S2 E18: Online Harassment, Charleston & Putin Theme Park: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver

28 May 2024 (6 months ago)
S2 E18: Online Harassment, Charleston & Putin Theme Park: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver

Mass Shootings in the United States

Confederate Flag Controversy

Russia's Military-Themed Amusement Park

Redesign of the US $10 Bill

  • The US $10 bill is being redesigned to feature the first woman on the nation's paper currency in over a century.
  • Treasury Secretary Jack Lew defends the decision to put a woman on the $10 bill, stating that it is widely used and important.
  • Despite the initial plan to replace Andrew Jackson with a woman on the $20 bill, Alexander Hamilton's image will remain on some of the $10 bills, sharing the spotlight with the chosen woman.

Online Harassment of Women

  • The internet has become an integral part of modern life but has also become a haven for harassment, particularly for women.
  • Women online often receive horrifying messages, including bomb threats, rape threats, and even death threats.
  • These threats can have a devastating impact on women's lives, leading to anxiety, depression, and even suicide.
  • The internet has also given rise to a new form of abuse called revenge porn, where naked photos of people are posted online without their consent.
  • Revenge porn can have a devastating impact on victims, leading to job loss, relationship problems, and even suicide.
  • There is currently no federal law specifically against revenge porn, and only 23 states have passed laws specifically against it.
  • This means that victims of revenge porn in many states have limited options for legal recourse.
  • Some women have had to send naked pictures of themselves to the copyright office in Washington to prevent strangers from seeing them.
  • The current laws and responses to victims of online harassment are often inadequate and victim-blaming.
  • The "don't take naked photos of yourself" solution is not always effective, as photos can be obtained through hacked webcams or other means.
  • A new bill called the Intimate Privacy Protection Act aims to address non-consensual pornography, but it has some exceptions, such as for public figures.
  • Companies need to be more diligent in clamping down on revenge porn, and the internet community needs to change its mindset about the dangers of the internet.

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