#Media Accountability

[bishophazel]

If You Know, You Know

CW: talk of TERFs

It’s been a while since I posted here, and, at least for now, I’m going to leave details vague as this has been a stressful situation and people have even gotten death threats. So, like the title says: if you know, you know.

So, here’s the story: a North American outlet posted a story about a music festival in Canada, and how a certain band “sent roadies and crew into the crowd to recruit women to sleep with the bandmembers backstage after the show.” This has since been taken down, but since I WAS FUCKING THERE, I’d like to clarify: this absolutely did not happen. The band in question left almost immediately to catch a flight. I *tried* to get backstage. 

In the past couple of weeks, we have seen a lot of media circus, flawed reporting, fear mongering, and straight up lying, and a lot of people in destress. 

In the aftermath, I am seeing two potentially dangerous conversations forming. 

1) that concerts need ‘female only spaces.’ This, to me, is starting to stink of TERF territory. 

2) that an artist should be able to be incriminated because of the content of their art. As a friend pointed out, as long as no one was harmed in the creation of the art, this is censorship. If the song lyrics one sings on stage makes them a criminal, what about the people who write murder mysteries? Horror movies? Paint gore? This is censorship. There is a separation between the self and the literary ‘I,’ and this is why we need the humanities. 

I’m especially uncomfortable about TERFy language entering into the heavy metal world. I’ve been to multiples of these shows around the world. They’re absolutely crawling with security. What are female only spaces supposed to do? How do these address trans and nonbinary folks? Is there actually a problem to be fixed, or are we making problems? 

And I can’t help but draw mental lines between the censoring of art to the book bannings taking place in my own country. The two penguin dads can’t fucking hurt you.

This has been an absolute shit fountain to watch, I’ve waded through legal language and interviews in two languages before drawing my own conclusions. I’m exhausted and mad. I know we’ve lost media accountability to a large extent but holy moly. 

Anyway, again. If you know, you know. If you read this, thank you, even if you are confused by it. 

If you have no idea what’s going on, all I’ll say is: be mindful of censorship: just because you don’t like a piece of art, doesn’t mean it can incriminate the artist and should be banned. And be mindful of TERF language and how it enters conversations.

fuckin’ cheers everyone. 

[gimpleg]

POLICE OFFICER SHOOTS AT PASSING CAR

St John's, Indiana police officer stop to investigate an abandoned car. Shines his flashlight in the car and then looks around to see if he can find the driver when the least expected thing in the world happened. A car drove down the road in its lane. The officer felt like the car came too close to hitting him and he feared for his life, so he pulled out his gun and shot at the car several times. The officer then got in his car, caught up to the scary passerby, and arrested him. The cop was not hit, was not fired at, and was not injured in any way, but he went to the ER "to be safe".

Newspaper articles reported the cops story, he was nearly hit by an oncoming car and feared for his life, so he had to shoot at the driver before courageously arresting him.

Then the arrested driver turned out to be a fellow police officer from a neighboring district,off duty and on his way home. The original, on duty officer is on paid leave. The off duty officer's department claims he actually crossed into the other lane of traffic to give the officer more room. At no point was he even close to the on duty officer. They say the officer who fired the weapon does not have any place being a police officer and needs to be fired. The media coverage for this story has completely flipped.

Why do we let the police dictate the details of arrests and form the public opinion. Why do we trust officers to tell the truth. They ALWAYS present the facts in a light most favorable, despite lying over and over. The media has an obligation to not report the police departments side of events as fact.

[tariah23]

Oh…. Well, it’s over for Crunchyroll I guess

[josephkravis]

News And Not News

Edited clips can distort the truth across platforms. Learn how to identify manipulated footage and promote accountability in media, social networks, and online spaces.

I’ve been wondering if it is news when a clip is so edited that the original meaning of a clip is edited out. I’ve been wondering—can it still be called news when a clip is so edited that its original meaning is lost? Recent headlines have exposed how even major mainstream media outlets are facing criticism for publishing heavily edited clips. These practices raise important questions about the…

[carlthemuse]

The Internal Struggle: How American Politics is Becoming its Own Enemy

[tmarshconnors]

Information Revolutions

That historical moment when British newspapers were prohibited from reporting parliamentary debates was a defining period in the history of freedom of the press. It reminds us that information has always been a source of power, and those who control it often wield great influence over the public. The bravery of a few men in the late 18th century, who defied this restriction, printing pamphlets to leak parliamentary debates, played a pivotal role in the establishment of what we now call the “Fourth Estate.” These men were willing to risk their lives for the truth many of them were indeed hanged but their actions sparked public outcry, demanding transparency and accountability from those in power. 

It was a turning point. From that passion, that defiance, the modern media was born an institution built on the premise that the public has the right to know what happens in the halls of power. The press became a crucial watchdog, a necessary check on government authority, ensuring that those who lead us are held accountable for their actions. But now, centuries later, we find ourselves in the throes of yet another information revolution.

This time, it is not just the state that media institutions must contend with, but an entirely new phenomenon: the rise of the “Fifth Estate.” In the digital age, the flow of information is faster, wider-reaching, and more democratised than ever before. Social media, citizen journalism, independent content creators like myself all wield immense influence over public discourse. At face value, this seems like a positive evolution more voices, more platforms, more freedom. However, this fifth estate, with its decentralised structure and viral speed, threatens to dismantle the very system that was built to ensure truth and accountability.

The traditional media the Fourth Estate is struggling to keep up. The institutions that have historically been tasked with keeping the public informed are now being undercut by newer, faster, often less accountable sources of information. The consequence? Misinformation spreads more easily, and trust in reliable sources diminishes. I mean seriously ask yourself. “Do you even trust what the BBC says anymore?” The Fifth Estate, seemingly hell-bent on bypassing its predecessors, is both a revolutionary force and a destabilising one.

All the old models print media, broadcast journalism, even traditional online news are dying faster than they can be replaced. As the shift occurs, we find ourselves in a chaotic transitional phase where the speed of change outpaces our ability to adapt. The once-unchallenged Fourth Estate is now fighting for relevance, for authority, in a world that increasingly sees it as outdated.

So what is the way forward? If history teaches us anything, it’s that brave souls are needed once again those who will stand for truth and fight for the integrity of information. The current revolution may be digital, but the principles remain the same. We need those who are willing to speak out against misinformation, to prioritise facts over vitality, and to hold those in power accountable in this new landscape. Just as the pamphleteers of the 18th century did, today’s brave souls must challenge the tides of misinformation and stand firm in their commitment to the truth.

Yes, the Fifth Estate is here. And yes, it is rapidly changing the game. But history shows us that revolutions in information do not mean the end they mean the beginning of something new. Let’s hope that, as the dust settles, we can build a future where truth, accountability, and transparency are stronger than ever. But to do so, we need visionaries who are ready to shape this new era, just as those brave men once did those who were hanged.

And from that sacrifice, a legacy was born.

Now, it’s our turn.

[cozylittleartblog]

cant tell you how bad it feels to constantly tell other artists to come to tumblr, because its the last good website that isn't fucked up by spoonfeeding algorithms and AI bullshit and isn't based around meaningless likes

just to watch that all fall apart in the last year or so and especially the last two weeks

there's nowhere good to go anymore for artists.

edit - a lot of people are saying the tags are important so actually, you'll look at my tags.

#please dont delete your accounts because of the AI crap. your art deserves more than being lost like that #if you have a good PC please glaze or nightshade it. if you dont or it doesnt work with your style (like mine) please start watermarking #use a plain-ish font. make it your username. if people can't google what your watermark says and find ur account its not a good watermark #it needs to be central in the image - NOT on the canvas edges - and put it in multiple places if you are compelled #please dont stop posting your art because of this shit. we just have to hope regulations will come slamming down on these shitheads#in the next year or two and you want to have accounts to come back to. the world Needs real art #if we all leave that just makes more room for these scam artists to fill in with their soulless recycled garbage #improvise adapt overcome. it sucks but it is what it is for the moment. safeguard yourself as best you can without making #years of art from thousands of artists lost media. the digital world and art is too temporary to hastily click a Delete button out of spite

[triaelf9]

I'm sure some people online could spend their time better

[fanaticalthings]

the muskification of twitter except it's lex luthor instead of elon lol

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[rusticfurnace]

GHOSTSOAP // "you sweet fucker" MINICOMIC!!!

[dragontummy]

Tumblr would literally rather arbitrarily delete the accounts of trans women on this site with uncharacteristic amounts of speed than address even one genuine instance of harassment. They've already lost one harassment lawsuit and they immediately decided it was more worth their time to continue on the exact same path. They KNOW what they're doing. With staff like this, the only way to see genuine change on this site is going to be to make it more of a problem for them to not address this issue.

[mybuginette]

i'm obsessed with this shit now

sorry, in universe social media is my roman empire now

[halogalopaghost]

TIL that you can assign an AO3 next of kin to control your account in case of your death???

[cy-cyborg]

Just a reminder that unless your amputee character lost their limb less than a month ago, their stumps don't need to be bandaged.

[ex0skeletal-undead]

Works by octonimoes

[krittec]

there’s something extremely extremely creepy about taking an actor that you have known since they were 13 years old, only JUST a teenager, and making them kiss a fully grown woman the second that they turned a legal adult.

Steve Blackman already has a ton of shit out against him which came out recently so it unfortunately doesn’t surprise me that he would write something like this but it makes me genuinely concerned for everything behind the scenes.

There has been a HUGE problem in the Umbrella Academy fandom since season ONE when Aidan was a 13-14 year old of people writing insanely disgusting stuff and defending it because his character was mentally an adult but oh my god did they make it worse. You’d think they’d protect actor & character by avoiding any romantic interaction but instead you have him kiss an actress 15 years older than him. The age gap being the age that he was when they filmed season two. Quite honestly I feel that if he could’ve done this seasons previously and gotten away with it then he definitely would’ve done it, given the jokes that are actively made.

Quite honestly may Steve Blackman never work again if this is how he treats his actors because this is awful. I’m not even done with the season but that gave me very little desire to continue and this show has been important to me in ways I can’t explain. Maybe I am blowing this out of proportion but it feels so insanely creepy and horrific to me and I needed to rant.