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Khloe Kardashian Sparks Conversation About Beauty Standards After Unapproved Bikini Photo Circulates Online

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  • Representatives for the Kardashian family are allegedly scrambling to scrub a bikini photo of Khloe from the internet after it quickly spread online over the past several days.
  • Many social media users expressed confusion regarding Khloe’s alleged issue with the image, arguing that there is nothing wrong with how she looks in the photo, which is not nearly as excessively edited as most of the content she posts.
  • A marketing officer for KKW Brands told Page Six the picture was taken “during a private family gathering and posted to social media without permission by mistake by an assistant,” adding that while Khloe looks “beautiful” in it, it is within her right to want it removed.
  • The photo takedowns prompted many to accuse the Kardashian-Jenner family of perpetuating unrealistic beauty standards, though others defended them and said brutal body-shaming likely pressures them into highly editing their images.

Kardashian Team Works To Remove Unapproved Photo 

Khloe Kardashian is reportedly pushing her team to remove a photo of her from the internet that was shared without her approval.

The photo shows Kardashian in a cheetah print bikini standing casually in front of a pool. After seeing it, many social media users argued that the image does not appear to be nearly as photoshopped or airbrushed as most of the other content she shares of herself.

Still, the reality star allegedly does not want the photo up. Tracy Romulus, the chief marketing officer for KKW Brands told Page Six that the picture was not authorized to be published. 

“The color edited photo was taken of Khloé during a private family gathering and posted to social media without permission by mistake by an assistant,” Romulus said in a statement. 

“Khloé looks beautiful but it is within the right of the copyright owner to not want an image not intended to be published taken down.”

According to Page Six, copies of the photo have been taken “under legal threats” from the Kardashian team. A source told the outlet that the photo had been lightly edited, but not to the degree most of Kardashian’s pictures are. 

Fans Discuss Unrealistic Beauty Standards Promoted by The Kardashians

Kardashian was a trending topic on Twitter early Wednesday as many discussed the photo and the way the Kardashian-Jenner family has promoted unattainable beauty standards by posting heavily edited photos. Khloe, in particular, has been at the center of some of these conversations within the last year, as fans regularly say the photos she posts of herself always look different. 

“This is the best she’s looked IMO!!!!” one person wrote in reference to the leaked photo. “Stop with the unrealistic beauty standards we know are fake!!!!! We’re sick of seeing them!!!!”

“The Kardashians have body shamed and endorsed diet products for years and I’m supposed to feel sorry for Khloe because a perfectly beautiful unedited pic got dropped on the internet?” one Twitter user said. 

Another person said the photo served as a “stark reminder that social media is a complete lie.” 

Some also went back to a photo Kardashian posted in January on Instagram. The image shows the side of her waist and upper legs covered in sand. While it does look as if the image was likely photoshopped, slight stretch marks can be seen on part of her body. She captioned the picture “I love my stripes.”

Now, people are calling her out in the comments of this post. 

“Where’s the love for your real body that you’re trying to have scrubbed from the internet just because you look normal,” someone wrote. “Sad message to send when you’re claiming all this self love.”

Khloe’s History of Being Body Shamed

Others were more sympathetic and brought up the fact that Kardashian has been brutally body shamed by the public in the past, which is likely why she feels the need to airbrush her photos.

“It would be amazing if Khloe K could embrace that unedited image. But she was literally bullied her entire life for her body and looks,” one person wrote. “Held against the beauty standards of her sisters. You made her not be comfortable with her own body and face. YOU did this to her.

“People have called her the ugly one her entire life and now they’re shocked when she panics over an unedited photo? It’s so sad,” another person said. 

“Any imperfection is a sincere threat to her well-being in her limbic brain and it’s not [her] fault cuz that threat is stemming from a very real place,” another Twitter user added. 

Kardashian has not commented on the controversy yet herself.

See what others are saying: (Page Six) (The Independent) (Cosmopolitan)

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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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