Woman says she was 'virtually gang raped' in Facebook's virtual reality Metaverse



A woman says that she was "virtually gang raped" during a beta test on virtual reality platform Horizon Worlds, which was created by Meta — formerly known as Facebook.

What are the details?

In a lengthy Medium article, 43-year-old Nina Jane Patel said that she experienced a "nightmare" in the simulated world.

“Within 60 seconds of joining — I was verbally and sexually harassed — 3-4 male avatars, with male voices, essentially, but virtually gang raped my avatar and took photos — as I tried to get away they yelled — ‘Don’t pretend you didn’t love it’ and ‘Go rub yourself off to the photo,’” Patel recalled.

Patel said that the incident took place so quickly that she wasn't even able to enable Meta's Safe Zone feature.

“A horrible experience that happened so fast and before I could even think about putting the safety barrier in place,” she explained.

“Harassment in the metaverses is a serious issue that the industry needs to come together on to put in place the correct security controls and safety measures,” Patel told the New York Post for a Tuesday report. “This is/will continue to be problematic for both men and women (adults) as our world fast moves from the 2D internet as we know it — into the 3D internet space (The Metaverse).”

Patel added that virtual reality has become so pervasive in popular culture that it's become virtually impossible to differentiate between simulated life and real life.

“Virtual reality has essentially been designed so the mind and body can’t differentiate virtual/digital experiences from real,” she wrote on Medium. “In some capacity, my physiological and psychological response was as though it happened in reality.”

What else?

In December, Meta acknowledged Patel's claim and said that she'd been virtually "groped" on the platform.

A spokesperson for the company also told the Post that the company is set to make ongoing safety improvements.

“We’re sorry to hear this happened. We want everyone in Horizon Venues to have a positive experience, easily find the safety tools that can help in a situation like this — and help us investigate and take action,” Osborne told the outlet. “Horizon Venues should be safe, and we are committed to building it that way. We will continue to make improvements as we learn more about how people interact in these spaces, especially when it comes to helping people report things easily and reliably.”

Patel said that the experience helped her move on to creating Kabuni — which the Post refers to as an "educational metaverse equipped with parental controls."

“The more damaging lens of course will be on our children who will start to use the Metaverse(s) more and more over the coming years,” she said. “The inevitable move into the Metaverse now causes further concerns if not properly regulated and controlled for this impressionable age group on the back of solid research, science, data and evidence-based methodologies,” Patel added. “This is the foundation upon which Kabuni has been established and is currently working with educators around the world to shape a safer Metaverse for children aged 8-16.”

Disgraced ex-pastor Carl Lentz's former nanny says he violated her with unwanted sexual touching, drove her to 'intense therapy'



Leona Kimes, one of disgraced ex-pastor Carl Lentz's former nannies, says she was the victim of disturbing repeated sexual touching

Lentz was fired from his position as lead pastor at New York City's Hillsong Church after it was revealed he reportedly had been cheating on his wife.

What are the details?

In a lengthy reveal on Medium, Kimes — now a co-pastor at Hillsong Boston with her husband Josh Kimes — said that Lentz was guilty of "repeated sexual touching" during her tenure with the family.

Kimes worked with Lentz and his family for seven years before moving to Boston, and revealed that her traumatic experience led her to seek "intense therapy" after she left.

"While there were joyful moments during that time, no one knew that I also experienced a great deal of pain," Kimes wrote in the Medium article. "During the years I spent serving them, I was subjected to manipulation, control, bullying, abuse of power, and sexual abuse. Having told almost no one before this, I am just now able to share what I experienced in their home as the result of intense therapy."

Kimes continued, "The abuse of power started small. Hours would increase beyond belief. Often I would work from 7 am to 11 pm. Schedules were switched last minute without even attempting to confirm my availability. Tasks kept getting added and added to my load. They made fun of me constantly, even calling me Cinderella, which they said was their way of loving me."

Kimes said that the experience started out as "classic bullying."

The bullying, she explained, soon turned sexual.

"My pastor would look at me and say, 'Gurl, you're looking good. You've been in the gym?' There was a lot of flirty teasing like this. I had been around long enough to know that's just how he was with women. But after a while, the comments started to escalate."

At one point, she recalled Lentz telling her "[A]fter you have kids, we'll buy you a boob job."

"Looking back, I know I felt embarrassed, but I didn't know it was wrong then," she insisted. "It hadn't occurred to me that I had a right to not be spoken to like that, by my pastor or anyone else."

It got even worse after that, she said, and Lentz reportedly began touching her in intimate areas.

"While he never had intercourse with me and never kissed me, I was physically violated by his unwanted and repeated sexual touching of my intimate areas," she said. "I froze. Every time, I froze."

Kimes said that she complained about the behavior in 2016, but the family "blamed and silenced" her for the reported behavior.

"I was the problem," she said. "But they kept me in my role, and I worked harder than ever after that."

Kimes said still couldn't get out from underneath the ex-pastor's thumb.

"I tried to escape by telling him I would find a new job outside of church," Kimes recalled. "Even though my husband was on staff, too, I thought it would be the best solution. I will never forget my pastor standing over me with a stern look, asking me who would possibly hire me. Without a college degree, he asked, what kind of job did I think I could get in New York City? I won't forget how that made me feel, so alone, so worth absolutely nothing[.]"

A spokesperson for Lentz denied all allegations and said that the Lentz family has "irrefutable proof the events did not happen as they are being described."

What else?

In a Sunday statement, Brian and Bobbie Houston, founders of Hillsong Church, said that Kimes' experience was nothing short of disturbing.

“After the termination of the former Lead Pastor of Hillsong East Coast, it was clear the issues were significant and because of our concerns, we initiated an independent and lengthy investigation into the culture of all four Hillsong East Coast locations," a portion of their statement read.

“In the process of seeking clarity, hearing Leona Kimes' experience was very disturbing," the statement continued. "We have respected Leona's privacy and her deeply personal story. She has now decided to share her experience so that she and her husband can continue moving forward as a family."

The family continued, "We know that Leona may face criticism for her story and her choice to share it. In that light, we commend her for her courage and have assured her of our utmost compassion in their journey forward. Abuse of any kind, in any circumstance, is always deplorable. As a church, we are committed to learning more about how to identify such trauma and bring meaningful support to anyone who has experienced it."

WaPo Quietly Edits Story From Last February Claiming COVID Lab Leak Theory Was ‘Debunked’

After 15-months, The Washington Post stealth edited a headline claiming Sen. Tom Cotton's "conspiracy theory" on the origins of COVID-19 was "debunked."

Another Professor Resigns Following Accusations She Pretended To Be Non-White

Chicana descent?

Man demands parents choose between Trump signs in their yard and seeing their grandkids. It spectacularly backfires — and now he's sorry.



Writer Leo Guinan went viral after sharing a personal, anti-Trump anecdote Friday on Medium, revealing that he told his mother and father that they would have to choose between having a Trump 2020 sign in their front yard and seeing their son and grandchildren.

Guinan received heavy pushback over the piece, and, admitting that he made a mistake, published a follow-up entry Monday revealing that he was sorry for what he told his family.

What did he say in the original post?

The original article, titled, "Today I Gave My Dad A Choice: Trump or His Grandkids and His Son," Guinan revealed that his father had the audacity to place a pro-Trump sign in his front yard.

Guinan was apparently so upset and offended that he told his father that he would not be visiting with his children until he removed the offending sign from the property.

Guinan, who said he was "really pissed" over the move, said he sent his father and mother a text message.

"Hands shaking, tears in eyes. This is what it said," he wrote. "Due to the signs in the yard, the kids and I will not be down. The current occupant of the White House is preaching hate and violence, endangering the lives and safety of many of my friends. This is not acceptable to me at all. There is a complete disregard for women, minorities, science, ethics, and morality. Please consider if you support Trump that much. Because I hate him that much. I wanted to be upfront and honest about my feelings."

Guinan said that he felt empowered after he pulled the trigger on the message and felt secure in his anti-Trump convictions.

"At this point, it is not acceptable to me," he wrote. "You can vote for whom you wish. But I can choose who I surround myself with. I love my dad, but I can't be around him until he understands how vital I believe this election to be and what is truly at stake. It is not easy. But it was necessary. "

What did he say in his follow-up post?

Just days later, Guinan admitted that he might have acted irrationally in trying to hold his family hostage over their political differences.

In a follow-up post titled, "How To Fail At Everything," Guinan said he wanted to "go viral" his apology to his father.

"I took an emotional moment in my life and framed it in a specific way because I wanted to trigger a response," he wrote.

And he did. He said he received "mostly negative" responses, which he admitted was unsurprising.

"I was trying to prevent others from being manipulated by manipulating them," he reasoned. "And I was doing this because I had the ability to, through social networks. And I let that go to my head. I am sorry to everyone who experienced that. It made me truly realize the incredibly destructive power that social media can provide."

Guinan added that the posting "sucked me into doing the very same behaviors I thought I was fighting."

"I apologized to my dad in person," he revealed. "I screwed up with him, and I owned that. I am OK with making mistakes because that is the best way to learn. But my dad did teach me growing up that it is better to own your mistakes and make them right."

"I screwed up by trying to influence others through social media," Guinan continued. "[I'm] sorry that I influenced your thoughts and actions via social media. ... [I] deleted all of my social media accounts. There were toxic to my life."

Guinan continued, insisting that social media is toxic, and encouraged his followers to examine their online lives.

"[Social media] came very close to ruining my life," he admitted. "I refuse to let it do that."

At the time of this reporting, it does appear that Guinan's Twitter account has been deactivated.