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Just about anyone who spends considerable time on the internet knows that hate speech proliferates on social media like a virus. But would you be surprised to learn that tech corporations tacitly condone such bigotry in order to profit off the engagement that far-right influencers generate? If you were previously unaware of such in-your-face malfeasance, Simon Klose’s new documentary “Hacking Hate” unpacks the ways that social media companies benefit from the amplification of white supremacy online and how they’re complicit in its real-world effects. Through slick photography that utilizes the visual language of genre films and digital life, Klose’s activist procedural illustrate the failures of the tech world to safeguard society through one reporter’s undercover operation into a Nazi organization.

The reporter in question is My Vingren, an award-winning investigative journalist described by the media as “the real life ‘Girl with the Dragon Tattoo’” seemingly because...

CAA on Thursday announced the speakers and attendees set for its seventh annual CAA Amplify Summit, the invitation-only convening of artists, thought-leaders, and executives of color from leading organizations in entertainment, sports, media, brands, and technology, and beyond.

Confirmed speakers and attendees include: former First Lady of the United States and Co-Founder, Higher Ground Productions, Michelle Obama; Oscar and Emmy-winning Actress, Producer, and Director, Regina King (Shirley); NBA Hall of Famer, Activist, and Entrepreneur, Dwyane Wade; Grammy-winning Singer, Songwriter, Actor, and Activist, Ricky Martin; Emmy, Golden Globe, Grammy, and Academy Award-winning Singer and Songwriter, Jon Batiste; Emmy-nominated Television Host, Producer, Bestselling Author, and Activist, Padma Lakshmi; Actress and Comedian, Ego Nwodim (SNL); Academy Award-winning Writer and Director, Cord Jefferson (American Fiction); Chief Legal Analyst and News Anchor, Laura Coates (Laura Coates Live); Actress Ashley Park (Emily in Paris); Misty Copeland, Principal Dancer, American Ballet Theatre; Emmy-nominated Producer and Comedian, Roy Wood, Jr....

CAA’s seventh annual Amplify summit, a day dedicated to convening artists, brands and leaders of color, has set its lineup of speakers and attendees, led by none other than the former First Lady of the United States, Michelle Obama.

Obama, also co-founder of Higher Ground productions, will be joined on the bill by top talents like Oscar and Emmy-winning actor, producer, and director, Regina King; NBA Hall of Famer, activist and entrepreneur Dwyane Wade (who returns after sitting for a keynote conversation with his fellow NBA legend Chris Paul in 2023); and Grammy-winning artist actor and activist Ricky Martin.

The invitation-only event kicks off on June 10th, in Ojai, Calif. and is organized by a diverse cross-section of CAA agents and executives to discuss ways to “accelerate transformational change in rooms of leadership and popular culture” via business opportunities, social justice initiatives and other various forms of collaboration.

“Our super...

Michelle Obama will attend the 2024 CAA Amplify Summit, the agency’s annual convening of thought leaders of color across entertainment, media, sports, branding, technology, nonprofits and other sectors.

Regina King, Dwyane Wade, Ricky Martin, Jon Batiste, Padma Lakshmi, Ego Nwodim, Cord Jefferson, Ashley Park, Misty Copeland, Roy Wood Jr., Lee Sung Jin, Demián Bichir, Colin Kaepernick and Mo Amer will join the former first lady, whose banner Higher Ground is represented by CAA, in Ojai on June 10-12. The roster of Amplify speakers and attendees also includes CNN chief legal analyst Laura Coates, MSNBC analyst Errin Haynes, ACLU executive director Anthony D. Romero, National Women’s Law Center Action Fund president and CEO Fatima Goss Graves, Human Rights Campaign president Kelley Robinson and Center for Countering Digital Hate CEO Imran Ahmed.

“Our superpower is connecting luminaries across business, philanthropy, entertainment, technology, politics and beyond to inform, strategize and take action...

On Monday, a federal judge dismissed Elon Musk‘s lawsuit against researchers who studied hate speech on the social media platform X owned by Musk.

Musk sued the Center for Countering Digital Hate for violating X’s terms of service for their research of hate speech on the platform, citing their gathering of data. Musk also claimed that the Ccdh’s report repelled advertisers away from X over brand safety concerns.

Judge Charles Breyer, who dismissed Musk’s case, wrote a 52-page order explaining his reason. The order claims that Musk’s lawsuit was not brought out of security concern for X, but out of anger against the Ccdh.

“Sometimes it is unclear what is driving a litigation,” Breyer wrote. “Other times, a complaint is so unabashedly and vociferously about one thing that there can be no mistaking that purpose. This case represents the latter circumstance. This case is about...

A judge on Monday granted a motion to dismiss a lawsuit from X Corp. — the company formerly known as Twitter — against the Center for Countering Digital Hate (Ccdh), an anti-extremism watchdog. The group had drawn the ire of the company’s owner, Elon Musk, by sharing research that revealed how racist and hateful content had exploded on the platform since his takeover in 2022. Musk’s suit, filed in July 2023, claimed that the Ccdh was responsible for an advertiser exodus from the site.

“Sometimes it is unclear what is driving a litigation,...

A federal judge tossed out a lawsuit brought by X/Twitter against a watching group that produced a study that examined the proliferation of hate speech on the platform.

U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer concluded that the platform, owned by Elon Musk, was attempting to chill the speech rights of the Center for Countering Digital Hate and other groups.

The judge wrote that X’s “motivation in bringing this case is evident. X Corp. has brought this case in order to punish [Center for Countering Digital Hate] for Ccdh publications that criticized X Corp.—and perhaps in order to dissuade others who might wish to engage in such criticism.”

X/Twitter had sued the group, claiming that in doing their study, they unlawfully “scraped” the platform for its data that led to an exodus of advertisers.

“X disagrees with the court’s decision and plans to appeal,” the company said.

Read the judge’s decision in the X case.

In the past year, social platforms like Facebook and Twitter have made very public efforts to try to prevent the proliferation of Covid-19-related misinformation and election fraud conspiracy theories. Yet a new study from the Center for Countering Digital Hate, which tracks the spread of misinformation on digital platforms, suggests that at least one platform — Instagram — has failed in its efforts to curb such content.

According to Imran Ahmed, CEO of the U.K.-based organization, the study was prompted by Instagram’s August 2020 rollout of a new feature called “suggested posts,...

Often considered as the style icon of Bollywood, Sonam Kapoor seems to be dedicating time even for fashion, apart from films that keep her busy. The actress is all set to host the dinner for the Business of Fashion's second annual gala event #BoF500 which will be held at The Leela Palace in Delhi on November 6. While she will be hosting the dinner with the editor-in-chief and co-founder of Business of Fashion- Imran Ahmed, the who's who of the fashion industry will be a part of this gala event. From the tycoons of this industry to the young designers to top models, a lot of them from this world of style and glamour will be attending the dinner. Actress Sonam Kapoor who is thrilled about this, stated that fashion for her is not just about clothes but she considers it as an art that celebrates different skills. According to her,...

A drug addict has sent a letter of apology to a shop owner from whom he stole £100 worth of cigarettes seven years ago, reports the BBC. Imran Ahmed of Raja Foods in Bristol received the note, enclosed with £100, from the thief expressing his desire to "make amends" for his actions. The letter said: "About seven years ago I was walking past your shop late one night when I noticed that someone had broken into it. "I used this opportunity to enter your shop where I stole 400 cigarettes. The money enclosed is to pay for those cigarettes (more)...