TechCrunch reached out to the company which confirmed that it is testing the feature in a few countries, but didn’t specify which ones.
“We’re testing the ability for people in select countries to share feed posts with their Close Friends. We’re always exploring new ways for our community to express themselves and connect on Instagram,” a Meta spokesperson said in a statement.
If this feature gets officially launched, users will no longer have to create alternative accounts known as ‘finsta’ accounts.
In 2018, users were introduced to the option of sharing Instagram Stories with a private list of ‘Close Friends’.
Actor Adnan Siddiqui has become the latest target of fake death rumours on the internet, and he has had enough of it.
The ‘Maat’ actor shared a clip on his Instagram account of a video spreading news that he had passed away, slamming irresponsible journalism:
“All those spreading the rumours of my demise in the name of journalism and breaking news, next time give me a fair idea before making me the headline. I’ll personally come to your studios and confirm it, complete with my epitaph. Your (ir)responsible journalism should look flawless after all.”
Actress Simi Rahael sent prayers in the comments and called out trolls for spreading such dangerous news.
Other actors like Faysal Quraishi and Aijazz Aslam also agreed with Adnan’s post.
Previously, it was veteran actor Mahmood Aslam who became the target of rumors that he had passed away, and the ‘Bulbulay’ actor took to social media to slam the fake news and called for users to be mindful about his friends and family members who could be deeply hurt by such actions.
“I’m Mahmood Aslam, breathing, fit and alive in front of you. A few hours ago, someone reported on social media that I have passed away. Whoever spread this news, I want to request them, for God’s sake, to not spread such news without verifying it. I am sitting in front of you, healthy and alive.”
“If not me, please think of my friends and family, relatives and fans and how they would feel after reading this unverified news. You can post about people who die so everyone can grieve them but please do not post fake news about those who are alive.”
“I made this video to tell all of you to not believe the news. I’m here and alive. And I’d like to request the people behind the fake news to stop their malicious attempts. Think 10 times before doing such a thing. It might be fun and games for you but it isn’t a joke. Fans and families could get affected in the worst possible way.”
It looks like the Avengers superhero is officially off the market
Actor Chris Evans has married actress Alba Baptista in an intimate ceremony at his Boston home, with only friends and family present. Page Six reports that guests had to sign NDAs, while phones were strictly not allowed during the ceremony. The 41-year-old actor’s fellow superheroes including Robert Downey Jr, Chris Hemsworth and Jeremy Renner, were present at the wedding, as was Emily Blunt and husband John Krasinski.
In November 2022, a source told People Magazine that the pair had been dating for over a year.
“They are in love, and Chris has never been happier,” the insider said, adding that the ‘Knives Out’ actor’s friends and family members all adored his girlfriend.
Chris Evans previously opened up to People Magazine about his desire to have a family and getting married:
“That’s absolutely something I want — wife, kids, building a family,” said the ‘Captain America’ actor. “When you read about most of the best artists, whether it’s actors, painters, writers, most of them [admit] it wasn’t the work they made [that they are most proud of], it was about the relationships, the families they created, the love they found, the love they shared.”
“So it’s also something through my long 41 years that also rings true. Those things are the most important. I love the idea of tradition and ceremony, I had a lot of that in my life so the idea of creating that, I can’t think of anything better.”
October aka Spooktober has already set in motion with the return of the fan favourite horror novel series ‘Goosebumps’, set to release on Disney Plus and Hulu from October 13 onwards. A teaser trailer is already setting social media on fire. The series was created by Rob Letterman and Nicholas Stoller, and will feature an entirely new cast of child actors.
Omfg yessss can’t wait October is gonna be amazing I’m so hyped for this
— Hannah (Prp and banner is from my bestie cholley) (@Franandfriends1) September 7, 2023
The television series is adapted from the popular horror novel series written by R.L Stine, which explores the lives of protagonists who find them selves in scary situations involving ghosts or other supernatural elements.
The series were previously adapted into a television series in 1995, and a film in 2015, which followed a fictionalised version of Stine teaming up with his daughter to save the neighbourhood after the monsters written in his book escape and begin igniting chaos.
A new trend known as ‘Barbie Botox’ has been unleashed on TikTok. Women are getting Trapezius Botox in order to elongate the neck and shrink the shoulders, so it makes the person resemble a Barbie doll. The hashtag #barbiebotox has over 9.4 million views on TikTok according to Forbes, while #traptox has over 22.5 million views, with clips of popular influencers and reality tv who have gotten the procedure.
TikTok influencer Malibutoast who has over 195 K followers, shared clips of herself after having the procedure done, with users worried in her comments about whether the trend would encourage more insecurities among women on social media.
‘Wake up guys new insecurity just dropped,” wrote one user.
“Damn now I have to add… trapezius to the list of things I need to fix about myself ” another wrote.
Isabelle Lux, another TikTok influencer who credits herself with coining the phrase ‘Botox Barbie’ detailed her own experience of getting the treatment with CNN:
“It came from the idea that you would look more like a Barbie when you get it done, which I don’t think is a bad thing. It elongates the neck, slims the shoulders and creates a very delicate physique when it’s done properly.”
Speaking to the news organisation about the growing backlash she was getting on the internet, including being called an ‘anti-feminist’, Lux defended her choice by pointing out that women shouldn’t be belittled for wanting to look a certain way.
“The desire to look a certain way has for centuries been seen as silly, a waste of time, waste of money and pointless, especially for women,” she told CNN. “But when a man wants to look a certain way, it’s scientific, it’s cool. I think that we need to stop belittling women for things that they’re interested in, including looking a certain way if they want to. It’s not silly. Like, it’s real.”
But many plastic surgeons are condemning the trend, explaining that the procedure was coined in order to help those with excessive neck pain, with a side effect of creating the illusion of a longer and slimmer neck. Speaking to PEOPLE magazine, New York City dermatologist Dr Amy Wechsler pointed out that Barbie’s features are unrealistic and these cosmetic procedures won’t make a noticeable effect on women.
“Someone years ago explained that if you take a Barbie doll and make it into an adult woman, the measurements are not really realistic. So I don’t love jumping on social media trends because they often don’t have any basis in science,” she explains. “I think that’s human nature to try to wanna copy a trend, but usually what happens — which is good — is that the trend will fizzle out if it’s not a good idea or if it’s not healthy.”
“The #BarbieBotox trend is more about slimming,” Wechsler adds. “If you relax those muscles it can make a big improvement in the feel and the look. But if someone doesn’t overuse that muscle, I don’t think it does that much.”
Speaking to CNN, Dr Parisha Acharya warned that incorrect administration of Botox could weaken the muscle completely, and then effect your ability to hold up your neck properly. She expressed concerns about the trend going viral on social media, especially when younger audiences are watching:
“I think a medical procedure should be treated as a medical procedure. And in the UK, (the aesthetics industry) is unregulated. So shockingly anyone can administer botulinum toxin injections. That could be a beautician or hairdresser with no clinical experience, no anatomy knowledge. It really does worry me.”
Dr Acharya also pointed out that the trend took the wrong message from the movie ‘Barbie’ which advocated for women to stop trying to mould themselves to appease the patriarchy, and start accepting their bodies as the way they are:
“It was very pro-feminism, and (women) were moving away from sexualizing our bodies and thinking of them as just objects,” she stressed. “I don’t like the fact that this trend is using Barbie to say we should have slim necks. We should embrace ourselves for who we are.”
Pakistan’s celebrated singer Shazia Manzoor has been honored in Ontario, Canada on Friday with The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Pin. The award was presented by Canadian politician Shafqat Ali, who praised the veteran singer for her contribution to arts and culture.
“It was such an honour to host Shazia Manzoor, a recognized and renowned Pakistani singer, and to recognize her for her contribution to art and culture and her commitment to bringing South Asian communities together through her song It was such a blessing to meet the acclaimed Pride of Performance of Pakistan and to award her with Her Majesty the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Pin Thank you for visiting and we hope to see you again soon.”
Looks like this isn’t the last of how ‘Fairy Tale’ actors Hamza Sohail and Sehar Khan will keep astonishing us, as the two’s recent photoshoot with Hello Pakistan has set social media on fire. The magazine describes the duo as ‘Gen Z powerhouses’, who quickly sky-rocketed to fame, garnering Indian and Bangladeshi fans for their roles as the enemies-to-lovers duo in the drama.
Faryal Mehmood was a guest on Momin Saqib’s show ‘Had Kar Di’ where the actor opened up how as a child, she was kicked out of several schools before reaching 12th grade because of her aggressive nature.
“I used to hit people a lot’, recalled Faryal. “One time I broke a girl’s ribs.”
“I was very young and I knew how to fight. So I just fought and it went to another level. I kicked her here and I broke her ribs and then I got suspended.”
The ‘Laal Ishq’ actress also revealed what career would she pick if she wasn’t an actress, and her choice was either becoming a dancer or a thief!
“I think I can accomplish huge heists’, joked the actress. “Because I’m a good actor…So I can manipulate anyone and use them.”
Bollywood legend Saira Banu joined Instagram on July 7, where she has since shared some memories of her relationship with the late icon Dilip Kumar, who passed away in 2021 after a prolonged illness. The veteran actor, who starred in films like ‘Padosan’, ‘Junglee’ and ‘Shaadi’, shared a wholesome story, one in which she proposed to her thespian husband.
In a lengthy caption on her Instagram account, the actress said that during the shoot of ‘Shagird’, she approached the late director Nazir Hussain and cheekily requested him to ask Dilip Sahab to work with her, or marry Saira.
“I turned to Nazir Sahab and with a mischievous smile on my face asked him for a favour! ‘You are working with Dilip Sahab, Oh! you are so lucky enough to be working with Dilip Sahab, please request him that Saira is dying to work with him and if he doesn’t do this then ask him to marry me!’.”
Nazir Hussain was at first dumb struck, Bano wrote, but then began laughing. He later travelled to Madras to relay Saira’s request to the late icon.
“Dilip Sahab,” wrote the ‘Padosan’ actress.”I am told gracefully smiled and acknowledged my cheeky message, to probably cover his embarrassment—-although I think you could have knocked him down with a feather!”
When the shoot for the song ‘Kanha’ was finished, Dillip visited her mother and grandmother and asked them for her hand in marriage.
Sajal Aly is by far one of the best actors the Pakistani entertainment industry has ever produced. Her older dramas still garner praise from people who are just now getting to see the actor’s filmography. Recently, an X user responded to a tweet quoting a powerful paragraph from Trevor Noah’s book ‘Born A Crime’ where his mother talks about how men love breaking down women and molding them to their tastes, by sharing a clip from Aly’s old drama ‘Rangreza’.
In the clip, Sajal’s character is seen shutting down her father, tired of him mistreating her mother all these years. The video has received praise from social media, with people blown away by the powerful monologue, some of them stating that they had underestimated the actress for so long.
Pakistani dramas rare depict daughters who refuse to go down the sati savitri trope, standing up to their abusive dads to let him know that their misbehavior is not acceptable. Social media users were enthralled by Sajal’s powerful performance.
I love the type of roles Sajal Ali has taken on recently. Full unapologetic, powerful roles. She’s kinda taken over the baton from Saba Qamar https://t.co/92n7EKb6TS
Every time I see @Iamsajalali act, I RISE in love of her freakishly exceptional craft once again. She is a generational talent, only one of her like, matchless, flawless & impregnable. She is here to conquer to world ❤️#SajalAlyhttps://t.co/3s5B04uIGx
Never getting over this performance of Sajal’s. Everytime I come across a scene of hers from O Rangreza, I’m left in awe. Sassi is and will always be a . One of my all time favorite characters. https://t.co/VYMZ9dz2SQ
