Instagram will offer special features to influencers with new ‘creator accounts’

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Instagram is taking new steps to woo some of its highest profile users. 

The app is testing “creator accounts,” which would add new analytics and messaging features geared toward influencers and other power users of the photo-sharing app.

SEE ALSO: These viral Instagram workout videos have gone too far

The update is currently being tested and will roll out more broadly next year, according to The Hollywood Reporter.  It will offer influencers an alternative to Instagram business profiles, which the company introduced in 2016, Instagram wrote in a statement.

“Increasingly, creators rely on Instagram to connect with followers and grow their personal brands, however the tools that are currently available to businesses today make it difficult for them to track their growth and engagement over time. We’re building the new Creator Account to help solve some of those challenges and make it easier for creators to grow their personal brands on Instagram,” the announcement reads. Read more…

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NASA responds to moon landing truther Steph Curry

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NASA wants Steph Curry to know that yes, the moon landing was real, and they’re even inviting him to check out some space rocks to prove it.

During an interview on the podcast “Winging It,” the Golden State Warriors star revealed that he doesn’t believe the United States has been to the moon. 

About 46 minutes into the episode, he abruptly changed the conversation topic from what sounds dinosaurs made to space exploration.

SEE ALSO: Steph Curry responds to 9-year-old’s letter about offering his shoes in sizes for girls

“We ever been to the moon?” Curry asked. 

The group, including Atlanta Hawks players Vince Carter and Kent Bazemore, and Curry’s teammate Andre Iguodala, concluded with a unanimous “Nope.”  Read more…

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New study finds female-led films perform better at box office. Your move, Hollywood.

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Movie audiences love women. 

According to a study by Creative Arts Agency and shift7, films with women in leading roles earn more than their male counterparts at the box office, a finding which should lead to a major paradigm shift in show business.

“The perception that it’s not good business to have female leads is not true,” CAA agent Christy Haubegger told The New York Times. “They’re a marketing asset.”

SEE ALSO: We have a lot to learn from Megan Fox’s #MeToo comments

CAA and shift7 examined 350 top box office films from 2014 to 2017, defining “lead actor” as the first performer credited in official press materials (also of note: most of these films passed the Bechdel test). 105 of these were women. In every category broken down by budget, films with women in the lead outperformed those starring men.  Read more…

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YouTube Rewind 2018 is already the second-most disliked video ever

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Since 2010, YouTube has released a yearly wrap-up of its most popular videos and creators.

It did the same thing this year with YouTube Rewind 2018. It featured the likes of Will Smith, plus creators Molly Burke, Liza Koshy, and Simone Giertz in a predictably upbeat compilation released last Thursday.

SEE ALSO: These senior citizen YouTubers are better than anyone else on this hellscape internet

There’s also an homage to K-pop, some late night show hosts doing Fortnite dances, and yes, more Fortnite references.

Fast forward a few days, and the video has the distinct honor of becoming the second-most disliked video on YouTube, racking up an impressive 7.7 million dislikes since its debut. Read more…

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Disneyland’s new Marvel attractions look pretty legit in new concept art

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As if we didn’t have enough to look forward to with the Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge park expansion, Disney has released new concept art for its expanded Marvel-themed areas at select Disneyland parks.

Disney Parks first announced the attractions for Disneyland Paris, Disneyland Resort in California, and Hong Kong Disneyland in March 2018, and now we’ve got our first look at ’em.

SEE ALSO: Your favorite heroes and villains battle it out in ‘Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3’ trailer

Described by Disney as a global “Avengers Initiative,” the interconnected attractions and areas at parks around the world are themed around Marvel’s beloved heroes. Read more…

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20 Elf On The Shelf tweets that every exasperated parent can relate to

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Parents are freaking done with Elf on the Shelf. 

The innocent holiday tradition started out as a cutesy way to keep their kids’ behavior in check ahead of the holidays, but has been criticized for being a capitalist marketing scheme to indoctrinate children into accepting the surveillance state. 

SEE ALSO: Elf on the Shelf witnesses puberty firsthand in hilarious ‘SNL’ sketch

That, and parents are tired of coming up with creative ways to stage the impish — and unsettlingly creepy — stuffed doll. At this point, are you freezing your elf in a block of ice and artfully placing him in front of an Elsa doll for your kids, or for the Instagram clout?  Read more…

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We have a lot to learn from Megan Fox’s #MeToo comments

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There’s a lot to celebrate about the voices amplified by #MeToo. There’s also a lot to learn from the voices who still feel uninvited to speak or unheard when they do.

In a new interview with the New York Times, former Transformers star Megan Fox addressed why she hasn’t joined the numerous other women coming forward about their experiences of sexual assault and harassment in Hollywood. And her answer is a wake up call to anyone who thinks we’ve progressed beyond victim-blaming after #MeToo.

SEE ALSO: The ‘Arrested Development’ actors prove men in Hollywood learned nothing

Because despite having, “quite a few stories” of her own, Fox said: Read more…

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Someone touched Parliament’s special mace, and British Twitter is losing it

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Forget surgery on a grape. After Prime Minister Theresa May postponed the parliamentary vote on her contentious Brexit deal, Labour representative Lloyd Russell-Moyle defiantly marched to the center of the room, picked up the mace — which looks like a large, fancy club — and attempted to leave with it. 

SEE ALSO: This brutally honest reporter perfectly sums up how Brexit is going

Fellow members of Parliament were horrified by the statement. The mace is a “symbol of royal authority” and without it, the House can’t meet or pass laws. 

Russell-Moyle was met with an angry uproar as fellow MPs shouted at him to “put it back.” He attempted to leave with the massive gold club, but was stopped at the door and asked to “withdraw from the chamber,” according to the Guardian. Read more…

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Julia Roberts headline typo makes things real awkward for local paper

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Spell check isn’t always your friend — more like a casual acquaintance.

Just look at what happened to the Post-Journal‘s  stunning headline for an AP story they picked up this weekend about Julia Roberts. 

It’s very possible the editor used spell check. Unfortunately for the paper, the function doesn’t always pick up on errors like this one:

“Julia Roberts Finds Life And Her Holes Get Better With Age” pic.twitter.com/uCJyGw6Uh4

— El gato con bolas (@elgat0c0nb0las) December 9, 2018

Headline of the day

Julia Roberts Finds Life And Her Holes Get Better With Age pic.twitter.com/85oU83ijgi

— raf taylor (@truthis24fps) December 10, 2018 Read more…

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