On September 27, 2021, Amir Hossein Shamshadi, the head of Public Relations of the state-controlled media company, Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB), disclosed perplexing information through his personal Instagram. The statement refers to a recent "audit" performed by the IRIB, which resulted in a new broadcast directive. This audit prohibits the depiction of men pouring tea for women.
The MIT Technology Review obtained a Facebook internal data-research report in 2019. According to the report from 2019 running up to 2020, the top pages that create content for Christian and African American audiences were run by troll farms. The separate pages creating different ranges were managed by the same troll farms based in Kosovo and Macedonia.
In early September, a photo of a controversial billboard appeared on Twitter. The sign pictured former President Donald Trump next to prophetic words partially quoted from Isaiah 9:6, which compared him to Jesus. The scripture referenced by the sign, however, is inaccurate.
Critics quickly identified the bible misquotes in the sign after the photo made its way to Twitter. The verse quoted is from Isaiah 9:6 rather than Romans 8:17. The words are easily recognized as prophesizing the return of Jesus.
Religious schools and organizations in the Australian state of Victoria will soon be prohibited from hiring or terminating based on the applicant's gender identity or sexual orientation. On September 16th, the Victorian Labor Party in Australia proposed a law that would end this discrimination.
On August 17, 2021, in his first-ever public appearance, the Taliban’s longtime spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid announced that the Taliban would be more moderate. Mujahid also vowed that the Taliban would forego any revenge against those who resisted their return, and promised that the regime would respect women’s rights.
A viral Tiktok video gaining more than 1 million views shows a man harassing women on a beach. The video, uploaded around September 5, by Mia, who goes by the Tiktok handle “@ggarbagefairy” offers a first-person point of view of someone being harassed for their choice of clothing.
In an attempt to promote her book about climate change, British actress-turned-activist Lily Cole, came under fire on Instagram. In a now-deleted Instagram post, Cole was wearing a blue burka, and next to it was an image of herself with the burka pulled up, revealing her face.
Online groups of India-based atheists have seen a rise in number in the past decade. In the last five years, the number of online communities made up of ex-Muslims from almost zero to a handful. These groups boast memberships of over 100 people, with one group's membership reaching 300 individuals.
100 members in an online community is a pretty low figure. That is, if you approach the figure from a perspective that does not include the possibility of life-threatening violence and social stigmatization. Being an ex-Muslim has its inherent problems.
In 2017, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, in a "connecting the world" manifesto, stated that religion and religious communities are the things his company will focus on for "faith partnership." In December 2020, Facebook started rolling out its "I Prayed" button tool for Facebook groups in the United States.
