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Many Fans Are Disappointed With John Krasinski for Selling ‘Some Good News’

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  • Fans of John Krasinski have been loving his YouTube web series “Some Good News,” which was intended to spread joy during the coronavirus pandemic. 
  • Days after Krasinski announced he was taking a break from the show, news broke that he had sold the series to ViacomCBS for an undisclosed amount and will no longer be its host.  
  • While some have congratulated him on the deal, plenty of fans are unhappy, refusing to watch a more corporate-backed show without him hosting. 
  • Others called him a sellout for profiting off a show that was intended to be positive light during hard times.

Update May 26, 2020 – John Krasinski has since stated that reports about the show moving to CBS All Access are incorrect. He did not explicitly confirm where the show is expected to air.

What is SGN?

John Krasinki reached a deal to sell his massively successful YouTube series “Some Good News” to ViacomCBS, but fans online seem to have mixed feelings about it. 

Krasinski started the short-lived YouTube show in March as a way to highlight feel-good stories and spread joy during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. It was an instant hit, with the channel earning over 2.5 million subscribers in two months and racking up over 71,000,000 total views with just 14 videos. 

The actor self-financed and produced the weekly show from his own home, reaching out to his audience for stories and ideas. Eventually, corporate sponsors began to show him support that allowed him to conduct surprise giveaways. For instance, he once partnered with AT&T to provide nurses and doctors with free wireless service for three months, and also provided a group of Boston healthcare workers with Red Sox tickets for life,

Krasinski even made headlines for using the show to host reunions for The Office and Hamilton casts, as well as host a virtual high school prom and graduation that featured big names like the Jonas Brothers, Billie Eilish, Steven Speilberg, and Oprah. 

After eight episodes, Krasinski announced Monday that he would be taking a break from the show. In the post, he shared a link to Sunday’s show, which many understood to be his final episode. 

By Thursday, The Hollywood Reporter broke the news of his deal with ViacomCBS.

Details of the Sale 

The deal reportedly came after a massive bidding war over the series, with the winning amount left undisclosed. 

Now the Hollywood Reporter says ViacomCBS plans to broadcast the show across its soon-to-be rebranded streaming platform, CBA All Access, before moving it over to a wider audience through some of the company’s other brands. As far as production, the series will be produced via Comedy Central Productions.

Unfortunately for many fans, Krasinski will no longer be a host of the show. Instead, he will carry on as an executive producer and is expected to have some sort of on-air presence. A new host will be announced at a later date. 

“Could not be more excited and proud to be partnering with CBS/Viacom to be able to bring Some Good News to so many more people!” Krasinski said in a statement Thursday.

“From the first episode, our goal was to create a news show dedicated entirely to good news. Never did I expect to be joining the ranks of such a historic news organization as CBS.”

He followed up with a tweet Friday morning expressing excitement about the show living on.

The Hollywood Reporter noted that Krasinski initially resisted the urge to sell the series, despite a ton of interest from broadcast networks and streaming services after the first episode alone. 

However, Krasinski already has a relationship with ViacomCBS since it owns Paramount Television, which produces his Amazon show “Jack Ryan.” Krasinski also wrote, directed, and starred in the film “A Quiet Place” for Paramount Pictures, and “A Quiet Place Part II” is scheduled to be released in September.

Online Reactions 

Responses to the news have been varied. Many viewers have expressed support for the move and thanked Krasinski for the joy his show brought them.

Still, there are plenty of fans who are disappointed and frustrated by the move. Some went so far as to accuse him of being a sellout and trying to profit off something that was marketing as a sincere attempt to bring light during dark times. Others were sad to see the show become more corporate and refused to watch without him as the host.

Others expressed concern about the show potentially being less accessible since it was previously free to watch on YouTube. 

It appears that SGN has caught wind of those concerns because it has been responding to fans on Twitter promising to make the show as accessible as possible. 

There have been a handful of fans defending Krasinski, understanding the deal as a good business decision, but others wonder if this will leave a bad taste in some people’s mouths or cause some to question his intentions behind the series. 

For now it will be interesting to see how the move actually impacts the SGN and if the series will still be valuable without Krasinski as a host. 

See what others are saying: (The Hollywood Reporter) (Fox News) (Mashable

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Twitch Tightens Policies on Explicit Deepfakes 

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“The creation, promotion, or viewing of this content is not welcome on Twitch,”  the company said in a blog post.


New Rules Regarding “Synthetic NCEI”

Twitch is cracking down on explicit deepfake content and will indefinitely suspend users who share or promote it after a first offense.

“The existence of this content, and its presence and distribution on various sites, is personally violating and beyond upsetting. Deepfake porn isn’t a problem on Twitch, but it’s a terrible issue that some streamers (almost exclusively women) may face on the internet at large,” Twitch said in a Tuesday blog post, explaining it wants to “help streamers protect themselves” in any case this issue arises. 

Twitch referred to this content as “synthetic non-consensual exploitative images,” or “synthetic NCEI,” but many of the platform’s users have casually referred to it as deepfake porn. Synthetic NCEI involves someone taking the face of another person and editing it into a pornographic video to make it appear as though that person filmed themselves demonstrating those sexual acts. The new rise in access to this technology has concerned many, as it is easy to use it to exploit others.

While synthetic NCEI is already banned on Twitch, the company took a more actionable step against it in its Tuesday post by creating an Adult Sexual Violence and Exploitation policy. The new rule prohibits the intentional sharing, promoting, or creation of synthetic NCEI and those acts can result in an indefinite suspension on the first offense. 

Twitch also updated its Adult Nudity policy to include synthetic NCEI. Even if it is only shown briefly, that content will still be taken down and result in an enforcement. 

In addition to the policy changes, Twitch made available a list of resources for those who might be impacted by or wish to learn more about synthetic NCEI. 

“The creation, promotion, or viewing of this content is not welcome on Twitch,”  the company said closing its blog post.

Growing Concerns About Explicit Deepfakes

Twitch’s updates come as synthetic NCEI and deepfakes have become a primary topic of concern for social media platforms. Earlier this year, Twitch was home to a major deepfake controversy after a streamer known as Atrioc was caught with an open tab to a website that hosted these videos. That site specifically hosted deepfakes of female Twitch streamers, some of whom were Atrioc’s colleagues. 

Many women featured on the page spoke out against these deepfakes, explaining the trauma they endured knowing their face, image, and likeness were used in a sexual manner without their consent. It’s an issue that extends far past Twitch creators. Some fear they could be used for revenge porn, and there are already several cases where the technology is used to create sexual videos of celebrities. 

On Tuesday, NBC News published a report finding that Facebook and Instagram ran suggestive ads featuring deepfakes of actresses like Emma Watson and Scarlett Johansson. The ads were for a deepfake app that told users they could “replace face with anyone.”

While the ads did not show explicit pornographic content, one ad featuring Watson was clearly meant to mimic the start of an explicit video, suggesting a sexual act was about to start. The face of the “Harry Potter” actress was seen looking into the camera before bending down.

The report found that 127 ads with Watson deepfakes and 74 with Johansson deepfakes ran across Meta’s platforms on Sunday and Monday, but have since been removed. The app in question was also removed from the Apple app store after NBC News contacted the tech giant for comment. 

See what others are saying: (The Verge) (Engadget) (Kotaku)

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Fans Defend Pedro Pascal After Actor Refused to Read Thirst Tweets: “It’s Sexual Harassment”

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Pascal has been dubbed the Internet’s “daddy,” but many think the joke has gone too far.


Pascal’s Heartthrob Status

Fans are defending actor Pedro Pascal after he refused to read thirst tweets on the red carpet, arguing that it is inappropriate and disrespectful to ask him to do so. 

Pascal, the star of HBO’s “The Last of Us” and Disney+’s “The Mandalorian,” has become a major Hollywood heartthrob. He has even been widely dubbed as the Internet’s “daddy” by those posting about his handsome looks. The running joke grew last year when he did a Vanity Fair lie detector test and said he considered himself a “bigger daddy” than “Star Wars” star Oscar Isaac. 

“Daddy is a state of mind, you know what I’m saying? I’m your daddy,” he quipped during the interview. 

Since then, TikTokers have started posting thirst trap edits of Pascal, journalists have called him “daddy” on the red carpet, and interviewers have shown him tweets where fans call him a “cool, slutty daddy.”

Pascal has been a good sport about the public displays of lust for him, but many think the joke may have crossed a line. During last week’s red carpet premiere for season three of “The Mandalorian,” an Access Hollywood reporter went viral for asking Pascal to read thirst tweets to the camera. Pascal politely declined. 

“No. Dirty! Dirty!” he told the reporter after reading through the tweets.

“For your enjoyment only,” she responded.

“Thank you very much,” Pascal said before exiting the interview. 

Fans Condemn Thirst Tweet Interviews

In response, many who watched the clip condemned this treatment of Pascal, arguing it promoted constant objectification.

“I think it’s time for the internet to leave Pedro Pascal alone,” one person wrote. “It’s sexual harassment, but no one seems to care bc he’s a man + is graceful about it. It’s really gross and I would never want to be treated like that.”

“These jokes have gone way too far and he’s visibly uncomfortable,” another fan added. 

Some claimed that while the Internet’s love of Pascal “started as harmless fun…the constant public objectification and sexualization must be terrible” and should stop.

“Being attractive, banking on it, selling it, and even at times enjoying some of the attention, doesn’t give everyone wholesale permission to sexualize you,” someone else argued. 

See what others are saying: (IndieWire) (The Gamer) (BuzzFeed News)

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Conservatives Pledge to #BoycottHershey After International Women’s Day Campaign Featured a Trans Woman

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“I hope this campaign shows trans girls they can dream big and change the world too,” activist Fae Johnstone said in her Hers for She video.


Hershey Highlights Fae Johnstone

Step aside, Green M&M. Conservatives have a new candy that they’re mad at: Hershey bars. 

On Wednesday, Hershey Canada unveiled its “Her for She” International Women’s Day initiative, which aims to celebrate “women changing the future.” Conservatives were quickly outraged by the company’s choice to highlight Fae Johnstone, a trans woman and LGBTQ+ rights activist, as part of this effort. 

“We can create a world where everyone is able to live in public space as their honest and authentic selves,” Johnstone said in a “Her for She” video. 

In addition to Johnstone, the campaign features gender equality activists, a climate tech researcher, and an indigenous rights activist, all of whom have fought for progress in their respective fields. The women will appear on Hershey’s websites, in marketing promotions, and in artistic renderings on Hershey bar wrappers.

Johnstone wrote on Twitter that she hopes Hershey’s campaign will “give more young women and girls role models” who can demonstrate how to “change the world, together.”

“It also means a lot to be included, as a young(ish?) trans woman,” Johnstone continued. “I grew up with few trans role models. Many young trans folks haven’t met a trans adult. I hope this campaign shows trans girls they can dream big and change the world too.” 

A Swift Transphobic Backlash

This decision, however, prompted right-wing Twitter users to accuse Hershey of hating “real” women. Many of the posts included blatantly transphobic rhetoric, as well as promises to boycott the company because it went “woke.”

The outrage was so prominent that #BoycottHershey was one of the top Twitter trends on Thursday morning. 

This backlash comes just a little over a month after conservative media figures like Tucker Carlson slammed M&M for making the green mascot character, well, less sexy. 

In response to Mars changing the green candy’s outfit, Carlson accused the Mars company of making its characters “as unattractive as possible because when you’re intentionally repulsive, it’s clear you’ve got the right politics.”

Not long after the right-wing backlash, M&M opted to replace its “spokescandies” with actress Maya Rudolph. 

The conservative outrage targeted at both Hershey and M&M is part of a larger culture war against any company that makes changes to address diversity, climate change, or other social issues. Brands like Xbox, “Sesame Street,” and more have at one point provoked the ire of Fox News hosts and other Republican figures. 

In fact, their outrage against these progressive changes has become so common that once #BoycottHershey was trending, some tweeted that they did not even have to click on the hashtag “to know that they must have done something compassionate that the right hates.”

See what others are saying: (The Daily Beast) (MarketWatch) (Bloomberg)

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