#fuelled by false information

[minthara]

response to the anon under the cut lmao i don't wanna annoy ppl with it

i see your point but i'm not gonna let someone tell me that i don't deserve the same amount of romance scenes bc y'all don't think my fave character is important lol

the hours less content thing isn't correct and im not gonna argue that. he's also not the one POC character, i feel like there was enough discourse about karlach for ppl to stop saying that? he got the same amount of content in the last patch as everyone else, i really don't know why this patch pushed everyone over the edge

i disagree that he plays little part in his quest, he's also never been bugged for me (i just gotta repeat. ur talking to a minthara fan. i KNOW what bugged looks like, there are entire conversations with minthara i still can't access)

i just want to repeat, i'm totally all for wyll getting more content, his act 1 scene is worse and shorter than all other romance scenes (including minthara!). all characters should be getting the same amount of content. it's just the lies ppl are spreading that annoy me

[ingek73]

…

About 150 people carrying St George’s Cross flags, shouting “you’re not English any more” and “paedo Muslims off our street”, were greatly outnumbered in Leeds by hundreds of counter-protesters shouting “Nazi scum off our streets”. Skirmishes broke out between demonstrators and punks – in town for a festival – in Blackpool, with bottles and chairs thrown.

In Bristol, police kept protesters and counter protesters apart before a group headed to a hotel used to house asylum seekers.

The need for urgent political intervention was stressed by the government’s independent adviser on political violence and disruption, Lord Walney, who told the Observer that new emergency powers may be needed. “The system isn’t set up to deal with this rolling rabble-rousing being fuelled by far-right actors,” he said.

“I think home office ministers may want to look urgently at a new emergency framework – perhaps temporary in nature – that enables police to use the full powers of arrest to prevent people gathering where there is clear intent to fuel violent disorder.”

Keir Starmer held a meeting of senior ministers on Saturday in which he said police had been given full support to tackle extremists who were attempting “to sow hate by intimidating communities”. He made clear that the right to freedom of expression and the violent scenes over recent days were “two very different things”.

Last week’s riots followed the killing of three young girls at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in Southport on Monday. Axel Rudakubana, 17, from Lancashire, is accused of the attack, but false claims were spread online that the suspect was an asylum seeker who had arrived in the UK by boat. In the wake of these messages, far-right protesters – guided by social media – gathered in cities across the country.

A key factor in this spread of online disinformation involved Elon Musk’s decision to allow rightwing activists such as Tommy Robinson back onto his social media platform X, said Joe Mulhall, director of research at Hope not Hate, the anti-fascism organisation. “The initial disinformation and anger was being perpetrated by individuals on Twitter, for example, that have been previously deplatformed,” he said. “And now they’ve been replatformed.”

Robinson was permanently banned from the platform (then called Twitter) in March 2018, then reinstated in November last year, after Musk bought it. “We hadn’t seen any significant numbers at any demonstrations since 2018,” Mulhall added.

An example of the danger posed by the misuse of social media was revealed in Stoke-on-Trent, where police were forced to deny there had been a stabbing, countering claims made on social media. “There is growing speculation that a stabbing has taken place as a result of the disorder today. We can confirm this information is false and no stabbings have been reported to police or emergency responders, despite videos fuelling speculation on social media,” police said.

The danger of such intervention was stressed by Ben-Julian “BJ” Harrington, the National Police Chiefs Council lead for public order, who condemned social media disinformation as a cause of last week’s disorder.

He said: “We had reports today that two people had been stabbed by Muslims in Stoke – it’s just not true. There’s people out there, not even in this country, circulating and stoking up hatred, division and concerns in communities that they don’t care about, don’t know and don’t understand.”

[nicorobinphd]

Thinking about Sabo again & just… Sabo being framed as the most thoughtful of the trio makes a lot of sense when considering the fact that he is near-constantly in pursuit of ideas- ideas of what freedom, morality, understanding, & family look like. Of how & where he fits into those things. Of who he is in the aftermath of waking up a person he previously could not remember, and of how much of that person he can really get back. Sabo comes across as if everything that could & cannot be are constantly swirling in his mind, fuelling his iteration of the indignant recklessness at the core of the trio’s characters. & this all feels as though it’s reinforced by the way that, upon his reintroduction into the story proper, Sabo needs to wear Luffy (literally, though it is worth noting that this was still done through a false-identity that Luffy invented) & Ace’s (narratively) identities- seemingly in part because he no longer knows where his own fits in with theirs.

In addition, the multiple ironies existent in Sabo’s story as a result of how these traits manifest are absolutely heartbreaking. Sabo wanted to go to sea to understand the world, & he got the chance to, but without the context of from where in it he came. He wanted to write about the world, and he got that context of his person back as the result of a news article. He wanted a family who accepted him and allowed him to be free, and he got it, but only at the expense of the predecessor he’d tried everything he could to save. He wanted freedom, but only gained the ability to fight for it after the loss of his identity. He lost his identity in desperate chase of what he felt he needed to survive. It is arguable whether the boy that set sail that day really did survive. He sent a letter with the promise to find each other again to the brother who died before they ever got the chance to. Sabo is still chasing the ghost, though, or arguably multiple. He is trying to take on the will of a man he did not get the chance to see a boy grow into, perhaps also the man he didn’t get to grow into himself. He is trying to live a single life on behalf of a pair. And the real sick thing is that I think Sabo knows it. He is written to be much more introspective than either Luffy or Ace, & we’re shown in Dressrosa that he’s discussed the matter with Koala, even that he’s semi-comfortable doing so while actively in tears. We’re told that he has nightmares, & that he thought Luffy would hit him at the colosseum. When Koala comforts him, it’s through telling him that for all he could question how things may have gone, they can’t know any speculatory outcome for certain. It isn’t entirely out of left field to say that Sabo’s grief is informed both by the loss of Ace, & the loss of who he used to be. That doesn’t mean he cares any less for the revolutionary army- just that there was a personhood, as well as a person, that was taken from him and that I think he’s aware of it. All of which plays into where his story goes during & after the Revery quite well. I don’t know, all this to say that I’m deeply excited to see where his story goes.

[xhanisai]

Video

AO3

Pairing - Adrinette

Prompt - 'Video'

Summary -

Creating videos of what she makes and sharing them online whilst gaining a cult-like following from the content wasn't on her bingo card this year, but honestly, Marinette could care less as she rambled to her phone's camera. She was fuelled by nothing but pure spite and pettiness and rightful anger after being approached by an infamous brand that sold half-baked sewing machines at ridiculously high prices. Hah! They expected her to take the money and falsely advertise their sorry excuse of a machine? And deceive all the other budding creators online for a quick buck?

Too bad.

 Creating videos of what she makes and sharing them online whilst gaining a cult-like following from the content wasn't on her bingo card this year, but honestly, Marinette could care less as she rambled to her phone's camera. She was fuelled by nothing but pure spite and pettiness and rightful anger after being approached by an infamous brand that sold half-baked sewing machines at ridiculously high prices. Hah! They expected her to take the money and falsely advertise their sorry excuse of a machine? And deceive all the other budding creators online for a quick buck?

 Too bad.

 Instead, here she was, dismantling said terrible sewing machine (that they sent to her home without even asking if it was okay), pointing out to the camera all the faults in the machine's designs and how some of the important mechanisms were of piss-poor quality and would require constant maintenance after a couple of uses. She compared it to one of her older sewing machines to show her audience how the basic features should work and why and then swiftly put the other machine back together.

 After posting the video, she went to bed with an eased mind, knowing that her modest influence would help other aspiring designers out there save their money and invest in something better. Tikki could only shake her head at her wielder with a defeated exhale, knowing that this was going to cause Akuma troubles later because the greedy higher-ups from that infamous brand were not going to be very pleased with the video.

 Granted, Marinette was doing the right thing and was rather informative with her call-out; she didn’t resort to insulting or slamming the bad brand for trying to sell bad quality products at abysmal prices and the other machines she recommended were genuine (the girl even having no interest in getting financially compensated by the good brands for promoting their machines).

 But that’s not going to stop Le Papillon from sending an army of butterflies towards the people angered by her review, isn’t it?

 Meanwhile, at the Agreste mansion, one sleepy Adrien leapt for his phone just like his alter-ego’s namesake and a huge grin played on his lips when a notification showed that Marinette had posted a new video. Sure, he could have slept at his normal bedtime and watched the video tomorrow with a refreshed brain rather than staying up according to his beloved Marinette's terrible sleep schedule…

 But he loves, loves, loves, loves, LOVES watching her videos!!!

 And her voice is so just soothing and just so nice to listen to and it really helps him go to sleep—

 "Uh-oh. That's going to cause a nasty Akuma later on." Plagg suddenly bleated by his side after reading the video's title. Though, that didn’t stop the little God of destruction from nestling into Adrien’s hair so that he could watch along with his wielder.

 "I'll protect her from all the Akumas~ she should be able to make all the videos she wants without worrying about getting attacked for being right~!" Adrien mumbled under the covers, eyes already glazed two minutes into the video. "Hmm...I guess her fans have a point...her mind really works like my Lady's whenever she’s figuring out her lucky charms or a plan..." 

 And he conked out.

 .

 Plagg could only sweat with wide eyes, hoping that his too-smart-for-his-own-good kitten would keep that extra brain cell away for a little longer. At least until it was safe for the two teens to share their secrets with each other.

 ‘Dammit, Sugarcube. Your wielder SUCKS at hiding her identity sometimes!’

.

.

.

~(x)~

[gofancyninjaworld]

OPM Manga Update 232 Review: Butterfly and Back

Story: Place Yer Bets!

The chapter opens with Murata casually flexing his rendering skills with a hand-drawn bicycle. This man!

The story opens to a defeated looking hero with incongruously-small butterfly wings on his back. Wondering why he's doing this. McCoy calls to ask if he's ready, and soon, he's on the trail of a monster for the benefit of a select group of punters.

The 'demon'-level monster turns out to be a giant, terrified monsterised chihuahua, which advances down the road uncertain of what to do. It's a planted Wolf-Level monster, intended to give the falsely-badged C-Class hero the appearance of a tough win against the odds.

But life turns out differently. Under the stressor of its most feared situation (being outdoors), Shiverhuahua blows up into a genuine demon-level monster, and soon, 'Papillion 800' is locked in a real life-or-death battle, all while McCoy thinks that he's acting to perfection.

As the odds lengthen, Mad Devil Yankee (the real identity of the hero) forces himself to face the monster, driven by the twin imperatives of wanting to save his mother from whatever harm McCoy has planned for her, and the desire to live up to the example of his hero, Mumen Rider.

Just as it gets hopeless, with characteristic timing, Saitama comes in and blows the monster away.

The major donor looking forward to an upset win is furious, and McCoy storms onto the scene to tell Saitama and Genos off for interfering.

Saitama may ask himself who cares about credit. Genos does, when it comes to making sure his master is recognised for his work. McCoy is about to find out why the Demon Cyborg lives up to his moniker...

.... but luckily for him, and for his role as bad-guy fixer, Child Emperor interrupts to mock him for having his rigged game upset. McCoy excuses himself quickly. Child Emperor explains the hero gambling ruse (more on that to follow). I'm just going to step out a bit to note that it's quite heart-warming to see that when Genos asks why the kid is giving them this information and Child Emperor admits to having been the one who'd been suspicious of Genos, Genos doesn't blow up but lets it slide. I like his little reassuring smiles.

After finding out what this is all about, we see Saitama sleepless in bed, furious at the idea of being thought so ill of as to deserve a x20 rating. However, he also smells opportunity.

The next morning sees him discussing with Genos the possibility of betting on himself to make money. He starts to portray it as a way to teach the Hero Association a lesson but Genos sensibly points out that it makes no actual difference to the house, which puts him on the spot. Luckily for Saitama, the odds start rolling again, meaning the game's afoot again. Saitama runs out the door, Genos following in hot pursuit.

They overtake the heroes assigned to the monster, and Saitama is just about to place his bet (his multiplier having risen to x25) when there is a scream: someone's purse has been snatched by a race-car driver! For a moment, Saitama is torn as to what to do, then...

... the lady is overcome with gratitude for having her family jewels saved. Saitama is also overcome with emotion, but it is not gratitude. At least he's getting a better public image!

However, he's then overwhelmed with a blackness. His depression is back, fuelled by his realising how close he came to the edge of becoming a corrupt money-grubber.

Temptation is never far away, and the lady offers him a diamond ring as a reward. After a long struggle, Saitama refuses it, saying he's not doing this for money.

Well done, Saitama.

Lots to say under the cut.

Meta: A Tawdry Affair

Method in the madness

A race car to snatch purses? Man, it seems anything can happen in this story! Still, when I look at how unsurprised the public is that Saitama caught the driver, I think there's method in the madness. Heroes are really super humans. Even your regular C-Class hero is impossible to out-pace on foot or on a push-bike. Modern problems call for modern solutions.

A world in which people are not surprised that the no-name hero catches a race car is a scary world.

Dirty laundry

The first thing I have to say about this is that it's tawdry. Not a great crime that leaves a giant stain to be dealt with but rather dirt, grubbiness, an all-pervading grubbiness that greys the entire fabric so that no amount of washing can make it look clean. Let's dig into this pile of dirty laundry, shall we?

Nothing wrong with aspiring to be more

I've got to give it to Mad Devil Yankee. In a world where people are often typecast for life (see Garou's despair at being considered a monster), his being able to turn his life around is testament to some serious mental fortitude. Furthermore, he's B-Class Rank 4, all without having joined the Blizzard Group: that takes serious strength.

If you remember nothing about the story, you might think that a high-ranking B-Class hero working independently is no big deal. If you do, you know this guy is the real deal: Fubuki is a hero-crushing asshole.

Turning heroism into bloodsport

It's inevitable that people would bet on heroes. Heroes are very much public figures, and the monsters are an unpredictable lot, so that makes for a highly exciting spectacle. As we can see, a lot of the people watching Papillion 800's predicament aren't anything to do with the HA.

The Hero Association getting a cut of the action is morally reprehensible. And as we see, it leads to moral conflicts. McCoy may be organising it, but the HA is facilitating it. As long as the money's coming in, look the other way.

Like a rotten apple, McCoy being allowed to operate unchecked taints everyone by association.

Unforgivable is what this betting did to Mad Devil Yankee. In a world where people often feel typecast for life (like Garou), turning one's life around in two months from infamous ne'er-do-well to hero has taken an incredible amount of mental fortitude as well as physical prowess. Additionally, as B-Class Rank 4 and yet not press-ganged into the Blizzard Group, this guy is really something in toughness. He's admired Mumen Rider, but his work ethic is all his. And for him to have nearly tossed this all away, thinking himself unworthy to think of himself as a hero, that's a crime.

Getting a guy to think that he deserved to die for making the best of an impossible situation? God, that's ugly.

McCoy bet that Mad Devil would not be psychopathic enough to bet his mother's life and dare him to threaten his mother's health. Even though he'd been coerced, he thought that a true hero wouldn't have taken up such an impossible task under any circumstance. And yet he hung in there and did his best to fight.

Threatening peoples' families is truly the lowest of actions. Using the very benefits given to heroes as leverage digs a basement under that cesspit.

It was good that Mumen Rider put it in perspective for him: no matter what had happened, he'd been faced with a very strong monster, and he'd stood up to it anyway, knowing that it was unlikely to end well for him. That's the stuff a hero is made of. I'm glad that Mad Devil looks to stay a hero, but for him to have been brought this close to despairing over his life and choices, is unforgivable.

Mumen may not have the best muscles, but he has the best words. Often imitated, but never equalled.

Take one wrong step...

Speaking of corruption, it's scary how easy it is to try to play the odds if there's money to be made. Saitama realising how close he'd come to actually participating in the hero betting game for profit was a salutatory reminder that this shit is easy to do and dangerous. If he'd chosen a little differently, he could be several hundred thousand yen up, but he'd have sold his soul to the worst of human impulses.

It's as Saitama said in a much earlier chapter, take one wrong step, and you're in hell.

Came real close to selling your soul there, didn't ya?

It's one of the things that has most endeared me to Saitama. His recognition that no matter how hard he works, there's still a lot of chance in how things have turned out for him and he remembers this when he looks leniently on people like Hammerhead, who he sees as not too different from him. Just one or two bad choices and that could have been him. That kind of wisdom and humility serves him well.

With friends like this...

I'd love to say that Genos would stop him, but damn, that guy… It's a pity he's a cocksucker has such a narrow viewpoint. Every so often, Genos reminds me that he's far more observant and intelligent than he usually gives out. He's noticed the odd rankings and monster disaster levels, and it made sense to him that it was a gambling ploy. So did he investigate the oddities? No man, he filters everything through the metric of 'does this threaten my access to Saitama sensei?' and if the answer is no, he doesn't give a shit. Seriously.

Yeah, yeah, corruption and problems at the Hero Association, but does it actually affect anything *I* care about?

Also, seeing him see what's wrong with Saitama's proposal to gamble but following Saitama to see what happens anyway… no, man, this fixation of yours is wrong. A healthy reminder of why King is so necessary. He'll not just point out what's wrong, but he won't go along with it.

Genos sees clean through Saitama's scam but stop him? Hell no! He's coming along to see what happens.

The Grab Bag of Pop Culture is Back, Baby!

This story reminds me of what's at the heart of One-Punch Man: its love of finding and referencing popular works while making them something of its own. If you know Squid Game, the rich guys betting on human lives will feel very unpleasantly familiar. If you don't, that's fine too: it's self-contained enough to not need familiarity with its references to work. It's true that a lore-heavy story such as this would often be put in an extra chapter, but because what's happening here is exceptionally germane to what happens next, it's here as a main chapter. I liked it quite a bit.

I am VERY GLAD not to see Narinki as one of the major donors betting. I would like to believe that he appreciates too much the actual sacrifices made by heroes to want to bet on their lives.

More on Monsters

I also liked a lot the fact that the HA has had to raise Saitama's ranking to maintain their fiction of a demon-level monster otherwise, it'd create more problems. Heh heh, suck it, fools. Although as it turns out, it was accurate.

Something else about monsters. When you see a monster, you see a monster. They're living creatures, and they don't rampage all the time under all circumstances, not even the newly-transformed ones. Given that most monsters (including the late Shiverhuahua) gain the power of human speech, they could have just talked to it to understand it better. It's a problem because I'm sure that Shiverhuahua was a very inoffensive monster indoors -- just looking at its sweet look and trustingly wagging tail as it was faced with a guy with a handgun and an electrified prong gives me a nasty pang -- but under the right circumstances, many a monster can blow up into a true terror.

Under the right circumstances, this monster would never have hurt a person

And so it happened here. To the end, the thing was terrified and confused. The nasty human habit of exploiting monsters is perhaps inevitable -- where anything occurs, humans will find a way to exploit it -- but the short-sightedness and failure to understand the beings they are exploiting just adds to the outrageousness of it all.

Where is this going?

So what's this leading up to? Not too sure. Saitama might have another bad night if he thinks about how close to the edge he danced, but he's not the reflective sort of guy. Oh yeah, he really didn't like the idea of being thought of as trash. Now imagine how your disciple feels. It's interesting to see that Child Emperor is continuing to dig. Naturally, this isn't the first of the wrong doings.

Come to that, if Child Emperor moves over to the Neo Heroes, he's going to have a nasty shock to find McCoy there too. That's going to be something worth seeing.

I digress. Back to what this is all leading to. There's going to have to be some precipitating event that starts giving heroes a push in a big way, and that brings the Neo Heroes out. Looks like it's going to be a target-rich environment whenever that happens.

[okthatsgreat]

For the headcanon thing, I'm specifically asking you for a Celeste headcanon on behalf of that person who didn't get Celeste headcanon. Checkmate, Lee - rotate Taeko Yasuhiro in your mind until the headcanons manifest. 😎👉👉

UR KIDDINNGGGGG oh god. ok concentrating concentrating

headcanon a (realistic): do not bring her to board game night if you were planning on winning or having fun. she takes every single game so seriously and kicks ass every single time. she becomes a millionare in monopoly and nobody was aware that was even possible. shes even good at quiplash because she memorises the stupid jokes that her classmates keep repeating day after day and puts that into the text box each time. of COURSE her classmates are going to pick the answer that says "freeby fazber" why WOULDN'T they

headcanon b (may not be realistic but it is hilarious): see the thing about celeste is it is truly impossible to tell what parts of her story are real and what are complete lies .. i think she lives an extremely average life outside of being "celestia ludenburg" and that is why she created this false persona in the first place. born to a working class family definitely went through it a bit when she was younger but was able to garner quite a bit of notoriety and wealth from gambling to get her own place-- but definitely not enough to live in luxury. enough to get her out of poverty but not enough to avoid living paycheck to paycheck yknow. the REAL headcanon i have is that every single time she brings one of her classmates back to her home she rents out a different spot each time just to keep them on their toes. eventually she lets one of them (idk sayaka maybe) finally enter her actual house and its this one bedroom apartment with no air conditioner and a bunch of gothic lolita posters everywhere and sayaka genuinely thinks shes being pranked until celeste is like "no im being serious. youve signed a non disclosure agreement btw this information will not be leaving this room"

headcanon c (heart-crushing and awful, but fun to inflict on friends): i dont think even celeste is aware of what her true personality is anymore. i really do like to believe that there are parts of it that are still left over, most of which is fuelling this deeply rooted imposter syndrome she certainly tries not to dwell on, but by all means her desire to seperate herself from taeko yasuhiro has caused her to practically forget who she once was. telling celeste to "stop lying" is much easier said than done, and i think it'll take years before she could ever reach the point where she is truly authentic and "herself". and even then celestia ludenburg will certainly still remain in a lot of her actions and speech patterns. she wont just wake up one day and suddenly be vulnerable and fragile and guilty, it's gonna take her a loooooooong while to adjust

headcanon d (unrealistic, but i will disregard canon about it): i think she's a bit geekier than she lets on GHFDKG its that small bit of taeko thats still there......... she would never admit it in a million years but sometimes, SOMETIMES, shes able to listen in on hifumis ramblings and go "oh i remember that show. his opinion about this character is totally wrong. oh well time to add that to the list of things i do not like about that man." oooooooo also fun fact whenever i write celestia in my "danganronpa is a reality tv show thats been going on for ages" aus i always always write her as a character that adapts with the changing trends. same with ibuki!! her aesthetic adapts over the years towards what is more recognisable with the target audience at the time, and while it definitely isn't as noticeable as ibuki's style swap there are certainly a LOT of wild changes team dr tries to throw at her before quickly reverting her style back and pretending it never happened ghfjdksgk

headcanon ask game!! :)

[darkmaga-returns]

Remember that the Supreme Court threw out Murthy v Biden. This past week Kennedy and CHD were at the 5th Circuit providing oral arguments before 3 judges about why they had standing for their First Amendment censorship case.

But the other side needs to kill free speech in order to take over, so the stakes are very high. Here is Tedros (today) who in his eloquence talks about trust, and how to get it back—by killing free speech, of course. See how he twists the free speech story.

Internet and social media platforms have given people unprecedented access to health information. But they have also turbo charged the spread of mis- and disinformation, which has contributed to mistrust in vaccines and other health interventions, fuelled stigma and discrimination, and even led to violence against health workers and marginalized groups. During the COVID-19 pandemic, falsehoods about masks, vaccines and “lockdowns” spread as fast as the virus itself, and were almost as deadly. Just as mis- and disinformation undermined the response to the pandemic itself, so it continues to undermine negotiations on the WHO Pandemic Agreement. Media, celebrities, social media influencers and politicians have spread false claims that the Agreement will cede national sovereignty to WHO and give it the power to impose “lockdowns” or vaccine mandates on countries. As you know, these claims are, of course, entirely false. Sovereign governments are negotiating the agreement; and sovereign governments will implement it, in accordance with their own national laws. It’s easy to blame, dismiss, ridicule or insult those who believe or spread mis- or disinformation. To be sure, governments and internet and social media companies have a responsibility to prevent the spread of harmful lies and promote access to accurate health information. WHO is working with a range of companies and researchers and partners to understand how misinformation and disinformation spreads, who is targeted, how they’re influenced, and what we can do to counter this problem. But we must also make sure that when we seek the trust of others, we are ourselves trustworthy. We cannot assume or expect trust; we must earn it. [Good luck with that—Nass]

[sometimes-men-need-help-too]

The terrifying inside story of how an innocent dad was tortured and killed by a group of chainsaw-wielding 'paedophile hunters' - after his wife falsely accused him of molesting her daughters

*I usually don’t like using daily mail articles but this one includes other information that other articles do not 

A ruthless gang of drug-fuelled vigilantes menaced an innocent father with a chainsaw while trying to force a confession out of him for crimes he did not commit, in a brutal torture and murder that shocked Australia.

Father-of-eight Bradley 'BJ' Lyons was tortured and executed after being betrayed by his meth-addled wife Jana Hooper, who falsely accused him of sexually assaulting her daughters.

Video obtained by Daily Mail Australia shows Hooper leading her husband to his death after 'giving the nod' for thugs to enter their house in Lakes Entrance, in Victoria's east, and attack him.

CCTV captured from a neighbour's property showed Mr Lyons follow his wife into their home blissfully unaware of the horrors about to befall him.

He would not be seen alive again after being stuffed into the boot of his soon-to-be killer's car and driven away.

'The cat's in the bag,' Albert Thorn told the girlfriend of his co-accused Jordan Bottom, who along with Rikki Smith was found not guilty last week of Mr Lyons' murder.

Jessica MacFarlane, the then-girlfriend of Bottom, had been living in a caravan with him on Thorn's Nyerimilang farm when he arrived with Mr Lyons still trapped in the boot of his car.

Ms McFarlane told the Supreme Court of Victoria jury Thorn had claimed to have had Mr Lyons trapped in the car's boot for up to 21 hours under the baking summer sun.

Thorn, 57, was found guilty this month of the torture, imprisonment and murder of Mr Lyons.

'I walked over to the car that was parked under the tree, and tapped on the boot, and ah, I heard someone scream in the back of the car,' Ms McFarlane told the jury.

Asked what she heard, Ms McFarlane provided a chilling response.

'Get me out of here, or kill me now,' she said.

Thorn had been the leader of a vigilante gang with a very specific hatred for paedophiles.

Bradley Lyons' wife Jana Hooper falsely told a meth-addicted group of so-called 'paedophile hunters' that her husband had impregnated her daughter

Albert Thorn shot the innocent dad in the knee and the back of the head after he was forced to dig his own grave

Thorn had tattooed the gang's name, Australian Freedom Fighters, across his entire back

Such was Thorn's hatred for paedophiles, he tattooed the gang's name, Australian Freedom Fighters, across his entire back and posted photographs to Facebook.

It had been spurious intel provided by Hooper, who shared three biological children with Lyons, that lit Thorn's fuse.

In December 2018, Hooper told Thorn she believed Mr Lyons was the father of her 16-year-old daughter's child and had also made her 14-year-old daughter pregnant.

The court heard it was a straight-out lie.

On Sunday, December 2, 2018, Thorn and his gang raided Mr Lyons' home in what was supposed to be an idiotic attempt to beat a confession out of him.

Aided by another mate, Alec Harvey, and Thorn's drug-addled lieutenant, Nicholas Stefani, the men ran into Mr Lyons' bedroom and each punched him in the face and head.

Jordan Bottom lived in a caravan (pictured) on Thorn's property

Mr Lyons was strapped to a massage table in a shed at the top of this image where he was tortured

Harvey struck him with a metal pole and Smith lashed out while holding a cigarette lighter between his fingers as a knuckle duster.

Stefani forced the barrel of the shotgun into Mr Lyons' mouth and threatened to kill him if he didn’t confess to the sexual assault allegations.

CCTV shows Harvey and Smith run from the home, with Smith falling out of the getaway vehicle driven by yet another mate, Jayden Ball.

Mr Lyons was eventually dragged out of the boot of Thorn's car to an old shed on his property where things went from bad to worse for the terrified dad.

The court heard Thorn was giddy with excitement.

'I could see Bert getting really turned on and getting some sort of pleasure from this,' Ms MacFarlane told the jury.

What happened next is not exactly clear through the cloudy haze of meth-induced accounts that followed.

One account had the men sawing Mr Lyons' hand off.

The jury was told only 93 per cent of Mr Lyons' skeleton was recovered, with both feet, bones from his hands and a neck bone missing

CCTV shows Harvey and Smith run from the home, with Smith falling out of the getaway vehicle driven by yet another mate, Jayden Ball.

The bush grave where Brad Lyons was dumped after being shot in the head

A shotgun casing was found at the burial site of Brad Lyons

What is clear is that Mr Lyons was subjected to hideous torture that left him on the brink of life.

During Stefani's sentence in December over his role in the crime, the court heard a chainsaw was among the gang's torture tools.

'A chainsaw was held over his head to make him talk, he was punched, hot water from a kettle was poured on him, and Deep Heat was put on his body,' the court heard.

Stefani later told one of Hooper’s own daughters that at the farm, a chainsaw had been held over Mr Lyons and that they kept making him ‘piss himself’.

'You said that you and others had held a chainsaw over Lyons’ head trying to get him to confess, and that he had been made to piss himself,' Justice Andrew Tinney said.

'You said to one of the girls that it was your expectation that before the end of the night, Lyons would have the tattoos of the girls’ names cut off him and would "be a few knuckles down".

'You told one of the girls that it made you sick what you "had to do".'

When they were done, by all accounts without having extracted a confession, Mr Lyons was stuffed back into the boot of Thorn's car.

With towels taped around his head and his hands bound, Thorn, Smith and Bottom drove out into the wilderness along a dirt track near Double Bridges.

There Mr Lyons was made to wait while a shallow grave was dug.

When it was ready, Thorn blasted Mr Lyons in the leg with a .410 shotgun cartridge.

On his knees, another shot was put into the back of his skull.

Bottom would later lead police to the burial site, which had a large log dragged over it.

A single shotgun cartridge remained at the scene.

The court heard the men had celebrated their crime, holding a party at Thorn's property in which Mr Lyons' own wife and children attended.

'It looked like they were celebrating,' Ms MacFarlane told the jury.

'Jana was drinking, but I thought - it was a bottle of whiskey or something and they were (cheering), like - yep.'

Hooper was jailed last year for seven-and-a-half years and will be eligible for parole after serving just four-and-a-half.

Smith, 26, and Bottom, 25, were found not guilty of Mr Lyons' murder, but the pair were found guilty of his assault and false imprisonment

Thorn will face a pre-sentence hearing later this year.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/melbourne/article-12217413/Final-moments-Bradley-Lyons-life-tortured-Australian-Freedom-Fighters-chainsaw.html

[head-post]

Khelif’s gender discrimination continues, Olympics step into 10th day of competition

Olympic boxer Imane Khelif said the wave of hatred she faced because of misconceptions about her gender was “damaging to human dignity” and called for an end to the bullying of athletes hit hard by the international reaction to her performance.

The Algerian athlete spoke about her tumultuous Olympic experience Sunday night in an interview with SNTV, the sports video partner of The Associated Press. Khelif said in Arabic:

“I send a message to all the people of the world to uphold the Olympic principles and the Olympic Charter, to refrain from bullying all athletes, because this has effects, massive effects. It can destroy people, it can kill people’s thoughts, spirit and mind. It can divide people. And because of that, I ask them to refrain from bullying.”

The victories of Khelif and fellow boxer Lin Yu-ting of Taiwan in the ring in Paris were one of the most high-profile stories of the Paris Games. Both women won their first Olympic medals despite facing online abuse based on unsubstantiated claims about their gender, drawing them into a wider controversy over changing attitudes to gender identity and rules in sport.

Khelif, 25, admitted she has had to go through the ordeal of competing away from home at the most important competition of her sporting career. She said:

“I am in contact with my family two days a week. I hope that they weren’t affected deeply. They are worried about me. God willing, this crisis will culminate in a gold medal, and that would be the best response.”

The fury stems from claims by the International Boxing Association, which has permanently banned her from the Olympics, that Khelif and Lin failed unspecified tests for women’s eligibility at last year’s world championships.

Khelif declined to answer a question about whether she had undergone tests other than doping tests, saying she did not want to talk about it.

She expressed gratitude to the International Olympic Committee and its president Thomas Bach for standing firmly by her side while the banned former Olympic boxing governing body fuelled the furore surrounding her participation in Paris.

Khelif began her Olympic start last Thursday with a win over Italy’s Angela Carini, who stopped the bout after just 46 seconds. Carini later said she regretted her decision and wanted to apologise to Khelif.

The unusual ending raised a stir around Khelif, prompting comments from former US President Donald Trump, “Harry Potter” writer J.K. Rowling and others falsely claiming Khelif is male or transgender.

The IOC has repeatedly said she and Lin are eligible to compete in the Olympics and has condemned the murky testing standards and opaque governance of the IBA, which was completely excluded from the Olympics last year in an unprecedented punishment for the governing body.

Khelif has clearly felt the brunt of the worldwide attention and her victory over Hamori on Saturday appeared to be cathartic. After the referee raised Khelif’s hand, scoring the win, she walked to the centre of the ring, waved to the fans, knelt down and slammed her palm on the canvas, and her smile was replaced by tears. Khelif said in the interview:

“I couldn’t control my nerves. Because after the media frenzy and after the victory, there was a mix of joy and at the same time, I was greatly affected, because honestly, it wasn’t an easy thing to go through at all. It was something that harms human dignity.”

She competed in IBA events for several years without any problems until she was unexpectedly suspended from last year’s world championships. The organisation, which has been in conflict with the IOC for years, refused to provide any information about the tests.

Algeria’s national boxing federation is still a member of the IBA.

Some say that the rights of each athlete are most important. Others insist that there is a more important collective right – the right of female athletes to play women’s sport exclusively and to be free from discrimination.

In recent years, most notably at the World Aquatics Championships, recommendations have emerged among a number of international sports federations stating that athletes with developmental disabilities who are going through male puberty should be barred from participating in high-level women’s competition. In boxing, this issue is made even more acute by a complex political dispute between the IOC and the IBA.

Read more HERE

[antaxzantax]

Umbrella Pharmaceuticals - Chapter 38

I

Five eleven-year-old boys grabbed Alfred when he went into the garden to play with insects. They dragged him to a secluded corner where they beat him on his legs, arms, torso and head. The target fell to the ground, gasping for breath from the blows. The five children prepared to deliver the coup de grâce, but a scream interrupted them. Mrs. Collins, the housemaster's wife.

The five children fled in terror. Mrs. Collins rushed to the aid of the badly wounded victim. Lying on the floor like a trampled rag, Alfred Ashford coughed up blood. His hair dishevelled, his face covered in bruises, his left eye closed, his mouth bloody, his jacket torn and his shirt unbuttoned. One of his last milk teeth was missing and his trousers were stained with blood from open wounds in his knees.

“Cof, cof.” Alfred writhed in pain.

“Help! Help!” Mrs. Collins screamed for aid.

II

The old nun, who was acting as nurse, removed the bandage from his forehead and wiped the wound. She applied a new bandage. The unconscious patient was not moving. At her side, Dr Ward switched off the torch the nun needed to see the wounds. The nurse picked up the bloody pieces and left the room. Dr Holmes, the school doctor, estimated that it would be a few weeks before the boy could return to school, even though there were no broken bones or torn muscles. The beating had been brutal. When the nun's work was done, Ward telephoned Ashford Hall.

After introducing himself to the butler, the widow Elizabeth Ashford-Nassau answered his call. Ward calmly informed her of what had happened and of her grandson's condition. After a long silence, Lady Ashford asked him to think about what had caused the incident. From memory, Ward reconstructed the chain of events that had led to the fatal outcome.

Alfred was not a popular pupil among his peers. Intellectually gifted, his exceptionality meant that he excelled in all his chosen subjects and extra-curricular activities, with the exception of sport, where he did not usually put in much effort. Consideration had been given to moving him up a year so that he would start secondary school at the age of eleven. This last fact was leaked to the student body by an unknown informant. The news of his second promotion aroused the frustration of some seniors. One watch told him that a senior had begun to hate Alfred because he saw him as an arrogant know-it-all who pretended to be clever in order to curry favour with the teachers and thus effortlessly enjoy the privileges accorded to seniors by virtue of their age and record. This prejudice spread like an axiom among the other seniors. Rumours reached the headmaster's ears that Alfred had allowed himself to be touched by the music teacher, or that Alfred had cheated in his exams, or that Alfred had received preferential treatment from the teachers. The rumours circulated unchecked and Alfred did nothing to put out the fire. On the contrary, his reticence and infrequent socialising fuelled them.

Alfred did not speak to anyone unless he had to, while with Ward he showed his extrovert character and ability as a good conversationalist. His treatment of boys, especially those from the lower classes, ranged from petty indifference to false sympathy. He trusted no one but Ward and Cornwall. But it was his experience as a fag that was the worst. Alfred hated being a fag and he hated taking orders. And Alfred was a child who looked for any opportunity to vent his anger in a tangible way to draw attention to what he disliked. He injured a classmate playing football in the first week of school, threw a boy down the stairs when he made fun of him for being Scottish, spilled a kettle of boiling water on another because he wouldn't make tea for his watch, and finally told a policeman that a group of five older children had stolen a bag of knick-knacks. It was these five children, whipped as a result, who had gathered to beat up Alfred in the garden. Ward suspected that Alfred's unpopularity, coupled with his lousy company, had prompted the five seniors' brutal decision. Lady Ashford asked Ward for Alfred's opinion on the meaning of his actions. The headmaster suggested that her grandson was spiteful and vindictive. Finally, Lady Ashford was frank: Alfred must take responsibility for his actions in order to forge a character worthy of his future.

III

The five seniors were permanently expelled. When Alfred returned to school thirteen days later, he knew that his time as a fag had come to an end. As he left the dormitory, he ignored the call of his clock, but the clock said nothing. His superficial wounds looked like battle scars because he had been beaten from behind and between five. The other two dorm mates stared at him curiously at his act of disobedience, but neither pointed it out nor complained.

The mood in the corridors was similar. They gave him furtive glances and murmured as he passed. Alfred never stopped to find out what they were whispering about. He walked erect, straight ahead, without turning his head to show that he was not like them. He was no coward, no fool, no half-wit. He was different.

IV

Alexia forced a smile. The photographer fired. The president of Harvard University posed to her right. The photographer fired a second time. The flash blinded her as if it had burned her retinas.

“Nice. I think the framing is right. I'll get the developed photos to you next week.”

The president turned away from Alexia as Alexander approached. The headmaster and his father shook hands.

“A fabulous term.” The president congratulated them. “Dinner is tonight at eight o'clock.” He turned to Alexia. “Such an extraordinary achievement deserves to be celebrated in style. At least the first time,” he joked.

“We will be there,” Alexander confirmed.

“Right.”

The president patted Alexander on the shoulder to say goodbye. Accompanied by the photographer, the two left the foyer. Father and daughter were left alone in the large, baroque room. The rector had insisted on having a photograph taken with Alexia to mark the end of her first year at university and as the top student in her class. Although she was still two years away from wearing her cap and gown, everyone assumed that Alexia would graduate as valedictorian.

The professors were amazed at her devilish pace of learning, which sometimes exceeded the knowledge of the specialists. She didn't interact with the other pupils, but she was aware that she seemed to them an oddity. She could sense it in their condescending comments, their forced smiles and their disbelief. It was like living on the edge of two worlds: she was a child, but she was not. She was too young to be considered an adult, but at the same time she had the intellectual maturity of a woman in her forties. She imitated the behaviour of the adults around her in order to be taken seriously, but the same adults underestimated her emotional maturity because she played when she was bored or angry about trivial things. She belonged neither to the group of adults nor to the group of children, and the incidents that occurred as a result of the latter were mixed.

A woman called the police because she thought Alexia was skipping school. Alexander had to call the university president from a phone box to prove her wrong. Once a teacher stopped her from entering the classroom because he thought she was the daughter of a staff member or one of the students. Another time, Alexander, who always accompanied her to school, had to prove that Alexia was in fact his pupil. In the campus gardens, a group of students escorted her to the university gendarmerie because they thought she was lost, when Alexander had simply stepped away to throw away the plastic cup he had been drinking his coffee in. Less colourful was his father's behaviour during a meeting with his Microbiology professor. For some unknown reason, Alexander remained glued to Alexia, in a pose reminiscent of boxing in his home gym or with friends. The Microbiology professor kept his distance in a way that seemed exaggerated, but always with his eyes fixed on Alexia. The experience was uncomfortable and she never saw the professor again. Even after that meeting, Alexander never left Alexia's side, not even to go to the toilet. He would only let her into the professors' private toilets alone, with him waiting at the door, but never into the shared toilets.

It was overwhelming. She tried to distract herself by mentally solving mathematical operations or philosophising about the last thing she had read, but none of it helped in the long run. The only thing left to do was to hold on and wait for her father to protect her from whatever it was he was supposed to protect her from, which she didn't want to find out, lest it feed the sporadic intrusive thoughts that lurked in the depths of her physical vulnerability and emotional loneliness. Alexia tried to take refuge in Alexander, but her father did not seem to understand the extent of her distress. He seemed oblivious to his daughter's conflicted status as a monkey fair for students or a guinea pig for teachers, including an unpleasant psychiatrist who tried to persuade her to take part in a cognitive experiment with a group of strangers. Alexander flatly refused the latter, but the former was impossible to eradicate. On top of that, Alexia had discovered that she really didn't like being around people and didn't like attracting unnecessary attention, not least because she had learned that it only led to repetitive formalities and pointless chatter.

The stress, however, dissolved the anxiety. The stress of studying at such a level was compounded by her own threshold of self-demand and the social pressure to prove her worth. The greater the stress, the greater the hyper-fixation on the task, the greater the intolerance of error and the greater the irritability; and the greater the irritability, the greater the aggressiveness. She once found herself violently pushing her father out of her study when she was engrossed in an essay she had to finish by tomorrow. Alexander was not angry, but tried to talk to her about the reason for the push. Alexia refused to talk any further than necessary because she had to finish the essay. Alexander was not like Alfred; she did not feel comfortable talking to him because of the misunderstanding. So she had no choice but to relax and moderate her temper on her own. The monotony of everyday life and the accelerated passage of time when she was busy helped; but neither one nor the other removed the isolation, only postponed it, with long intervals of horrible accompaniment.

[lnkedmyheart]

Hi :)

Can you recommend some bsd angst fics? ( angst is my shit and I wanna suffer lol )

I have a few so under the cut. A couple would be more popular but the rest are imo pretty underrated.

Akai by itotypes

"All is fair in love and war, right?"

Obviously. I personally find it a lot more fun angst than suffering angst though. Includes Dazai with a walking stick.

Yellow roses (400 yen) by the_most_happy

Dazai Osamu is not dead. Oh, he tried. But when he jumped off the Port Mafia building, he didn't consider that a certain annoying Slug was going to risk everything to save him. Thanks to his old partner, Dazai is given the chance to start a new life as a civilian: he has an apartment in Tokyo, a tiny flower shop crammed with plants and pots, and a mind filled with ghosts. His life is tranquil. His mission is finished. Until the day when, for the first time in five years, Chuuya walks into his flower shop with a job.

This is a angsty post canon beast au but this doesn't include Chuuya's meltdown cause Dazai doesn't die. Includes Dazai with a walking stick.

If you refuse to listen I’ll say it twice, love of my life by olympiansally

There’s Atsushi, Dazai’s star pupil. There’s Fyodor, arguably Dazai’s soulmate, a single mind in two bodies. There’s Kunikida, Dazai’s partner. There’s Oda, the reason Dazai wants to live. And then there’s Chuuya. If he asked Dazai to define him, to name his purpose, Chuuya already knows what he would hear. Chuuya is his dog, Chuuya is a slug, Chuuya is a chibi. And sure, maybe he is. But none of that is enough. Or, Chuuya can’t figure out what he means to Dazai exactly, but if he would only listen, he would realize that Dazai has been telling him all along.

This isn't exactly angsty but it's funny angsty cause Chuuya is oblivious as fuck in this and keeps jumping through hoops the whole time. Bro is literally living the brojob nightmare.

I Said It Was A Dream (and he agreed) by Hum My Name (My_Kind_of_Crazy)

The plan: Dazai Osamu leaves the mafia after Odasaku’s death, but he doesn’t leave behind his rage. Fuelled by the need to avenge his friend, he creates a painstaking plan to tear down the Port Mafia— to create a false haven for mafia members while, behind the scenes, he collects information meant to expose the organization for the criminal terror it is. The dilemma: Dazai doesn’t plan on Chuuya finding him. Chuuya believes Dazai’s simply hiding from the mafia, starting fresh with a harmless job in a local bar. They have their closure and move on— until Chuuya seeks him out again. Eventually, their emotions for one another can no longer be ignored. But Dazai’s desperation to take down the mafia means he can’t become distracted by his feelings for Chuuya Maybe, he can use this connection with Chuuya to his benefit. Maybe, he can have everything he wants, so long as Chuuya never finds out.

This is a canon divergence angst fic where Dazai decides to destroy the PM.

Release series by afinepricklypear

After countless days (months?) fighting against hundreds of fictional murderers in Poe’s book and using the time alone to reflect, Chuuya is released. (Alt: How Chuuya got out of the book Ranpo trapped him in towards the end of Season 3)

This was really fun for me as someone who enjoys angst, a lot of it is pre sb though.

Confessions of a lie by afinepricklypear

For three months, Chuuya has been missing and, during that time, Dazai has fallen further into an obsessive search for him. Until late one rainy night, an oddly familiar looking woman knocks on Dazai’s door.

This is a really odd entry ngl, I adore the angst and it's deliberately ooc. It's from 2020 so there is a lot of canon skk context missing but idk I found it an unexpectedly nice read. There are discussions of SA and coercion, some pre stormbringer characterization issues but if you go into this as a canon divergence au concept it's very enjoyable. Also the author is very explicit about this being a brainworm that they needed to write cause it wouldn't leave them alone.

Retrace by Kuranoa.

Chuuya dreams every night, and in those dreams, he dies the most horrendous deaths, over and over. He wakes up in a cold sweat, afraid and disoriented. Dazai always assures him that they are nothing but nightmares. In this world, Fyodor has successfully obtained The Book. In this world, Dazai has witnessed Chuuya’s death 18,263 times.

I genuinely don't remember much from this fic but I do remember finding this good enough to be one of the first fics I bookmarked.

[rydervaughn]

The Double-Edged Sword of Social Media: Fake News and Propaganda in Activism and Protests

How might fake news and propaganda factor into the use of social media for activists and protesters (e.g. 5G technology causing COVID-19, US's anti-lockdown protests, Trump using the term 'Chinese virus')?

#Week6 #MDA20009

Introduction

In the digital age, social media has become a powerful tool for activists and protestors to amplify their voices and organize movements. However, this newfound power comes with a downside - the proliferation of fake news and propaganda. In this blog post, we'll explore how misinformation impacts social causes. with exampleds ranging from 5G conspiracy theories to anti-lockdown protests and the controversial term 'Chinese Virus'.

The Weaponization of Fake News

A Threat to Truth & Activism

Fake news is like a stealthy infiltrator in the realm of activism, posing a sever threat to both truth and the effectiveness if social movements. Misinformation, often disguised as credible information, can quietly seep into the discourse of activists, sowing seeds of doubt and discord. It not only blurs the lines between fact and fiction but also breeds confusion within the ranks of those striving for change. Social media platforms, the very tools that empower activists to reach vast audiences, paradoxically accelerate the spread of fake news, making it a formidable adversary. In this digital age, being aware of the menace is crucial, as it can create the foundations of genuine activism and compromise the pursuit of justice (Tong et.al 2020) (George, Gerhart & Torres 2022).

The 5G-COVID-19 Conspiracy Theory

A Viral Falsehood

One Glaring example of the potency of fake news on social media is the baseless 5G technology and COVID-19 conspiracy theory. This unfounded idea erroneously posited that 5G technology was somehow responsible for the global pandemic. Fuelled by sensationalism and shared relentlessly on platforms like Twitter and Facebook, these false claims gained alarming traction. The rapid spread of this misinformation showcased the power of social media in amplifying unverified narratives. This episode underscores the critical importance of nurturing critical thinking and robust fact-checking habits, serving as a stark reminder that in the digital age, discerning truth from fiction is a responsibility we all bear (Ahmed et.al 2020).

Anti-Lockdown Protests: A Breeding Ground for Misinformation

Protests in the Age of Misinformation

The anti-lockdown protests vividly illustrate the impact of fake news and propaganda in shaping real-world events. Social media played a pivotal role in not only mobilizing these protests but also disseminating misleading information about the pandemic. Misguided claims about the virus' severity, lockdown measures, and their economic consequences galvanized protestors. However, these gatherings, fuelled by misinformation, often ignored the health risks and undermined collective efforts to curb the virus' spread. The potential consequences of such protests are dire, as they can lead to increase infections, overwhelm healthcare systems, and prolong the very restrictions they sought to oppose, demonstrating how misinformation can fuel misguided activists (Ozduzen, Ozgul & Ianosev 2023).

The 'Chinese Virus' Terminology

The Power of Language in Activism

The controversy surrounding the term 'Chinese virus,' notably used by former President Trump, underscores the potent role of language as a propaganda tool. Such rhetoric can stigmatize and perpetuate discrimination against Asian communities. By labelling the virus in this manner, it subtly shifted blame and fuelled xenophobic sentiments, casting a shadow over global perceptions. Language, in activism, wields immense influence; it can unite or divide, empower or oppress. In this case, it underscored the need for responsible and inclusive language in social justice movements, emphasizing how words can shape narratives and perceptions, both locally and on a global scale (Kania 2022) (Darling-Hammond 2020).

Combining Misinformation in Activism

The Need for Media Literacy

To combat misinformation, activists must embrace media literacy. Encourage critical thinking, fact-checking, and responsible sharing on social media platforms. Point them toward organizations and resources like Snopes, FactCheck.org, and MediaWise, which empower individuals with the skills needed to navigate today's information landscape wisely (Adjin-Tettey 2022).

Conclusion

In the digital age, where social media serves as both a catalyst for activism and a breeding ground for misinformation, the nexus of truth and advocacy is at stake. Fake news, propaganda, and divisive language can undermine the very causes activists hold dear. From the 5G-COVID-19 conspiracy to anti-lockdown protests and the 'Chinese virus' controversy, the lessons are clear. We must fortify ourselves with media literacy, critical thinking, and fact-checking to discern fact from fiction. By doing so, we can ensure that our activism remains grounded in truth and empathy, amplifying voices for change while safeguarding the integrity of the causes we champion.

References

Adjin-Tettey, TD 2022, 'Combining fake news, disinformation, and misinformation: Experimental evidence for media literacy education', Cogent Arts & Humanities, vol. 9 no. 1, viewed 10 October 2023, <https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/23311983.2022.2037229>.

Ahmed, W, Vidal-Alaball, J, Downing, J & Segul, FL, 'COVID-19 and the 5G conspiracy theory: Social network analysis of Twitter data', J Med Internet Res, vol. 22, no. 5, viewed 10 October 2023, <https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7205032/>.

Darling-Hammond, S, Michael, EK, Allen, AM, Chae, DH, Thomas, MD, Nouyen, TT, Mujahid, MM & Johnson, RC 2020, 'After the Chinese Virus went viral: Racially charged coronavirus coverage and trends in bias against Asian Americans', Health Educ Behav, vol. 47, no. 6, viewed 10 October 2023, <https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7488172/>.

George, J, Gerhart, N & Torres, R 2022, 'Uncovering the truth about fake news: A research model grounded in multi-disciplinary literature', Journal of Management Information Systems, vol. 38, no. 4, viewed 10 October 2023, <https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/07421222.2021.1990608>.

Kania, U 2022, 'Snake flu, killer bug, and Chinese virus: A corpus-assisted critical discourse analysis of lexical choices in early UK press coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic', 10 November, viewed 10 October 2023, <https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36483982/>.

Ozduzen, O, Ozgul, BA & Ianosev, B 2023, 'Institutions of governance are all corrupted: anti-political collective identity of anti-lockdown protests in digital and physical spaces', Social Movement Studies, 23 August, viewed 10 October 2023, <https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14742837.2023.2246920>.

Tong, C, Gill, H, Li, J, Valenzuela, S & Rojas, H 2020, 'Fae news is anything: They say! - Conceptualization and weaponization of fake news among the American public', Mass Communication and Society, vol. 23, no. 5, viewed 10 October 2023, <https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/15205436.2020.1789661>.

[lmaoitsyuuji]

An apple a day keeps the doctor away!

(What is the future of public health campaigns in a digital age?)

How I feel when I have a slight cough and a dry throat:

Health is wealth

Public health campaigns help spread awareness about diseases and health hazards, which can encourage people to seek medical attention for themselves or others (Team CSG 2024). Public health campaigns are essential in shaping community health outcomes by providing crucial information about prevention and treatment options. By leveraging various media channels, these campaigns effectively reach diverse populations, ensuring that important messages resonate well with different demographics.

Beep.. Entering the digital age.. beep

Over the past two decade, the use of digital media and digital technologies for health campaigns and promotion has grown at an unprecedented rate (Koh et al. 2021, p.171). Digital technologies revolutionize the way public health organisations reach and teach audiences as modern campaigns are increasingly using digital strategies to maximize their influence on health behaviours (Krawiec et al. 2021). Digital health campaigns also make it easier for people to consult with health professionals without having to go to a physical clinic or healthcare facility. The rise of telemedicine and digital communication tools has provided a more convenient and accessible alternative to in-person visits.

Digital platforms have enabled for public health campaigns to reach global audiences, which helps expand access and reduce cost. Social media platforms such as YouTube and Facebook helps target specific audiences. People who do not have easy access to any healthcare can benefit from these platforms and gain vital information about their health. Through informational posts and targeted ads, health organisations can deliver important health messages to individuals in remote areas, where conventional healthcare outreach methods might be limited or less effective. Aside from that, digital health campaigns also reduce cost as traditional public health campaigns such as in-person events often require lots of financial investment. Digital health campaigns can reach millions of people without requiring additional spending on manpower in the process, making it a highly cost-effective strategy as the costs of developing digital tools are much lower compared to traditional public health campaigns (Koh et al. 2021, p. 173).  This just goes to show that digital health campaigns are the new frontier for public health issues.

WHO said WHAT?!

The digital age of rapid access to information has given rise to what is known as an ‘infodemic’. The World Health Organization (WHO) describes ‘infodemic’ as the overwhelming influx of information during an epidemic or disease outbreak, which includes both accurate and inaccurate content circulating across digital and physical environments (Khan 2023). Although the digital age has significantly improved access to vital health information, it has also led to challenges in managing the accuracy of health information.

For example, false information about the Covid-19 pandemic was widely circulated among the public and some would even be promoted by the media or prominent individuals which later allowed conspiracy theories to emerge as well (Zhang et al. 2023). The misinformation and conspiracy theory created false narratives, often fuelled by a mix of fear, mistrust and sensationalism, and contributed to the widespread confusion and resistance to public health measures. Vaccine fear is a predominant public health issue and a similar pattern of misconceptions emerged in response to the introduction of the Covid-19 vaccine and the concerns related to the Covid-19 vaccine reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) included fears about its impact on fertility in women, its potential to alter the human genome and beliefs in a global conspiracy aimed at reducing the world’s population (Caceres et al. 2022).

Take that!

There are several ways to combat misinformation in digital health campaigns. The government and health organizations should educate the public by teaching individuals how to critically examine and evaluate the information they encounter online. They can do so by providing resources on how to recognize misinformation and identify credible source. Besides that, health organizations can also collaborate with trusted celebrities and influencers as they can use their voices and platforms to counter misinformation with clear, scientifically backed messages. Therefore, health organizations should take advantage of this and partner up with trusted voices to avoid the spread of misinformation. Additionally, health professionals could also engage in direct communication with the public and respond to their questions and concerns about any health issues. They should also act quickly and tackle any common misconceptions through digital health campaigns so that the misinformation won’t spread far and wide.

Thoughts

In conclusion, the future of public health campaigns in the digital age holds immense promise, driven by the rapid glorious  evolution of digital technologies and the growing reliance on online platforms for information. Digital health campaigns provide opportunities to reach a wider audience and promote health literacy to the public. Although the rise of digital health campaigns can bring about misinformation, I believe that health organizations can mitigate the risks effectively and harness the full potential of digital tools to improve public health.

(784 words)

References

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[warningsine]

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United Kingdom

Curb hate speech after riots, UN committee urges Britain

By Emma Farge

August 23, 20243:25 PM GMT+3Updated 21 hours ago

Item 1 of 2 Protesters attend an anti-immigration protest in Belfast, Northern Ireland, August 9, 2024. REUTERS/Hollie Adams/File Photo

[1/2]Protesters attend an anti-immigration protest in Belfast, Northern Ireland, August 9, 2024. REUTERS/Hollie Adams/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab

GENEVA, Aug 23 (Reuters) - A U.N. committee urged Britain on Friday to pass measures to curb hate speech and xenophobic rhetoric which it said had played a direct role in fuelling summer riots.

Racist unrest involving far-right groups erupted at anti-immigration protests across Britain in August after false information circulated online that the suspect in a deadly attack on young girls was an Islamist migrant.

"(The Committee) is concerned about the persistence and in some cases sharp increase of hate crimes, hate speech and xenophobic incidents," the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination said in a press release following a review of Britain's record.

This included racist and xenophobic speech by politicians and public figures in print, broadcast and online media, it said.

The U.N. body did not name the politicians or media involved but Committee Member Gün Kut told journalists there was a direct link between xenophobic speeches and racial violence.

"There is an obvious concern about hate speech by prominent figures in the public," he told a Geneva press briefing.

The U.N. committee which reviews all countries' records every few years also referred to concerns about institutional racism in Britain's policing and justice system and urged Britain to set up a mechanism to investigate complaints.

There was no immediate comment from the UK government.

The former Conservative Party-led government said in documents sent to the U.N. that it was committed to building "a fairer Britain" and addressing "negative disparities". It said it taken steps since its last review to address disparities, such as the release of an Inclusive Britain strategy in 2022.

[sa7abnews]

PM Starmer says UK 'on high alert' for more far-right unrest

New Post has been published on https://sa7ab.info/2024/08/11/pm-starmer-says-uk-on-high-alert-for-more-far-right-unrest/

PM Starmer says UK 'on high alert' for more far-right unrest

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer warned Friday that authorities must “stay on high alert” for more far-right riots, as a court issued the first jail sentence for online incitement during the recent disorder.

Starmer’s comments followed consecutive nights of relative quiet across England, after a week of near daily unrest in more than a dozen places after a deadly knife attack that killed three children.

Disturbances have continued unabated in Northern Ireland, however, where police have blamed pro-UK loyalist paramilitaries for fuelling nightly violence in Belfast.

Starmer was speaking during a visit to the headquarters of London’s Metropolitan Police.

“Swift justice” dispensed on rioters by the courts in recent days had acted as a deterrent to more disorder in English towns and cities, he said.

“I’m absolutely convinced that having the police officers in place these last few days, and the swift justice that has been dispensed in our courts have had a real impact,” he told UK broadcasters.

“But we have to stay on high alert going into this weekend because we absolutely have to make sure that our communities are safe and secure.”

‘Reminder’

Hours later, a judge in Leeds, northern England, jailed a 28-year-old man for 20 months after he admitted publishing Facebook posts that met the criminal threshold for stirring up racial hatred.

In the first case of its kind linked to the disturbances, the judge sentenced Jordan Parlour for the posts last week encouraging people to attack a hotel in the city housing asylum seekers and refugees.

The hotel manager put the building into lockdown on Saturday due to the disorder in the city, and at least one window was broken after stones were thrown at it over the weekend.

Speaking before the sentencing – but after the man had been convicted – Starmer said it was “a reminder to everyone that whether you’re directly involved or whether you’re remotely involved, you’re culpable”.

Social media executives as well as users should be “mindful of the first priority, which is to ensure that our communities are safe and secure”, he added, hinting at stricter enforcement in future.

“We’re going to have to look more broadly at social media after this disorder but the focus at the moment has to be on dealing with the disorder,” Starmer said.

Nearly 600 arrests

The UK leader held another crisis meeting of top ministers and police chiefs late on Thursday.

In his latest remarks, he noted potential unrest linked to the start of the football season would be “added into the mix” of challenges facing authorities this weekend.

Some far-right rioters and agitators are believed to have links to England’s decades-old football hooligan scene. Although it has diminished since its heyday in the 1980s, it can still generate violence on match days.

Police in England said Friday that forces nationwide had now arrested nearly 600 people suspected of taking part in the unrest that began on July 30, and around 150 charges had been filed.

The disturbances, first sparked by a July 29 knife attack in which three children were killed, have seen mosques and migrant-related facilities attacked alongside police and other targets.

Officials say false information spread on social media about the suspected perpetrator fuelled the disorder.

Courts across England have started sentencing convicted participants in the disorder, with some facing years in jail. Around a dozen people were jailed on Thursday for their involvement.

In Northern Ireland, a number of Belfast businesses and libraries announced plans to close early on Friday after more disorder overnight and further planned protests.

A “significant visible policing operation” will be in place ahead of anti-immigration protests and counter-protests planned in Belfast’s city centre.

Police there said 23 people have been arrested so far following the disturbances, and 15 charged.

Officers have been granted additional powers to stop and search suspected troublemakers and ask them to remove face coverings, while additional manpower is being sent from the UK mainland, according to reports.

[l-in-c-future]

Who were using social media accounts to spread the fake news that triggered widespread UK riots?

Despite Fb had suspended the accounts, they were still able to operate their X (formerly Twitter accounts) and made money from spreading fake news.

While there have been calls from politicians for social media companies to do more in the wake of the riots, the UK's recently enacted Online Safety Bill does not currently legislate against disinformation, after concerns that that could limit freedom of expression.

The people involved in posting false information are often based abroad, making it a lot trickier to take action against them.

The power to deal with this kind of content right now lies with the social media companies themselves. X has not responded to the BBC’s request for comment.