HEADS UP: Should You Repost a Friend’s Instagram Story on Activism? (Dec. 10)

Here’s a Heads Up from reportr on news you need to know today, Dec. 10:

PIXEL WORLD

• Why are your friends asking you to repost an Instagram Story just to prove that you are aligned with their cause? Or are they really taking a stand? Here’s what performative activism means.
• A tech CEO has apologized for firing 900 employees in a single Zoom call.
• The 2022 Pantone Color of the Year is Very Peri, a hue specifically designed to uplift the world during the third year of the pandemic.
• In the year of the Marites, AJ Raval and Yen Santos beat Leni Robredo and Sara Duterte on Google Search for 2021. 
• The loudly crying face is the most used emoji on Twitter in the Philippines in 2021.
• Sen. Franklin Drilon is proposing a law that will compel social media platforms to unmask trolls that thrive on anonymity.

COVID NEWS

• How many booster vaccines do you need? For now, just one, says the DOH even with the threat of the Omicron variant.
• Pfizer and BioNTech said their COVID-19 vaccine is effective against the Omicron variant with a third dose.
• There were 562 new COVID cases yesterday as the arrivals ban expanded to France.

ELECTIONS EXPLAINED

• These are the most vote-rich cities and provinces in the Philippines that candidates in the 2022 elections are expected to frequent.

NEWS YOU NEED TO KNOW

• The Supreme Court has voided portions of the Anti-Terrorism Law to prevent abuse by authorities when dealing with mass actions.
• Rappler boss Maria Ressa, who is in Norway to accept her Nobel Peace Prize, said journalists must defend their rights against “authoritarian-style leaders and budding dictators”.
• Google is giving another bonus to employees on top of a well-being bonus and a later return to work.
• Commuters can now use their beep cards to pay for food at LRT-1 kiosks.
• Ex-public works secretary Mark Villar has joined the senartorial slate of presidential aspirant Bongbong Marcos.
• Newspaper correspondent Jesus Malabanan was shot dead in Calbayog City, the 22nd media person killed under the Duterte regime.
• The death of high-profile inmates like viral ex-policeman Jonel Nuezca must be reported immediately to foster transparency in the corrections system, Sen. Richard Gordon said.
• Globe’s SMS and call services were hit by a technical glitch yesterday, one week after its mobile data services were down for a few hours.
• A first in the world. New Zealand is starting to ban all tobacco sales so that teens today will not get hooked on cigarettes.
• The Philippines is among 24 countries in the world where abortion is banned, denying women access to a safe way to terminate pregnancies.