Pixie Carlisle Pixie Carlisle

New Year, New Girl Friday

Happy New Year, Friends! Thank you for subscribing to The Friday Brief - our community keeps expanding thanks to all of you sharing this newsletter with friends, family, and colleagues.

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Two Gretas and One Pizza Box? The Takedown of Andrew Tate

How many Gretas does it take to bring down a notorious online misogynist and alleged human trafficker? Just two. While this week's turn of events in Romania has certainly been an amusing and satisfying end to the year on social media, what can we do about the growing acceptance of violence against women online? How can we end misogyny on social media?

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Something in the Water

This month, the Minnesota Reformer published "There Must Be Something in the Water," a two-part series on 3M (a company that operates in the fields of science, technology, and public health). The series covered chemical contamination in the waters of Minnesota that may have led to high cancer rates in communities like Oakdale, MN. While it is difficult to positively link each specific diagnosis to 3M's chemical waste, the connections are impossible to ignore. The Minnesota Reformer series focused on the pediatric impacts of the environmental catastrophe. They learned that at Oakdale's Tartan High School, students often said, “Don’t drink the 3M cancer water.” Current and former young Oakdale residents like Amara Strande, age 20, are battling rare cancers, suffering through multiple surgeries and facing life-altering diagnoses. There are numerous ways for "forever chemicals" (a common term for the per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances referenced in this case) to seep into our environment, drinking water, and bodies. What can we do to protect our communities and our planet? 

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'Indefensible' Labor Practices on U.S. Bases

A new report released last week alleges several defense contractors in the Persian Gulf are trapping foreign workers into debt bondage and other corrupt employment practices on at least four U.S. military bases. The U.S. government has made its stance against forced labor, human trafficking, and unethical employment processes very clear, both at home and abroad. So, why is this happening? And, what can we do to help make certain that all workers on U.S. military bases are safe and treated with dignity and respect?

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The Misinformation of Alex Jones

In the wake of the unthinkable 2012 mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary that killed 20 children (between the ages of six and seven) and 6 adults, Alex Jones spread destructive lies about the massacre, and his platform, Infowars, became a source of rabid misinformation. This week, in response to Jones’ relentless campaign, a jury in Connecticut awarded almost $1 billion USD to 15 plaintiffs in their defamation case against Jones. While this case sets a strong precedent, the damage from Infowars still remains. How can we stop conspiracy theories from becoming wide-spread misinformation?

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