• When YouTuber Shane Dawson came under fire for his history of racist content and jokes about pedophilia, the makeup retailer Morphe pulled his Conspiracy collection from sale. 
• But the brand was slammed by influencers and customers for continuing its partnership with Jeffree Star despite his history of racism, as well as allegations of abusive comments, blackmail, gaslighting, and more.
• Now Morphe says it will “cease all commercial activity related to Jeffree Star and affiliated products.”
• Some are concerned that its emphasis on “commercial activity” could mean that it’s still connected to Star in other ways. However, Morphe has previously denied rumors that Star is a co-owner or investor. 

Beauty Community Pulls Support From Morphe 

Makeup retailer Morphe announced Friday that it was cutting ties with Jeffree Star following a huge wave of public outrage and controversy within YouTube’s beauty community. 

The massive beauty influencer has remained pretty silent since fellow Youtuber Tati Westbrook’s explosive video, “Breaking My Silence.” In that 40-minute video, she suggested that both Star and YouTuber Shane Dawson manipulated her into filming her infamous “Bye Sister” video about James Charles and orchestrated the backlash against him last year. 

After Westbrook’s latest claims, the immediate outrage came against Dawson, who was forced to confront a long history of content that includes racist jokes or caricatures and remarks about pedophilia, among other concerning topics. 

But people haven’t forgotten about Star. For weeks, he’s faced both new and old allegations of racism, abusive comments, blackmail, gaslighting, and more. Unlike Dawson however, he hasn’t said a word about it. 

At the peak of the outrage against Dawson, retailers like Target cut ties with him while YouTube suspended monetization on his channels. Another standout move came from Morphe, which pulled his Conspiracy makeup collection from sale. 

Morphe’s move caused some controversy itself. Some called it performative considering the fact that the brand still sold Jeffree Star Cosmetics and collaborations it created with Star despite his past. 

When asked about this, the brand told customers via email that it did not “condone or agree with the actions and behavior of Shane Dawson.” However, it wrote that “Jeffree Star has acknowledged mistakes made in the past and has apologized, taken accountability, and worked hard to make amends within the community.”

Morphe makes a statement on why they don’t sell Shane Dawson’s palette anymore.
They “do not condone” Shane’s actions or behavior but Jeffree Star has “taken accountability and has worked hard to make amends within the community”…. pic.twitter.com/yJwoTUQIyV

— 𝙩𝙚𝙖 𝙨𝙚𝙨𝙝 (@TeaSeshYT) July 1, 2020

Some people felt that wasn’t actually the case and questioned Morphe’s allegiance to Star. In response, many began announcing their plans to stop supporting the brand.

It wasn’t just customers who were upset. Several influencers publicly called out the retailer for working with Star Some took it a step further and even terminated their affiliate codes, like Jackie Aina, Alissa Ashley, and Nicol Concilio.

Alissa Ashley joins the list of beauty YouTubers and influencers cutting ties with Morphe and reveals that Jeffree Star is allegedly a part owner of the beauty retailer. 👀 pic.twitter.com/IR7YVUW00R

— THE NEIGHBORHOOD TALK (@TNHTalk) July 2, 2020

Morphe Drops Jeffree Star 

Morphe finally addressed concerns Friday when it tweeted a statement that read, “Today we’ve made the decision to cease all commercial activity related to Jeffree Star and affiliated products. We expect this to conclude within the coming weeks. As we look to the future, we will continue to share updates on what lies ahead for the Morphe brand.”

A short time later, Jeffree Star Cosmetics addressed the news, saying it was “shocked and extremely saddened” by Morphe’s decision. It said it was proud of all they had accomplished after five years of working together and then went on to stay it had incredible plans for the remainder of 2020. 

View this post on Instagram

Dear Star Family…

A post shared by Jeffree Star Cosmetics (@jeffreestarcosmetics) on Jul 10, 2020 at 3:40pm PDT

Speculation About Language in Statement 

Following this news, many online were pleased. Others called it long overdue while some felt it was too little too late.  

Aside from those people, there were a lot who were skeptical about the language used in the statement. Those people were particularly focused on the fact that Morphe said it would “cease all commercial activity” with Star.

For instance, one Twitter user wrote, “the use of ’commercial activity’ means something. It means they may still be continuing “investment activity” with JS, meaning he may still make money through them. Why not just say ‘cease all activity’? Words matter.”

That idea feeds into the rumor circulating within the beauty space that Star is a co-owner or investor or Morphe. It’s also a rumor that Westbrook suggested could be true in her recent video.

However, it is worth noting that Morphe has previously disputed the rumor. Following Westbrook’s video, a representative told Insider, “We can confirm that Jeffree Star retains no ownership of Morphe.”

“He’s not an investor. He’s not a co-owner. Our only relationship is through retail distribution of Jeffree Star Cosmetics and our 2019 MorpheX collaboration.”

Despite the statement, people have remained suspicious.

Regardless, Morphe’s announcement is a huge deal because it means that Star’s products will no longer be carried both on its website and in Morphe stores across the country. That move will definitely have a financial impact on both brands, but it seems like it was worth it to Morphe if it meant it could help save its reputation with customers. 

See what others are saying: (The Verge) (Insider) (Teen Vogue)

• As privacy concerns over TikTok grow, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said officials were considering a ban of the app.
• TikTok users and creators like Michael Le are trying to fight against this using the hashtag #SaveTikTok, arguing that the app has been a light in dark times for many people.
• On the other hand, big companies like Wells Fargo are telling their employees to delete the app from their work devices, while the DNC and RNC have both warned their staffers about the app.
• Gamer and streamer Ninja announced that he has deleted the app as well, saying he hopes a “less intrusive company” can recreate the successful concept.

TikTok Users Try to Save the App

TikTok creators are fighting to save the video-sharing app from a potential United States ban as security concerns over the platform continue to grow.

In early July, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that the U.S. is “looking at” banning the app, which is owned by Chinese-based company ByteDance. India banned the app over security concerns in June. Since then, users of the app have been left to wonder where they would go if they lost access to TikTok.

Michael Le, a creator on TikTok who has garnered a following of 33.8 million users, posted a video encouraging people to #SaveTikTok. 

“I’m starting a petition with hashtag #SaveTikTok,” Le said in a video that has now been viewed nearly 9 million times and liked by over 2 million people. “2020 has had so many tragedies, and TikTok has been one of the most positive outlets for us all whether it’s watching or creating content,” he continued.

TikTok has been a popular app for a while, but since lockdown measures began in response to the coronavirus pandemic, its popularity has grown even more. It’s become the social media platform of choice for many, particularly Generation Z, as many parts of the world continue to isolate.

According to Sensor Tower, the app has been downloaded 2 billion times. 165 million of those downloads have come from the U.S.

Le said that while the app has “flaws” it has inspired people in hard times and lifted spirits during the pandemic. He asked that people comment #SaveTikTok on his video to create the social petition. As of Monday morning, his video has received over 460,000 comments, many of which use the hashtag. Some of those comments came from other popular creators like Tony Lopez, Jon Klaasen, and Justin Vibes. The #SaveTikTok hashtag has received a total of 311 million views throughout the app. 

Concerns Remain Strong

However, not everyone is working to save the app. Some large companies and prominent figures have advocated for deleting TikTok.

Wells Fargo has asked that all its employees delete the app from their work devices because of security concerns. The Democratic and Republican National Committees have even warned that their staffers about the app.

Amazon sent out a memo asking their employees to delete it but quickly backtracked the order, explaining it was sent in error. 

On top of all that, popular gamer and streamer Tyler “Ninja” Blevins announced that he deleted the app and hopes a “less intrusive company” can recreate the successful concept. 

As for why so many people are wary of TikTok, many believe that the app is sending user information to China. TikTok has repeatedly denied this, claiming that user safety is their top priority and that they have not and will not share information with China.

Geoffrey Fowler, a technology columnist for the Washington Post, has explained that the app does collect a substantial amount of information of its users. It is not exactly clear whether or not that information makes its way to China, though it is possible. In a Monday morning piece, Fowler wrote that the app collects information on the content you consume, in-app messages you send, as well as location information, your phone contacts, age and other social network connections. 

While this is likely not more than the information Facebook might be grabbing from its users, it is still a sturdy haul. To find out what happens with that information, Fowler worked with Patrick Jackson, the chief technology officer at a privacy company called Disconnect to watch data flow out of TikTok. While they did not see it make its way to servers known to be in China, they believe it is possible, and even likely, that data could be transmitted to other locations that they could not verify. 

See what others are saying: (Washington Post) (The Verge) (Wall Street Journal)

• Reddit banned nearly 2,000 subreddits on Monday, including r/The_Donald, arguing it violated its new policies on hate speech, among other rules.
• The same day, Twitch temporarily suspended President Trump’s account over two videos from rallies where he made racist remarks against the Latinx community– marking the first time one of the president’s personal accounts has been suspended.
• YouTube also permanently banned several accounts belonging to white supremacists including David Duke, Stefan Molyneux, and Richard Spencer.

Reddit Announces Bans

Reddit, Twitch, and YouTube all took steps to crack down on President Donald Trump and right-wing accounts Monday.

In a post on the platform, Reddit announced that it had rolled out several new content rules, including updates to its policies that more explicitly ban hate speech.

“Communities and users that promote hate based on identity or vulnerability will be banned,” the post said.

As a result of those new rules, Reddit also announced that it was banning about 2,000 subreddits, notably including r/The_Donald, the main forum for Trump supporters on the platform.

The subreddit was created in 2015 when Trump was running for president and quickly became a very significant online base for him, boasting just under 800,000 users. While it does not have an official connection to Trump, he has been known to share memes from it, and in July 2016, when he was running for president, he did an Ask Me Anything.

The page has long been accused of sharing hate speech, conspiracies theories, and promoting violence. Over the years, Reddit has cracked down on the page multiple times for violating its policies.

Last year, the company “quarantined” the page⁠— meaning it was placed behind a warning screen⁠— over comments that Reddit said incited violence. Even before that, the platform had also prevented posts on the subreddit from reaching the front page.

Recently, the page’s moderators and much of its audience have moved to other websites that are similar to Reddit but have fewer content rules, and as a result, the forum has been largely inactive for about three months.

In their post, Reddit noted that the “vast majority” of the 2,000 subreddits they banned were already inactive. The post also went on to explain why they banned the r/The_Donald subreddit.

“All communities on Reddit must abide by our content policy in good faith,” it said. “We banned r/The_Donald because it has not done so, despite every opportunity. The community has consistently hosted and upvoted more rule-breaking content than average, […] antagonized us and other communities, […] and its mods have refused to meet our most basic expectations. Until now, we’ve worked in good faith to help them preserve the community as a space for its users—through warnings, mod changes, quarantining, and more.”

Notably, Reddit also said that it had banned the subreddit r/ChapoTrapHouse—which is a spinoff of the popular left-wing podcast—for similar reasons.

“Though smaller, r/ChapoTrapHouse was banned for similar reasons: They consistently host rule-breaking content and their mods have demonstrated no intention of reining in their community,” it said.

Twitch Suspends Trump

Around the same time, as Reddit’s post, Twitch also announced that it was temporarily suspending President Trump’s Twitch account for “hateful conduct.”

In statements to the media, the company noted two recent streams uploaded by Trump that violated their rules. The first was a rebroadcast of his famous 2015 campaign rally where he made racist comments about Mexico sending the U.S. rapists who bring drugs and crime.

The other was a broadcast of Trump’s rally a few weeks ago in Tulsa, where he talked about a “very tough hombre” breaking into a woman’s house in the middle of the night, saying that was something that happened a lot.

“Hateful conduct is not allowed on Twitch,” a spokesperson said in a statement to the media. “In line with our policies, President Trump’s channel has been issued a temporary suspension from Twitch for comments made on stream, and the offending content has been removed.”

While the company did not say how long the suspension would last, the move is still highly significant as it marks the first time ever that one of Trump’s personal social media accounts has been suspended.

YouTube Bans White Supremacists

Later on Monday, YouTube too took steps to address hate speech and announced that it was permanently banning several prominent white supremacist channels, including ones belonging to former KKK Grand Wizard David Duke, podcaster Stefan Molyneux, and white supremacist activist Richard Spencer.

In a statement, the platform said that the channels repeatedly violated its rules by claiming that members of protected groups were inferior, among other violations.

“We have strict policies prohibiting hate speech on YouTube, and terminate any channel that repeatedly or egregiously violates those policies,” a spokesperson said. “After updating our guidelines to better address supremacist content, we saw a 5x spike in video removals and have terminated over 25,000 channels for violating our hate speech policies.”

These bans come almost exactly a year after YouTube announced that it would start cracking down on supremacist channels. The company, however, has already received pushback for the move.

In a tweet Monday, Spencer said that he would appeal the suspension, which he described as “part of a systemic, coordinated effort.”

Molyneux also took to Twitter to voice his displeasure, writing that that YouTube “just suspended the largest philosophy conversation the world has ever known.”

A Broader Shift

The steps taken by Reddit, Twitch, and YouTube are part of this recent shift many social media platforms have begun to make.

Most companies have long-embraced a more hands-off approach and said they want to remain neutral, but now, more and more are changing their tones— especially when it comes to hate speech and President Trump.

Twitter has now placed labels on multiple Trump tweets for sharing misinformation or inciting violence. Recently, Snapchat said it will not promote Trump’s account anymore because his posts can be seen as encouraging violence.

At the same time, Facebook, the biggest social media platform in the world, has consistently refused to address these issues. While the company has claimed over and over again it does not want to police speech, numerous critics have said that they are simply allowing hate speech on the platform.

With so many other social media companies beginning to make changes, Facebook is now seeing unprecedented backlash for its refusal to follow suit.

Over the last week or so, a steadily growing number of major advertisers like Starbucks, Honda, Verizon, Coca-Cola, and more have joined a boycott of Facebook over its policies on hate speech and misinformation on the platform.

The move comes after civil rights groups pressured companies to stop paying for advertisements on Facebook, specifically, because the company has allowed posts from Trump that other platforms like Twitter have flagged as inciting violence.

Despite the numerous requests—and the fact that Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg reportedly lost $7 billion last week because of the boycott— the company has refused to take any action in removing the content.

On Friday, Facebook responded to the boycott by announcing it will expand its hate speech policies and label posts from politicians who violate rules as “newsworthy.” However, those labels do not explain why the posts are inaccurate or hateful, and many say the company is just going to label hate speech from political figures “newsworthy” without taking any real steps.

Currently, it is unclear if the boycott has had any real, lasting impact, especially because some of the companies are only boycotting for a month. Because Facebook is such a huge incredibly rich company, losing those advertisers is probably just a drop in the bucket.

The issue of political speech is something Zuckerberg has remained really firm on, and while it seems unlikely he will waiver in any meaningful absent some massive event, it will be interesting to see how other companies like YouTube and Twitter continue to change.

See what others are saying: (NPR) (The Verge) (Business Insider)