List of All Articles with Tag 'viral'

The Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has launched a new campaign with the help of Romesh Ranganathan to encourage men to call out misogyny. The initiative aims to help men "confidently step in" when they see or hear any inappropriate language and behaviour towards women, by saying "maaate". The "maaate" campaign is backed by comedian Ranganathan, who publicly shared his support during a live show. "All I'm asking for you to do is if you see some sort of behaviour like that, you don't have to be big about it," he said. "Just have a word – and if that word is just 'mate', then that's all good." It didn't take long for social media to chime in with their takes, with Laurence Fox sharing a snippet from the set and writing: "You are not a 'comedian' #Maaate". Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter His tweet was soon flooded with polarised responses from fellow Twitter users. "He’s much more of a comedian than you are a politician maaaate," one person hit back, while another added: "Romesh is a good pal, an incredibly decent man and a phenomenal comic. Using a heavily edited clip as part of your wee culture war is pathetic." Meanwhile, one person tweeted: "Maaaaate, he literally is. This though was not, this was a piece of advice at the end of the show in support of women." #Maaate: Romesh Ranganathan on tackling misogyny and violence against women and girls www.youtube.com Speaking about the initiative, Khan said: "My new campaign recognises that male violence against women and girls often starts with words. That’s why I’m determined to ensure that men and boys feel empowered to call out their mates when their behaviour crosses the line. "'Maaate' is a simple and effective intervention that can help stop problematic language and behaviour in its tracks. "Last year I urged men and boys to challenge sexist behaviour and misogynistic attitudes with my award-winning ‘Have A Word’ campaign. Now, we’re giving them the word to say." "It is only by ensuring that women and girls are both protected and respected that we can continue to build a better, safer London for everyone." Comedian Ranganathan added: "I’m backing this campaign because we can no longer allow sexism and misogyny to be dismissed as ‘banter.’ "By asking men and boys to say ‘maaate’ to a mate we can be better friends to each other and better allies to women and girls. "As men, we have a responsibility to work together to stop sexist and misogynistic behaviour. Whether it’s in the classroom, the boardroom or onstage, everyone deserves to be treated with respect." Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

Twitter users are still reeling from the platform’s abrupt branding change to "X". The social media app changed its branding on Monday morning after scarcely a day’s notice, with many mocking the new look of the platform. Channel 4 got in there early by reminding Elon Musk, Twitter’s owner, of the time they tried to launch a major rebrand – and it didn’t quite stick. The broadcaster’s social media account posted: “People still call our streaming service 4OD so good luck”. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Channel 4’s 4OD was one of the first major on-demand TV services in the UK, where many people rediscovered classic shows such as Friends, Gogglebox and How I Met Your Mother. Eventually, however, network executives decided it was time to fix something that definitely was not broken, rebranding the service as All 4. The moniker clearly didn’t stick. Twitter executives will hope they have a little more success with their change. Meanwhile, billionaire Elon Musk has already faced significant criticism for the way he has handled the company since taking it over last year. He fired 80 per cent of the tech company’s staff last year, many finding out in brutal circumstances by opening their laptops and discovering they no longer had a job when the machine would not log them in anymore. The result, many commentators have agreed, is a degraded product, with major glitches including all links to external websites temporarily failing, and day-long caps on how many tweets users can look at. Musk has also restored the accounts of thousands of previously suspended users, including neo-Nazi and QAnon accounts. He also tried to restore former President Donald Trump’s account – but Trump wasn’t having any of it, preferring to stick with his own app, Truth Social. Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

A woman's 10-year mystery illness turned out to be a result of mould in her breast implants. Melissa Lima, the ex-wife of the late baseball player Jose Lima, turned to TikTok with her harrowing story to spread awareness of breast implant illness (BII). Symptoms of BII include, but are not limited to, "fatigue, problems with memory or concentration ('brain fog'), joint and muscle pain, hair loss, weight changes, and anxiety/depression," according to the FDA. Captioned "this is your sign", Lima opened up about how her body insecurities prompted her to get a breast augmentation in 2002 in a TikTok post. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Eight years after Lima's cosmetic procedure in 2010, she started feeling "sick with severe joint pain, depression and unexplained inflammation". The viral clip, which has racked up 5.3 million views, showed a montage of Lima's swollen face and ankles. "After 100's of doctors and still no answer, I just gave up," she added. "As a single mom, I couldn't get out of bed to cook for my boys and would often wonder if they would be better off w/o me." @melissalima713 This is your sign. #breastimplantillnes Lima finally had her breast implants removed in 2020. She recalled how her "face and eyes literally changed within hours" and how she felt like herself again. Thousands of fellow TikTokers flocked to the comments section, with some thanking Lima for sharing her story. One said: "I’m soooo glad you shared your story when you did! Made me think twice and now I will never get mine done! So glad you're doing so much better!" Another person claiming to have worked in a pathology lab said they'd witnessed "enough horror stories to keep me from ever getting them". Meanwhile, one woman said she went through a similar experience. She said: "Got mine out 3 years ago. No more BII since I did. It’s much worse than woman still know or understand." Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

People online have recently been mortified to learn that some beers contain a product derived from fish bladders. Some breweries use isinglass, which is a gelatine-like substance from drying and processing certain fish bladders. It is part of the flocculation process to alter the colour of the beer. Explaining the technicalities, Craft Beer & Brewing said: "Isinglass is a traditional finings, a substance that causes yeast to precipitate out of suspension, leaving beer clear. Isinglass is derived from the swim bladders of certain tropical and subtropical fish. "When macerated and dissolved for several weeks in dilute food-grade acids, they form a turbid, colourless, viscous solution largely made up of the protein collagen. This material is known to brewers as isinglass finings." Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter However, it's worth noting that with advances in filtration technologies, isinglass is not as common anymore. "The use of isinglass has declined and today it is largely confined to cask-conditioned ales," Beer & Brewing explained. "Although some American craft brewers also use it to clarify beer without the use of filtration." Guinness famously altered their recipe after 256 years to become vegan-friendly. In 2016, a spokesperson told The Times: "Whilst isinglass is a very effective means of clarification, and has been used for many years, we expect to stop using it as the new filtration asset is introduced." Of course, the use of the substance makes some beers not suitable for vegans. But, in the meantime, there are plenty of alternatives that don't contain the fish product including Heineken, Peroni, Birra Moretti and Camden Hells. If unsure whether a beer is isinglass-free or not, Barnivore is a great place to start with a database of almost 40,000 beers and their ingredients. Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

Elon Musk is making another big change to Twitter and this one might be the most significant yet - its name. The latest alteration the South African billionaire is making to the site, which he payed $44 billion for in 2022 is to rebrand it as 'X.' No, that's not a typo or a placeholder for a name we've forgot to put in, that's literally what Musk is planning to call Twitter from now on. It follows in Musk's long-standing obsession with the word (Space X, Tesla Model X his own child X Æ A-12) having already brought the X.com domain name which just redirects you to Twitter. Musk announced on Sunday "X.com now points to twitter.com. Interim X logo goes live later today." At the time of writing the change hasn't gone ahead but the switch shouldn't come as a surprise as Twitter's company name was changed to X Holdings Corp in April. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter On Sunday, Linda Yaccarino, the current Twitter CEO (or should that be X CEO) tweeted: "It’s an exceptionally rare thing – in life or in business – that you get a second chance to make another big impression. Twitter made one massive impression and changed the way we communicate. Now, X will go further, transforming the global town square." This new update to Twitter is likely to cause more confusion and unrest about Musk's influence on the site, especially with competitors like Threads growing exponentially. That being said one thing that X is still good for is memes, especially those at Musk's expense. Twitter: 2006 - 2023 Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

An aunt who didn't take her young niece to see the highly anticipated Barbie movie has ignited a rift within her family who have been divided over her 'selfish' decision. Greta Gerwig's critically lauded and box-office-smashing movie was released worldwide on Friday with seemingly everyone heading out to see the Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling starring comedy about the iconic toy. However, it's not all been harmonious laughs and giggles for everyone - just ask Reddit user u/Salty-Village299 whose decision to take just one of her daughters to see the film has caused all sorts of stress and trouble for her. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter On the infamous 'Am I the A**hole' subreddit, the 19-year-old aunt explained that she has two nieces, Kayla (11) and Violet (5), who belong to her two siblings respectively. The Barbie movie was released on Kayla's 11th birthday so she was taken to the cinema to see it as a treat by her aunt, which she claims was arranged by her brother days in advance. However, Violet's mother found out about this plan and demanded that the aunt also take her daughter because she "loves Barbie." The aunt said this was fine but wanted the mother to come along too. She continues: "I said that she and Violet are welcome to tag along and she said no, she's not coming, only Violet. I gently said no because respectfully I want to relax on my day off work and enjoy the movie and I don't feel like watching Violet. Not only is she younger and less independent but she's autistic and can be quite a handful (I didn't say this to Emma but she knows). "I could see Emma was getting annoyed and she said I'd only be watching Violet during the movie and its only such a small ask. I told her no and that's that. She said I'm excluding Violet for no reason and that I'm playing favorites, and I don't have to deal with Violet being sad that she can't go see the movie with us, but said I obviously don't care because I'm so selfish." The accusations "upset" the aunt who was also accused of not wanting to babysit Violet despite always being happy to do activities with Kayla. The rest of her family have since gotten involved with her brother telling his other sister that she should take "her own daughter to the movies with us and pay for their own tickets." She adds: "This all snowballed into a massive family rift as my parents got involved too and said that Emma has every right to be upset and I should just bring Violet and that it would make Violet really happy. "I ended up only taking Kayla and she had a blast but this situation has gotten me feeling so crap and I just need to know if I really was right or wrong." Safe to say that most people on Reddit were on the aunt's side and felt that she didn't act inappropriately towards her younger niece or her sister. One person wrote: "NTA (not the a**hole). Mostly because it’s rude to assume someone will take a kid for what is essentially free babysitting, but also because Barbie is not a kids movie. It’s rated PG-13, and the overall theme will go way over a 5 year olds head." Another said: " Firstly - that movie is NOT suited for a 5yo. It's not the same Barbie lol. Secondly, if you don't feel like babysitting and are fine with chilling with an 11yo who can handle her own in a theater, that's perfectly valid." A third said: "NTA, this was a treat for Kayla for her birthday. It was tacky of Emma to encroach on that bonding time for you and Kayla. Sounds like Emma wants a break from Violet and was trying to guilt you into giving her one." Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

An Instagram influencer and OnlyFans model has found herself an odd but lucrative niche by becoming an "emotional support stripper" for Ukrainian soldiers fighting in the war against Russia. Fan-Pei Koung, from Houston, Texas now lives in Ukraine describing herself as a "a globe-trotting girlfriend, now volunteering in Kharkiv." Amongst Koung's bizarre content for the soldiers includes strip-teases to air-raid sirens, 'free emotional breastfeeding to soldiers and volunteers' and posing in her underwear with weapons such as rocket launchers. However, all the money she earns from her output goes to humanitarian resources with income also going to other volunteers and towards Ukrainians themselves. Speaking to The Daily Beast, the 2015 Miss Taiwanese American Pageant competitor arrived in Ukraine in Novemeber, initially to help out as a volunteer to help refugees as well as working in women's shelters and orphanages in Lviv. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter She moved to Ukraine full-time in February and besides helping those caught up in the conflict with Russia she is also providing emotional support content for English-speaking soldiers (both Ukrainian and international troops) and is learning how to speak Ukrainian. The 33-year-old added: "People don’t talk about the sexual needs of the people of country at war. Think about the one part of you that needs to have a person you can confide in. I try to do that for anyone who speaks English, or Ukrainian at a 3-year-old level.” However, her support hasn't been warmly received by everyone. Koung revealed that she has received backlash from some fellow Western volunteers in a group chat who accused her of "making porn of off mass graves." Koung, who now refers to herself as a "sex tourist" added that she has "lost about 5,000 followers since this whole Ukraine thing. Because I went from being a sexy influencer to a sexy influencer who won’t stop talking about Ukraine.” Overall she admits that she prefers Ukrainian men to Americans as: "they [Ukrainians] treat me like an infant. They need to know what I want even before I know what I want. I’ve never been treated like that in my life." Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

It’s been a big weekend for Barbenheimer fans, as cinema goers poured into screenings of the two most anticipated movies of the year, Greta Gerwig’s Barbie and Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer. But for one aptly named woman, it couldn’t get any better. Barb Heimer’s social media profile has gone viral in recent days after it was unearthed late last week at the peak of the Barbenheimer hysteria. People shared screenshots of the profile, with one person saying: “Huge weekend for her”. Another person said: “Please tell me her middle name starts with an N”. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter The two films have already sparked a cultural moment that nobody could have seen coming, as their same-day release date and polar opposite subject matter drove social media into a frenzy. People clad in all-pink queued around the block for Barbie across the UK on Friday night, while others have shared pictures of themselves next to Oppenheimer posters. Some even went for back-to-back screenings of the two films. One person shared a photoshopped image of a fictional Barbenheimer poster, showing the all star casts of both films with the now infamous Barb Heimer added in. One person wrote: “I bet she’s having a fun week”. Others described the coincidence as “absolutely incredible”, and said it was the mysterious Barb’s “moment”. Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

If you've spent any time on the internet in the past few weeks you'll be very aware that there is a craze called Barbenheimer which revolves around the release of two movies; Barbie and Oppenheimer. The trend revolves around the fact that the films directed by Greta Gerwig and Christopher Nolan respectively, were released on the exact same day despite appearing to be polar opposites both in terms of aesthetics and messages. That being said the trend has actually helped both movies become box office successes in their own rights as both titles have reportedly over exceeded expectations. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Now you've all seen the memes, explored the dating trend and brought the t-shirts but what if the two movies were actually one movie? Well, wonder no longer because the YouTube channel Curious Refuge has used AI to imagine what a film starring Barbie as a nuclear scientist would actually look like. The trailer has the tone of the two films almost nailed down and features AI rendings of actors from the actual films such as Margot Robbie, Ryan Gosling, Matt Damon, Cillian Murphy and Will Ferrell as well as a few ringers like Brad Pitt and Timothee Chalamet. The video has already been viewed more than 88,000 times and many fans are loving it. One person wrote: "What a masterpiece." Another said: "We truly live in the best timeline." A third wrote: "We needed this. And we received it!" A fourth added: "This is not the cross-over that we need, this is the cross-over that we deserve." If you enjoyed that AI trailer then it's also worth checking out what Star Wars and Lord of the Rings would look like if Wes Anderson directed them. Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

Bodybuilder Justyn Vicky has tragically died due to a freak accident at a gym during a routine squat which ended fatally. The 33-year-old from Indonesia, who had a large following on social media, reportedly died during a back squat where he was attempting to lift 460lbs when tragedy struck at The Paradise Gym on Jalan Danau Tamblingan in Sanur, Bali. While attempting to extend his legs, Justyn reportedly began to struggle to lift the heavy weights which shockingly came crashing down upon his neck. Justyn who is from East Java, was rushed to a hospital after the accident suffering a broken neck and critical compression of the nerves connecting his heart and lungs. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Despite the surgeon's best efforts, he was declared dead shortly after undergoing emergency surgery. In the wake of his tragic and untimely death, fans of the fitness influencer have flocked to his final Instagram post. The video which was shared one week ago sees Justyn speak about the benefits of an ice bath on the body. In the comments many of posted tributes to Justyn. One fan wrote: "He was always full of positive vibes and make me to stay motivated. I'll never forget his impact on my fitness journey. It's a tough loss, but we'll keep his spirit alive." Another added: "Rest in peace bro.. Just last week we were talking telling me to diet." In another post another fan wrote: "I didn't know him well..but when we talked he seemed like a great person..my condolences to the family." Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

MrBeast's Kris. Tyson has officially come out as transgendering, announcing that she now identifies as a woman and has a new way of spelling her name and new pronouns. Earlier this year MrBeast, real name Jimmy Donaldson who is the most followed YouTuber in the world, responded to the absurd notion that his association with Tyson was having a detrimental effect on his career. Tyson had previously been using any pronoun and made headlines in April by declaring that she was undergoing hormone replacement therapy. Now in an interview with Anthony Padilla, Tyson has now officially come out as a woman and now uses she/her pronouns as well as wearing feminine attire for the video. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Tyson told Padilla that this was the first time that she had openly spoken about her transition as she was playing "catch up" with the internet. She added: "I have never said that public, no. But, I've been fully confident in that decision for over a year now. My idea was to play catchup with the internet in the way that I discover myself. "Six, seven, eight months ago my hair started growing out, all these kinds of things. I wasn't quite sure exactly who I was yet, but I knew I was not cis-gendered. I needed the freedom to express myself and figure out who I was." Tyson later tweeted, thanking Padilla to tell her story. Many of Tyson's fans have been highly supportive of her transition, flooding her Twitter post with goodwill. One fan wrote: "Kris looks genuinely so happy now. look at her. I'm so happy she's finally able to be her authentic self. :']" Another added: She is stunning, she is grace, she wears heels so high that I question how she walks." A third person said: "I cried the entire time watching the video, we’re so unbelievably proud of you! Thank you for sharing your story with us." Tyson didn't announce if she will be appearing in any future MrBeast videos but the fact that Donaldson has previously supported his friends gender identity its unlikely that she would be dropped just because she is a woman. Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

There's no denying breakups can be painful, but friendship breakups can be just as tough. In fact, past research has claimed that 70 per cent of close friendships dissolve after seven years. Charlotte Johnson, relationships expert at Mega Pleasure, has shared just why parting ways with a pal can sometimes feel worse than a romantic relationship breakup. Charlotte suggests that both relationship and friendship breakups are very similar, as both experiences consist of losing someone who is close to you and who you have shared many memories with. "This can result in feeling numb because you’re trying to cope with multiple losses including their friendship and companionship and loyalty," Charlotte explained. "It is important to address the underlying feelings and emotions from this breakup by talking to someone else, such as a family member or additional friend, in order to move on in a healthy way." Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter To help navigate a friendship breakup, Charlotte shared seven invaluable tips: Acknowledge your feelings "It’s important to acknowledge and accept your feelings regarding the breakup, as holding in your emotions can lead to feeling overwhelmed and potentially a flux of upset. Allow yourself to feel the emotions and process them in a healthy way." Take time for yourself and give yourself some space and time to heal "Spend time with yourself, do things that make you feel good, and take time to reflect. An example of this can be practising your favourite hobby such as reading or exercising, or even taking more time to relax and unwind such as having a relaxing bath or watching your favourite movies." Reach out for support and talk to friends and family about what happened "It’s important to have a support system during this time, as the people who love you the most can provide you with the best reassurance and advice that you might need." Set boundaries "Moving on from a friendship breakup means setting boundaries. Don’t reach out to your former friend unless it is absolutely necessary as creating space and time is most important in reflection for the both of you. This may be difficult but having time to reflect on the breakup on your own can be really beneficial for clarity and closure." Try to focus on the positives "It’s easy to dwell on the negative aspects of the friendship breakup, but it’s important to focus on the positive. Think about the lessons you learned and the growth you experienced within that relationship and use this moving forward with new friends.” Don't isolate yourself "While it's natural to feel the need for some alone time, try not to isolate yourself for an extended period. Surround yourself with positive influences, whether it's through other friendships, community involvement, or pursuing new interests and hobbies." Give it time "Healing from a friendship breakup takes time. Allow yourself the space and patience to heal at your own pace. Over time, the pain will diminish, and you will be able to move forward with newfound strength." Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.