they will ban conversion therapy content/posts on their sites, following a block on paid ads promoting the practice earlier this year. • Instinct Magazine: LA Pride has announced that it will be moving out of West Hollywood after almost five decades of celebration citing ongoing construction in West Hollywood Park as well as the changing demographics of Greater Los Angeles. • VOTE: Eight of America’s leading fitness photographers have joined forces for “Flex Your Vote,” a new campaign that urges the LGBTQ community and its allies to the polls this November. “It’s painfully clear why this is the most important time in our lifetimes to vote,” says Mike Ruiz, the campaign’s organizer. “We are being engulfed by a pandemic, millions are unemployed, the government is riddled with corruption. We need to change the direction of this country or we are headed towards a dictatorship where we will be stripped of our rights.”