Culture
Zoom Calls Are Being Overwhelmed With Racist Slurs In “Zoombombing” Events

When she founded WOC Space, Tiara Moore envisioned a virtual place where professional women of color could meet, socialize, and offer support in a safe setting.
Then when stay-at-home orders began to be issued across the country, Moore believed the group’s weekly meetings were more important than ever. They offered moral support, tips, and relief to the isolation of working from home by being able to connect people via Zoom.
So on Monday, she logged onto the video conferencing app and continued working on her computer, waiting for the handful of members to join her.
“I wasn’t even looking at my screen and I hear a girl and she’s like, ‘I saw this on Twitter,” Moore told BuzzFeed News. “I said, ‘Oh, hey girl!’ and she said, ‘Yeah, but you should be careful because you can get hacked.'”
The virtual room instantly filled with what seemed like 100 people, Moore said, with multiple people yelling racist slurs at the same time. It was chaos — but the n-word, being repeatedly yelled in the middle of it, could be heard distinctly.
“I immediately closed it down like, what just happened,” she said.
With schools closed and people across the country working from home, the use of teleconferencing has exploded during the coronavirus pandemic. Business executives, government officials, and kindergarten classes have flocked to apps like Zoom, which have become vital to day-to-day work and life during the pandemic.
Unfortunately, racists and trolls have also taken advantage of the app, sneaking their way into unsuspecting meetings and online gatherings, usually bombarding them with pornographic images or racist attacks.
“I felt personally attacked,” Moore said. “I was super emotional. I cried and I was like, ‘It’s 2020, what the fuck!'”
The incident was so frustrating Moore decided to cancel the next Tuesday meeting.
“It’s so heartbreaking and, for me to be promoting this virtual safe space and to be attacked, it’s so devastating,” she said.
The incidents have become so prevalent that the FBI stepped in Monday, offering its own tips to keep online meetings secure and asking people to report incidents to its Internet Crime Complaint Center.
“As large numbers of people turn to video-teleconferencing (VTC) platforms to stay connected in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis, reports of VTC hijacking (also called “Zoom-bombing”) are emerging nationwide,” the agency said. “The FBI has received multiple reports of conferences being disrupted by pornographic and/or hate images and threatening language.”
The FBI’s Boston office is in particular looking at two incidents, including one where a Massachusetts school’s session was interrupted by someone who took off his shirt to display swastika tattoos.
“It’s a whole pandemic,” she said, “and y’all have to do better.”
– Tiara Moore
Last week, Zoom released a video offering tips on how to prevent Zoombombing, including using its waiting room feature — which requires the host to approve people coming into the call — and limiting who can share content on the calls.
Zoom also recommends that people not share the link to their meetings on social media, where trolls could search for and target them. It also recently updated its default settings for teachers to keep them in control of what content is being shared in a virtual classroom, the company said in a statement to BuzzFeed News.
“We are deeply upset to hear about the incidents involving this type of attack. We take the security of Zoom meetings seriously and in order to prevent such incidents from occurring, we strongly encourage users to arrange their settings so that only hosts can share their screens, and utilize features such as ‘Waiting Room’ and host muting controls,” the company said.
Article sourced from Buzzfeed News
Culture
Obama shooting 3-pointer while campaigning for Biden goes viral

Former President Obama went viral on Saturday after shooting a 3-pointer while on the campaign trail for Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden.
Obama made the shot just before leaving a gymnasium in Flint, Mich. While he walked out the door, he told campaign staff, “That’s what I do!”
Celebrities and social media users quickly shared the clip, with some hoping the shot is a “good omen” for the former vice president ahead of the Tuesday election.
NBA star LeBron James, who previously partnered with former first lady Michelle Obama on voter initiatives, tweeted, “Now you just showing out now my friend!! That’s what you do huh??”
The clip was taken in the gymnasium of Flint’s Northwestern High School, Yahoo Sports reported. The former president and Biden campaigned together in Flint on Saturday at a drive-in rally, where Obama blasted President Trump’s “reality show” style of politics.
“He hasn’t shown any interest in doing the work or helping anybody but himself or his friends or treating the presidency as anything more than a reality show to give him the attention that he craves,” Obama said. “But unfortunately, the rest of us have to live with the consequences.”
Culture
Black families affected by police violence gather to mobilize voters in Chicago
Several families affected by police violence including those of Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, Jacob Blake, and Alvin Cole gathered to mobilize voters in Chicago. The event allowed many to turn their pain into political power, as they encouraged voting in not only presidential but local elections.

Several families affected by police violence including those of Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, Jacob Blake, and Alvin Cole gathered to mobilize voters in Chicago. The event allowed many to turn their pain into political power, as they encouraged voting in not only presidential but local elections.
Culture
Why Dancing is Good for Your Health

1) Great way to exercise and stay fit
Dance is a great way to stay in shape. If you don’t like the gym, dancing can bring fun back into the exercise.
2) Burn calories
Dancing is all about moving your body and moving your body is a great way to burn calories. How many will you burn depends on how vigorously you dance. In an one-hour session you can burn from 250 to 400 calories.
3) Improved health
Dance can effectively promote good health by improving cardiovascular fitness, strengthening the muscles, increasing circulation, decreasing blood pressure, lowering the risk of coronary heart disease, reducing stress, and many other positive benefits.
4) Greater Coordination
Great for improving control over your body, timing and coordination skills. You will learn how to move with grace and poise.
5) Good for bones and joints
Dance is a weight-bearing activity, meaning it’s great for your bones. Weight-bearing exercises has been proven to increase bone density and help reduce the risk of osteoporosis.
6) Build confidence
Dance builds confidence by giving you a sense of success and achievement when you master it.
7) Great way to meet new people
Dancing provides a natural icebreaker and is a great way to meet new people and make new friends.
8) Lifts your mood
Any exercise can raise your spirits by raising the endorphins or so called feel good chemicals. This can lighten your mood and reduce the risk of depression.
9) Good for your Mind
Dancing will keep your mind active. It will improve circulation to the brain and help stimulate the memory by remembering all the steps. Great mental exercise.
10) Improved overall well-being
Dance has an outstanding positive effect on both physical and psychological well-being.
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