Category: Ethical Issue(s)

To support striking workers, Reddit users spam replacement job portal for Kellogg’s

On By alanapotIn Ethical Issue(s), RedditLeave a comment
Image via https://www.theverge.com/2021/12/10/22827990/antiwork-reddit-kelloggs-jobs-portal-spam-solidarity-workers-strike-subreddit

Over two months ago, over 1,400 Kellogg’s cereal plant workers from Michigan, Pennsylvania, Nebraska, and Tennessee went on strike over stalled union negotiants with the food brand. This week, Kellogg’s announced that they would be hiring permanent replacements for striking workers. This comes after the striking workers voted against coming to a tentative agreement proposed by Kellogg’s management.

In retaliation and in solidarity with the workers on strike, users on the r/antiwork subreddit are submitting and spamming fake job applications for the replacement job portal. A subreddit is a thread of posts related to a particular subject and posts can be ‘upvoted’ or ‘downvoted’. A post about spamming the scab application portal received more than 62,000 upvotes and thousands of comments. A moderator on the subreddit gave a comment and said:

“That’s why this kind of action gets popular,”“Everybody feels the struggle, and the pain, and the misery that these Kellogg workers feel right now.”

Kevin McKenzie, Moderator of r/antiwork

Digital activism isn’t new in this online community, but it’s the first time it has been to this scale. The online company itself, Reddit, commended users for their support and efforts for the striking workers. They also reported that over the year 2020 to 2021, the subreddit had grown by 279%, now with over 1.3 million users following it.

Sato, M. “Redditors are spamming Kellogg’s job portal to support striking workers” (10, December 2021). The Verge. https://www.theverge.com/2021/12/10/22827990/antiwork-reddit-kelloggs-jobs-portal-spam-solidarity-workers-strike-subreddit

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Alec Baldwin claims he never pulled the trigger on the set of “Rust”

On By Kendra FranklinIn Ethical Issue(s), MediaLeave a comment

Alec Baldwin sat down ABC News reporter George Stephanopoulos on Dec 2, his first interview since the fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins. He claims he never actually pulled the trigger.

Photographed: Halyna Hutchins
Source: Sky News

42-year-old cinematographer Hutchins was shot and killed on Oct 21 after Baldwin fired a prop gun on the set of the western movie called “Rust.” According to Time, Baldwin fired the prop gun at the camera that Hutchins was holding while rehearsing a scene. The gun was given to Baldwin by assistant director Dave Halls, who shouted “cold-gun,” signifying that the gun was not loaded with live rounds. Halls’ lawyer Lisa Toracco told ABC News that Halls believes that Baldwin did not put his finger on the trigger.

Baldwin claims that he cocked the gun and released the hammer, never actually firing the gun. Halls backs this claim, according to ABC News.

CNN interviewed Steve Wolf, a theatrical firearms safety expert about Baldwin’s story, saying that it is “not plausible,” even demonstrating how the firearm Baldwin was using works during the interview.

“When you pull the hammer back, which is an intentional act — click, click, click, click — now the hammer is set,” said Wolf, demonstrating the use of a single-action revolver. “When you pull the hammer back and let go…the hammer doesn’t go anywhere. When you press the trigger…it takes very little to press the trigger there.”

Many wonder about the validity of Baldwin and Halls’ claim that the trigger was never pulled. According to the LA Times, there were already two misfires on set a week prior. The same morning of the shooting, 6 crew members walked off of the set due to the unsafe working conditions. Time reported that “long hours,” “withheld pay,” and gun safety issues were some of the conditions the crew members were protesting.

After Baldwin’s interview with his account of events, many wonder about the sincerity of his apology and the validity of his statement, as evidence points to the scenario being highly implausible.

Faulty Emergency Alert Could Earn Fox and FCC Fine

On By johnwilson21In Ethical Issue(s), News Media, SportsLeave a comment

Fox NFL Sunday is a very popular show in the football realm. The pre-game show includes former NFL players who discuss the NFL’s news around the NFL and upcoming games each Sunday. They often include entertaining skits and graphics that fans enjoy, as they make the show fun to watch and can add to the football experience. This past Sunday, one of their graphics ideas can find them getting into some trouble. They could be receiving an FCC fine for a bit they did this weekend that mocked the Emergency Alert System, including a faulty message and URL, that lead to a website that did not have to do with football. The emergency alert warned fans that the Philadelphia Eagles have a chance at making the playoffs. The URL that was on the page was not real, but somebody quickly picked it up and created a pro-Trump political page, which could be viewed as a bad look for the league. The FCC states that an Emergency Alert System transmission can only be used for a national, state, or local emergency or as an authorized test for the system, and Fox’s football EAS does not fall into that category.

This story interests me because as somebody who may be in the sports production and media field, this is an important lesson to learn from. The FCC is able to hand out hefty fines to networks for making crucial mistakes like this one. Fox should know better than to put out a false report of an Emergency Alert System message that is not actually for a serious matter. There should have been better planning for this skit or at least had made it very clear that the emergency alert was not real and to not include a fake URL on the screen.

Aaron Rodgers and the Media’s Trust Issues

On By johnwilson21In Ethical Issue(s), News Media, SportsLeave a comment
(Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

Aaron Rodgers is one of the best players that the NFL has to offer, and a large aspect of the 2021 season has been COVID-19 and all of the rules, issues, and debates that come along with it. In this instance, all of these topics collide, as Aaron Rodgers contracted COVID-19 and was unvaccinated, but in August he gave the impression that he was vaccinated, which caused a roar. Many people are ridiculing him for this occurrence, which caused him to lash out on the NFL, the media, and “cancel culture.” In August, when asked about the vaccine, he claimed that he was “Immunized,” and would not judge teammates who did not receive the vaccine, which many took as the implication that he was vaccinated. He received homeopathic treatment from a doctor in the offseason and says he is allergic to an ingredient in the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines and did not get the Johnson & Johnson vaccine because of issues with blood clots. In his efforts to defend himself this week, he called out the NFL for “draconian measures” in their philosophies with the COVID-19 cases, as well as media for trying to “cancel him” in light of this controversy and other statements he has made in the past. His choice of wording in August was very technical and the media took it as he was vaccinated, but he was not, and is now not happy with the media trying to accuse him of lying and people trying to “cancel” him for not getting the vaccine, when that is deemed by many as the right thing to do for society.

Aaron Rodgers is a very smart, outspoken individual, in many cases, and this occasion is very interesting. He has an issue with the media for scorning him because of decision to not get the vaccine, as some have called him selfish or deem him to not being doing the “right thing,” by society’s standards. He also has an issue with the ridicule from the media for lying about getting the vaccine, but technically, he did not lie, he just chose his words carefully. Although he did give off the impression he was vaccinated, it is not safe to assume, which as a member of the media, there is an argument they should have not falsely reported or believed he was vaccinated. On the other hand, the media could have an issue with Rodgers because of this false impression, in which he could now lose his credibility with the media and they could no longer trust him with other statements he makes in the future. Rodgers has been accused of being sensitive in the past, which could be pointed out in this case, as he tries to defend himself against the “woke mob” and has put out many claims to defend himself for not getting vaccine. Although, not many people in media or on social media platforms are trying to cancel him, they are just ridiculing him for his loose wording and false impressions he made, as well as his choice to not get the vaccine. Overall, I understand some of Rodgers’ frustration because he technically never said he was vaccinated, but somebody with his proven intelligence should know the implication he gave off and how it may backfire if he were to get into a sticky situation like this. In reality, this will likely be brushed off into past news as the NFL season gears up for a playoff run, but Rodgers and the media both lost trust in each other in future encounters.

Twitch Sues Users Over Allegations of Harassment

On By emmaspaethIn Censorship, Ethical Issue(s), Gaming, LGBTQ+, Streaming, Video GameLeave a comment

Twitch files lawsuit against two users responsible for targeting and harassing Black and LGBTQIA+ streamers 

Photo Via MIKKELWILLIAM/GETTY IMAGES on Wired.com

On Thursday, September 9th, Twitch filed a lawsuit in US District Court for the Northern District of California against two users for violations of terms of services. The users CruzzControl and Creatine Overdose are accused of spamming the chats and comments of black and LGBTQIA+ streamers with racist and homophobic hate speech. Thousands of streamers have been targeting in these ‘hate raids’.

The two accounts are believed to have used bot software to spam channels with hundreds of hate comments within minutes, forcing some users to suspend streaming. Twitch alleges the account CruzzControl operated nearly 3,000 bots in recent hate raids. The two accounts were initially suspended after complaints filed against them before permanently banning their accounts.

The lawsuit follows one week after Twitch users initiated a boycott on the streaming platform over hate speech, using the hashtags #ADayOffTwitch and #DoBetterTwitch. Thousands of users banded together for a one day boycott of Twitch to pressure the streaming platform to take action against recent hate raids. In response, Twitch banned thousands of accounts using hate speech and created new chat filters to block slurs and racist, homophobic and bigoted language from entering chats and comments.

New Social Media Restrictions for Children: Britain’s attempt to pave the way for a safer internet

On By Noah Furcht-HeafitzIn Data, Ethical Issue(s), Instagram, Online Safety, Political, TikTok, YouTubeLeave a comment
(www.sheknows.com/parenting/articles/2036128/apple-removes-parental-control-apps/.,
kaspars Grinvalds/Shutterstock.)

This past Thursday Britain introduced a set of regulations designed to protect children online. Overnight platforms the likes of TikTok, Instagram, and Youtube have responded by doing just that threatened by the possibility of having to pay multimillion-dollar fines. Rather than applying the new mandatory “age-appropriate design code” specifically to the UK, the aforementioned social media platforms have opted to change internationally to meet this new standard. This meaningful change to the online landscape as brought on by the mid-sized country of Britain potentially signals a positive change for the global internet. This, in the way that it implies that the tech industry is no longer all but exempt from broader regulation. oddly enough this major online regulatory step was met with little attention despite the UK’s stated goal of becoming the “safest place in the world to be online”. The code in question was introduced as an amendment to the data protection act 2018, a technical piece of legislation intended mostly to implement GDPR into UK law. The code in question applies to all online services that are used by children and require that said services at least identify younger users and treat them with care. The code prohibits several predatory practices including. One, “nudge” techniques that encourage children to divulge more of their private information than is necessary. Two, anything considered to be more than the minimization of data harvesting from children. And Three, giving anything less than the maximum amount of security for children’s accounts. Where adamant lobbying opposing these regulations was expected the world’s largest companies have instead made substantial changes and, what’s more, insisted that they wanted to make this manner of change to their platforms all along. Whatever the next step is is controlled by the Information Commissioner’s Office or “ICO” as this party controls when and whether to enforce fines for breaches of this regulation. A major factor that is still up in the air is whether or not children will accept their being treated differently online or if they’ll just use their tech-savvy to skirt around regulation. Regardless of what it is children decide to do it is pivotal that the internet is acknowledged as curating the experience of childhood as we move further into the digital age.

This article interests me for the reason that it pertains to what I perceive to be positive broader internet regulation. This is because such change is rarely if ever properly enforced or implemented at all despite its growing importance. This article also interests me because of the broader implications of the implementation of software that is restrictive to children in an age where children are increasingly tech-savvy. This is to say that I think it’ll be interesting to see how children react to being given the power to restrict their own activity on the internet with the context that it’s “for their own good”.

Hern, Alex. “Social Media Giants Increase Global Child Safety after UK Regulations Introduced.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 5 Sept. 2021, http://www.theguardian.com/media/2021/sep/05/social-media-giants-increase-global-child-safety-after-uk-regulations-introduced.

Florida is blocking medical examiners from reporting all COVID-19 deaths

On By Aidan PlunkettIn coronavirus, Ethical Issue(s), PoliticalLeave a comment

An article from the Tampa Bay Times discusses how medical examiners were told to stop releasing data surrounding the deaths and cases of COVID-19 in the state of Florida. This comes after the concern amongst the public grows that the state government is intentionally under-reporting the number of cases, and therefore underreporting on the severity of the virus and the situation/implications it has caused.

The inquiry into data numbers and statistics came after discrepancies were found between death numbers reported by individual counties and the Florida Department of Health. I wanted to write about this article because I find it interesting how many media outlets, national, local and online, are pointing their finger at, and blaming China for their underreporting of cases and deaths. I understand the supposed scale difference in the omission of data between China and Florida, but does that mean that it’s okay? We are so quick to put the blame elsewhere and criticize others, but shouldn’t we sometimes be critical of ourselves a little more? Each state and its governor needs to be held accountable.

Another topic that made me want to write this article was due to the recent protesting of the ‘lockdown’ across the United States. I want to emphasize how ridiculous it is that there are Trump supporters who are protesting social distancing measures and claiming that the government is over-reporting and exaggerating the data- it is clear that is not the case, but rather, Florida (who’s probably not alone in this endeavor) are systematically hiding cases and deaths. 

https://www.local10.com/news/local/2020/04/30/report-florida-officials-asked-medical-examiners-to-withhold-information-on-coronavirus-related-death