YouTube, football rumours and a nationalist lesbian

Your Daily Package of newsy and naughty bits from around the world


Russian gay men tell the stories of victims of the Chechan crackdown (Human Rights First.)

YouTube reverses discriminatory LGBT filter

After complaints from YouTubers that their innocuous content was being blocked, YouTube says it has fixed a filter that made videos with gay content unavailable to some users. YouTube’s “restricted mode” blocks mature content on the site.

Read more at the BBC.

German right-wing party appoints lesbian leader

One of two new leaders of right-wing German nationalist party Alternative für Deutschland is a married lesbian. The choice is particularly surprising because the party’s platform explicitly opposes same-sex families.

Read more at the Irish Times.

Chechnya in stories

In a new video from an American human rights group, Russian gay men read the stories of men persecuted in Chechnya’s recent anti-gay crackdown.

A football player’s questionable outing

After his suicide in prison, reports surfaced suggesting former football player Aaron Hernandez was gay and had left a message for his “gay jailhouse lover.” Reporters at OutSports, however, say the rumours rely on shoddy reporting and sensationalism.

The only North Korean gay refugee

At CNN, Jang Yeong-jin tells his story as the only openly gay men to escape from North Korea, from his secret love for his best friend to his decision to leave.

Niko Bell

Niko Bell is a writer, editor and translator from Vancouver. He writes about sexual health, science, food and language.

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