#Police Officer Code of Ethics

[sadesluvr]

Guilty - William Afton x Reader

To be a lawyer is to adhere to a strict code of ethics.

A/N: Slight AU, but not really. This is kind of tame compared to other William fics I have planned, but I thought it’d be fun to make Reader more dominant and less innocent than usual! This has a bit of build up, but it pays off ofc ;) You can imagine William to be in his 40s/50s like he is in the movie, or 30s as he would’ve been during his killing spree.

Word count: 2.6K

Tags: SMUT / Age gaps (Reader is in her 20s) / Sexual tension / Hybristophilia / Power play (Kinda) / Fearplay (If you squint) / Clothed sex / Unprotected sex / Mutual consent / Dirty talk / Discussion of murder / Mentions of cheating

Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza was in a mess. A bunch of children had just gone missing - presumed dead - and there were even rumblings of a lawsuit from the victims’ families. It certainly wasn’t the case an up-and-coming lawyer usually received, but had the potential to be the one that cemented your career.

“I must say, I’m rather surprised you chose me to help you out,” you said to the man who was sitting at the table as you closed the door behind you. Your office was by no means large, but it was sizable enough to make you feel important.

“Why’s that?” He asked, cocking his head, his brows raising above the rims of his glasses. You’d done your pre reading; the man’s name was William Afton, a humble businessman who’d started the pizzeria and had come to you for help. He seemed well meaning enough.

“Well,” you began, adjusting your skirt as you sat down, “I’m not the typical face you’d imagine when picturing a bloodthirsty lawyer. Especially someone like you…”You said carefully. It was no secret that men either overlooked you, or went out of their way to hire you for your ‘assets’. “I find they’re usually set in their ways about having a woman deal with their issues,”

The man shrugged, a small smirk creeping to the side of his face. 

“Doesn’t bother me. I have a daughter of my own,”

“Oh,” you smiled, pushing your chair in as you fixed the paperwork around you. “Is she…?”

“She’s a little younger than you,” he said simply. “I make it a mission to practise what I preach at home,”

You smiled, and he smiled back, his skin wrinkling ever so slightly around his eyes and sides of his mouth. He was put together and certainly likeable; only driving you to want to help him out even more. you were quite comfortable, which was good as it was likely that the rest of the office, bar the receptionist and the interns, would file out over time, leaving you alone with him in your assigned wing.

“I suppose we should get started. First — Would you like a cup of coffee?”

/

“…In conclusion, I suggest you speak to this PR rep, he’s excellent,” you said, sliding a card across the table. “For now, our plan is to go ahead with the statement, and hold off on any retaliation,” you continued, making a few notes as you did. “Cooperate with the police, and let me handle things — But, if there’s anything I should know, it’s best you tell me…” you finished, looking up at him from across the table, your eyes meeting his own blue ones.

William smirked. His focus on the task had dwindled in and out over the past hour and a half, having watched the way you explained things with striking confidence, yet bit your pen childishly before writing things down. He couldn’t help but admire a woman with confidence, and it certainly helped that it wasn’t misplaced. You were good at your job. Perhaps too good.

He wondered how you’d ended up here. Young, attractive, yet closed off in a building with stuffy businessmen on a Friday night. You should’ve been at the club; dressed in your sluttiest attire, making out with random guys whilst you split Margaritas on yourself, eventually taking them back home and fucking their brains off. He wondered if you were the dominant or submissive type; if you liked to take charge and ride in cowgirl position, or into the classic missionary, arms above your head as you moan and whimper for more. You might’ve been good at your job, but it was impossible that you hadn’t fucked any of the seniors in the office during your time. 

More importantly, he wondered if you’d ever slept with your clients. After all, it wasn’t as if they were in his calibre; likely some shady businessmen who’d moved a few pots of money around, or middle-aged men moaning about real estate - none notable enough to ruin your reputation.

This was much different. Far different.

You didn’t know it, but you were face to face with a killer.

“Such as?” he hummed. Of course he knew what you meant, but he just wanted to hear you say it.

“…Anything that could damage your validity should there be a trial,” you said, sitting back in your seat. “Forged bank documents, hoarding evidence, an admission of guilt…”

“You think I had something to do with it?”

You paused, somewhat taken aback by how abrupt he was. Usually people reacted dramatically to accusations (especially ones as callous as this), and yet he was eerily calm, barely even flinching at the mention. It intrigued you, but more disturbingly it made you horny.

“I never said that,” you shrugged, trying to compose yourself. “But, if you did, it could change this situation entirely. Your wife, your daughter - the public - will look at you very differently,”

William chuckled, his leg beginning to bounce in excitement. The mention of his family was quite the mood killer, and yet you acknowledging them turned him on. They weren’t really any more than tools to look like a convincing family-friendly businessman, and yet you seemingly bought into it. In terms of the public, well, he had a big ego for sure, but his libido was bigger. Throbbing, even.

“And what about you?” He said, leaning in and placing his hands under his chin, grinning at the way you shifted under his gaze. It was time to turn the tables.

“Excuse me?” you choked, an uncomfortable feeling beginning to churn in your stomach. There was something in the way that he smiled at you, like he was getting some kind of satisfaction from making you squirm. Perhaps you’d been wrong about him. Perhaps there was something deeper. 

“Will you look at me any differently?” he insisted. You paused for a moment before shaking your head. 

“Absolutely not, Mr Afton. It’s my duty to be impartial,”

So prim and proper. It was time to blur the boundaries.

“Tch,” he scoffed before bursting into laughter. “Come on! That’s what they all say. It’s human nature to judge,”

You rolled your eyes, tossing your leg over the other as you began to drum your fingertips on your desk impatiently. This was usually the part where whoever you were talking to stopped to talk down to you. William could tell you were agitated, and he loved the way your brows were beginning to furrow and lips scrunch into a pout. He wondered how they tasted. Much more how they felt.

“It’s also human nature to feel discomfort when running over time,” you snapped, closing your files with haste. “This session is over, Mr Afton,”

So feisty. Repression had clearly done a number on you.

It was a blatant sign for him to move on, and yet he remained firmly in his seat, watching as you got up to put your files away, skirt slightly crumpled around your legs from how long you’d been sitting. You noticed this and pulled it down, turning to face the man yet again and leaning over the table, palms flat as you rested your hands on either side. 

You were rather close to him, and if anyone walked in it would seem sketchy. It didn’t help that he was quite handsome; with rugged yet refined features, a slowly greying goatee and bright eyes that were somewhat hidden by his large glasses. The longer that you stared at him, the more you felt weakened under his gaze.

“Can I help you, Mr Afton?”

“You can,” he said, and you raised a brow for him to continue. He felt his cock begin to harden and heart beat as he worked his way up to the moment. Yes, you were a lawyer, but the circumstances meant that you were game to react rather abruptly.

A killer and a lawyer in an empty wing, just after hours - doors shut with no one to hear a scream? It was the perfect scenario for a crime.

“I have something to declare…” he began, and he could barely contain his smile as you raised your brows, mouth slowly falling agape and body subtly recoiling. As if in a trance, you lowered your head further, the eye contact so intense that you could feel a tingle throughout each others’ bodies. You were 90% certain he could hear your heart pounding in your chest.

“…Go on,”

“I think you know what it is,” 

With a slow blink, as you tried to ground yourself. You could’ve vomited. In your eyes, murder was a grey area in the realm of self defence, but children were always off limits. 

He didn’t even seem to care. He seemed amused, actually. 

“O-Okay,” you whispered, swallowing a lump in your throat. “Thank you for telling me. I’ll have to revisit this with fresh eyes in the morning —“

You were so painfully uncomfortable, and yet part of you was aroused. Perhaps it was because you’d never encountered an actual killer, or it was because you were incredibly aware of the blatant fantasy being played out from both sides. He was a wolf; a hunter, bigger and stronger than you and waiting to ravish you like prey. 

You were dedicated to holding up the law, fighting for what was fair like a good girl, but sometimes good girls needed to be ravished.

“— What do you think, Miss L/N?” he teased, standing up to match you. “Am I a dead man?”

“No…” you whispered. “I’m going to do what I can…”

“Good,” he smiled, backing away from the desk, the outline of his bulge illuminated from the dimming lights. “That’s why I chose you,”

You gave an awkward nod, haphazardly rushing to hold the door open for him to leave. You held your head down as he passed, and squeezed your eyes shut as you realised he’d stopped in front of you. 

Your bodies were painfully close in the tiny doorway. William grinned, and he knew he had you from the moment you looked up at him through your lashes.

“…Are you going to kill me?”

“Not unless you want me to,”

Your lips were on each other in a heartbeat, your hands immediately finding the door and slamming it shut before focusing your attention on the killer at your feet. He wasted no time in effortlessly hoisting you up around his waist, his large hands firm on your hips and thighs as he held you steady, stumbling to find your desk. You returned the favour by holding onto his neck and beginning to grind yourself against his cock, your skirt riding up in the process.

“I bet you’re real happy I walked through those doors, aren’t you?” He teased. “How long have you been waiting for a fucked up guy like me, hmm?” he said, crudely sticking his fingers inside your panties as he placed you on the desk. He grunted at the sensation of your wet heat, hungry as he stuck a third finger inside without warning or hesitation. They were lithe and calloused, and seemed to hit your core immediately upon penetration, causing you to let out a moan. 

“I never –” you began, barely unable to form a sentence. “This is nothing —” you insisted, lips leaving his own as you began to fumble with his belt, cupping him through his pants. He was painfully hard. And big. Bigger than most guys your age. “— Just a formality,”

William scoffed, unable to hide his lascivious smile as he began pumping in and out of you, your lips swallowing him to just below his knuckles. Against the creaking of the desk and desperate pants you could hear the wet sound of your juices coating his fingers, sticky and copious as his motions continued; rough yet controlled. 

To think, they were the same hands that had murdered all those kids…

You’d taken out his cock now and was massaging the organ in your hands, causing him to hollow out his cheeks, sighing at the contact. It was over five inches, and considerably thick, with a long blue vein running along its underside. As you stroked him, a healthy secretion of precum coated your fingers, indirectly lubing him up further. His thrusts were lazy but needy as he fucked your hand, and with every movement you worked together to guide his cock to your entrance, his bulging tip teasing your folds.

“Fuck,” he whispered, throwing his head back. “You’re ready for me, aren’t you? Naughty girl, you know this goes against your ‘ethics’...” he teased again, and you could barely formulate an answer as his body was now almost completely on top of yours, your back arching as you stabilised yourself with your free hand on the desk.

He chuckled, reaching down to grip the base of his cock as he lined himself at your entrance. For a moment your hands touched, and the excessive hairs and slight wrinkles reminded you of just how much older he was.

“Fuck ethics,” you moaned, and his grin deepened, to the point he was baring teeth. You couldn’t take it anymore, and you were beginning to lose your grip on your panties as you held them to the side.

Next time he should just rip them off.

“William…” you moaned. “Please…”

“Since you asked so nicely,” he laughed, and thrust himself into you, rutting into you like a rabbit. To him the sensation was euphoric, it had been a long time since he’d fucked a fresh pussy, and admittedly his wife was getting rather stale. You were so tight and melded perfectly around him, but most of all you were eager, even if your morals were blatantly backwards. 

William’s cock filled you completely, repeatedly hitting the untouched crevices of your cunt that you hadn’t even known existed. He was big, skilled and oh-so painfully perfect - Perfectly bad for you. You could get disbarred, your public reputation ruined, much like the narrative of the man inside you - but with every thrust that drew deeper into your pussy and lustful kiss to your neck and lips none of it seemed to matter. His large hands cupped your sides, moving between your breasts and thighs as he groped and massaged; most importantly making sure that you remained spread wide and available for him as his clothed thighs hit against yours repeatedly. You were high; so high that you barely acknowledged the wedding ring on his left finger, even if you could feel it through the thin material of your blouse.

“You feel so fucking good,” he grunted. “I haven’t fucked a pussy like this in ages. You and I are gonna make such a good team — Ugh — I knew there was a reason I chose you…”

“Fuck…” you groaned. “W-William…”

“Does it bother you that I hurt those kids?” he snarled, beginning to feel his stomach knot up. 

You were too lost in your ecstasy to answer. 

Did it?

“…Tut, tut. You said you wouldn’t judge me, sweetheart,” he chided. “We were getting along so well…”

“We are. I’m gonna help you,” you said determinedly, eyes unable to shift from his own. You were close.

“I know you are,” he hummed, letting out an intermittent groan as he shut his eyes. “You have no choice. You’re just as guilty as me,”

There was something about those words that immediately sent you over the edge, squeezing your eyes shut and letting out a pornographic moan as you came, your body twinging as the man held your thighs apart, making sure you felt every inch of your shared ecstasy. William had barely found it in him to pull out on time, his heavy load painting a mess on your panties and thighs, but leaving a small trail of cum along the outer lips of your pussy, a subtle but telling reminder of what had happened.

Fixing your crumpled shirt and skirt, you adjusted yourself before hopping off of the desk, hands clasped in front of you. 

“So,” you said, clearing your throat. You were surprised it wasn’t sore from your incessant moans. “I’d like to see you at the same time tomorrow. We’ve got a lot of ground to cover.”

@yellowbunnydreams @lonelyaxolotl13

[gutsybitsies]

jason grace as a city planner!!!!!!!!

has an unnatural knowledge of city codes and ordinances, doesnt mind red tape. can and will recite relevant codes on the spot. is this his Jupiter aspect or the autism? who knows

will infodump new city code facts on nico, who infodumps new ghost facts on jason right back. then the two of them argue about who is worse, jason's boss or nico's boss. nico thinks he has it worse because he's literally working for the king of the underworld who has deepseated Issues. Jason thinks he has it worse because his boss is a Trump supporter

loves creating blue prints of walkable cities and eco friendly landscapes. annabeth keeps trying to headhunt him into her Olympian architectural firm that dabbles with mortal projects + mythical projects, but he refuses because he likes public works too much.

likes making lil diaramas of his favorite projects.

the mortals in his department thinks hes a bit insane because occasionally he would spend his own money to dig up a tree and relocate it if they can't plan a new road or building around it. those are when the plans are too large and he can't Mist his way out of derailing the destruction of a tree with a nymph in it.

occasionally drops anonymous tips to the police department about crimes because he's friends with nymphs who saw the crime happen. also when nico straight up tells him what the ghost said.

once wore a $10k rolex into the office and sparked an ethics committee meeting about possible bribery.

jason: my friend nico gave it to me? he said it looked nice. i can't give it back or not wear it, itd hurt his feelings. besides if i give that back i'd have to give back this suit he gave me as well

enter @thatshortangryperson 's opinion that now of course everyone in the government thinks this "nico" is jason's sugar daddy

jason has no idea. he's humming along gluing tiny lil pieces to his diaramas and drawing up city plans and filling out paperwork

[trainsinanime]

I feel like talking a bit more about Vanisher 2.0 and Red Volpina (todo: look up what these Miraculous Ladybug season 5 episodes are actually called). My previous review of them has been,

Yes there is stuff where the writing still has potential to get better (not once but twice does everybody in class believe a known liar over Marinette!? Marinette’s classmates suddenly realized Chloé was doing badly in school and somehow that’s Marinette’s problem!? Lol), but it’s still better than it’s ever been.

But maybe there's more to talk about here. Just a couple of days ago I saw a post that complained bitterly about how unfair it is that Marinette must always prove herself, and how Alya was a bad friend in these two episodes.

I don't think that's a great hot take, but I think there is a kernel of truth here. The writing in these episodes was not 100%, but in ways that are interesting to talk about. This isn't meant as salt; I watched the episodes with my sister and I had a lot of fun with them regardless of their flaws. I just think it's interesting.

First of all, I don't think it's actually a problem that Marinette must prove herself. Marinette encountering obstacles and overcoming them through cleverness and strength of will is the point of the show. That's literally fine.

The real issue here is that all the characters are written rather weirdly in order to make the plot happen. Alya is the most visible victim of this, but everyone suffers from it to a certain degree.

In fact, in Vanisher 2.0 (todo look up episode title), this even applies to the villains. Sabrina does not want to steal for Chloé because it goes against her code of ethics as a police officer's daughter. Where did that come from? She has stolen from Marinette before, on Chloé's behalf, back in Darkblade in season 1. The show is just summoning conflict out of thin air.

(There is probably a joke to be made here, about how the cop's daughter steals and plants fake evidence on Marinette to accuse her of a crime, but that's a different thing.)

But it is most notable with Marinette. In Vanisher 2.0 (todo look up title), everybody sees stolen high-value goods such as… paper doilies…? appear out of Marinette's bag, after Chloé told everyone they'd be in there. And the conclusion everyone draws is that Chloé is correct.

Then in Red Volpina, the class learns that Chloé has never made her own homework, something the teacher apparently never noticed before. The class somehow agrees with Lila that this is Marinette's fault for not recognising that Chloé is struggling, despite this not being Marinette's job, and despite Chloé's insistence that she isn't struggling, she just doesn't care.

Neither of these are at all consistent with basically anything that came before. The class knows who Chloé is, how vindictive, petty and entitled she is. They also know who Marinette is, are friends with her, and a surprisingly high percentage are or have been in love with her.

From a story perspective, it makes sense, though. Both episodes want to tell a particular story. In Adoration (todo fix all the spots where I called it Vanisher 2.0), the point is to get to Zoé's big heroic self-sacrifice for Marinette. In Revelation, it's about how always seeing the best in people can sometimes lead you astray. Those are both interesting ideas in their own right. It's just that the episodes used narrative shortcuts to get us there, and ignored character consistency along the way.

I think the point about Alya is the most important one here. Saying "Alya is a bad friend" is canonically not true (look at all the stuff our poor girl puts up with on Marinette's behalf), but also missing the forest for the trees. As smarter people than me have put it, Alya is often only in the story to make Marinette's internal conflict an external one, so we can see the different sides argue in screen instead of imagining them in our head. As a result of that, Alya is sometimes her own character, and sometimes, very often in fact, just whatever she needs to be to get the plot moving.

In Revelation (todo fix yada yada), the plot they had in mind wouldn't work at all if Alya took Marinette and Adrien seriously, and acted on all the information she has. So she just doesn't. That doesn't mean she's a bad friend, it means she's a narrative tool, one that the writers don't always wield super well. Alya is far from the most irrational person in this episode (come on, Gabriel, giving Lila superpowers again? Even though you know she hates you? That's just silly), but since she's one of the good guys and Marinette's best friend and often portrayed as the voice of reason, we notice it the most in her case.

I think the show is genuinely nice and fun, but there's no denying that its writing has flaws. Sometimes more, sometimes less, and these two episodes have some that just stand out a bit. Framing that as "the show is unfair to Marinette" (or even "Alya is a bad friend") is not an interesting way to discuss that, in my opinion. The real issue is that the show had a story it wanted to tell, only twenty minutes to do so, and so it crammed that story in with a crowbar, regardless of the cost. Both episodes have enough good moments to make up for it in my personal opinion, but they have central moments that are just plain clunky.

[justinspoliticalcorner]

NYT: Congressman D'Esposito Had an Affair. Then He Put His Lover on the Payroll.

Nicholas Fandos at NYT:

As a proud son of Nassau County’s vaunted Republican machine, Representative Anthony D’Esposito of New York knows well the power of political patronage. Every member of his immediate family has held a town or county job, and as a local official, he routinely helped friends find spots on the government payroll. Yet even by those standards, Mr. D’Esposito’s hiring decisions since he won a seat in Congress in 2022 have been audacious — and in two cases may have transgressed ethics rules designed to combat nepotism and corruption.

Shortly after taking the oath of office, the first-term congressman hired his longtime fiancée’s daughter to work as a special assistant in his district office, eventually bumping her salary to about $3,800 a month, payroll records show. In April, Mr. D’Esposito added someone even closer to him to his payroll: a woman with whom he was having an affair, according to four people familiar with the relationship. The woman, Devin Faas, collected $2,000 a month for a part-time job in the same district office. Payments to both women stopped abruptly several months later, in July 2023, records show, around the time that Mr. D’Esposito’s fiancée found out about his relationship with Ms. Faas and briefly broke up with him, according to the four people. Mr. D’Esposito has not been publicly accused of wrongdoing, but his employment of the two women, which resulted in the payment of about $29,000 in taxpayer funds, could expose him to discipline in the House of Representatives.

The House code of conduct prohibits members of Congress from employing spouses or relatives, including stepchildren. Though Mr. D’Esposito has never married, congressional ethics experts said that employing a woman akin to his stepdaughter, who shared a home with him, could breach the requirement that members of Congress “adhere to the spirit and the letter of the rules.” A separate provision adopted in the wake of the #MeToo movement explicitly states that lawmakers “may not engage in a sexual relationship with any employee of the House who works under the supervision of the member.” The experts said the circumstances could also prompt an investigation into whether either position had broken a ban on no-show or low-show jobs, potentially exposing Mr. D’Esposito, a former police detective, to additional scrutiny by the House and law enforcement officials. “There are lots of shades of gray in ethics stuff. This is something that is obvious,” said Donald Sherman, a former lawyer for the House Ethics Committee who serves as chief counsel at Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, a nonpartisan watchdog group. “The House is trying to prevent members from using government funds to enrich their family or close associates,” he added. Matt Capp, a spokesman for Mr. D’Esposito, did not deny that the congressman had a relationship with Ms. Faas and declined to comment on his employment of either woman.

“We do not comment on personnel matters,” Mr. Capp said. “Congressman D’Esposito remains focused on fighting for real issues that impact Long Islanders, like securing our borders and ending the affordability crisis.” Asked to speak about the relationship by phone on Monday, Ms. Faas said “no thank you” and hung up. Knowledge of Mr. D’Esposito’s tangled personal and professional lives passed through Republican circles on Long Island for years, though none of it has ever been reported. The New York Times confirmed his affair with Ms. Faas with three people who had detailed knowledge of it but requested anonymity for fear of reprisal. A reporter also corroborated this account with Ms. Faas’s ex-husband, Derek W. Ciaschi, who said the extramarital affair ended his marriage. The Times reviewed text messages from summer 2022 that appear to show Mr. D’Esposito and Ms. Faas exchanging love notes and coordinating meet-ups while Mr. D’Esposito was running for Congress. “Love you till Monday,” Ms. Faas wrote in one characteristic text, adding a “💖.” “So much,” Mr. D’Esposito replied. “SO SO.”

Making Government a Family Business

Members of Congress have a long history of making nepotism hires, providing no-show jobs and getting involved in romantic entanglements. But a series of reforms have made the practices increasingly rare.

[...]

He used his council office to benefit family, voting in 2017 to amend the town’s labor contract to protect employees, including three relatives, from termination after Ms. Gillen became the first Democrat to be elected supervisor in more than a century. A state judge said Mr. D’Esposito should have recused himself, and not doing so violated the “spirit and intent” of the town ethics code. He faced no punishment. His willingness to help was not limited to blood relatives. Around 2017, Mr. D’Esposito pushed his connections to secure a position for his longtime fiancée, Cynthia Lark, in one of the town’s villages, East Rockaway, according to an associate of Mr. D’Esposito with direct knowledge of the matter. He also helped Ms. Lark’s son get a job with the East Rockaway sanitation department.

Mr. D’Esposito and Ms. Lark, a divorced mother of three, had been dating since around 2010. Though they never married, associates said Mr. D’Esposito introduced Ms. Lark, 61, as his fiancée, spent vacations and holidays with her and moved into her Tudor-style home in East Rockaway. Yet beginning around 2021, Mr. D’Esposito also secretly began a relationship with Ms. Faas, 38, a secretary for the Town of Hempstead who ran in local Republican circles. The relationship was serious and protracted enough that it broke up Ms. Faas’s marriage when Mr. Ciaschi discovered it. [...]

A Pair of Questionable Hires

When he took office in January 2023, Mr. D’Esposito largely turned to familiar faces, not seasoned policy hands, to build out his team. Only two, though, appear to have tested the limits of House ethics rules: Ms. Lark’s daughter Tessa Lark and Ms. Faas. Tessa Lark began as a part-time employee in January, not long after Mr. D’Esposito took the oath of office. She had just graduated from art school, and records show she was registered to vote at the East Rockaway home shared by the congressman. Payroll sheets indicate she was paid $21,181.94 over about six months. House rules bar members of Congress from employing family members, a prohibition designed to prevent them from exploiting government service to enrich themselves or their families.

The New York Times released a bombshell report on Rep. Anthony D’Esposito (R-NY) about his affair with a woman who he then hired to put on his payroll.

[thoughtlessarse]

From fake images designed to cause fears of an immigrant “invasion” to other demonisation campaigns targeted at leaders such as Emmanuel Macron, far-right parties and activists across western Europe are at the forefront of the political weaponisation of generative artificial intelligence technology. This year’s European parliamentary elections were the launchpad for a rollout of AI-generated campaigning by the European far right, experts say, which has continued to proliferate since. This month, the issue reached the independent oversight board of Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta when the body opened an investigation into anti-immigration content on Facebook. The inquiry by the oversight board will look at a post from a German account featuring an AI-generated image emblazoned with anti-immigrant rhetoric. It is part of a wave of AI-made rightwing content on social media networks. Posts elsewhere from Europe’s political extremes range from the Italian far right’s deployment of “photo-realistic” images of women and children eating insects to bolster a conspiracy theory about the intentions of “a global elite”, to Irish far-right images of a police officer stamping on Ireland’s flag and Islamophobic memes in the immediate aftermath of the Southport knife murders in the UK. The use of the same models and themes and the same approach to presenting and packaging the images on social media platforms has given rise to a common aesthetic across borders, and in the EU and Britain. In virtually every case, far-right parties and movements have eschewed the use of any sort of watermarking or identifier on the AI images, according to experts. “What we are seeing is the tip of the iceberg because what is coming from individuals and beyond the official channels is even worse,” said Salvatore Romano, the head of research at the nonprofit AI Forensics, which examined the output of parties including France’s National Rally, Reconquête and Les Patriotes. William Allchorn, a senior research fellow at Anglia Ruskin University, said the ease of use of AI models was appealing to a political fringe that had shown an attitude of “pragmatic opportunism” to new technology. “AI lowers the barriers to entry for creating content. You don’t need coding skills or anything like that to generate these images. It is also symptomatic of far-right views going mainstream or being normalised,” he said, adding that the far right appeared to have fewer moral concerns about AI imagery. Allchorn said more established political parties appeared warier of using AI in official campaigns: “Mainstream actors still have ethical concerns about the effectiveness, authenticity and reliability of these models that far-right or extremist actors are not beholden to.”

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[imagine-shenanigans]

ouhasgdkl;asjfklajoughoughough anon ty for the compliments ily <33333

You said this was like "strange friendship" but idk if you're going by way of platonic or romantic end goal so I'll have endings for both <3333 I'm also assuming you meant a Vigilante reader?

Also side note but dear dear followers and people perusing the tag who found this, how are we feeling about Jon Bellion's song Guillotine when paired with Miguel/Reader because it came on while I was writing this and I'm feral

Side note, I wrote this awhile ago before I changed the way I write, but I'm going through my drafts and I guess i'll just drop this while I write more for tptbp, since I don't think I'll return to it, at least for awhile

Miguel O'hara Police AU x Vigilante Reader (Friends to Lovers) (Unfinished)

Rating: T for Teen (Minors Still DNI tho please)

General

Miguel has always had a strong sense of right and wrong, and he's always wanted to protect people. As a child, this was a strong sense of justice that manifested, and although now that he's older he sees it from the lens that the ends justify the means, at the end of the day all he wants is to protect the city.

Became disheartened with the police force overall after he'd been in it for a few years, his bright-eyed enthusiasm tampered by years of seeing the worst of Nueva York, both in and out of the police force itself. He's dedicated to reform in the system, and he's stubborn, and that's the only reason he takes the detective position. It's a step above the meaningless work he felt he was doing before, and at least this way he has some say over who really gets the hammer.

In any other world, he thinks to himself, maybe I would be like those vigilantes.

They're all over the news - villains (criminals, he often reminds those who use the term) that fill the streets of Nueva York like filth. Above the petty threats he and the other officers typically get slammed with, real, genuine threats that he should be investigating. Biochemical warfare, robberies that span several city blocks, bombs, and genetic testing that alters the very DNA of the other humans in the city. It results in a frankly concerning amount of human-animal hybrids, and that makes his job narrowing down vigilantes even harder. Between the genetic testing and the well-known phenomena of superpowers, Miguel is up to his eyeballs in (figurative) red yarn and pushpins.

Surpsingly, he doesn't hate the vigilantes for their work. Sure, it makes his own job harder, but if he were a little younger, or if he'd been gifted with powers, he'd have been right out on those streets with the best of them.

But he only has mercy for the ones that pass the extremely high standards he sets. He promised to uphold right and wrong, and while he'll often give the vigilantes a head start, he's never actually worked with anyone... until you.

He'd heard of you, infamous in the media, even for a vigilante. Kids want to be like you, adults are torn between wanting you brought to justice and wanting you pardoned. Villains/Criminals pray for your downfall - most willing to go to great lengths for just that (other than unmasking you - villains and criminals may be just that, but there is a certain code of ethics still upheld, and unmasking someone on purpose is a huge breach of the larger game at play.)

He becomes... just a bit obsessed.

You've got a code of ethics, a moral compass, and you yourself are willing to go to great lengths to protect the city. You're kind, and you're smart, a clever thing that is constantly evading his grasp. As much as he admires you, it's infuriating at the same time how much he hates you. You let criminals off the hook for reasons he can't comprehend, you put yourself in danger to such great lengths that Miguel isn't certain how you quite survive most of the things you do. You're snarky, and kind of an asshole, and you also commit strange, petty crimes, and while he doesn't really care when you punch one of his fellow officers and beat him bloody when you find out he was being a creep to a young girl, Miguel is still forced to at least try to bring you to justice.

But you're a fucking enigma.

If you live in Nueva York proper, he'd never know it - you don't show up on any scanners, your bio-signs are unique in costume, but the moment you're out of his line of sight he couldn't pick you out of a crowd for the life of him. No paper trails - if you're buying anything in the city, it isn't with anything but cold hard cash. He can't tell if you're living hand-to-mouth, and the system itself is hiding you from him, or if you're just clever enough that you're constantly three steps ahead of him.

Maybe it's both.

Miguel gets obsessed, quite frankly, and it's a good thing that he's better than his fellow detectives three times over, because otherwise he'd never get anything done in the long hours away from home. The only thing that keeps him from delving straight into madness is Gabi, and her needs. After she'd developed nightmares a couple years ago when he'd been absorbed in his work, he refuses to put in overtime more than once a week, and even then it's only on days that Gabi would be over spending time with his family anyway.

[religion-is-a-mental-illness]

Preamble

We atheists and atheist allies hereby declare that from now on, March 23rd is Atheist Day. We recognize the struggle of atheists to live authentic lives in many parts of the world. The struggle to openly affirm one’s atheism. The fear of intolerant governments, mobs, and religious zealots.

This struggle often includes the risk of professional, social and familial ostracization. Sometimes, this authenticity results in paying the ultimate price — one’s life. Many of our brethren have been brutally murdered for professing the very principles that this day represents: the freedom of and from religion, the right to be free of discrimination and persecution, and the freedom to profess one’s beliefs.

Many of us happily interact with people whom we admire and trust who unbeknownst to us, are closeted atheists. The world is full of atheists who are silent about their true convictions. Why? Simply this: a fear of reprisal and discrimination based on misinformation, ranging from the subtle to the life-threatening.

People should not be persecuted for their lack of belief in a god or a religion. That’s all we’re asking.

Some people however, believe that disagreeing with deeply held beliefs is hate. But it’s not.

We wish to remind our fellow human beings that many of the most powerful ideas — ideas that changed our world — were once heretical.

Many of the most radical thinkers and reformists in past eras were blasphemers against the established order of their day.

Freedom and Self-Determination

Atheists, just like adherents of religion, deserve the freedom to openly identify, profess and promote their views. No belief system or perspective on belief should enjoy special treatment.

Rejection of Bigotry and Discrimination

While atheism is a position on only one very narrow question — the evidence for a god or gods — we the proponents of Atheist Day also share a commitment to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

As such, to be associated with the Atheist Day campaign — whether you are a believer or not — is to necessarily reject bigotry and discrimination based on religious belief (or lack thereof), on race and on sexual orientation.

Just as you don't need to be gay to support gay rights, you don’t need to be an atheist to show your support for Atheist Day.

Awareness Campaign

A central component of Atheist Day is raising awareness of the discrimination and stigma faced by atheists around the world. Atheists are your loved ones, your friends, your doctors, your social workers, your teachers, your police officers and in short, the people in your life who are hiding in plain sight.

Our awareness campaign seeks to clear some misconceptions too. We Atheists and Atheist Allies want our fellow brothers and sisters in humanity to realize that we needn’t believe in an external force to encourage correct moral action. Isn’t true morality that which is done for its intrinsic value, and not under the threat of punishment or reward? Surely it is possible to act morally from intrinsic motivations, rather than extrinsic ones.

Many atheists would argue that our modern sensibilities, our ability for empathy, and our sense of universal human rights today often surpass the moral codes of largely subscribed-to religious scriptures of the past. Proof positive that we can live moral and ethical lives without a belief in the supernatural. This perspective also does not preclude atheists showing solidarity with religious people and their right to believe and to be inspired by their respective religious traditions.

To help atheists realize that they are not alone, we will promote a unified coming out on social media. Whether an atheist or an atheist ally, please support the campaign with the hashtag #AtheistDay.

Our Atheist Day awareness campaign is focused on removing the misconceptions, removing the stigma, and remembering the fallen. We aspire to normalize atheism so that people who are atheists no longer need live double lives.

We aspire to hold information events, public talks, marches, and embassy protests for those countries who would persecute us. Events will be organized at the city level, across the world.

Whether we march in the streets or we protest in secret, our voices will be heard. Your marching with us will encourage people in the Arab world to be steadfast. Many people in such regions of the world don't know that they have your support. Show them. Let them hear you. Stand with us.

A Coordinated Coming Out

Many who leave religion are fearful of “coming out”. For those who live in a region of the world where leaving their religion doesn’t entail a risk of physical harm, we also have a coordinated coming out campaign.

This campaign is central to Atheist Day. Even if you’ve not adopted the atheist label but have chosen to leave your religion, your conscious choice to come out is what our day represents.

We believe that people who leave a religion need not keep it to themselves for lack of solidarity. Atheist Day is your day to tell your story. To share your pride in making a conscious choice to define your own identity vis-a-vis religion.

A Celebration of Life

In addition to our awareness campaign, Atheist Day will encompass a second vital theme: a celebration of life.

This is a day for atheists especially, to meet face to face. It’s a day for atheists in hiding in many parts of the world, to connect with one another, where that can be done safely. These real world connections are vital. They help atheists overcome the feeling of isolation that need not be felt.

As this life on Earth is the one and only life that we can be certain of, we believe it wise to live this life to it’s fullest potential, and to help others who are less fortunate, also do the same.

We will host dinners, parties, concerts, and festivities across the world in a celebration of life, freedom, dignity and our common humanity. As an atheist or atheist ally, you are most welcome to join us in these celebrations.

Gratitude

We the founders and proponents of Atheist Day are grateful to our Atheist Allies. You do not need to be an atheist to be a vocal supporter of Atheist Day and an Atheist Ally.

Respect for the right to self-determination, free speech and a level playing field for ideological criticism is what we and our allies all share — even those Atheist Allies who profess a strong religious belief.

It’s not about respecting ideas; it’s about respecting people and their right to choose their own beliefs.

For our Atheist Allies across the entire belief spectrum, we are truly and deeply grateful for your support. We may not share a god-belief, but know that we see you as our brothers and sisters in humanity. Gratitude, solidarity, and love.

[dzthenerd490]

File: Candyman

SCP#: AEU

Code Name: Candyman, the Demon of Five

Object Class: Keter

Special Containment Procedures: Memetic kill agents have been placed in the graffiti, products, books, art, advertisement, and other items regularly viewed by the public. These memetics influence regularly influence the people of [data expunged] to ignore or not care about the "Candyman Legend". It should be noted this will not destroy SCP-AEU but will prevent it from harming civilians ever again. Unfortunately, this is confirmed to be the best containment method for SCP-AEU.

Description: SCP-AEU is a number demon and a lore parasite that currently take the form of a tall man of African descent. His right hand is replaced with a hook and his chest is filled with ravenous bees. Unfortunately, even with D Class sacrificed to take samples it has proven impossible to capture these bees as they seem just as metaphysical as SCP-AEU himself. The physical form of SCP-AEU was made form the local story of the "Candyman" who seeks revenge after being killed simply for loving a white woman back in the 1800s.

However, it should not be mistaken as SCP-AEU has no actual relation to the man in the local tale, it just takes the form of him. SCP-AEU as explained before is a number demon which for those that don't know are demons that curse a particular number in a unique way to have people summon then and be devoured. In SCP-AEU's case, the number is five, it's summoned through a little folk lore game where you must say "Candyman" five times in front of a mirror.

SCP-AEU is also a lore parasite which are spiritual anomalies taking the form of local stories to gain power and influence. The more widespread the story the stronger the parasite becomes. This and the "Candyman game" have given SCP-AEU more power than any lore parasite and number demon on their own.  Allowing it to torment and haunt the entire community of SCP-AEU for decades. Shockingly, SCP-AEU normally just kills and devours those that summon him, but it is possible for SCP-AEU to simply kill those around them and have the victim blamed for his own crimes.

SCP-AEU was discovered in 1992, when dozens of murders were reported in the [data expunged] public housing project. It was reported that the rumor of the "Candyman game" reached some of the locals and after one of them did the dare, they all died. Foundation agents disguised as police officers covered up the scene as just a mass homicide and as instructed, damaged the bodies to further sell this cover story. Afterwards as a precaution a Foundation Field Researcher was deployed who specialized in lore parasite. They found traces of demonic particles on the bodies and in the building where they were found.

Foundation agents sent D Class to the area more specifically abandoned buildings with mirrors to see if they would be devoured by SCP-AEU and sure enough he showed up. Unfortunately, in initial testing there were Foundation researchers and agents standing guard over the D Class. SCP-AEU killed them all instead thinking the Foundation would pin the blame on the D Class. The D Classes were killed anyways as they were now acting as anchors for SCP-AEU which would lead to SCP-AEU's influence growing. From here it was determined that SCP-AEU was too dangerous to be left as it was, leading to the current Special Containment Procedures implemented.

Currently the memetic kill agents implemented around the [data expunged] community have shown at least 89%. Unfortunately, there are still those that play the "Candyman game" leading to incidences still occurring. As such The Ethics Committee has approved the implementation of Protocol "The Unknown Killer" to deal with any "unwanted variables". There has not been given a single codename for the killer and every time the public comes up with several others are to be introduced onto any dead bodies. This is done to prevent SCP-AEU from regaining its strength by latching onto a new story. It is with hope that all of this will result in SCP-AEU's eradication. Though unfortunately if it ever does happen the Foundation will have no way of knowing for sure.

.

SCP: Horror Movie Files Hub

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

Matt Davies

* * * *

Shame on Chief Justice Roberts! :: [Robert B. Hubbell Newsletter]

          Another ethics scandal rocked the Supreme Court on Wednesday—this time involving Justice Alito accepting lavish travel and lodging sponsored by the Federalist Society and underwritten by conservative billionaire Paul Singer. Before looking at the specifics, we should step back to ask how the justices came to believe they were above the law and accountable to no one. The answer to that question is complicated and multifaceted. But, in the end, there is one person on the Court responsible for enforcing ethical standards and maintaining order: Chief Justice John Roberts.

          The string of scandals spans John Roberts’s tenure as Chief Justice and includes serious ethical breaches by Thomas, Roberts, Alito, and Gorsuch (at least). It includes a hapless investigation by Roberts that seemed designed not to identify the source of the leak of the Dobb’s draft. And, of course, the biggest scandal is the reactionary majority’s repeated disregard of long-settled precedent to remove rights embedded in the Bill of Rights.

          As the public’s trust in the Supreme Court plummeted to historical lows, Roberts first hid behind a wall of silence, simply ignoring the scandals in his annual reports on the Court. When that approach became untenable, he gave milquetoast defenses of the Court, feigning shock and surprise that anyone would question the self-policing ethics of the justices. And finally, in May of this year, he tepidly acknowledged that the Court was “continuing to look at things we can do . . .  to making certain that we as a court adhere to the highest standards of conduct.”

          There is no need for Justice Roberts to “continue to look at things.” The solutions are obvious—indeed, they already exist. Justice Roberts could require the justices to comply with the Code of Conduct for United States Judges. He could investigate and (if appropriate) publicly reprimand his colleagues when they act in a manner that creates the appearance of impropriety or when they fail to recuse themselves from cases in which their impartiality can reasonably be questioned.

          In short, Chief Justice Roberts could—and should—act as the conscience of the Court. Instead, he is acting as its chief apologist and enabler for justices who see their offices as sinecures. Every scandal on the Court lies at the feet John Roberts. Until he finds a spine or a conscience (preferably, both), his reactionary colleagues will act like feudal lords in petty fiefdoms—arrogant, entitled, and accountable to no one.

          The details of Justice Alito’s scandal are maddening, especially because of his hubris and condescension in the face of damning disclosures. At the highest level, the scandal is part of the long-term effort by Leonard Leo and the Federalist Society to stage a hostile takeover of the Supreme Court. In the latest instance, the Federalist Society hosted a fishing trip to Alaska underwritten by billionaire Paul Singer. Justice Scalia was provided free transportation on a private jet, free accommodation at a lodge, and free meals. Alito reported none of this on his required disclosures. See Pro Publica, Alito Took Unreported Luxury Trip With GOP Donor Paul Singer.

          After the lavish hunting trip, Paul Singer or his companies appeared before the Supreme Court “at least 10 times in cases where his role was often covered by the legal press and mainstream media.”

          Per Pro Publica, Alito did not report the trip as required by federal law:

“Alito did not report the 2008 fishing trip on his annual financial disclosures. By failing to disclose the private jet flight Singer provided, Alito appears to have violated a federal law that requires justices to disclose most gifts, according to ethics law experts. “Experts said they could not identify an instance of a justice ruling on a case after receiving an expensive gift paid for by one of the parties.”

          The disclosures in the Pro Publica article are serious enough to warrant a public comment by Chief Justice Roberts assuring the public that the Court will investigate the allegations. Instead, the public was subjected to a preemptive op-ed by Justice Alito in The Wall Street Journal, Justice Samuel Alito: ProPublica Misleads Its Readers. (This article is accessible to everyone.)

          Justice Alito was able to publish a preemptive reply because he received written questions from Pro Publica last Friday. Rather than responding to the questions, he leaked the story by publishing the op-ed in the WSJ. (Hmm. Leaking in advance of the release of a final document. Sound familiar?)

          Justice Alito claimed that the Pro Publica article was “misleading”—despite the fact the Pro Publica article had not yet been published! He then offered a defense of accepting free airfare on a private jet by noting that he merely “occup[ied[] what would have otherwise been an unoccupied seat on a private flight to Alaska.”

          That explanation drew howls of derision and laughter, with many commentators wondering if United Airlines would begin giving away empty seats for free on the theory that the seats “would have otherwise been unoccupied.”

          An even more pernicious argument made by Alito is this: “On no occasion have we [Paul Singer and I] discussed the activities of his businesses, and we have never talked about any case or issue before the Court.”  In essence, Alito argues that because he did not commit an actual impropriety, there is no basis for the appearance of impropriety. That argument would eviscerate the rule requiring recusal in the case of the appearance of impropriety. But as set forth in Canon 2A of the Judicial Code of Conduct,

“A judge must avoid all impropriety and appearance of impropriety. This prohibition applies to both professional and personal conduct. A judge must expect to be the subject of constant public scrutiny and accept freely and willingly restrictions that might be viewed as burdensome by the ordinary citizen.”

          In allowing Alito to publish a preemptive reply to an article that had yet to be published, the WSJ editorial board committed a grievous breach of journalistic ethics. Worse, it has become complicit in the corruption and lawlessness of the Court’s reactionary majority.

          John Roberts is ineffectual or complicit, or both. The reactionary majority has flouted disclosure laws and abandoned the norms of ethics and jurisprudence. Two members of the Court were appointed illegitimately, and one member should be impeached for lying to Congress during his confirmation hearings. It is time to enlarge the Court, which is the only solution that can be achieved by a majority vote in Congress and the signature of the president.

Shame on special counsel John Durham!

          Trump's “revenge” special counsel John Durham testified before the House Judiciary Committee on Tuesday. He was subjected to withering cross-examination by representatives Adam Schiff, Ted Lieu, and Eric Swalwell, among others. In addition, GOP Rep. Matt Gaetz said that Durham’s investigation was so bad that it reminded him of the “Washington Generals”—a basketball team that existed for the sole purpose of losing to the Harlem Globetrotters. Gaetz went so far as to accuse Durham of being part of an effort to cover up the alleged crimes of the FBI and DOJ.

          Adam Schiff was particularly effective in dismantling and humiliating John Durham. I urge you to watch these clips to get a flavor of Schiff’s masterful examination of Durham:

Schiff leads Durham through Mueller Report, eliciting admissions that Russia repeatedly interfered in the 2016 campaign to help Trump.

Durham retreating to the defense that "I don't really read the newspapers" to avoid answering Schiff’s questions.

          Schiff’s examination of Durham was so brutal that some commentators are claiming that Durham lied during his testimony by claiming not to remember facts (like Trump's use of stolen emails from the DNC in the 2016 campaign). See David Corn in Mother Jones, John Durham Just Made False Statements to Congress.

          Durham’s testimony before the House Judiciary Committee was a good reminder of three things:

First, that the GOP effort to use the House as a hotbed of retaliatory investigations has failed spectacularly.

Second, the Mueller Report contained substantial evidence of widespread, coordinated efforts by the Russian government to interfere in the 2016 election, efforts that Trump welcomed, publicly encouraged, and used as part of his campaign.

Third, Republicans shouldn’t mess with Adam Schiff. When they do, they come out on the losing end.

[ejlaws]

Police Ethics

Administrators in law enforcement agree that upholding professional ethics and integrity is critical to the profession. No other factor weaves such a powerful web through every aspect of policing, from recruiting and selection to promotions and assignments to training and field activities. The police code of ethics outlines the fundamental duties of law enforcement officers, which include serving the community, protecting lives and property, protecting the innocent from deception and the weak from oppression or intimidation, and respecting all citizens' constitutional rights to liberty, equality, and justice. Officers must also maintain a clean personal life and recognize the badge as a symbol of public faith and trust.

[f1]

F1 drivers banned from making political statements without permission

Formula One drivers will need prior written permission from the sport’s governing body to make “political statements” from next season following an update of the International Sporting Code. The 2023 version of the code, which applies to all series sanctioned by the International Automobile Federation (FIA), was published on the governing body’s website with changes highlighted. The FIA added a new clause regarding “the general making and display of political, religious and personal statements or comments notably in violation of the general principle of neutrality promoted by the FIA under its statutes”. Drivers who make such statements will now be in breach of the rules unless the FIA has granted previous approval in writing. Mercedes’s seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton and now-retired four-time champion Sebastian Vettel, have been among those making political statements at races in recent seasons. Hamilton, who has been an outspoken campaigner for human rights and diversity, wore a black T-shirt at the 2020 Tuscan Grand Prix with the words “Arrest the cops who killed Breonna Taylor” on the front. The shirt also had a photograph of the Black medical worker, who was shot dead in her Louisville, Kentucky, apartment by police officers, with “Say her name.” The FIA set out new pre- and post-race rules for driver attire after that grand prix. Hamilton has also called for more change in Saudi Arabia, saying this year that he was shocked to hear of mass executions, and has raced in the Middle East with a rainbow helmet in support of LGBTQ+ rights. Vettel used his platform to highlight issues from LGBTQ +rights to climate change. This year he wore a shirt proclaiming “Stop Mining Tar Sands” and “Canada’s Climate Crime” at the Canadian Grand Prix. In 2021 he wore a rainbow-coloured T-shirt in Hungary with the message “same love” to protest anti-LGBTQ+ legislation. An FIA spokesman said the update was “in alignment with the political neutrality of sport” as enshrined in the International Olympic Committee code of ethics. via Formula One | The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/sport/formulaone

[beardedmrbean]

A Tampa, Florida, police chief has resigned after body camera footage caught her using her rank to get out of a police traffic stop for driving a golf cart without tags.

Mary O’Connor submitted her resignation on Monday following an internal affairs review which found she violated police department policy during the 12 November stop by a Pinellas County Sheriff’s deputy.

In video obtained by Creative Loafing Tampa Bay, Ms O’Connor is seen trying to brush off the deputy who pulled her and her husband over in the cart.

“Is your camera on?” Ms O’Connor asks the deputy, Larry Jacoby, while gritting her teeth. “I’m the police chief from Tampa... I’m hoping that you’ll just let us go tonight.”

As the officers chat, Deputy Jacoby acknowledges, “We have a lot of problems with the golf carting around here, everybody comes out,” before letting the couple go.

“If you ever need anything call me—I’m serious,” Ms O’Connor tells the officer, handing him her card before the two shake hands and thank each other for their service.

After being placed on administrative leave immediately after the video was made public, Ms O’Connor admitted in an email to the department she showed “poor judgment,” Creative Loafing reported.

“In hindsight, I realise that conversation could be viewed as inappropriate, but that was certainly not my intent,” she wrote. “I’ve personally called the Pinellas County Sheriff Office offering to pay for any potential citation.”

An internal review found that Ms O’Connor violated regulations on standards of conduct and “abuse of position or identification”.

Tampa Mayor Jane Castor subsequently asked the police chief to resign.

“The Tampa Police Department has a code of conduct that includes high standards for ethical and professional behavior that apply to every member of our police force,” Mayor Castor said in a statement.

“As the Chief of Police, you are not only to abide by and enforce those standards but to also lead by example. That clearly did not happen in this case.”

Ms O’Connor’s post - which she held for nearly a year - will be filled by Assistant Police Chief Lee Bercaw until a permanent replacement is found via nationwide search.

Ms O’Connor has gotten in trouble with traffic stops in the past.

In 1995, as a rookie cop, her husband, also a police officer, was pulled over on suspicion of a DUI by Hillsborough County sheriffs and charged with drink driving.

As Ms O’Connor was put in the back of a police car, she punched a deputy and kicked the windows, for which she was later charged with assault, obstruction and disorderly intoxication.

She and her husband were both kicked off then reinstated to the Tampa police force.

[error404vnotfound]

Would you like to hear about toxic masculinity and police? I’m sure you do—

Sitting here reading an article about police/veterans about how their career is in jeopardy if they admit to have mental health problems, mainly PTSD

Which I think is weird, because in *my* career, they’re like ‘hey besties, you might get PTSD or severe depression/anxiety from the stuff you see. Make sure you reach out to a therapist and we’ll work with you. If something is triggering tell your boss, and you can switch clients. It’s in our Code of Ethics to do self-care, and don’t you forget it—‘

Anyway, one of the 1,000,000 things wrong with the American police department is that they heavily enforce toxic masculinity in a field dominated by men, and it leads to their destruction which destroys the career regardless. Fun fact, female officers have reported that if they don’t adhere to toxic masculinity standards they get rejected and belittled by their own precincts and/or comrades.

Sharing fun (I’m kidding with my studies not-so-fun) study facts today!

I'd like to say I'm surprised but, well, I'm not. the USA is such a concept for me, sometimes it feels taken out straight out of a movie just how awful stuff is there like ??? not to say that Spain doesn't have these issues, because it does, but not to that extreme

good to know you get mental health support in your line of work tho!

[liminal-librarian]

I (American) was in high school when it happened. I looked at it for 10 minutes, came to the realisation that we were at war, and wasn't sure who with, nor why. And I walked away to meditate.

I could not comprehend why people watched it on repeat for days. There was nothing new to be seen, except the first responders responding. Some professionals (firefighters), and some civilians with the tools/equipment/training to help. (the boat lift, etc)

Seeing people jumping was simple physics to me, it was not news: there was no new information conveyed because it was already obvious that the building was on fire. People trapped in a burning building will do that. People trapped in burning vehicles will beg responding police officers to shoot them. It is an entirely rational decision. The nature of being tortured to death (on fire) is to choose a quick exit if it becomes available.

Seeing the buildings fall was nothing new, I'd previously watched and rewatched the opening sequence in the Herbie movie to learn how buildings fall. These fell differently: uncontrolled, but it was the same physics.

But I did see that it was a strike at a civilian target and that it was not a strategic strike, but symbolic, (even later when the attempted strikes at the Pentagon and Whitehouse came to light, it did not change this, they also are symbolic, not strategic structures.)

Therefore they were not attacking my nation, or my government's ability to wage war, but (for lack of a better concept) at symbols of a national religion or worldview. Therefore the opponent was likely motivated by ideology or national religion.

I didn't know what this mystery opponent stood for, but I knew that of the tenets of the national religion of my nation. A national religion that I was coming to realize had morphed and deteriorated in the 80 years not covered in my history books.

They stood against a religion that i was not yet informed enough about to choose whether I stood for.

The things I stood for in a nation, or regardless of nation were as follows: the rule of law, and establishment of the legal code by a deliberate legislature, not the panicking and posturing legislature I saw. And the economic truism that unbiased and uncoerced trade with any/all and for any/all is the better/faster/more sustainable way to raise everyone's standard of living, (regardless of race and nationality and location) than war or theft or coerced trade.

So when my country was rushing off to war and racism and becoming a surveillance state, I was coming out as a pacifist. Support our troops, yes. But critique the hell out of where we were sending them and why.

Also lurking and listening curiously for the growing dichotomy in my head between my nation, its people, and the government currently in power, vs. the party line as explained by the two main parties, vs. the unspoken doctrine shared by both of them, of a national religion that I did not believe, that I could not choose to believe until I, like Kant, had sussed out each doctrine and examined each to see if they fit with the facts I knew, and the ethics I held.

It was a decade until Occupy Wall Street, a decade before the youth of my country named the enemy that Osama had attacked first and foremost.

The 1%.

It was another decade before their crime was recognised and became the curse that it always should have been.

Colonialism. Imperialism. Monopolistic practices. Piracy on land.

It's time to unionize.

Thanks for coming to my TED talk.

Sorry, for getting serious on the main.

sorry this is aimed at ppl my age-ish but im very curious bc it was a wild thing to show a bunch of 7 year olds

[olivia-langone]

#3 Olivia Langone

A specific trend happening in the social media industry is short videos. These came out on every app to allow people to watch them on the social media platform of their choice. YouTube came out with YouTube shorts. Instagram came out with Instagram reels. And Facebook also has short videos. These are all common to the theme of TikTok, which also has short videos. Another common trend happening in the industry is AI. Chat GPT is popular as well. This has become something people are using in such a bad way. Years ago in school, we were told to keep our eyes on our paper, now, we are being told to write all original information and that nothing should come from chat GBT. Ai is taking over Safari as well. Whenever I search for anything, there is an automatic answer at the top given by AI. Even Facebook has a section inside Facebook Messenger where I can search for things through an AI generator.

A recent case related to social media ethics is the two judges who were suspended for what they were sharing on the internet. They were sharing political posts online for the public to see. It was said that when someone is up for trial or has to stand before a judge, it is only fair that that person receives an unbiased judge who will listen to them. So, it was not fair that the judge was online posting about politics, which is against their ethical code of conduct. Another recent case related to social media ethics is the Elonis V. US case. This case is all about a man who used social media to make all kinds of threats. Threats towards his wife, family, kindergarten, police officers, and even the FBI.

The code of ethics for TikTok is that employees act with honesty and integrity; there is zero tolerance for misconduct and no discrimination, bribery, or fraud. They do not allow any room for discrimination or disrespect in the workplace. They are expected to keep confidentiality and report any concerns that they may have.

HelloFresh is definitely one of the brands that use proper ethical practices. They promote their product, get the public opinion, and leave it at that. They keep things plain and simple, while still profiting off of their product. A professional that I feel practices strong ethical behavior on social media is Kayla McCullough. She promotes uplifting mental health behavior books. She lets others know that they are not alone and that if they need help, they have the resources they need. This is super important that she stays positive or else it will take down her whole reason for doing any of this.

In my practice, one takeaway for me is the negativity. It was super important in the article that I read that it is so easy to stop the fake news and negativity on social media. It is not the platform that serves the problem it is us as human beings. We cause the problem and can easily stop it with one click of a button, but we don’t get too addicted. We can block sites, pages, and profiles. We can delete, close, and remove social media, but we choose not to, and that is just the problem. I will make sure to close, remove, delete, block, and so much more instead of instigating, commenting, or complaining. For my conduct online, I will continue to watch what goes on online, fake, or real, and always back up the sources. I will not go on believing when things are fake; I will not be commenting on negativity, and I will not even try creating negativity. I think the problem on social media is that everyone feeds off of everything, and that’s a huge problem, we all need to take a deep breath and close our websites. Close the app. Close the browser.

Something that I want to make sure I avoid on social media is fake news. Sometimes, when I am scrolling, my mind doesn’t kick to whether it is true or not, so I just resort to believing it. When I was at work for the fight, I was talking to customers about the rules, and I was so wrong in the rumors it was kind of embarrassing. The Jake Paul and Mikey Tyson fight. Fans were so excited for this fight to happen as it was being streamed on Netflix, so almost everyone would be able to stream it. Everyone had different debates as to who would win. Would Mike Tyson win because his skill is better or lose because he was older? Fans said no matter what, if Jake Paul won, even though he is younger and better, the fight was staged. It was falsely said all over the internet that Jake Paul could wear headgear, but Mike Tyson could not. Jake Paul was going to wear diamond earpieces so that Mike Tyson wouldn’t bite his ears off. These are two of the many false rules of the fight.

As a practicing social media professional there are 7 core concepts that I will follow. Starting with personalizing my page. I need to figure out what the base of my platform is about and then figure out my target audience. Figuring out what they want to see, what they want to learn, how they might be interested to see it, and how I can get comments, likes, shares, hashtags, and my numbers to go up. It all starts with personalizing the information. Which leads to my second core concept. My target markets. That is super important to understand because, without this, there is no personalization. Without personalization, there is no target market. Figuring out who my audience is to promote information to them is the best thing to do. If I want to reach 90-year-olds, I might use Facebook over TikTok because TikTok is usually for the younger generations. I will also focus on content creation. Things that are bold but fun. Black and white with boring fonts are going to go nowhere. People are going to scroll right past them, things that are fun, bold, colorful, and interactive posts, these posts will allow me to catch the audience’s attention. The fourth core concept is going to be knowing my goal. Making a goal in the beginning will allow social media to grow. Creating a goal will also allow me to keep track of where I am headed. The fifth core concept is using hashtags to spread my account all over people’s pages. Hashtags allow people to find me better, and others can use my hashtag too! The second to last core concept is using analytics to post at the best time. Using social media analytics to post my posts at the right time can make it viewed more than other times. Lastly, I will keep only truthful information on my social media pages. There will be no false information spread as I believe that there is no room on social media for false information.

Daly, N. Z. (2020, February 27). Five principles for avoiding ethics pitfalls on social media. Business Ethics Resource Center. https://www.businessethicsresourcecenter.org/five-principles-for-ethical-social-media/ 

Elonis v. U.S. United States Courts. (n.d.). https://www.uscourts.gov/educational-resources/educational-activities/elonis-v-us 

O’Driscoll, S. (2024, October 20). US judges have a social media problem. Newsweek. https://www.newsweek.com/judges-posting-social-media-ethics-complaints-judicial-robes-new-jersey-philadelphia-1970494 

Saltz, H. (2021, October 7). Opinion: Blaming Facebook for all of society’s ills avoids a more unpleasant truth: The fault is ours. Poynter. https://www.poynter.org/ethics-trust/2021/blaming-facebook-for-all-of-societys-ills-avoids-a-more-unpleasant-truth-the-fault-is-ours/ 

7 tips for using social media for mental well-being. Psychiatry.org - 7 Tips for Using Social Media for Mental Well-being. (2023, February 3). https://www.psychiatry.org/news-room/apa-blogs/7-tips-for-social-media-for-mental-well-being#:~:text=Follow%20hashtags%20of%20topics%2C%20places,rooted%20in%20gratitude%20or%20celebration. 

[nichellegerman]

Social Media Ethics

The current state of social media ethics: what trends are happening in the industry? 

We are currently living in one of the most inflammatory times in the world.  Current trends include how to handle misinformation, making people take accountability with inflammatory language, how to include inclusion and diversity, how to address people who are unaware of their actions and behaviors (Freberg, 2021), the push for authenticity and security as it pertains to social media.  

What are two current cases related to social media ethics? 

Facebook has not escaped its fair share of ethical issues.  In 2020, they were accused of spreading falsehoods during the election and of selling its users' data.  Here are two current cases relating to social medica ethics: 

According to Lathan et al. (2023) Facebook has reached settlements with the Federal Trade Commission for documented cases of privacy abuses despite the CEO's claim that users knowingly choose to share their information and data with the platform.   

Additionally, Lauer (2021) discusses the ethical failures of Facebook where he states that Facebook is ground-zero for anti-vaccination and pandemic misinformation, with the 26-min conspiracy theory film “Plandemic” going viral on Facebook in April 2020 and garnering tens of millions of views. Facebook’s attempt to purge itself of anti-vaccination disinformation was easily thwarted when the groups guilty of proliferating this content removed the word “vaccine” from their names.  During 2020, there was a lot of misinformation as it pertains to Covid. 

These are just two cases that highlight privacy abuse and spreading misinformation within Facebook. 

Outline the current code of ethics for social media by a professional organization you would be interested in joining as part of their social media staff. 

I would love to work with the City of East Providence.  Below is a brief outline of the current code of ethics for social media for the City of East Providence.  According to the City of East Providence. (n.d.): 

Social Media Policy: City of East Providence 

I. Introduction 

Purpose and Introduction 

The city of East Providence has established social media guidelines to guarantee consistency and alignment with the mission.  These policies ensure uniformity, support their mission and protect the city’s character.  

II. Authorizations & Approvals 

Authorizations 

Approval from the Chief Information Officer (CIO) or the City Manager is required before any city department can create, use, or deactivate a social media account. 

Only the CIO or the City Manager can approve employees to  manage, edit and post on the official social media accounts. 

Account Creation 

Employees need approval from the CIO, City Manager, and department head to create a social media account in the name of the City or any other city agency. 

III. Posting 

Approval Process 

Prior to posts going live, the City of East Providence sets up procedures to get posts approved. 

Posted Content 

All content must follow the social media guidelines set by the CIO and City Manager and should be relevant to the department’s mission, services, and goals. 

Identification 

All social media pages should clearly show that they are managed by the City of East Providence and must link to the City’s official website on the main page of any social media site. 

IV. Content 

Posts 

Don’t post anything that doesn’t directly support the mission, services, or objectives and avoid sharing or approving content that infringes on copyrights, trademarks, or intellectual property. 

Removals 

The City has the right to delete or remove any content that doesn’t follow this policy. 

Protected Information 

Don’t share confidential or “for official use only” information and avoid posting anything that could compromise the security of the internal systems. 

Public Safety 

Don’t post information about public safety events involving the Police, Fire Department, or Public Works. 

V. Behavior 

Professional Communication 

Keep all communication professional and avoid using inflammatory or inappropriate language. 

Respect Intellectual Property 

Always respect copyright, trademark, and intellectual property rights. 

VI. Violations 

What Happens if the Policy is Broken? 

There are procedures in place to address any violations of this policy. 

Reporting Issues 

If you spot a problem or have concerns about social media use, here’s how to report it. 

VII. Staying Current 

Review and Updates 

We review this policy regularly to ensure it stays current. 

Questions? 

Contact the CIO or City Manager if you have any questions or need more information 

Brands/professionals with strong social media ethical codes: what brands are utilizing proper social media ethical practices? 

Dove -  At Dove(n.d.) they recognized that the definition of beauty was skewed so they began a campaign to redefine the definition of beauty.  By using real stories, helping children build confidence in their bodies, creating safe and equitable spaces for Black women, providing support for postpartum mental health issues and providing support to male parents. They also have a mission to protect the environment.  The best thing about their website is that it includes articles, videos and testimonies from a diverse audience.  

TOMS-  According to TOMS (n.d.), TOMS displays strong ethical practices on social media by remaining transparent and letting the public know how their money is spent, they provide shoes, clean water and mental health support.   Their rating is a certified B which means they have and enforce a high standard of performance and accountability throughout their company.  

Ben & Jerry- This ice cream company out of Vermont is known for its activism, protection of human rights, environmental protection, restoration and regeneration, bringing awareness to racial injustices, fairtrade, climate change and LGBTQ+ rights.  Their views on wealth distribution are posted on their website and they are very transparent with how they make their ice cream.  According to Ben & Jerry (n.d.), they take their 3-part mission of product, economic and social a step further by breaking down to include the rights and dignity of refugees, democracy is in our hands, campaign finance reform and climate justice.  One of their latest endeavors is voting, discussions about women’s prisons and how to combat air pollution.  

Are there any professionals that you feel are practicing strong ethical behavior on social media? 

Bill Nye- Uses his platform to educate about science, critical thinking and misinformation.  He is an advocate for climate change and believes in evidence-based discussions in a positive manner. He also promotes diversity and believes in accuracy. (Nye, n.d.) 

Neil de Grasse Tyson -Also uses his platform to educate about science in simpler terms, he helps break it down so it’s easily understandable.  His engagement is always positive, thoughtful and he encourages open conversations with all.  I admire his strength when he corrects science information. Not only does he discuss science, he also delves into science literacy, exploration, extinction, spirituality, culture and politics. (Tyson, n.d.) 

Support your choice with evidence. What are some takeaways you can bring forth in your own practices?  

Again, I do not utilize social media unless it is necessary.  But I would just use common sense when utilizing social media when I must, takeaways include: having time limits, post with a purpose and be respectful as it’s my responsibility to not engage in cyberbullying and not to post deceptions.  The main thing I take away from Bill Nye and Neil de Grasse Tyson is their courage to  post things that people do not want to believe or listen to,  and they do it without fear.  So, when I do utilize social media, I will use critical thinking skills to courageously post the truth and stand by it. 

Key concepts and issues: what main concepts do you think are necessary to adhere to for your own personal conduct online?  

The main concepts I think are necessary to adhere to my own personal conduct online are: watching my tone, being responsible for my words, maintaining respect for myself and others, having peaceful conversations and not being antagonistic, not willingly posting items I know is false, keeping myself and others private information private, mindful of the language being used, not promoting falsehoods, review the information for accuracy prior to posting, checking sources of videos or information prior to posting, staying humble and showing others empathy.   Just because social media posts can be anonymous and you’re a person behind a keyboard, there still needs to be an understanding that anything posted reflects the person posting or sharing. (Freberg, 2021) 

What to do and what not to do: what main concepts do you feel strongly against and want to make sure you avoid on social media? (20 pts) 

The things I feel strongly against and avoid on social media are posting inflammatory racist or hate  language,  spreading misinformation, not checking sources prior to posting, sharing personal details that are not mine, oversharing any personal details, jumping to conclusions, being argumentative, ignoring comments, participating, or promoting  unnecessary drama, stealing content and passing it off as my own, having a fake online persona, being part of crowd mentality, sharing inappropriate content, pictures or videos, being a troll, posting things in anger, being extremely negative/posting negative things, manipulating posts for my own benefit, being a bully or spreading hate, and avoiding copyright infringement. (Freberg, 2021) 

Bullet point 5-10 core concepts that you will follow as a practicing social media professional. Include citations that you used 

Review my posts for accuracy and transparency 

Make sure it is known when I’m posting an opinion vs fact (Freberg, 2021) 

Remain anonymous and avoid posting anyone’s personal information 

Not posting any inflammatory racist, sexist or hurtful language 

Maintain respect for myself and others 

Checking sources of information prior to posting 

Respecting confidentiality 

Knowing how to respond to negative comments 

Abide by social media rules imposed by the platform 

Not being a troll 

Show empathy 

Try to mimic Ben & Jerry’s social media behavior 

Lathan, H. S., Kwan, A., Takats, C., Tanner, J. P., Wormer, R., Romero, D., & Jones, H. E. (2023). Ethical considerations and methodological uses of Facebook data in public health research: A systematic review. Social Science & Medicine, 322, 115807. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2023.115807 

Lauer, D. (2021, June 5). Facebook’s ethical failures are not accidental; they are part of the business model. National Library of Medicine. https://doi.org/10.1007/s43681-021-00068-x 

City of East Providence. (n.d.). Social media policy. https://eastprovidenceri.qscend.com/filestorage/9177/9461/9463/14118/Social_Media_Policy_-_Final.pdf 

TOMS. (n.d.). Impact. TOMS. Retrieved September 18, 2024, from https://www.toms.com/en-us/impact 

Ben & Jerry's. (n.d.). Values. Retrieved September 18, 2024, from https://www.benjerry.com/values 

Dove. (n.d.). Help for parents: Social media. Retrieved September 18, 2024, from https://www.dove.com/us/en/dove-self-esteem-project/help-for-parents/social-media.html 

Nye, B. (n.d.). Media. Bill Nye. https://www.billnye.com/media 

Tyson, N. D. (n.d.). Quotes. Neil deGrasse Tyson. https://neildegrassetyson.com/quotes/ 

Freberg, K. (2021). Social media for strategic communication (2nd ed.). SAGE Publications, Inc. https://reader2.yuzu.com/books/9781071826881