+
More

Mark Zuckerberg condemns defacement of 'Black Lives Matter' on company wall.

Mark Zuckerberg knows a lot about walls.

The guy basically invented them. Or at least the modern version of them. Facebook's "wall" (which was renamed the "timeline" a couple years ago) has, for years, been the primary way to post articles, videos, and birthday messages to those you can't be bothered to text.

But Facebook has another "wall" you might not know about. It's one at their corporate office in Menlo Park, California.

There, employees at the sprawling corporate campus are invited to simply "Write Something."


Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images.

Recently, Zuckerberg had to clamp down on a disturbing trend he's seen on The Facebook Wall. One that almost poetically exemplifies a big issue haunting Silicon Valley.

Employees have been crossing out "Black Lives Matter" inscriptions on the wall and replacing them with "All Lives Matter."

In an internal Facebook post obtained by Gizmodo, Zuckerberg strongly condemned those defacing the racial equality slogan:

"Despite my clear communication at Q&A last week that this was unacceptable, and messages from several other leaders across the company, this has happened again. I was already very disappointed by this behavior before, but after my communication I now consider this malicious as well."

Photo by Angelo Merendino/Getty Images.

Zuckerberg went on to say that the "All Lives Matter" refrain, which has been used to counter the Black Lives Matter movement, is a flawed ideology that misses the point.

"There are specific issues affecting the black community in the United States, coming from a history of oppression and racism. 'Black lives matter' doesn't mean that other lives don't — it's simply asking that the black community also achieves the justice they deserve."

A strong condemnation from Zuckerberg, one of Silicon Valley's biggest stars, is a good thing.

Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images.

Silicon Valley already has a big diversity problem.

Yahoo reported in June 2014 that their company's racial makeup was only 2% black and 4% Hispanic. And Facebook itself reported the exact same numbers a year later.

Those statistics aren't going to get any better if Silicon Valley doesn't feel like a safe place for the black community; and as of right now, crossing out "Black Lives Matter" in favor of "All Lives Matter" isn't just an act of snarky vandalism.

It's, as Zuckerberg himself stated, malicious.

"Crossing out something means silencing speech," Zuckerberg said.

And it's true. The effort to silence the Black Lives Matter movement can come in many forms. Whether it's something as obvious as a presidential candidate telling a protester to "get the hell out" or as subtle as crossing out some words, silencing speech will never get us anywhere.

Part of Facebook's mission statement is to "make the world more open and connected." That's hard to do if you're not listening to the people around you.

It's good to see the founder staying true to a more open world.

A Korean mother and her son

A recently posted story on Reddit shows a mother confidently standing up for her family after being bullied by a teacher for her culture. Reddit user Flowergardens0 posted the story to the AITA forum, where people ask whether they are wrong in a specific situation.

Over 5,600 people commented on the story, and an overwhelming majority thought the mother was right. Here’s what went down:

“I (34F) have a (5M) son who attends preschool. A few hours after I picked him up from school today, I got a phone call from his teacher,” Flowergardens0 wrote. “She made absolutely no effort to sound kind when she, in an extremely rude and annoyed tone, told me to stop packing my son such ‘disgusting and inappropriate’ lunches."

Keep ReadingShow less

It's incredible what a double-sided magnet can do.


A new trend in treasure hunting called magnet fishing has blown up over the past two years, evidenced by an explosion of YouTube channels covering the hobby. Magnet fishing is a pretty simple activity. Hobbyists attach high-powered magnets to strong ropes, drop them into waterways and see what they attract.

The hobby has caught the attention of law enforcement and government agencies because urban waterways are a popular place for criminals to drop weapons and stolen items after committing a crime. In 2019, a magnet fisherman in Michigan pulled up an antique World War I mortar grenade and the bomb squad had to be called out to investigate.


Keep ReadingShow less
Pop Culture

Woman was mocked online for calling an $80 purse a 'luxury item.' Her response went viral.

"I'm so grateful that my dad was able to get me one. He worked so hard for that money.”

@zohtaco/TikTok

Zoe Gabriel, showing off her new purse from Charles & Keith

Insults of any kind are painful, but jabs towards someone’s financial status are their own breed.

In January 2023, Singapore-based Zoe Gabriel was on the receiving end of this particular flavor of mockery when she posted a TikTok about a purse from local retail brand Charles & Keith—a gift bought for her by her father.

In her excitement, the 17-year-old called the bag, which costs around $80, a “luxury” item as she unwrapped it. Her excitement was sadly cut short by some of the negative comments she received.

One comment seemed to stand out above the rest and prompted Gabriel to post an emotional response video.

Keep ReadingShow less

Ring doorbell video captures what it's like to be the default parent.

Kids, man. I'm not sure of the scientific way audacity is distributed, but kids have a lot of it and somehow make it cute. That audacity overload is especially interesting when you're the default parent—you know, the parent kids go to for literally everything as if there's not another fully capable adult in the house. Chances are if your children haven't sought you out while you were taking a shower so you could open up a pack of fruit snacks, then you're not the default parental unit.

One parent captured exactly what it's like to be the default parent and shared it to TikTok, where the video has over 4 million views. Toniann Marchese went on a quick grocery run and *gasp* did not inform her children. Don't you fret, they're modern kids who know how to use modern means to get much-needed answers when mom is nowhere to be found. They went outside and rang the doorbell.

Back when we were children, this would've done nothing but make the dogs bark, but for Marchese's kids, who are 3 and 6 years old, it's as good as a phone call.

Keep ReadingShow less
Pop Culture

'American Idol' contestant has perfect response to Katy Perry's 'mom-shaming' joke

The 25-year-old used the moment to stand up for moms everywhere.

@sarabethliebe/TikTok

"Keep loving your babies."

You might recall us singing the praises of Sara Beth, the exuberant young mom with major vocal chops dubbed the “Accidental American Idol.”

During Sara Beth’s initial audition for the show, judge Katy Perry made a joke that rubbed many viewers the wrong way.

Before Sara Beth even began to sing, the 25-year-old revealed that she had three children, which prompted Katy Perry to dramatically stand up from her seat and feign shock. When Sara Beth, all smiles, said, “If Katy lays on the table, I think I’m going to pass out,” Perry retorted, “Honey, you’ve been laying on the table too much.”

Keep ReadingShow less

YouTube creator Steve Mould shows us what echo looks like through an acoustic camera.

It’s bizarre to think about seeing sound, but nowadays we can do just that. If you haven’t seen an acoustic camera before, that’s because they’re mainly used for industrial purposes, but they’ve been available commercially from gfai tech since 2001.

YouTuber Steve Mould, who has a science channel with over 2.1 million subscribers, took the complicated concept of the acoustic camera and made it easy to understand in his latest video, “Acoustic cameras can SEE sound.”

In the video, Mould explains how an acoustic camera is much like your smartphone's video recorder. But it also creates visual representations of sound emanating from where it’s generated within the video.

Keep ReadingShow less