A report reveals a complex online hate campaign against Meghan Markle
 OCTOBER 27, 2021 THE BIG STORY
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STAYING ON TOP OF THIS
Twitter data has revealed a coordinated campaign of hate against Meghan Markle  Prince Harry and Meghan visit New York City on Sept. 23, 2021. Taylor Hill / WireImage On Tuesday, Twitter analytics service Bot Sentinel released a report examining over 114,000 tweets about the Sussexes. The analysis revealed a coordinated campaign of targeted harassment of Meghan on Twitter — and the 83 accounts responsible for approximately 70% of the negative and often hateful content.
BuzzFeed News examined the timelines of 55 of those accounts and found tweets with clear racial undertones, one calling for Meghan's death, as well as posts claiming that she faked her pregnancy and that her children were either born via surrogate or are not real.
Bot Sentinel CEO Christopher Bouzy told BuzzFeed News that this anti-Meghan Twitter campaign is unlike anything he and his team have ever seen before. He also emphasized that the "level of complexity" behind the attack is not fueled by automated bot accounts, but real accounts run by humans.
"There's no motive," he said. "Are these people who hate her? Is it racism? Are they trying to hurt [Harry and Meghan's] credibility? Your guess is as good as ours." SNAPSHOTS
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"THIS IS LIFE — WHAT CAN WE DO?"
How the pandemic severed one of Southern Africa's main economic lifelines  A South African National Defence Force soldier walks along the border fence that separates South Africa and Zimbabwe on Jan. 8, 2021. Guillem Sartorio / AFP via Getty Images Thousands of other cross-border traders in southern Africa face the same financial downturn with no end in sight.
This informal commercial trade network has provided steady work for people in the area's borderlands for decades. But when the pandemic closed country borders, it kicked down this essential economic pillar for communities where job opportunities are slim and there is limited access to COVID-19 vaccines.
The United Nations has estimated that this industry makes up 40% of the $17 billion trade market across the 16 countries in the Southern African Development Community. Nearly 70% of traders in Zimbabwe are women, many of whom are now turning to smuggling or sex work to support themselves.
"This is life — what can we do?" said Michele, a trader who turned to selling sex, boarding and companionship to truck drivers after the borders closed in the pandemic. "I don't want to think ahead. I work with what I have at the moment." THIS WAS THE FIRST THING I LAUGHED OUT LOUD AT TODAY
A photo of BJ Novak was accidentally deemed public domain, and now his face is printed on personal care items and household products across the world  BJ Novak as Ryan Howard in a 2007 episode of The Office. Justin Lubin/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images Years ago, an image of actor BJ Novak was mistakenly put on a public domain site, meaning that his photo became freely available for both personal and commercial use.
The photo has since taken on a life of its own, and has shown up on various product packages around the globe. Although it most likely wouldn't be difficult for Novak to request that his photo be removed from the public domain website, the star noted on Instagram that he's currently "too amused to do anything about it."
Personally, I'm thanking every higher power out there for this fantastic glitch in the simulation. Do yourself a favor this morning, and take a look at these photos of Novak's smize on rechargeable hair clippers, raincoats, Nordic cologne, face paint, and more. Seek out a moment that makes you laugh, Elamin 📝 This letter was edited and brought to you by Elamin Abdelmahmoud and BuzzFeed News. You can always reach us here.
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