Billie Eilish claims Variety Magazine outed her
The singer’s latest Instagram post has garnered a mixed response, one which highlights our dangerous hyper fixation on sexuality. Billie Eilish made headlines last month when a Variety Magazine interview stated she was attracted to both men and women. The news came as no surprise to Eilish’s legion of fans. Many...
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‘Rizz’ named word of the year by Oxford University Press
Gen Z’s favourite TikTok buzzword ‘rizz’ was crowned word of the year for 2023. Unsure what that means? A brush up on your social media dialect might be in order. The word ‘rizz’ has been named word of the year by the Oxford University Press. Based on more than 32,000 votes...
LGBTQ+ people still feel unsafe on London transport
A new report suggests that, despite widespread effort, LGBTQ+ abuse still prevails in our everyday spaces. Though the rise in LGBTQ+ figures in the mainstream media – and flourishing national pride campaigns – may foster some ignorance to the realities of queer life in the UK, that reality is still painful...
YouTuber ‘The Completionist’ facing claims of charitable negligence
Long time YouTuber Jirard Khalil, known as ‘The Completionist’, is facing accusations of withholding over $600,000 USD in charitable donations over a span of nine years. If you’ve ever donated money to the Open Hand Foundation as part of the annual IndieLand livestreaming event, it’s likely that your money...
M&S ad controversy highlights social responsibility of brands
Amid the ongoing crisis in Gaza, marketing blunders like these demonstrate the urgency of brand due diligence. Each year, the arrival of Christmas creeps slightly earlier. Nowadays, we’re still busy binning Halloween decorations and transforming pumpkins into a buffet of soups and risottos when Mariah Carey starts defrosting. And it...
14-year-old develops new bar of soap to treat melanoma
Heman Bekele may have found a strikingly simple answer to skin cancer treatment: a bar of soap. Despite extortionate amounts of fundraising and tireless research, a cancer cure still often feels like a pipedream. But as far as cancer research goes, it's long been suspected that the answer to one...
Lego’s new braille bricks are a step toward more inclusive toys
Bricks with studs corresponding to braille numbers and letters have been designed to help blind and visually-impaired children learn through play. Since 2020, Lego have been quietly distributing a groundbreaking toy – free of charge – to select schools and services catering for visually-impaired children. The brand’s braille bricks were designed with the usual Lego studs, only these ones correspond to braille letters and numbers. The product has been helping young children with...
Pokémon and Van Gogh collaboration causes scalping chaos
A recent promotional collaboration between Pokémon and the Van Gogh Museum lead to commotion both online and in person, as scalpers attempted to make a profit from reselling. The Pokémon company has apologised for the chaos that ensued after launching a new collaboration with the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam. Last week, the museum opened a new exhibit that showcased several depictions of famous Pokémon re-imagined within some of Van Gogh’s...
Opinion – SSC Napoli proves social media is a powerful weapon
Despite an empty apology from the football club, Osimhen’s racist treatment on TikTok has already done irreversible damage. Victor Osimhen may be the first footballer to sue his own club over social media mistreatment. The 24-year-old threatened legal action against SSC Napoli last week, after the club shared videos mocking Osimhen to their TikTok channel. The tone of the content was undeniably racist, and all videos have since been deleted. But the...
Canada’s blunder is a lesson in the importance of historical literacy
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has apologised after the government accidentally honoured a Nazi. ‘Deepest apologies.’ Those were the words of a Canadian parliamentary official following a major gaffe by the country’s political leaders. At a House of Commons meeting last week – attended by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and visiting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky – members of parliament were seen honouring an individual who served in a Nazi unit during World War II. The...
