Conor McGregor, Sabrina Carpenter & antisocial media
+ the best jokes of 2024, and do you watch your own instagram story?
Morning babies!!! It’s hot, I’ve been racing round on my lil e-bike, I’m counting down the days til my besties (YES RUBES AND LIV) come home, and I’ve been going crazy on the christmas shopping (gift giving is my love language!!!)
Anyway, I’ve also been eating up the constant flow of ‘Best Of’ lists that we see coming out at this point of the year, and this one has been my fave so far: The Best Jokes of 2024.
I LOVE YOU I LOVE YOU I LOVE YOU, HERE’S SOME NEWS XXX
Oh and also, here’s a Jack Schlossberg thirst trap:
⊹˚. ♡.𖥔 ݁ ˖ IN THE NEWS⊹˚. ♡.𖥔 ݁ ˖
Nikita Hand wins civil rape case against Conor McGregor
Content warning: sexual assault.
I know I’m late to cover this, but the SYSCA DMs have been full of people requesting that I do, so of course, here I am.
Last week, a jury determined that Irish mixed martial arts fighter Conor McGregor assaulted Nikita Hand at a Dublin hotel in December 2018. He has been ordered to pay her over €248,000 (£206,000) in damages.
The details, via the BBC (scroll past if you aren’t in a space to read this):
Ms Hand, a mother-of-one, told the court how McGregor had pinned her to a bed before assaulting her.
She was left with extensive bruises and abrasions over her body, including on her hands and wrists.
There was a bloodied scratch on her breast and tenderness on her neck after she said she was placed in a "chokehold" by McGregor.
He denied causing the bruising, saying it could have happened after she "swan dived" into the bath in the hotel room.
Ms Hand was taken in an ambulance to the Rotunda Hospital in Dublin the next day where she was assessed in the sexual assault treatment unit.
“Dr Daniel Kane, a gynaecologist and forensic examiner, told the court how he had to use forceps to remove a tampon Ms Hand said she had been wearing on the night of the assault, which had been “wedged inside”. A paramedic who examined Ms Hand on the day after the alleged attacks said she had not seen a patient as bruised as Ms Hand was in a long time.”
How has Ireland reacted?
Firstly, since the verdict was delivered, the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre (DRCC) said calls over the next six hours surged by 150%.
Retailers in the UK and Ireland removed his associated products, brands like Proximo Spirits distanced themselves from his image, and the creators of the Hitman video game ended their collaboration with him. Even the Irish National Wax Museum removed his figure.
Cultural Backlash: Former supporters have turned away, with murals of McGregor being erased and commentators criticizing his behaviour as destructive to both his reputation and mixed martial arts in Ireland.
Public Sentiment: While McGregor once symbolized Irish pride, his controversies, including past legal issues and a brash persona, have alienated many. Critics accuse him of acting above the law, with his recent conviction reinforcing these perceptions.
Or: Is Conor McGregor verdict a watershed moment for the manosphere? (The Guardian)
Australia has passed landmark rules to ban under-16s from social media
Another story I’m late to but wanted to write about: Australia just passed a bold new law banning under-16s from using social media, making it one of the strictest rules of its kind globally. Social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and X now have to take "reasonable steps" to block younger teens, or they risk fines of up to A$50 million. The law passed in the Senate with 34 votes in favour and 19 against, but the details on how it’ll actually work are still up in the air.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is all for it, saying it’s about getting kids off their screens and into sports or other activities. He’s called social media a source of anxiety, peer pressure, and even a tool for scammers and predators. But not everyone’s convinced - critics think the law is too vague and rushed, while some young users are already saying they’ll find ways around it (and I’m sure they will.)
It’ll be at least a year before the ban is fully enforced, and platforms like WhatsApp and YouTube might get exemptions for educational or recreational use. For now, the ban seems more like a big statement than a rule ready to go into action.
☆⋆｡𖦹°‧★ ON THE WEB ☆⋆｡𖦹°‧★
I would really like you all to read this piece
I love Sabrina Carpenter and her sexy little ways, so naturally, I sunk my teeth into this wonderful piece by
.
Fave quote:
Be desirable, but do not desire. Be wanted, but do not want. Be confident, but not arrogant. Appeal to the male gaze, but don’t let them know you want to be appealing to the male gaze. Be sexy, but not sexual. What’s a girl to do when celebrity culture expects you to be everything and nothing at the same time?
ALSO READ THIS:
Bad influence
“One Amazon influencer makes a living posting content from her beige home. But after she noticed another account hawking the same minimal aesthetic, a rivalry spiraled into a first-of-its-kind lawsuit. Can the legal system protect the vibe of a creator? And what if that vibe is basic?”
So many of us have grown up having everything available and accessible to us all the time - which is AMAZING for so many reasons, but there is a cost to free things - even if you can’t see it.
In a world that feels more mystifying by the day, where journalists are constantly being laid off, and misinformation spreads faster than a leaked Harry Styles song, finding media that you trust, understand and actually want to read is so important.
I know you value what I do - so many of you email me saying how much you love the newsletter, thanking me for explaining topics you might not have heard of, and telling me how much it means to you that you’ve got a friend on the other side of this thing (🥺🥺🥺) If you believe in paying for the media (or the person???) you love, then please consider becoming a supporter.
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Over 80% for?? As someone who simply changed their year of birth when creating a Facebook account as an under 13 kid, I don’t think full bans are realistic. They’ll find a way; why not limitations within their actual account? Parents can ensure their children’s accounts are setup with the correct age, isn’t that better than kids having accounts in secret? I realise my suggestion isn’t a full fix either but a full ban is comparable with teaching abstinence only.
Interesting that AU have recognised the negative impact of social media / algorithms on younger users; but seem to have overlooked the (generally) older users who often seem to take misinformation / AI generated images / absolute nonsense at face value and blindly share the rhetoric within their algorithm-induced echo chambers…