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Marvin Heiferman

@whywelook.bsky.social
237 followers 8 following 1.8K posts

Curator of - and writing about - photography and visual culture

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Marvin Heiferman @whywelook.bsky.social · 23h
WHY WE LOOK? Because an influencer couple is facing legal action in Oman after posing for photographs while sitting on a sea turtle that was laying eggs during their vacation. petapixel.com/2026/09/30/i...
petapixel.com
Influencer Couple Face Legal Action Over Vacation Photos Showing Them Sitting on Sea Turtle
Oman called the photos a 'violation.'
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Marvin Heiferman @whywelook.bsky.social · 23h
WHY WE LOOK? Because Here’s How Different 37 “Sexiest Man Alive” Winners Look Today (or Before They Died) Vs. The Year They Won www.buzzfeed.com/mjs538/sexie...
buzzfeed.com
Here's How Different 37 "Sexiest Man Alive" Winners Look Today Vs. The Year They Won
Another excuse to share photos of 1994 Keanu.
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Marvin Heiferman @whywelook.bsky.social · 23h
WHY WE LOOK? Because This Photograph Might Not Look Like Much, But It Proved That Faraway "Island Universes" Really Do Exist www.iflscience.com/this-photogr...
iflscience.com
This Photograph Might Not Look Like Much, But It Proved That "Island Universes" Really Do Exist
After months of searching with the Earth's most powerful telescope, a single star showed us the true scale of the universe.
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Marvin Heiferman @whywelook.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
WHY WE LOOK? Because In-N-Out burgers corporate office forced a high school football team to remove a series of viral images taken by a professional photographer that were shot at a local franchise from social media petapixel.com/2026/09/30/i...
petapixel.com
In-N-Out Demands Photographer Remove Viral Images of High School Football Team
Corporate weren't happy.
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Marvin Heiferman @whywelook.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
WHY WE LOOK? Because police in Singapore arrested and charged a man after he allegedly posted an AI-generated image of a saltwater crocodile swimming in a public water area. He faces up to 10 years in prison. petapixel.com/2026/09/29/m...
petapixel.com
Man Faces Up to 10 Years In Prison After Sharing AI Image of a Crocodile
Faces up to 10 years in prison and big fines.
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Marvin Heiferman @whywelook.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
WHY WE LOOK? Because a new Hulu documentary details the horrific behind-the-scenes secrets of “The Swan” — one of the more extreme and shocking reality TV shows (about self-image, plastic surgery and other issues) of the early aughts. pagesix.com/2026/09/29/e...
pagesix.com
‘The Swan’ doc biggest bombshells: behind the scenes of the notorious reality show
A new Hulu documentary is details behind-the-scenes of “The Swan” — one of the most shocking reality TV shows of the early aughts.
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Marvin Heiferman @whywelook.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
WHY WE LOOK? Because an Italian politician sparks outrage by sharing an AI image that appears to “undress” a female lawmaker — months after Italy’s prime minister shared a deepfake nude image of herself to warn of AI's dangers. petapixel.com/2026/09/28/i...
petapixel.com
Italian Politician Sparks AI Scandal With Doctored Photo That ‘Undressed’ Female Lawmaker
'A huge problem for all of us.'
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Marvin Heiferman @whywelook.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
WHY WE LOOK? Because of (a) a picture of artist Janine Antoni licking her ex-husband's eye and (b) the story behind it www.artnews.com/art-in-ameri...
artnews.com
Janine Antoni’s Taste of Vision Graces the Cover of our Icons Issue
The artist talks about her 1999 photograph <em>Mortar and Pestle</em>.
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Marvin Heiferman @whywelook.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
WHY WE LOOK? Because human contractors hired to improve Microsoft’s Copilot AI chatbot are constantly bombarded with (and sometimes horrified by) lewd or sexually explicit photo editing requests and images users have uploaded www.404media.co/humans-readi...
404media.co
Humans Are Reading Copilot Prompts — And They're Horrified
Human contractors are reviewing Copilot users’ prompts and uploaded images, according to internal documents obtained by 404 Media. The contractors are also bombarded with users’ requests for sexual AI...
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Marvin Heiferman @whywelook.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
WHY WE LOOK? Because Here's The No. 1 Thing Photographers Wish Families Would Stop Wearing for Photos www.today.com/parents/fami...
today.com
The No. 1 Thing Photographers Wish Families Would Stop Wearing for Photos
Two photographers share the family-photo fashion mistakes they see again and again — and what to wear instead.
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Marvin Heiferman @whywelook.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
WHY WE LOOK? Because a review of dozens of incidents caught on camera sheds new light on a largely invisible crackdown ICE surge that unfolded ‘everywhere all at once’ this summer www.nytimes.com/2026/09/25/u...
nytimes.com
A Quiet ICE Surge That Unfolded ‘Everywhere All at Once’ This Summer
A review of dozens of incidents caught on camera sheds new light on a largely invisible crackdown.
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Marvin Heiferman @whywelook.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
WHY WE LOOK? Because that CEO of U.S.-based credit union Family First who posted an allegedly artificial intelligence-edited photo of her family with "Lake America" sweatshirts? She's no longer with the company... www.cnbc.com/2026/09/25/c...
cnbc.com
CEO who posted 'Lake America' sweatshirt photos is no longer with the company
Smith on Sept. 11 had posted an allegedly AI-edited photo on Facebook of her family dressed in "Lake America" sweatshirts.
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Marvin Heiferman @whywelook.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
WHY WE LOOK? Because 5.2 million images made during a years-long camera trap survey of South Africa's wild cheetah population show there are far fewer of the spotted big cats than previously thought. petapixel.com/2026/09/26/c...
petapixel.com
Camera Trap Survey of Cheetahs in South Africa Makes for Sad Reading
There are not as many as hoped.
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Marvin Heiferman @whywelook.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
WHY WE LOOK? Because after Trump shared what experts agree is a doctored photo of him and President Xi on Truth Social, reporters pointed out some glaring errors in it petapixel.com/2026/09/25/t...
petapixel.com
Trump Shares Doctored Photo That Appears to Replace Official With Natalie Harp
He's also wearing a totally different expression.
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Marvin Heiferman @whywelook.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
WHY WE LOOK? Because in latest example of rogue activity, OpenAI said its agents had leaked 53 images from ChatGPT users, declining to say if the images were AI-generated, identified real people or when the images were posted on image-hosting sites. www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
theguardian.com
OpenAI says agents leaked 53 images from ChatGPT users in latest example of rogue activity
Disclosure reveals ⁠new area of privacy risk for the company and illustrates ​how difficult it is to inventory unauthorized activity tied to its agents
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Marvin Heiferman @whywelook.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
WHY WE LOOK? Because Kalshi, the prediction betting market, is drawing major heat online after creator Elliot Choy accused the company of ripping off one of his videos for an ad — and making his face look like a white man's. www.businessinsider.com/kalshi-in-ho...
businessinsider.com
Kalshi says it's curtailing its use of AI after a creator said one ad turned him 'into a white dude'
Kalshi said it has curtailed its use of AI ads and is reviewing its relationship with an agency that made the controversial video.
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Marvin Heiferman @whywelook.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
WHY WE LOOK? Because AI-created ads - placing politicians in fictitious situations - are proliferating ahead of the elections, a largely unregulated form of political communication that's being adopted despite the backlash against the technology. www.yahoo.com/news/politic...
yahoo.com
AI political ads warp reality ahead of US midterms
A political ad depicts a US Senate hopeful remarking on God and gender while scrawling in a Bible with a crayon.The lifelike clip shows Talarico writing "let there be six genders" in a Bible with mult...
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Marvin Heiferman @whywelook.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
WHY WE LOOK? Because Flock claims it operates more than 120,000 cameras nationwide, but a new map by a cybersecurity researcher reveals more than 170,000 cameras, plus over 130,000 accompanying gadgets in their expansive American surveillance network. theintercept.com/2026/09/24/h...
theintercept.com
Flock Wants the Most Detailed Map of Its Surveillance Cameras Taken Offline
A new map shows Flock has more cameras in the U.S. than was previously known. The company wants the map taken down.
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Marvin Heiferman @whywelook.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
WHY WE LOOK? Because a Las Vegas family desperately searched for their missing Pomeranian, Linus, after surveillance footage from their Summerlin neighborhood showed a stranger picking the dog up and walking away news3lv.com/news/local/s...
news3lv.com
Surveillance footage shows man taking a Las Vegas family's Pomeranian
A Las Vegas family is desperately searching for their missing Pomeranian, Linus, after surveillance footage showed a stranger picking the dog up and walking...
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Marvin Heiferman @whywelook.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
WHY WE LOOK? Because Flock Safety, which is facing scrutiny over the proliferation and alleged abuse of its cameras, is weighing whether to sell itself, according to people familiar with the matter www.semafor.com/article/09/2...
semafor.com
Exclusive: Flock Safety weighs selling itself
The license-plate reader and surveillance company has come under scrutiny for alleged misuse of its data.
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Marvin Heiferman @whywelook.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
WHY WE LOOK? Because reporters and camera crews from CNN, MS NOW and Politico, news outlets banned from the White House by Trump were back on the grounds Thursday afternoon, hours after a federal judge ordered the administration to reinstate their access. apnews.com/article/trum...
apnews.com
CNN, MS NOW and Politico back at the White House, hours after judge ordered Trump to lift ban
Reporters from CNN, MS NOW and Politico returned to the White House hours after a federal judge temporarily blocked President Donald Trump’s ban of the three news outlets.
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Marvin Heiferman @whywelook.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
WHY WE LOOK? Because the ICE office R who shot a Venezuelan man last weekend in Austin was a recent hire who was not wearing his body camera, www.theatlantic.com/politics/2026/ 09/austin-ice-shooting-body-camera/688738/?gift=PISwSwEyw4CY5Ypv54zJ96tzQjvRAEIXWm-tRT9VNUk
theatlantic.com
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Marvin Heiferman @whywelook.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
WHY WE LOOK? Because major photo agencies and newspapers continue to withhold photographs of Trump’s events in solidarity with news organizations barred from the White House. petapixel.com/2026/09/22/p...
petapixel.com
Photo Agencies and Newspapers Withhold Trump Photos in Solidarity with US Television Networks
Photographers from AP, AFP, Reuters, and Getty joined the effort.
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Marvin Heiferman @whywelook.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
WHY WE LOOK? Because Stanford created one of the first AI labs in 1965. Six decades later, the university's facing criticism for using AI to change the photo of a Hispanic male student into a non-existent Black woman for a campus banner. www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/arti...
sfchronicle.com
Stanford violated its AI policy by turning a Hispanic student into a fake Black woman in ad
Stanford University is facing criticism for using generative AI to change the photo of a Hispanic male student into a non-existent Black woman for a dining hall advertisement.
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Marvin Heiferman @whywelook.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
WHY WE LOOK? Because an American CEO Felt Forced to Leave a Canada Vacation After She and Others Posted Her AI Photo of Her Family in ‘Lake America’ Sweatshirts petapixel.com/2026/09/21/a...
petapixel.com
American CEO Forced to Leave Canada After Posting AI Photo of Family in ‘Lake America’ Sweatshirts
'Like our sweatshirts? Not sure Canada will.'
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Marvin Heiferman @whywelook.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
WHY WE LOOK? Because a photographer recalls the 2015 photo shoot for Bloomberg Businessweek with convicted Theranos fraudster Elizabeth Holmes that he suspects was all a charade. petapixel.com/2026/09/21/p...
petapixel.com
Photographer Says He Questioned Everything After Shoot With Elizabeth Holmes
'Wait a second, was this all a charade?'
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Marvin Heiferman @whywelook.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
WHY WE LOOK? Because chronic traumatic brain injury in football players can’t be detected in the living. But scientists are developing imaging techniques and blood tests that may enable doctors to identify the disease definitively in living patients. www.nytimes.com/2026/09/22/s...
nytimes.com
New Hope for Diagnosing C.T.E. in Brain Injured Patients
Scientists are developing imaging techniques and blood tests that one day may enable doctors to identify the disease definitively in living patients.
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Marvin Heiferman @whywelook.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
WHY WE LOOK? Because the U.S. spends billions on border surveillance. So, why can't it catch people before they die? timesofsandiego.com/immigration/...
timesofsandiego.com
The U.S. spent billions on border surveillance. Why can’t it catch people before they die?
SPECIAL REPORT | DYING ON CAMERA When José Morales Bernal crossed the border into the United States on April 8, 2024, the day before his 32nd birthday, it
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Marvin Heiferman @whywelook.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
WHY WE LOOK? Because of the unsettling rise of grandmAIslop. Boomers love making AI images of their grandkids. The millennial parents hate it. www.businessinsider.com/grandparents...
businessinsider.com
Boomers love making AI images of their grandkids. Their millennial children see a privacy nightmare.
Some grandparents think AI images of their grandkids are adorable. Millennial parents worry about privacy, consent, and where the photos may end up.
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Marvin Heiferman @whywelook.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
WHY WE LOOK? Because camera operators working for MS NOW were turned away from the White House over the weekend after the U.S. Secret Service confiscated their press badges at a security gate. petapixel.com/2026/09/21/c...
petapixel.com
Camera Operators are Turned Away From White House After Trump Ban
The NPPA have condemned the White House.
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Marvin Heiferman @whywelook.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
WHY WE LOOK? Because Restaurants Are Going Viral by Holding Up Handwritten Signs Pledging Not to Use AI Foodslop Posters futurism.com/future-socie...
futurism.com
Restaurants Are Going Viral by Holding Up Handwritten Signs Pledging Not to Use AI Foodslop Posters
Restaurant owners and chefs are uploading pictures of themselves on social media, pledging not to use AI for self-promotion. It's working.
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Marvin Heiferman @whywelook.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
WHY WE LOOK? Because there's a reason your face looks different in photos than in a mirror www.popsci.com/science/why-...
popsci.com
The reason your face looks different in photos than a mirror
It's not you, it's physics.
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Marvin Heiferman @whywelook.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
WHY WE LOOK? Because Flock Offers Employees Buyouts as Customers Flee. As dozens of cities end contracts for its controversial license plate readers, Flock is rolling out a voluntary severance program, WIRED has learned. www.wired.com/story/flock-...
wired.com
Flock Offers Employees Buyouts as Customers Flee
As dozens of cities end contracts for its controversial license plate readers, Flock is rolling out a voluntary severance program, WIRED has learned.
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Marvin Heiferman @whywelook.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
WHY WE LOOK? Because Converse is apologizing after photos from two separate sneaker ad campaigns were criticized by social media users after aspects of the photos drew comparisons to KKK hoods and lynching imagery. share.google/FiaOEjj7uZgI...
share.google
EXCLUSIVE: Converse Responds After Campaign Ad Draws KKK and Lynching Comparisons Online: ‘We’re Sorry’
FN reached out to Converse for a statement and the brand released an apology after campaign ad receives KKK comparisons.
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Marvin Heiferman @whywelook.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
WHY WE LOOK? Because the archive of more than one million photos and videos found at the home of an Philadelphia erotic photographer, who died last year, connects him to seven missing women -- five of whom police believe are dead. petapixel.com/2026/09/17/a...
petapixel.com
A Late Photographer's Archive of One Million Images Has Connected Him to Seven Missing Women
His recovered images are at the center of a huge criminal investigation.
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Marvin Heiferman @whywelook.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
WHY WE LOOK? Because if You're Visiting the Bayeux Tapestry- Put Your Camera Away! The British Museum has reverses its policy on allowing photography of the near-thousand-year-old work. hyperallergic.com/visiting-the...
hyperallergic.com
Visiting the Bayeux Tapestry? Put Your Camera Away
The British Museum has reversed its policy on allowing photography of the near-thousand-year-old work.
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Marvin Heiferman @whywelook.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
WHY WE LOOK? Because Photos Spur Speculation About Possible Demolition of the Kennedy Center. Images captured through the windows of Air Force One show Trump reviewing a poster with the title “Kennedy Center DEMOLISHED.” www.nytimes.com/2026/09/17/u...
nytimes.com
Trump Air Force One Photos Fuel Kennedy Center Demolition Speculation
Images captured through the windows of Air Force One showed President Trump reviewing a poster with the title “Kennedy Center DEMOLISHED.”
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Marvin Heiferman @whywelook.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
WHY WE LOOK? Because Universal gets cold feet on eleasing the Elon Musk documentary and not yet committing to rolling out Alex Gibney's movie it paid millions to acquire for distribution before political winds shifted. www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/politic...
hollywoodreporter.com
Universal Is Getting Cold Feet on Releasing the Elon Musk Documentary (Exclusive)
The Comcast-owned studio is not yet committing to rolling out Alex Gibney's movie that it paid millions to acquire for non-North American release before the political winds shifted.
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Marvin Heiferman @whywelook.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
WHY WE LOOK? Because Trump Banned AP Because It Wouldn't Give Him Rights to Its Widely Published Assassination Attempt Photo, a Report Says petapixel.com/2026/09/17/t...
petapixel.com
Trump Banned AP Because It Would Not Give Him Rights to Assassination Photo, Report Says
White House aides said this, according to a report in The Times.
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Marvin Heiferman @whywelook.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
WHY WE LOOK? Because new photos, sent anonymously by service members to CBS, revealed damage and destruction of buildings and vehicles at U.S. positions across the Middle East by Iranian missile and drone attacks. www.cbsnews.com/news/new-pho...
cbsnews.com
New photos show widespread damage at U.S. positions caused by Iranian missile, drone attacks
The images were sent to CBS News by active service members under condition of anonymity.
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Marvin Heiferman @whywelook.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
WHY WE LOOK? Because as Cher said about Bob Mackie's clothes: “They were meant to be seen — and seen in a large way. They didn’t live well in captivity.” www.nytimes.com/2026/09/14/s...
nytimes.com
How Bob Mackie and Cher Crafted the Ultimate Revenge Dress
The designer’s bedazzling, feathered creations made waves onstage, including at the Oscars in 1986.
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Marvin Heiferman @whywelook.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
WHY WE LOOK? Because NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope team successfully activated the Wide Field Instrument, a 300-megapixel infrared camera that allows scientists to explore wide swaths of the cosmos quickly and in exquisite detail. science.nasa.gov/blogs/roman/...
science.nasa.gov
NASA Activates Roman’s Primary Instrument, Checks Out Coronagraph - NASA Science
NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope team has successfully activated the Wide Field Instrument, a 300-megapixel infrared camera that will allow scientists
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Marvin Heiferman @whywelook.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
WHY WE LOOK? Because Annebella Pollan's 'WHIPPERSNAPPERS' is a terrific book about how photography's been presented and promoted to children — by camera companies, comics, and teachers — and the ways kids, over the decades, have chosen to use it www.fourcornersbooks.co.uk/books/whippe...
fourcornersbooks.co.uk
Whippersnappers: How Children Became Photographers | Art | Four Corners Books
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Marvin Heiferman @whywelook.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
WHY WE LOOK? Because a Street Photographer Went Outside and Took 'Weird' Photos Using Dyson's New Endoscopy-Outfitted CameraJet Toothbrush petapixel.com/2026/09/14/s...
petapixel.com
Street Photographer Shoots 'Weird' Photos on Dyson's New CameraJet Toothbrush
Smile!
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Marvin Heiferman @whywelook.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
WHY WE LOOK? Because Christopher Gallant, a N.Y. Democratic House of Representatives Candidate, Admits to a Bondage Photo Shoot Years Ago That Appeared on the Website of a Company Called Mr. S Leather. www.nytimes.com/2026/09/14/n...
nytimes.com
N.Y. Democratic House Candidate Admits to Bondage Photo Shoot
Christopher Gallant, who is running against Representative Nick LaLota on Long Island, acknowledged that the photos that surfaced in media reports on Monday were legitimate.
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Marvin Heiferman @whywelook.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
WHY WE LOOK? Because Every Time You Drive Your Car Is Now a Chance to Get Famous: Dash cams were made for safety — but they’ve inadvertently created a whole new entertainment genre. www.nytimes.com/2026/09/08/m...
nytimes.com
Every Time You Drive Your Car Is Now a Chance to Get Famous
Dash cams were made for safety — but they’ve inadvertently created a whole new entertainment genre.
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Marvin Heiferman @whywelook.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
WHY WE LOOK? Because the James Webb Space Telescope and Hubble have discovered 27 puzzling new objects orbiting the sun far beyond Neptune www.space.com/astronomy/ja...
space.com
James Webb Space Telescope and Hubble discover 27 puzzling new objects orbiting the sun far beyond Neptune
These observations push Hubble's and JWST's abilities to the limit.
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Marvin Heiferman @whywelook.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
WHY WE LOOK? Because a group of online creators with a combined 46 million followers is demanding Lowe's and Home Depot — two of the largest home-improvement stores — cut ties with Flock Safety and stop use of its surveillance camera technology www.businessinsider.com/flock-backla...
businessinsider.com
Influencers are urging Home Depot and Lowe's to drop Flock
A group of influencers with a combined following of 46M followers are demanding Lowe's and Home Depot drop their Flock Safety contracts.
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Marvin Heiferman @whywelook.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
WHY WE LOOK? Because John Husted, an Ohio Republican in a Key Senate Race, Fires His Campaign Director, Citing His Earlier Use of a Photo of Nazi Soldiers as His Facebook Profile Picture www.nytimes.com/2026/09/12/u...
nytimes.com
Republican Campaign Aide Is Fired Over Nazi Photo
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Marvin Heiferman @whywelook.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
WHY WE LOOK? Because Jennifer Lawrence makes Instagram debut with a stark warning for followers: the Oscar winner warns social media users that she would quit Instagram immediately if anyone leaves or even thinks a negative comment. www.independent.co.uk/bulletin/cul...
independent.co.uk
Jennifer Lawrence makes Instagram debut with a stark warning for followers
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