World

‘Kindness’ Influencers On TikTok Give Money To Strangers. Why Is That Controversial?

Published

1 month ago

2024-10-18

Why Buying TikTok Views is the Best Way to Maximize Followers

Every Christmas growing up in Minnesota, Jimmy Dart’s parents gave him $200 in cash: $100 for himself and $100 for a stranger. With over 12 million TikTok followers and several million more on other platforms, philanthropy has become his full-time profession.

Darts, whose real surname is Kellogg, is one of the most prolific providers of “kindness content,” a type of social media film dedicated to assisting strangers in need, frequently with funds raised through GoFundMe and other crowdfunding platforms. An increasing number of creators, including Kellogg, give out thousands of dollars – often more – on video while encouraging their massive followings to donate.

“The internet is a pretty crazy, pretty nasty place, but there’s still good things happening on there,” Kellogg told The Associated Press.

However, not everyone appreciates these videos, with some viewers describing them as theatrical at best and exploitative at worst.

Critics believe that it is inappropriate to record a stranger, often inadvertently, and share a video of them online to earn social media clout. Beyond clout, content providers can profit from the views they receive on particular videos. Kellogg and his contemporaries frequently earn enough money to work full-time as content creators when their views reach millions of people.

‘Kindness’ Influencers On TikTok Give Money To Strangers. Why Is That Controversial?

As one of the most prominent critics of “kindness content,” comedian Brad Podray, sometimes known online as “Scumbag Dad,” crafts parodies to illustrate the flaws he sees in this content — and its proponents.

“Many young people have a highly utilitarian worldview. “They only think of things in measurable terms: ‘It doesn’t matter what he did, he helped a million people,'” Podray remarked.

Recording procedures raise ethical concerns.
From the recording gear and procedures to the subject selection, “kindness content” exists on a continuum, just like everything else on social media.

Some creators approach others and ask for guidance or a favor; if they bite, they get a prize. Others opt to praise strangers who do a good deed. Kellogg completes a “kindness challenge,” asking a stranger for something and repaying it in like.

Many of these strangers are unaware that they are being filmed. Some producers use hidden cameras to discreetly record subjects. Kellogg stated that he wants to be as “secret about it as possible,” but requests permission to share the video following the interaction. Kellogg stated that most people agree since they look “like a superhero” after completing his challenge.

Josh Liljenquist, another humanitarian content artist, said he uses a GoPro camera and attempts to make a recording “extremely noticeable,” adding, “Consent’s the biggest thing.”

Regardless of the recording method, some people view the practice as predatory.

“These guys always find someone with cancer or always find someone who can’t pay their bills because they’re stalking through underserved and poor areas and they’re just sort of waiting,” according to Podray. “Looking through the parking lot like, ‘He looks pathetic enough’.”

Karen Hoekstra, marketing and communications manager at the Johnson Center for Philanthropy, investigates TikTok-based influencer philanthropy and believes the films sometimes exploit their subjects.

“The model of the man on the street walking up and approaching a stranger and handing them money is — we’ve all heard this phrase, terrible as it is — it just strikes me as poverty porn,” Hoekstra told CNN. “It’s exploitation.”

Calls for exploitation are common when filmmakers feature the same persons in repeated videos, particularly if they look to be homeless or addicted to drugs. Liljenquist routinely features certain persons and describes them as his “best friends.”

One user commented on an Oct. 5 video that Liljenquist’s latest content appears to be “playing case worker for views,” as he aired multiple films of a woman who followers believe is battling with drug addiction. He tapes himself bringing her meals, driving her around in his Tesla, and asking her questions, frequently resulting in one-word responses.

Liljenquist stated that criticism does not disturb him because he knows his intentions are good.

“I love these people,” he said. “They love me.”

Absence of checks and balances
Some criticize the showmanship of “kindness content,” yet visibility is critical for the concept, which is primarily reliant on crowdsourcing. Kellogg is notorious for starting GoFundMe fundraising for his video subjects, which typically generate tens of thousands of dollars in viewer donations.

Kellogg, Liljenquist, and many more producers accept donations through their accounts on payment applications such as Venmo, CashApp, and PayPal.

Tory Martin, the Johnson Center’s director of communications and strategic partnerships, stated that transparency regarding donations is “not an option if it’s just going to an individual.”

Although these producers are not subject to the same standards and regulations as NGOs, Liljenquist believes donor monies travel far further in his hands than in traditional organizations, which he describes as “designed for failure.”

“Nonprofits — not all of them, there are some good ones — but I would just suggest you do your homework on the nonprofits that you are giving money to because there’s a good amount of them who take advantage of the system,” stated the governor.

Some inventors have established nonprofit organizations or foundations to fund their work, but this is not a common practice.

‘Kindness’ Influencers On TikTok Give Money To Strangers. Why Is That Controversial?

Podray stated that he is “100% sure” that certain creators “take a rake or that there’s some sort of nonsense going on.” He also claims some creators provide bogus money to capitalize on the craze.

Kellogg said witnessing fake or exploitative videos is difficult for him, and he worries, “My gosh, every Facebook mom just fell for this and thinks it’s real.”

New Wave of Philanthropy
While these films have sparked criticism in some online circles, they are part of a massively popular social media trend that has millions of admirers and thousands who feel motivated to donate after watching.

Although Hoekstra is concerned about certain producers’ techniques, she believes the exposure to charity giving these movies provides for young people is beneficial.

“Anything that can present philanthropy to them in a new way and make it accessible and make it exciting I think is a good thing,” according to her. “Obviously, there’s going to be a learning curve, but I think it’s really exciting to see philanthropy be so accessible and understandable and embraced in these new spaces and in new ways.”

Some skeptics have turned into supporters. Kyle Benavidez said he used to believe “kindness content” on social media was false. However, after his mother was featured in one of Kellogg’s latest videos and a GoFundMe Kellogg set up for her to earn over $95,000 to help their family while her husband was in the hospital with cancer, he stated that Kellogg’s online persona is genuine to his real-life personality.

“There’s a chapel in the hospital, and I go there every morning to pray.” ‘I hope something happens.’ “And then Jimmy came into our lives,” Benavidez, 20, explained. “It’s like God sent him.”

Kellogg shows no signs of slowing off his charity work, posting videos on his social media accounts practically daily. Still, he believes that doing good on camera is only important if he and his peers continue to do it when the cameras are not rolling.

“You can fool people all day and you can make money and do this and that, but God sees your heart,” according to him.

SOURCE | AP

World

Biden Escalates Ukraine War With Long-Range Missiles

Published

5 days ago

2024-11-18

Geoff Brown

The Kremlin announced on Monday that President Joe Biden’s decision to allow Ukraine to hit targets inside Russia with US military long-range missiles is “fuel to the fire” and will exacerbate international tensions.

Biden’s decision to allow Ukraine to employ US military long-range missiles to strike deep within Russia has raised concerns about growing tensions, with many fearing that this decision could lead to world conflict.

On Monday, with less than two months remaining in office, President Joe Biden authorized American-provided Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) to strike deep within Russia.

“It is obvious that the outgoing administration in Washington intends to take steps and they have been talking about this, to continue adding fuel to the fire and provoking further escalation of tensions around this conflict,” said Peskov, the spokesman for the president.

Peskov reminded journalists of a September statement by President Vladimir Putin, who stated that enabling Ukraine to target Russia would dramatically raise the stakes.

It would alter “the very nature of the conflict dramatically,” Putin stated. This would mean that NATO countries, the United States, and European countries would be at war with Russia.”

Peskov asserted that Western countries that deliver longer-range weaponry also provide targeting services to Kyiv. “This fundamentally changes the modality of their involvement in the conflict,” he said.

Ukraine War Escalation

In June, Putin threatened that if NATO permitted Ukraine to utilize the arsenal of its partners to attack Russian territory, Moscow would send longer-range weapons to others to strike Western targets.

“The Westerners supply weapons to Ukraine and say: ‘We do not control anything here anymore and it does not matter how they are used.'” Putin had said. “We can also say, ‘We supplied something to someone — and now we have no control over anything.'” “And let them think about it.”

Putin again emphasized Moscow’s willingness to deploy nuclear weapons if it perceived a threat to its sovereignty.

Biden’s decision will “mean the direct involvement of the United States and its satellites in military action against Russia, as well as a radical change in the essence and nature of the conflict,” Russia’s Foreign Ministry stated.

The new policy has unpredictable consequences. ATACMS, with a range of roughly 300 kilometers (190 miles), can travel deep behind Ukraine’s 1,000-kilometer (600-mile) front line, although their range is modest compared to other types of ballistic and cruise missiles.

President-elect Donald Trump, who takes office on January 20, has not responded, but he won the election on promises to stop the conflict, and some people close to him have decried the action as a hazardous escalation.

Missile Decision Sparks Anger

The Military Industrial Complex appears to want to start World War III before my father has a chance to restore peace and rescue lives. We need to lock in those $Trillions. Life be damned!! Imbeciles!” Donald Trump Jr., the President-elect’s son, posted on X

“On his way out of office, Joe Biden is dangerously trying to start WWIII by authorizing Ukraine to use U.S. long-range missiles against Russia,” said Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., on X. “The American people gave a mandate on November 5 against these exact American last decisions.”

Rebekah Koffler, a former Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) officer and author of “Putin’s Playbook,” speculated that the stories were a “trial balloon to disrupt Trump” and that Biden may not have authorized the ATACMS strikes yet.

According to Dani Belo, PhD, Director of Security and International Relations at Global Policy Horizons Research Lab, Ukraine’s ability to currently hit Russian territory has the potential to escalate the war with Russia.

However, Donald Trump’s victory is likely to moderate the escalation.

There is speculation that Donald Trump’s administration would restrict military hardware deliveries to Ukraine, putting political pressure on Kyiv to resolve the crisis. This implies Ukraine has no motivation to escalate now and lose its fighting capability in a matter of months.

Russia sees no reason to escalate the situation at this time. Moscow expects that Trump’s administration will try to finish the war soon, so the Kremlin will likely take a wait-and-see approach until the new presidential administration takes office without significantly escalating the conflict. As a result, any escalation is unlikely.

Source: AP

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World

A Court Filing Reveals Elon Musk Flatly Rejected OpenAI’s ICO in 2018.

Published

1 week ago

2024-11-15

Salman Ahmad

(VOR News) – Elon Musk, the billionaire and CEO of Tesla, claims in a subsequent court filing that was submitted on November 14 that he was successful in stopping OpenAI from doing an initial coin offering (ICO) in 2018.

According to the filing requirements, this information was disclosed.

Musk and his legal team have claimed that two of OpenAI’s founders, Greg Brockman and Sam Altman, tried unsuccessfully to create a token in early 2018 to help the company grow. To the best of our knowledge, this was the founders’ intention.

Elon Musk accurately described the scenario.

Elon Musk made the remark during the pertinent time period, according to the lawsuit’s accusations.

This, in his opinion, would lead to a significant decline in trust in OpenAI and everyone involved in the initial coin offering (ICO). These statements are extracted from his initial declaration.

A unique project backed by Altman, Worldcoin launched a token twenty-three years ago with the goal of creating digital identification for verified individuals.

Furthermore, the company in charge of token distribution was Worldcoin. Through the use of the token, Worldcoin was able to authenticate individual identities.

When OpenAI was first founded, it was a nonprofit organization dedicated to creating safe artificial general intelligence (AGI).

In this context, the acronym AGI stands for artificial global intelligence. “Musk has continuously voiced concern about the grave threat that these sophisticated systems pose to humanity,” his attorney wrote in the complaint. These sophisticated technologies represent a serious threat to humankind.

“Musk remains apprehensive regarding this threat.” “Musk regards these threats with the utmost seriousness.” “Elon Musk has harbored these concerns for an extended period.”

This led to Musk joining OpenAI’s board of directors and continuing to serve as co-chair of the board. Furthermore, he was appointed to that board of directors post.

Elon Musk contributed $44 million to the enterprise.

OpenAI declared in a March 5th news release that it was imperative that the company adopt a profit-making structure in order to obtain the necessary funding to achieve its objectives. In order to enable OpenAI to fulfill its objectives, this transition was necessary.

According to both the OpenAI statement and the amended filing, Elon Musk advocated for the combination of OpenAI and Tesla to help the artificial intelligence startup with its financial issues.

The aforementioned measures were implemented to mitigate the challenges that the organization was facing at that specific moment. Musk submitted his resignation as an OpenAI employee in February 2018.

He founded his own artificial intelligence company, which he named XAI, in the ensuing years. His efforts directly led to the achievement he achieved.

We are deeply disappointed that our friendship with someone we have always held in the highest respect has deteriorated.

As we started to make significant strides toward OpenAI’s goal on our own, this person, who had previously motivated us to achieve greater heights, abruptly predicted that we would fail, established a rival company, and filed a lawsuit against us, according to the group’s press release.

In August of this year, Musk filed a lawsuit against OpenAI and its CEOs, Altman and Brockman, claiming that they had violated federal RICO statutes, engaged in unfair competition, and committed fraud. OpenAI is the target of legal action taken by Elon Musk.

According to Elon Musk, they have engaged in additional illegal activity. Microsoft was named as one of the defendants in the dispute in the updated complaint, which was submitted on November 14.

It’s being presented as a case at the moment. Microsoft and OpenAI started working together in 2019, and Microsoft committed $1 billion in the partnership.

In July 2023, OpenAI’s native cryptocurrency, Worldcoin (WLD), was made available to the general public. Not too long ago, an article published by The Block disclosed this knowledge. When the market closed on November 15 at 11:36 p.m. Eastern Time (16:36 UTC), the price of a share of WLD was $2.21.

SOURCE: TB

World

Trump Appoints Robert F. Kennedy Jr to Head HHS

Published

1 week ago

2024-11-15

Geoff Brown

Trump Appoints Robert F. Kennedy Jr to Head HHS

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to run the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)

President-elect Trump appointed Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (RFK Jr) to run the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), sending Democrats and Big Pharma allies into a tailspin.

“I am delighted to announce Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS). For too long, Americans have been crushed by the industrial food complex and medicine firms, which have engaged in deception, misinformation, and disinformation regarding public health,” Trump stated in his announcement.

“The safety and health of all Americans is the most important role of any administration, and HHS will play an important role in ensuring that everyone is safe from harmful chemicals, pollutants, pesticides, pharmaceutical products, and food additives that have contributed to this country’s overwhelming health crisis.

Mr. Kennedy will restore these agencies to gold-standard scientific Research and Transparency traditions, stopping the Chronic Disease Epidemic and making America Great and Healthy Again!” Trump added.

Reactions to RFK Jr HHS Appointment

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) oversees the Food and Drug Administration, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Medicare, Medicaid, and the National Institutes of Health.

Kennedy is a former environmental justice lawyer who has recently started an anti-vaccine nonprofit. He ran for president as an independent candidate in 2024 but dropped out to join Trump’s closest circle.

House Republicans have reacted to Donald Trump’s nomination of former presidential contender Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as health secretary.

Chip Roy, a Texas congressman, calls it “great news”. He tells me, “We need disruption throughout the federal government.” He’ll be fantastic at HHS [the Department of Health and Human Services] to do that.”

Roy adds that he expects Kennedy’s candidacy will clear the Senate.

“There’s been a few Kennedy’s in the Senate in the past so maybe there’ll be some legacy there that they will want to move him through,” he speculates.

South Carolina Congressman Ralph Norman concurs with Roy on Kennedy’s confirmation in the Senate: “I believe he was an excellent choice by the president, as have all of them. Kennedy is interested in, and passionate about, the medical industry. He will do a terrific job with it.”

According to Public Citizen, a progressive nonprofit group focused on consumer protection, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. “is a clear and present danger to the nation’s health.”

He should not be allowed to enter the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), let alone be appointed director of the nation’s public health agency.”

“Donald Trump’s mishandling of public health policies during the Covid outbreak resulted in hundreds of thousands of deaths. “By appointing Kennedy as secretary of HHS, Trump is courting another policy-driven public health disaster,” the organization continued.

Apu Akkad, an infectious disease physician at the University of Southern California, described the statement as a “scary day for public health”.

Meanwhile, pharmaceutical stocks such as Pfizer and Moderna plummeted following news of Kennedy’s nomination for HHS Secretary, as investors considered his potential impact on vaccine sales.

Novavax and BioNTech finished down more than 7%, with almost all losses occurring when word of the selection broke—Novavax shares fell to $7.22, and BioNTech shares fell to $103.56.

Moderna’s stock closed 5.6% at $39.77, reaching its lowest point of the year.

Sanofi’s stock fell 3.4% to $47.82, continuing a weeks-long share price decline that began after the company’s latest earnings report last month.

Pfizer lost less than its competitors on Thursday, closing down 2.6% at $26.02, despite having its sharpest drop of the day immediately following the RFK Jr. announcement.