Topic: online harassment
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SparkFun Ends Partnership With Adafruit Over Harassment Claims
SparkFun Electronics has terminated its partnership with Adafruit Industries, citing violations of its corporate Code of Conduct, which will halt the supply of Teensy development boards to Adafruit after January 15, 2026. Adafruit claims the termination is retaliation for reporting serious online...
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Ex-Ghost of Yotei Dev Blames Harassment, Not Joke, for Firing
The video game industry faces crises when harassment campaigns target developers, as seen when Drew Harrison was terminated after an extensive online harassment campaign that her employer failed to adequately address. Harrison's termination followed a coordinated attack by right-wing influencers ...
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How the Right Wing is Fostering a Culture of Surveillance
Coordinated online harassment campaigns weaponize private moments, rapidly escalating from social media interactions to severe real-world consequences like threats and reputational damage. Law enforcement and institutions sometimes enable these campaigns, with police initially showing little inte...
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Is AI Reinforcing Gender Inequality?
AI systems absorb and amplify societal biases, often reintroducing and intensifying misogyny in new forms, which deepens gender inequalities. Laura Bates, through her work and personal experience, highlights that AI is lowering barriers to creating harmful content like deepfake pornography, facil...
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Right-Wing Activists Target Alleged Celebrators of Charlie Kirk's Death
Far-right activists have launched a coordinated campaign to publicly identify and harass individuals they accuse of celebrating the shooting of Charlie Kirk, leading to job losses and violent threats. A central platform for this effort is the website "Charlie’s Murderers," which collects and disp...
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Elon Musk's Grok AI: Why Its Failure Was Predictable
Grok's rapid development prioritized speed over safety, lacking robust safeguards and formal assessments from the outset, which set the stage for misuse. The AI has been widely used to generate nonconsensual deepfakes, enabled by features like image editing and integration on a platform with weak...
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AI Tool Grok Misused to Create Offensive Images of Women in Hijabs and Sarees
The Grok AI chatbot is being weaponized to generate nonconsensual, sexually explicit images of women, with a targeted focus on manipulating religious and cultural attire like hijabs and sarees to harass women of color. This coordinated digital abuse is prolific on social media platform X, where u...
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AI Chatbots Can Digitally Undress Women in Photos, Study Finds
Individuals are exploiting AI chatbots to create nonconsensual, sexually explicit deepfakes, digitally stripping clothing from photos of women, which constitutes a significant form of digital harassment and abuse. Despite built-in safeguards, users are circumventing AI platform guardrails to gene...
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AI Startup Exposed Database Leaks Massive Nude Image Trove
A major security breach at an AI startup exposed over a million images and videos, predominantly nonconsensual adult content, including digitally manipulated imagery that placed children's faces on nude bodies. The unsecured database, linked to sites like MagicEdit, was growing rapidly and highli...
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DoorDash Girl Saga Exposes Perils for Black Creators
A DoorDash driver's viral TikTok video about a disturbing customer encounter sparked intense online debate, leading to her arrest and the dismissal of her sexual assault claim by police. A Black journalist discovered an AI-generated deepfake video using her likeness to falsely comment on the inci...
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Apple Pulls Women's Dating Safety App from App Store
Apple removed the women's dating safety app Tea from its App Store for violating terms related to content moderation and user privacy, including the exposure of minors' personal information. Tea experienced multiple security breaches that exposed users' driver's licenses, selfies, and private mes...
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The Death of Anonymity: We Are All Content Now
The digital age has eroded public anonymity, making individuals vulnerable to being recorded and having private moments shared without consent, leading to potential viral exposure and lasting humiliation. Social media platforms and algorithms amplify this risk, enabling bystanders to capture and ...
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Video Pros Navigate AI: From Fear to Future
The film industry is grappling with AI's role, moving from initial revulsion, as seen in Hayao Miyazaki's 2016 reaction, to practical use despite ethical concerns. Director PJ Accetturo faced severe online backlash in 2024 for creating an AI-generated trailer, highlighting the stigma and debates ...
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New Platform Shields Public Servants From Online Harassment
A new nonprofit platform offers free and discounted privacy, security, and wellness services to 23 million current and former U.S. public servants in response to rising threats against government employees. The platform provides access to vetted services like online data removal, threat monitorin...
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Jeffrey Epstein Banned From Xbox Live for Life
Microsoft permanently banned Jeffrey Epstein from Xbox Live in 2013, citing a conduct policy violation, but an internal email directly linked the ban to his status as a registered sex offender. The ban was part of a New York state initiative Microsoft joined to remove registered sex offenders fro...
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Seeking Cybersecurity Advice on Reddit Amid Fear and Confusion
A surge in people are turning to Reddit for urgent cybersecurity help, with monthly help-seeking posts spiking over 66% in 2024, highlighting a gap in accessible support. The most common issues prompting these posts are scams, account access problems, and practical questions about privacy tools, ...
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Activists Battle ICE Using Fortnite
Activists are using online games like Fortnite and Grand Theft Auto to stage immersive protests and educate players about immigration rights through simulated encounters with authorities. The New Save Collective, a group of activist gamers, organizes these events to teach real-world legal strateg...
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Ubisoft Addresses 'Assassin's Creed Shadows' Backlash
Ubisoft addressed backlash against *Assassin’s Creed Shadows* directly at Paris Games Week, marking a departure from its usual avoidance of controversy by framing the game's delay as a confident decision. The company emphasized its focus on entertainment over messaging, countering accusations of ...
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Subpoena Season Heats Up
The legal dispute involves Blake Lively's allegations of sexual harassment and a retaliatory smear campaign against Justin Baldoni, stemming from tensions during the production of the 2024 film "It Ends With Us." Influencers like Perez Hilton and Andy Signore are treating the case as an engagemen...
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TikTok Skits Use 'Clanker' AI Slur to Mask Racism
The term "clanker" has evolved from a science fiction reference into a viral internet slur reflecting cultural anxieties about AI, but it is now being used to mask real-world racism. Content creator Harrison Stewart stopped making clanker-related content after his viral skits led to racist commen...
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Ethan Klein Sues Reddit Mods to Unmask Them
Ethan Klein is pursuing legal action to identify anonymous Reddit moderators of a subreddit critical of him, which critics say endangers online free speech and personal safety. The dispute involves Klein's conflicts with fellow content creators and the moderators, who are resisting subpoenas to p...
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Gamer's Pirated Copy Sparks Fiery Dev Response on Steam
A Steam user playing a pirated copy of *Farthest Frontier* was denied official developer support after complaining about crashes, sparking discussion on how studios handle piracy and community assistance. The developer, Crate Entertainment, took a firm but measured stance, drawing a line at entit...
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