Technology
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Corporations Withdraw Major Ad Dollars From Facebook Over the Company’s Lackluster Hate Speech Policies
Over the last month, companies large and small have paused their advertising on Facebook in an effort to push the social media giant to do more to stop the spread of hate on its platforms. The #StopHateforProfit campaign has amassed a huge roster of Facebook clients, including multinational conglomerate Unilever, Verizon, Coca-Cola, and—as of this…
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Jeff Bezos Says Black Lives Matter, but Will He Make a Meaningful Stand for Black Amazon Employees?
If you look at allyship as some sort of contest, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos has been eager to put some points on the board. He’s done this mostly through highly publicized, “spicy” responses to racist customers, and by canceling his meetings on Juneteenth and encouraging other employees “to do the same if you can.” But…
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Zoom Is Taking Too Long to Fix Its Cyberterrorism Problem
Black activists have always used every technological advance we can to organize for a safer, less hostile world for black people. Our ancestors used songs to send messages during slavery. Following Reconstruction, leaders like Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Ida B. Wells used newspapers to document lynching’s in the South. During the civil rights movement, our parents…
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To the Person Who I Apparently Share an Email With, You Have a Job Offer on the Table, Bro
My real name, while not traditional, isn’t exactly unique. This means that I remember when Gmail first dropped, and I did a mad dash (did you have to be invited back then? I can’t remember) to get my [email protected] account. And I did. I’ve had that email account for well over a decade now, and…
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Facebook Introduces the Coronavirus Information Center to 'Ensure That Misinformation Doesn’t Spread'
While Facebook seems to give less than a shit about the rampant racism crippling its platform, they at least appear to be vigilant in their quest to keep users safe and informed regarding the coronavirus. To that end, Facebook has taken a number of steps to ensure that its billions of users aren’t misled by…
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In Wake of Deadly Charlottesville Protests, University of North Carolina Police Surveilled…Anti-Racism Activists
Police at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, alongside state investigators, monitored the cellphones of antiracism protesters demonstrating against the campus’ Confederate statue, “Silent Sam,” in 2017. NBC News broke the story, which comes just a week after the UNC System revealed it paid upwards of $2.5 million to a Confederate group to take the…
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Federal Study Confirms Racial Bias in Facial-Recognition Systems. Which, Yeah, We Know
A federal study released Thursday shows that facial recognition technology used by law enforcement misidentified people of color more often than white people. In other news, water is indeed wet. The Washington Post reports that a study conducted by the National Institute of Standards and Technology, the federal lab that develops standards for emerging technology,…
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There’s an App for That: Black Mom Delivers Yuletide Cheer With 'Find Black Santa' App
While dreaming of a white Christmas is common during this time of year, there are plenty of parents bouncing from mall to mall dreaming of something else entirely: a Black Santa. Thankfully, psychiatrist Jihan Woods and her appropriately titled Find Black Santa app are here to help. “I really wanted my children to see a…
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Shawty Got Gifts: A Product Review of Ray J’s Raycon E55 True Wireless Earbuds
I promise you that I don’t engage in pure unfettered foolishness just because I’m comfortable in life. And yet, here we are doing a product review of Raycon’s E55 True Wireless Earbuds. Raycon is, of course, an electronics brand by one William Raymond Norwood Jr. also known as The Artist Formerly Known as Hey Waitaminute Ain’t…
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Back to Africa: Twitter Chief Jack Dorsey Plans to Live in Africa in 2020
Jack Dorsey has designs on the Motherland. The Twitter boss recently embarked on a whirlwind tour of Africa and has plans to live there in the new year. “Sad to be leaving the continent…for now,” Dorsey tweeted Wednesday. “Africa will define the future (especially the bitcoin one!). Not sure where yet, but I’ll be living…