#Netflix customer accounts

[whoreiaki-kakyoin]

I don’t have the spoons at ALL to call Netflix after they fucked up our account and tell them to fix it but I would like to put on something for some mindless relaxation time that isn’t an asmr or gaming stream….. gonna just start pirating shit bc I’m fed up and so burnt out.

[ur-mag]

Netflix hikes UK prices for millions of customers – is your account affected? | In Trend Today

Netflix hikes UK prices for millions of customers – is your account affected? Read Full Text or Full Article on MAG NEWS

[mothmvn]

looking for an english ebook and sighing wistfully about [website redacted], a RU/UK/BE/KK online library that illegally hosts books online for free and has done for as long as ive had access to a computer. any book, any time, read directly in browser, download as [2-3 file options], just mmmmwah it's all there.

I wish it existed for English language books, it's so fucking straightforward for a resource that I don't use that often anymore. and unlike libgen -- i do love libgen mind you, we've known eachother for almost as long as [website redacted] -- website redacted] actually feels like a unified library website, not a bin that you rifle through

[eightratsinatrenchcoat]

Since the bigwigs @netflix can’t seem to figure out how to run a profitable business on what should be a platform that’s raking in money, here’s some tips:

- Offer cheaper subscriptions. You are alienating potential customers, myself included, by making subscription prices so high that people can’t afford them long term and will buy a subscription to watch the shows they want and then cancel it after a month or two

- Encourage password sharing. People don’t know what’s on your platform if they can’t afford an account and they aren’t going to fork out £11 / $15 for the cheapest subscription if there’s nothing on there they want to watch. If you encourage and facilitate password sharing then people can discover content they enjoy and might be persuaded to buy their own accounts.

- Stop cancelling shows before they get a chance to take off. All shows should be given minimum two seasons with minimum 10 episodes per season or else how can people get into a show and grow an audience.

- Give a one year grace period for fanbases to grow before cancelling a show. Fandoms don’t grow in a week.

- If a show is in the top 10 for 14 consecutive days it should be automatically qualified for renewal.

- People don’t want 20 different dating shows about the same 5 generic looking people. I promise you they’re only watching them because they’re bored and it’s the only content you have on the platform.

- For goodness sake listen to your fans. You only have to spend a couple minutes scrolling through the tags for your shows on here to see how much love there is and how much fan content is being created.

Netflix is not the only streaming platform guilty of this, Prime and Max have a lot to answer for too, but Netflix is by far the worst repeat offender

[kenyatta]

In the 1990s, Blockbuster was reviled by its customers. As the journalist Gina Keating found in her 2012 history Netflixed, Blockbuster’s own research showed that customers usually had to visit stores for five weekends in a row to get what they wanted. Stores were overstocked with movies no one cared about and employees left empty VHS boxes on shelves, giving the appearance that a store’s inventory was larger than it actually was. Worst of all were the late fees: a late return often tripled the price of a Blockbuster rental, and a lost tape could set you back as much as $200. The system was widely despised — customers filed twenty-three separate class-action lawsuits against Blockbuster over unfair late charges — but outrageously profitable. In 2000, near the company’s peak, Blockbuster collected nearly $800 million in late fees, accounting for 16 percent of its annual revenue. Internally, company executives described its business model as one of “managed dissatisfaction.”

Casual Viewing: Why Netflix looks like that | Issue 49 | n+1 | Will Tavlin

[alltimefail]

Another small way to help Dead Boy Detectives that takes less than 5 minutes

This was a suggestion from the @savethedeadboys account on TikTok!

If you have a Netflix account, go to this page:

When you get there you can just type your issue in as "Chat with a representative" and then press "Chat with us."

A chat box will pop up, just like if you were private messaging someone. They will ask what you need and again I just typed in "Chat with a representative."

After that, you will be connected to someone (for me it was less than 5 minutes) and asked what email your account is associated with and what you need help with. I said the following:

"Hello! I wanted to reach out and voice my displeasure and disappointment about Netflix's recent decision to cancel Dead Boy Detectives. I know that as a customer service representative, this is not your fault and you are not involved in these decisions, but I have been so heartbroken and angry that this show was canceled by Netflix with no justifiable reason. It seems to be a trend lately that Netflix does not care to complete stories that mainly focus on the experiences of queer people and people of color, which is a great injustice to the audiences that typically are looking to be represented in the media they consume and the diverse cast who put their all into creating a fantastic, nuanced show. If possible, I would greatly appreciate you passing this message along to let someone in management know my displeasure with this recent decision that could very well lead to me ending my relationship with the streamer in the future. Thank you!"

You can use what I said as a template, but obviously, adjust it to sound like you! My representative was lovely and I had this message typed beforehand, so literally it took me 5 minutes. You can even request a copy of the conversation (a transcript) to be sent to your email if you desire (I did, I have been keeping meticulous receipts of my work regarding saving this show so Netflix cannot have any plausible deniability, at least where I'm concerned).

Remember to BE KIND. Whoever you're talking to did not make this decision and they shouldn't be treated poorly because of it!

Happy case solving, detectives! We're going to bring our boys home, have faith! 💜

[grits-galraisedinthesouth]

Remember these newlywed theatre nerds: Jamie and Megan

Today their Christmas video popped up & it is delightful so I'm sharing it here along with two (2) of their theatrical videos. I hope Royal watchers will enjoy their Sandringham footage & commentary.

Trigger warning for the haters: you'll be disappointed to hear eye witness accounts of Wills & Kate out TOGETHER at their local pub prior to their travels as a couple for the annual Middleton Christmas vacation.

Check your heart: Marriage is hard enough without the evil machinations of wicked people. How black is the heart of one who wishes for the demise of this solid marriage.

Well done, Wills & Kate. Ignore the haters. Invest in seeking God, loving one another, loving your families & serving your country. We are with you! 💙

Spare the Musical: The Book of POOR Man

Harry & Meghan the Netflix Musical

Theatre Nerds at Sandringham with the Royals

Prince of Wales seen chatting to pub patrons in the ladies loo. 😳🤭

Royal Jewels:

Diana said she selected the massive blue sapphire and diamond engagement ring because it was the biggest ring on the tray. Based on photographs and film, Diana quickly discovered that the BIGGEST rock is also the most impractical.

My favorite gift from Wills to Kate is her (allegedly) "custom" silver-coloured stainless steel Cartier Ballon Bleu watch which pairs perfectly with Kate's sapphire and diamond engagement ring. Kate was known for grocery shopping in Angelsy wearing only her gold wedding band.

Now we see that Will's has upgraded his bride's finger candy to include a more practical yet beautiful, sapphire & diamond eternity band. Kate's watch perfectly complements William's omega seamaster watch which allegedly could have been a gift from his mother, Princess Dianna. As Catherine said: "[Wills] is a true romantic, there's a real romantic in there."💗

Thanks to @world-of-wales @ladydianaphotos @kingwilliamv @theroyalsandi and every BRF tumblr blog that catalogues these timeless images.

[kiefbowl]

this is a random thought I had in the shower actually well over a month ago, but I've been gnawing at it in my brain...and perhaps this is going to sound pathetic and a bit esoteric.

So, it suddenly dawned on me very randomly while I was showering that I have been paying for netflix for my own account since I was a freshman in college. Back in the dvd days, I remember having Firefly sent to me disk by disk my fall semester. This is 2009. It was an important part of college because I let my friends use it on their console and we'd all go to their dorm and watch streaming, and I passed out my log in to a ton of friends. I basically provided free Netflix to more or less 10 or so people over the course of four years for not even $7 a month I think.

What hit me though was that means, this year - that will be 15 years. That's what stopped me in my shower to stare off in the abyss for like 10 minutes and what's been on my mind for the past several weeks. I've been paying netflix for 15 years, which is the longest I've ever done anything. There is no other company I've so consistently paid for like this either, not for that many of years not even close. Quite possibly my longest relationship outside of my family and 2-3 other people. Netflix, the ever constant, of all forsaken things.

And what really bothers me about it is that, uhm, not to be an American consumer but like...I don't feel appreciated by netflix. For the past few years, I've barely used it, except for a few titles I've wanted to watch. I haven't passed out my log in since I changed it not long after college to keep an ex using it for free. I've remained loyal, despite the fact that I don't feel like some sort of loyal consumerist. I don't give a fuck about brands, I try to shop as little as possible, thrift what I can. And yet, what can I say? I actually am a loyal consumerist, to netflix that is.

What a shock to realize this, and what a shock to realize netflix does not acknowledge this, no email saying thanks, no surveys, no swag, no pizza party, no invite no perk no discount no nothing. Instead they raise prices, cut services, lose licenses, and cancel barely finished products. I'm 15 years loyal to this company for this?

And I think about the days of yore, but really not long ago. The preferred shopper's catalogues of department stores, the longtime shopper promotions of industry giants, the award systems for the loyal consumerists of chains and malls. The specialty Christmas items that are today vintage and worth money for their rarity. The thank yous, the special events. The mailers that say "Come to our store loyal customer and receive a free $20 coupon for that day!" And I'm not saying this is good, and of course it's all just marketing and advertisement, and I'm not saying this is the life I want to live...

But I am saying this would be easy for netflix to do, for someone like me. Someone who went from $7 to stream and receive DVDs, who got customers onboard when the model was new and the company was pioneering, to $20 to sit unused but for a month or two out of the year. It would be easy to pull the data. It would be easy to say which accounts have been opened the longest, to actually verify who has given 180 months worth of payments to them. It would be easy to give me a year's discount to say thank you. It would be easy for them to send an email to verify my address to send me merch. Do I want the merch? No, not really. But have they tried?

Have they even sent me an email saying "We appreciate your 15 years of support! We value you!" with little confetti animation? They didn't do it at 10 years. They didn't do it at 5 years. I don't recall ever receiving emails from netflix besides "Unfortunately, our payment model is changing."

As of today, I haven't pulled my account yet. I want to finish Bridgerton, even if this season is a snoozefest. But I think I will. I feel had and used, as pathetic as that sounds. Has Hulu done anything different? I can't remember when I signed up for them but it's been many years. No, but I frankly use it more, so I'm less angry. And with netflix...it's been fifteen years. They have really banked on us being passive in our payments, and accustomed to the freedom of endless choice, and it just feels gleeful that they never even once acknowledged I've been here this whole time. Actually, act like Sears and Bloomingdales 60 years ago, or we quit I think we should say. Ask me my address to send me a glass netflix mug or I'll fuck off, because who do you think you are to think so little of me, the only reason you exist for?

[echologname]

Tell Netflix how much you love Fairly Oddparents: A New Wish!

Netflix doesn't have a customer feedback email address or anything like that, the closest thing is customer support.

I'm in my 20's and don't have a kid. I said "daughter" in the chat but it's just me, I have myself listed as my own kid on different accounts like YouTube and Amazon Prime because I just like kid features. And for a kid's show, Nickelodeon only values kid fans. If too many adults like it, then it doesn't fit their brand and hurts the show's chances of being renewed.

You can send feedback here:

https://help.netflix.com/en/contactus

Besides, the poor saps who work the chats and phones are probably tired of listening to customer's problems, they'd probably REALLY appreciate some positive feedback! 😄

[baeiseul]

|| ☓ 𝗣𝗥𝗢𝗙𝗜𝗟𝗘 𝗕𝗔𝗘 𝗜𝗦𝗘𝗨𝗟

Bae Iseul (Hangul: 배 이슬), born October 1st of 2001, making her the oldest in the group by two weeks. The singer-songwriter was born and raised in Kobe, Japan until she was thirteen years old, later on moving to Korea alone in order to train under JYP Entertainment (2014 — 2015), Cube Entertainment (2015 — 2017), and finally settling at HYBE Label's BigHit Entertainment (2017 — ongoing) and later on moving to their subsidiary, Belift Lab.

Iseul is fully Korean despite growing up in Japan, consequently being fluent in Japanese and Korean, which gives the group a considerable advantage over their foreign activities with her fellow member Ni-ki. This is not to say that her English skills are lacking, as she most definitely is on her way to becoming fluent in the language thanks to the constant help from her English-speaking members.

The performer has a father, Bae Dongwon, who owns and runs a restaurant in Seoul, previously in Kobe before relocating in 2017, called Kobe Kitchen, specialising in Japanese cuisine specific to the city of Kobe and its surroundings. Many of Iseul's acquaintances and friends have been spotted frequenting the restaurant and thanks to them, the restaurant has had a steadily growing number of loyal customers and excited tourists alike who are curious about their favourite celebrities' most visited hotspots!

Along with a well-known father in the culinary world, Iseul has a younger brother, Bae Inho, who has entered the entertainment scene and stolen our hearts with his role as Han Joonwoo in the hit Netflix show The Atypical Family! Only sixteen years old as of 2024, we are curious to see on what his next steps will be as an actor. There have been a few captured moments that have gone viral among fans of Enhypen of Inho being spotted with the members, so it's clear that he is well-loved by Iseul's group members, not to mention the singer herself posting countless pictures of their time spent together during her off days!

Iseul had been known to the public before her debut as Enhypen and her Instagram account (@ dewbaedrop) had a decent following as well, so she hasn't deleted her account post-debut. As of 2024, she boasts an impressive amount of followers on her personal account, which stands at almost 12M. Her impact as a K-Pop group member and as a solo artist herself is quite noteworthy. Good examples would be her accolades as being a global ambassador for Prada with her fellow Enhypen members, as well as being the first global ambassador for Buccellati in the Korean music world. She was offered to take on the highly revered position in early 2023 and has been working with them ever since. Along with Buccellati, Iseul is the Korean ambassador for another luxury jewelry brand, Chopard.

Iseul has consistently shown her skills and undeniable presence as a performer, but a lesser known fact, perhaps, would be the amount of writing credits she has gathered for herself throughout the years! She officially has 27 registered credits on both Enhypen songs and her own solos, however the number should triple when her label gives her the green light to release her other finished songs. As she was originally a rapper, Iseul finds great pride in having written her own music and is always expressing her desire to contribute more to Enhypen's music as well.

Find out more about Iseul in the next article!

[liu-anhuaming]

Reading Chinese Ebooks on 讀墨 ReadMoo

For the past few years, I've labored under the assumption that I can't read Chinese ebooks because I just can't focus on them. However, I recently saw someone on insta mention the app 讀墨. I was intrigued, and decided to give it a try. And wow, what a shock, I can in fact read Chinese ebooks! I just have to change it to vertical text and make the font very large.

So the past couple weeks I've been trying to read more consistently using 讀墨. The book I started with was slow going at first, which almost made me give up; it was the Chinese translation of The Last Cuentista by Donna Barba Higuera. This book really wasn't for me, and I didn't want to keep reading it. So instead of just giving up, I bought one more book and tried again: 《你的孩子不是你的孩子》 by 吳曉樂 (yes, it is the basis for the Netflix show of the same name).

I devoured the book in under a week. So yeah, I think Chinese ebooks work for me if I like the book.

Below is gonna be an overview of the app, and my thoughts on it so far. It's not comprehensive though, since there's a lot of things on this app I haven't explored yet (like the audiobooks).

***Please note that 讀墨 is a Taiwanese app, and as such it mainly offers books written in traditional characters. There are apparently books written in simplified available, but I haven't explored those since I'm fine reading traditional.***

Buying Books

Buying books is fairly simple. You make an in-app purchase of coins, which you then use to buy books. Note: As of writing this, I have recently recently received a notification from the app that their book purchasing system will be changing soon. Instead of being able to buy the books in the app, you'll have to log in to your account in a browser and buy the books there. The books will apparently then appear on the app for you to read.

As it stands, 210 coins costs $10.99, and the books I've bought have ranged in price from 210 to about 300 coins. That means the books cost ~$11-$16, just like a regular book. This could be pricey, but since I'd otherwise be paying for international shipping if I were buying a physical copy, this feels like a bargain to me. (For me, shipping books from Taiwan/China to the US typically doubles the price of the purchase rip)

Once you buy the book, it's in your library for you to start whenever you please.

As for browsing for books, I haven't gone too in-depth yet. I went in to 讀墨 with a TBR and went for books off that list exclusively. When it comes to buying books online, I almost always go on whatever site I'm buying from with a list of the books I'm thinking of buying. I get recommendations elsewhere (e.g., Goodreads or insta).

Reading Books

The 讀墨 reading interface is pretty typical for an e-reader app. What makes me like it way better than other apps I've used is that it has a lot more customization options.

For starters, you've got 6 options for page/text color. There's the typical black, white, and sepia, but there's also blue and green! I use the 奶綠 option, since I don't like having such a stark contrast between the text and the background when reading on my phone for long periods.

Then there's the options for changing the text size and spacing. You can make it bigger or smaller as you please, and put more or less space between each line of text.

You can also change the font. There's 8 different fonts you can choose from, including the default. There's even a font that puts 注音 next to each character! You can see a preview of that one in the photo below.

And then, there's the option to switch between horizontal and vertical text. The default is horizontal text, but I've come to prefer vertical when reading Chinese novels. If you go to your settings on your profile, you can make vertical text your default, which is what I ended up doing.

Like any good e-reader, there's options to highlight text. There's four different colors you can use (pink, yellow, purple, and blue). If you go the ToC, you can find all of your highlights and filter by color of highlight. Super convenient, since I've been using pink to highlight words/phrases I don't know or find interesting and yellow to highlight key sentences/paragraphs.

Aside from highlighting, when you select text you have the option to look the characters up in a dictionary or online. I've been getting a lot of errors with this recently, but I'm wondering if that's just my phone acting weird? It worked perfectly fine when I first started using the app. Anyways, the dictionary it takes you to is 夢典 MoeDict and it opens in a browser. This personally is a bit annoying bc I actually have this dictionary app installed on my phone, but this is a minor complaint. The dictionary opening in a new browser tab is a non-issue.

Reading Stats

Now, I'm a big dork and love to track my reading stats. To my great satisfaction, 讀墨 keeps track of some stats. The main one is time spent reading. You can set a daily goal (the minimum is 20 minutes), and if you reach it you get a nice checkmark on the calendar. The calendar doesn't update until the very end of each day, so if you've reached your goal for the day it won't show on the calendar until the next day.

Also, keep in mind time differences between where you live and Taiwan. I'm ~12 hours behind Taiwan, so the app doesn't start a new day until around noon for me.

Below the calendar, there's a chart that shows your total reading times for a week, month, or year. I normally can't be bothered to time my reading (especially not when I'm reading physical books) so this is cool to see. I think when it comes to reading in Chinese, being timed is more interesting because I'm able to more clearly gauge progress.

And below all that, there's a breakdown of the genres you read. I don't pay much attention to genre when choosing books, so I don't find this one quite as interesting.

(tfw you're reading a non-fiction book about a tutor so your main genre becomes 教育)

Overall Thoughts

So yeah, I've enjoyed myself so far. Aside from the reading interface, I find the app pretty easy to navigate. I spent a bit of time just clicking around and was able to figure out what's what pretty quick.

Like I said, this isn't a comprehensive review, but I'd recommend giving the app a try if you're willing/able to put down money for ebooks and are able to read traditional. It feels worth the money for me, since the interface is pretty customizable and easy to use.

If you're wondering where to find simplified ebooks, idk. This is my first real foray into Chinese ebooks, so I don't really know where to find them for simplified or traditional. I have heard that it is a little easier to pirate Chinese ebooks since their copyright laws are a little different than ours in the US?

[bouncinghedgehog]

BREAKING: Donald Trump gets infuriating news as titans of business like Mark Cuban, Reed Hastings, and Aaron Levine band together to launch a new initiative to elect Kamala Harris.

Business for Leaders for Harris has launched a series of slickly produced video testimonials from small business owners as well as the aforementioned prominent industry leaders to argue for a Harris presidency.

At the top of the list are Shark Tank billionaire Mark Cuban, LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman, Netflix co-founder Reed Hastings, Box CEO Aaron Levine, former American Express CEO Ken Chenault, and former Merck CEO Ken Frazier. They all recorded short videos in support of Harris.

"Kamala Harris brings order and innovation. Donald Trump brings chaos and fear and hopelessness. We need someone who will bring us hope in a very tangible way and that is Kamala Harris," Chenault said in his testimonial.

"In many ways, I think it will be an improvement from the current administration. And one of her differences is the level of interest that she has," said Hastings.

Business Leaders for Harris comes from the progressive Republican Accountability PAC. The super PAC received $6 million from Hoffman and $7 million from Hastings alone.

On top of that, Hoffman will be hosting the new Business Leaders for Harris podcast, the first episode of which will feature him talking to Cuban and then Hastings.

Hoffman said he has heard from "a whole bunch of CEOs, who actually feel very strongly that Harris is better for business, but who don’t feel like they can speak up as much because they’re currently in ‘the seat.'"

"They’re kind of like, ’Hey, I got a bunch of employees. I got shareholders. I got customers," he added.

[sweetviciousmagician]

If you told me that AI wrote the script for season 4 of The Umbrella Academy I’d almost believe you. But I don’t think even AI could’ve messed up it up as much as the writers did. Someone must have a secret vendetta against the fans or something because in what world was that a good season? Or even a good way to end a show? I’m so blown away by the talent that was wasted, the character growth, the hardworking actors, the fans who’ve waited so long. The only thing that comes to mind when trying to articulate how let down i felt is comparing it to the ending of Game of Thrones.

Netflix has had so many loyal fan/customers despite how quickly they cancel shows. I myself use my friends account as we are at each other’s houses quite frequently anyway. But if I had my own account still (I unsubscribed after they cancelled tv shows after the strikes) I think I’d have canceled it for sure after this. I’m no expert by any means at marketing or producing shows, but something has got to change. Or at least I think so, maybe they’re still making money by the millions and don’t care about quality? I’m just confused as to how this happened.

I myself have never read the comics, can someone tell me if this is anything similar to what happens in those? I feel like there has to be some explanation for how badly the season was handled. Let me know if I’m missing something!

[otherworld-aromas]

Hello, everyone! I throw myself on the mercy of Tumblr to inform you about a new UK-based character-inspired candle and fragrance shop! (Stick around for Arcane, LaDS, EAH, MH, and more.) It's me. I'm the UK-based character-inspired candle and fragrance shop. Hi! I'm Olivia, artist and overly obsessed perfume-creative. Social media is incredibly tricky, but from the amount of time I've spent on my personal account on here (my Likes are an endless stream of fics and fan-art) I feel that I can trust Tumblr far more than any other social media site - and, bonus: I feel like I might be able to reach precisely the types of people I want on here!

Very namely... that's fandoms, and individuals who - like me - love immersing myself in worlds through multiple senses. During work in the latter half of 2024, I found myself taking breaks and relaxing by compiling a spreadsheet of over 50 characters and the scent notes I imagine they would likely smell like, taking into account the character's personality, and the context and lore of their world. This turned into doodling some labels and logos for fun, and I've decided to release the products I've come up with for purchase in case anyone else just can't quite find a piece of olfactory-related merch for one of their favourite characters. Of course, I could always post an ad on Etsy, Instagram, or TikTok to try and get the message out, but I like how personal and casual Tumblr feels, so I'm taking to posting on here to advertise and take part in discussions more directly! So, if you ever have a question to ask or want to yap fandom, don't hesitate to send a message over :D The first products released are two sets of nine candles and fragrance oils, each inspired by a different character from the Netflix series 'Arcane'! If enough interest is shown, I hope to also release a 'Love & Deepspace'-inspired scents, along with Ever After High and Monster High inspired fragrances, and an option for custom-requests; all of which are in-the-works, right now! So, here's to Tumblr! I hope you enjoy our fragrances as much as we do! :D - O

Follow for daily character-inspired product spotlights!

[beardedmrbean]

A French woman who was conned out of €830,000 (£700,000; $850,000) by scammers posing as actor Brad Pitt has faced a huge wave of mockery, leading French broadcaster TF1 to withdraw a programme about her.

The primetime programme, which aired on Sunday, attracted national attention on interior designer Anne, 53, who thought she was in a relationship with Pitt for a year and a half.

She has since told a popular French YouTube show that she was not "crazy or a moron": "I just got played, I admit it, and that's why I came forward, because I am not the only one."

A representative for Pitt told US outlet Entertainment Weekly that it was "awful that scammers take advantage of fans' strong connection with celebrities" and that people shouldn't respond to unsolicited online outreach "especially from actors who have no social media presence."

Hundreds of social media users mocked Anne, who the programme said had lost her life's savings and tried to take her own life three times since the scam came to light.

Netflix France put out a post on X advertising "four films with Brad Pitt (for real)", while, in a now-deleted post, Toulouse FC said: "Hi Anne, Brad told us he would be at the stadium on Wednesday... and you?"

The club has since apologised for the post.

On Tuesday, TF1 said it had pulled the segment on Anne after her testimony had sparked "a wave of harassment" - although the programme can still be found online.

In the report, Anne said her ordeal began when she downloaded Instagram in February 2023, when she was still married to a wealthy entrepreneur.

She was immediately contacted by someone who said they were Pitt's mother, Jane Etta, who told Anne her son "needed a woman just like her".

Somebody purporting to be Pitt got in touch the next day, which set off alarm bells for Anne. "But as someone who isn't very used to social media, I didn't really know what was happening to me," she said.

At one point, "Brad Pitt" said he tried to send her luxury gifts but that he was unable to pay customs on them as his bank accounts were frozen due to his divorce proceedings with actor Angelina Jolie, prompting Anne to transfer €9000 to the scammers.

"Like a fool, I paid... Every time I doubted him, he managed to dissipate my doubts," she said.

The requests for money ramped up when the fake Pitt told Anne he needed cash to pay for kidney cancer treatment, sending her multiple AI-generated photos of Brad Pitt in a hospital bed. "I looked those photos up on the internet but couldn't find them so I thought that meant he had taken those selfies just for me," she said.

Meanwhile, Anne and her husband divorced, and she was awarded €775,000 - all of which went to the scammers.

"I told myself I was maybe saving a man's life," Anne said, who is in cancer remission herself.

Anne's daughter, now 22, told TF1 she tried to "get her mother to see reason" for over a year but that her mother was too excited. "It hurt to see how naive she was being," she said.

When images appeared in gossip magazines showing the real Brad Pitt with his new girlfriend Ines de Ramon, awakening suspicions in Anne, the scammers sent her an fake news report in which the AI-generated anchor talked about Pitt's "exclusive relationship with one special individual... who goes by the name of Anne."

The video comforted Anne for a short time, but when the real Brad Pitt and Ines de Ramon made their relationship official in June 2024, Anne decided to end things.

After scammers tried to get more money out of her under the guise of "Special FBI Agent John Smith," Anne contacted the police. An investigation is now under way.

The TF1 programme said the events left Anne broke, and that she has tried to end her life three times.

"Why was I chosen to be hurt this way?," a tearful Anne said. "These people deserve hell. We need to find those scammers, I beg you - please help me find them."

But in the YouTube interview on Tuesday Anne hit back at TF1, saying it had left out details on her repeated doubts over whether she was talking to the real Brad Pitt, and added that anyone could've fallen for the scam if they were told "words that you never heard from your own husband."

Anne said she was now living with a friend: "My whole life is a small room with some boxes. That's all I have left."

While many online users overwhelmingly mocked Anne, several took her side.

"I understand the comic effect but we're talking about a woman in her 50s who got conned by deepfakes and AI which your parents and grandparents would be incapable to spot," one popular post on X read.

An op-ed in newspaper Libération said Anne was a "whistleblower": "Life today is paved with cybertraps... and AI progress will only worsen this scenario."

[dianesdiaries]

Writeblr Intro

Hi!

Just for a little introduction, I go by dd and my pronouns are she/her. I'm using this blog page as a one shot/continued fanfic account until I can really start generating ideas for my own stories, so requests and questions are very appreciated!

(For a little background) I love cats. To death. FL.

I love playing video games, watching films, and expanding on my writing ideas. One of the main things that gives me ideas on what to write is video editing, TikTok etc. Some of my all-time favourites that will, most likely, get published onto here are The Boys, The Last of Us, The Walking Dead, and more!

Also would love to meet new writing mutuals!!

WIP(s)

So far I have to WIPs and would love feedback!!

Bewildered- Historical Western Drama/Dark Fantasy

A group of outlaws set high in the plains of north america plan the biggest heist of their life; hijack the north american railway. Ramond has waited for an opportunity like this, as the south prairies winters only grew colder his destined robbery of the railway was destined to meet him halfway. But with the love of his life waiting for him to leave everything behind and start on a clean slate, how will Ramond leave the outlaw-life behind? After all, prosperity comes with the cost of life. 

This was my first WIP that I started back in November, I never really had the chance to finish it and I've been stuck on chapter two since January (God save me). The plot and settings is so interesting but I have no idea of what makes the story itself interesting. Working on it tho!!

(Untitled Draft)

Kumiko has been a rather quiet person since highschool ended, and a year later finds herself living a comfortable life in the heart of Toronto, chasing big dreams of standing judicial someday. But until then, she works at the local gas station, meeting all kinds of new characters during her graveyard shift.  Her nights are filled with endless hours of watching netflix episodes and serving late night regulars, like any other day. But a meteor crossed the night sky in everlasting blue, and a star was born. Kumiko is reunited with a familiar classmate the same night of the meteor shower, Linari Hoshi. The two reconnect and find comfort in living in the same old, run down apartment. But something is off. She’s not as bright as she used to be, and Kumiko never knew her to be someone that stays out at graveyards’ timing. Kumiko’s regular life of invading-like customers shifts its colours, and reveals cynnical truths of the Rockafort apartments that make her blood run cold.

A new story that I might start working on to kill time, loosely holds theme inspiration from Sally Face!!