Chase Marie DiBenedetto

Mashable • May 1, 2024

How 'blue comments' turned the TikTok algorithm into a protest tool

The comments on an Usher dance video unexpectedly got you fired up to decry the systemic bombing of a Palestinian refugee camp...That's the version of TikTok that online activists, specifically those associating with a movement known as Operation...

Mashable • April 30, 2024

'Challengers' love triangle is 'Twilight' for people not afraid to see boys kiss

At the near center mark of Luca Guadagnino’s scintillating tennis film , leading college athlete phenom Tashi (Zendaya) and recent Junior U.S. Open champion Patrick (Josh O’Connor) are doing what cinema-goers have been begging for: making the f*ck out...

Mashable • February 3, 2024

New climate deniers are making millions on YouTube. But they're lying.

Amid swirling questions about the politics and platforms of presidential hopefuls, the veracity of promises made by tech leaders, and the influence of AI, one fear underlies it all: that growing misinformation could seal the fate of the American population...

Mashable • January 10, 2024

Tyranny of the Top Four: How Letterboxd is changing movie-watching

Imagine: It's 2020. You tossed your scarf to the side and mounted your Peloton for an invigorating ride. Your got a limited theatrical release amid a global pandemic. It's been misunderstood by audiences, but you're here to sweat it out. You're jolted...

Mashable • November 15, 2023

How TikTok's 'Filter for Good' is raising money for Palestine

Scrolling endlessly, you stop on one of many TikTok videos. A finger traces across the phone screen, moving a small triangular watermelon slice along a snaking gray line. The person controlling the fruit is meticulously collecting seeds, and when the...

Mashable.com • May 12, 2023

Abortion fund networks endure in fight against restricted access

For two months of the year, every year, the National Network of Abortion Funds (NNAF) makes a bid to keep abortion funds running across the country, regardless of state restrictions on reproductive healthcare...

Mashable.com • April 28, 2023

iTunes Music Store turns 20: The lasting legacy of the Free Single of the Week

I can blame one of my earliest feelings of inadequacy on Apple founder Steve Jobs. It was an otherwise unremarkable elementary sleep-away trip, requiring a three-hour bus ride upstate. My then-best friend and I decided to listen to music and stare...

Mashable.com • October 1, 2023

AI's exclusion of Indigenous voices is history repeating itself

The global arena of AI design and implementation continues to diversify, with flourishing interest in user-friendly generative AI leading its growth. Still incubating: AI's role in furthering accessible spaces, both online and off...

Mashable.com • September 30, 2023

The return of political campaign ads to X/Twitter raises important questions for users

Federal election season is around the corner, and with social media platforms taking over as go-to repositories for information, digital campaigning is as important as ever...

Mashable.com • September 12, 2023

'Forgiving Johnny' review: Exploring a paperless framework for restorative justice

In a pre-climactic scene from new short documentary film Forgiving Johnny, a Los Angeles Public Defender named Noah Cox is talking about paper. Reams upon reams of paper that, viewers learn, are essential to whether or not indigent clients will get a...

Mashable.com • July 21, 2023

The cult of Barbenheimer: In the pursuit of saving cinema, did we all lose our minds?

Throw on your pink sunglasses and take cover because the Barbenheimer countdown has officially reached zero...

Mashable.com • June 22, 2023

Youth advocates make their groundbreaking case in court for climate action

Climate-concerned youth advocates have officially pleaded their groundbreaking in front of a Montana court this week. While not the only legal attempt of its kind — and certainly not anticipated to be the last — it was the first constitutional climate...

Mashable.com • June 17, 2023

'Every Body' Review: A documentary on intersex activists that asks, 'Who is the expert?'

If the last year of American politics, marked by the rise of anti-LGBTQ legislation, censorship in schools, and the dismantling of reproductive rights, were to be summed up in one word, new documentary Every Body makes the case that it should be "hypocrisy..."

Mashable.com • June 10, 2023

Zero Waste Daniel is drag's sustainable fashion pioneer

There's a bird roosting outside of designer Daniel Silverstein's white-trimmed window, peeking into the animated tableau ensconced in a bright corner art studio on the third floor of a sticker-plastered Bushwick building...

Mashable.com • May 21, 2023

Netflix documentary ‘Victim/Suspect’ digs into systemic scrutiny of sexual assault survivors

"Well if you're sorry that makes me feel better," says a Tuscaloosa detective to an 18-year-old girl who has just reported, and recanted, an account of her rape to police. The startling statement is one of the first examples of a plight of alleged...

Mashable.com • May 4, 2023

Funding the Earth's keepers: The need for Indigenous climate philanthropy

Amid a cacophony of proposed solutions and doomsday naysayers flailing to address a growing climate crisis, Indigenous voices are being uplifted over the din by a wave of grant funding dedicated to healing both the Earth and the wounds of colonialism...

Mashable.com • March 31, 2023

Emira D'Spain's rose-colored glasses are both a fashion accessory and a way of life

"If there's a glowup challenge, I'm gonna slay," writes Emira D'Spain in the of one of her glimmeringly saturated TikTok posts. Her page is full of makeup recommendations, beauty tutorials, and plastic surgery vlogs, but this post stands out, a quick...

Mashable.com • March 29, 2023

Everyone is thirsty for Pedro Pascal. Has the internet gone too far this time?

It's been a month of insatiable thirst, and while that's not uncommon on the internet, March had a singular focus: The Last of Us and The Mandalorian star, Pedro Pascal...

Mashable.com • March 25, 2023

An exploration of cinematic accessibility: Open captions set the standard

The silent film era was a cultural catalyst, ushering in the dawn of the silver screen through an innovative blend of art and technology. An essential chapter in Hollywood's history, these movies, interspersed with text, also introduced the first...

Mashable.com • March 22, 2023

Be My Eyes meets GPT-4: Is AI the next frontier in accessibility?

Nearing the 10-year anniversary of losing her eyesight, Lucy Edwards is reclaiming countless visual experiences...with the help of artificial intelligence...