Election season occupies enough mental real estate as it is, so Reddit is letting its users preserve a modicum of sanity by permitting them to opt out of political ads. The news came in a wider post to r/redditsecurity yesterday, where an admin said the company has updated its Sensitive Advertising Categories list to include ads related to politics and activism. This means you can opt out of these topical ads using the sites existing ads filtering tools, per an update to the Reddit Changelog also released yesterday.Politics and activism join alcohol, dating, gambling, weight loss, and pregnancy and parenting in the list of ads you can filter out, as well as another newly added categoryreligion and spirituality.To opt out of political ads (or any other ads from the above categories) on desktop, go to reddit.com and click on your profile page in the top-right of the page, then click the cog next to Settings. Choose the Preferences tab and scroll down to the bottom of the page to find the Limit ads in selected categories button. Click it to expand a list of toggles, then choose which ads to limit and click Done. Credit: Reddit On Reddit for iOS or Android, tap your profile picture in the top-right corner, then tap the cog icon next to Settings. Under Account Settings, click your username, wait for the next page to load, and scroll down to Sensitive Advertising Categories. Toggle which categories you want to see ads from, and your account settings will update automatically. Credit: Reddit The ability to filter out political ads on Reddit comes after another post stating that politicians must now hold an AMA with the Reddit community before being able to post political ads on Reddit. AI-generated content in political ads must also now be clearly marked.

The 2024 Paris Olympics ended its first week with the women's all-around gymnastics competition, an event that is always among the most-watched contests at the games. While the outcome wasn't a surprise, it was inspiring. USA! USA!Day six Olympics wrap-up: Biles wins goldBy far the biggest story of day six at the Paris Olympics is gymnast Simone Biles winning gold in womens all-around gymnastics. The 27-year-old athlete edged out Brazilian Rebeca Andrade by just 1.199 points.Other notable day six finishes: 17-year-old swimming phenom Summer McIntosh won her second gold medal by dominating the 200-meter butterfly. Chinas Zheng Qinwen upset heavy favorite Iga Swiatek by knocking her out of medal contention in the tennis semifinals. And Liam Corrigan, Justin Best, Michael Grady, and Nick Mead won the first U.S. rowing gold medal in mens four since 1960.Gender and the 2024 OlympicsThe Paris Olympics opened with some gender-based envelope pushing: drag queens (gasp!) were included in the opening ceremony. The usual suspects decried it as a "disgrace" and headed for their fainting couches, while everyone else thought "cool" or barely noticed. But the drag queen dust-up was only a preview of a larger gender issue facing the Olympics and sports as a whole.The Olympics has made steady progress toward gender parity over the last 30 years or so, and 2024 marked a milestone for the games. For the first time ever, half of the athletes competing the Olympic Games are women. A 50/50 split feels like a goal achieved, but the more complex (and politically charged) issue lies within those gender categories. Algerian boxer Imane Khelif instantly became the center of a gender-based firestorm on day six of the Olympics when her opponent, Italian boxer Angela Carini, threw in the towel less than a minute into their fight, leading Donald Trump, Italian PM Giorgia Meloni, and others to protest Khelif's inclusion in the games. Khelif's lifetime record in the ring is 42 wins and 9 lossesrespectable, but not indicative of an overpowering fighterbut she was disqualified from the World Boxing Championships in 2023 by the International Boxing Association which said she failed a gender eligibility test, reportedly due to "high levels of testosterone." The IBA isn't clear about how it tests its athletes, though, and the circumstances behind Khelif's disqualification are murky, to say the least. Khelif was assigned female at birth. Her passport says she's female, and that's the criteria the Olympics uses to determine eligibility. But, according to the Associated Press, since the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, many sports governing bodies like World Aquatics, World Athletics, and the International Cycling Union have updated eligibility rules, and now bar athletes from womens events who have transitioned from male to female and went through male puberty. The IOC's position is that no scientific or political consensus exists on gender and fairness issues.Why are Olympic athletes pictured biting their medals?You may have seen photos of various Olympians biting into their medals on the the podium like they're chocolate bars. Biting used to be a down-and-dirty way to check if something was gold. Gold is soft, so you can leave teeth marks in it. The Olympics, though, haven't awarded gold pure gold medals since 1912, so athletes are not checking purity. Instead, they're following the directions of photographers. Its become an obsession with the photographers, Olympic historian David Wallechinsky told CNN. I think they look at it as an iconic shot, as something that you can probably sell. I dont think its something the athletes would probably do on their own.The oldest and youngest Olympians at the 2024 OlympicsMary Hanna is the oldest athlete at the 2024 Olympics. She's 69 years old and is a reserve rider for the Australian equestrian team. Hanna will only compete if another member of her team can't, but 65-year-old Juan Antonio Jimenez Cobo from Spain, also an equestrian, isn't a back-up, so he's is likely to be the oldest athlete to actually compete at the games this year. So if you want a shot at Olympic glory, get up on that horse; you got four years until the Los Angeles games.The youngest athlete competing at the Olympics this year is 11-year-old skateboarder Zheng Haohao representing China. She turns 12 a few days after the Women's Final on August 6. There are several other young skateboarders competinglike Thailand's Vareeraya Sukasem who is 12 years old, 13-year-old Heili Sirvi from Finland, and 14-year-old Canadian skater Fay DeFazio Ebertbut there's also a skater on the other side of the age spectrum. Great Britain's Andy Macdonald is competing in the park event on August 7, and he's 50 years old. Macdonald is proof that it's never too late, although whether he breaks a hip remains to be seen.

Mass-produced food, especially for giant events like the Olympics, never has much of a stellar reputation. Many Olympic athletes have been posting about the food offerings in Paris, but none have become viral in quite the way Henrik Christiansen has. This Norwegian swimmer has become obsessed with one thing (when he's not swimming): chocolate muffins. He has posted several chocolate muffin-centric videos, and has been thoroughly dedicated to making these muffins part of his Olympic legacy. Although I havent tasted this muffin from my seat here in Brooklyn, I have seen them, and, as creepy as typing this is, I've seen Henrik eat themand I gotta say, I get it. They look damn delightful. Theyve been identified by Eaters Kelin Carolyn Zhang as Maxi Muffin Chocolat Intense from Coup de Pates. You can see that they are chocolate, they are muffins, and there is a gooey chocolate center. You never like to see cheating at the Olympics, but these are desperate times. That gooey dining hall chocolate muffin at this years games seems to be winning over everyones heart, and I cant be bothered with making it from scratch, so I did what any hard worker clawing her way to victory does: I cheated. And you can too. Heres how you can have those TikTok-famous Olympic muffins tonight, just in time to switch on the games.How to make an Olympic chocolate muffinYou dont need much to replicate the look of this chocolate muffin. The defining factors are a chocolate muffin with chocolate chunks on top and a chocolate ganache center. Easy. Grab a bag of Nestle Toll House chunks, a box or bag of store-bought chocolate muffin mix, and some heavy cream.1. Make the muffin batterLine a muffin pan with paper liners and preheat your oven according to the packages directions. Store-bought muffin mix yields a soft and consistent product, and its pretty hard to screw up. Make the muffins as directed by the package. Scoop them into the muffin liners.Note that if your store only has chocolate chip muffins, you can easily make them chocolate by adding two tablespoons of cocoa powder to the dry mixture for every seven ounces of mix.2. Top them with chocolate chunksTap three to five chocolate chunks onto the top of each muffin. Aim to be off-center because well be cutting into it later to fill it with chocolate ganache. Bake the muffins according to the directions on the box. Credit: Allie Chanthorn Reinmann 3. Make ganacheWhen the muffins are out of the oven and cooling, make the ganache. Ganache is equal parts heavy cream and chocolate, but you can tip the scales by adding slightly more chocolate or cream to make it thicker or thinner depending on your preference. For five or six muffins, you dont need much. I used two ounces of cream and 2.5 ounces of chocolate chunks. Microwave a quarter-cup of heavy cream for 20 to 30 seconds, or until steaming. Pour in a third-cup of the Toll House chocolate chunks and let it sit for two minutes to soften. Whisk until smooth.4. Fill the muffinsOnce the muffins are cool and the ganache has cooled to a spoonable consistency, use a paring knife to cut out a small space in the center of the muffin. I cut an inverted cone shape out of mine, and you can scrape around a bit to make more room for ganache. Put a spoonful of ganache into the cavity. You can put the top back on if you want to, or just leave it open if you dont want to surprise anyone.Thats it. The boxed mix will never fail at delivering a tender muffin. The added chocolate ganache center is silky, rich, and all you need to really push this over the finish line. Theyre simple to make and perfect for your next Olympics watch party. Pretending to be an Olympian has never been easier. I just want to say thank you to everyone who has supported me so I could get this far. I owe it all to my village. Thank you so much. Enjoy the muffins.Cheater-cheater Olympic Chocolate Muffin RecipeIngredients:1 small box (or 7-ounce bag) of chocolate muffin mixChocolate chunks for toppingFor the ganache filling:A heaping cup of chocolate chunks cup heavy cream1. Preheat the oven according to the directions on the muffin mix. Line a muffin pan with paper liners.2. Mix the muffin mix as directed on the package. Place the batter in the muffin cups and place three to five chocolate chunks on top of each muffin. Bake as directed.3. Once the muffins are baked and cooling, you can make the chocolate ganache. Heat up the heavy cream in a microwave-safe measuring cup. This only takes about 30 seconds to begin steam. Pour in the chocolate chunks and let it sit as-is for two minutes. Whisk until smooth. Pop it into the fridge to firm up for about 20 minutes.4. When the muffins are cool, cut a small hole out of the center with a paring knife. Fill it with a spoonful of ganache. You can place a bit of the cut-out back on top to seal the muffin if you like. Enjoy these muffins while watching your next big competition.

The U.S. Department of Justice is escalating its battle with TikTok and, by extension, its parent company ByteDance. The government is suing the company for illegally collecting the data of users under 13 without permission from those children's parents.The suit alleges TikTok knew these users were under 13 years old when they allowed them to make accounts on the app. What's worse, the DoJ claims that when parents asked TikTok to delete their kids' accounts, the company frequently did not oblige. There are two key violations at play here, according to the government: The DoJ believes TikTok violated the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act, which has strict rules about tracking kids' activity online. The Justice Department also says TikTok violated a 2019 agreement the company made with the government, in which TikTok would both let parents know before they collected data from children, as well as delete videos from users under the age of 13.TikTok and the U.S. are at oddsThis is just the latest development in the battle between TikTok and the U.S. government. Congress has been after TikTok for years, seeing the app as a major security risk for Americans. ByteDance is based in China, which means it is beholden to the Chinese government's data requests. The U.S. government believes this is a huge vulnerability, potentially allowing the Chinese government to harvest American user data, as well as influence the content users in the U.S. actually see.Earlier this year, Congress got their wish, when they passed a bill that would ban the app in the U.S. unless ByteDance divested from the app. President Biden signed the bill into law, which means ByteDance either needs to sell, or risk losing its hundreds of millions of American users. For a full explanation of the situation, check out my timeline of the TikTok ban.TikTok shot back, however, suing the U.S. over this bill, citing constitutional violations. Now, there are two lawsuits between the U.S. and TikTok, and a looming ban. However you slice it, things aren't looking great for so many people's favorite short-form video app.

The United States Department of Education has announced borrowers should check their emails to learn if they may be eligible for the wide-scale loan cancellation. This move is part of the Biden-Harris administrations efforts to work around the Supreme Court's previous ruling against Biden's original sweeping student loan forgiveness plan. Now, the proposed rulewhich is still being finalizedaims to provide narrower, more targeted debt relief. What this news means for youBorrowers who may qualify for this relief should keep an eye out for official communications and be prepared to take any necessary steps to apply or confirm their eligibility. In its email to borrowers, the department lists four categories of eligibility:Borrowers who owe more than they did at the start of repayment.Those who entered repayment on their undergraduate loans on or before July 1, 2005, or, if they have graduate loans, on or before July 1, 2000.People who are already eligible for student loan forgiveness under one of the governments existing programs but just havent yet applied.Students from low-financial value programs.In general, when it comes to more targeted eligibility, there are three main programs at play: Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF), the Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) Plan, and income-driven repayment (IDR) plans. "Hopefully, millions will get their student loans forgiven under these programs," says Shaan Patel, CEO of Prep Expert.According to Patel, there are strong indications that more and more loans will be forgiven, as well as expanded relief through means like "waiving interest, automatic forgiveness, specifically targeted assistance for those facing financial hardship," and more. The final rule on this debt reliefis expected to go out sometime in October. For now, the Department of Education says those who want to be included in the relief do not need to do anything. No application will be needed.So, as the landscape of student loans and college financing continues to evolve, staying informed about new programs and opportunities is crucial. This potential debt relief for millions of borrowers marks a hopeful shift in addressing the student loan crisis. However, for incoming students, a proactive and comprehensive approach to financing their education remains essential.Finding the best way to pay for collegeFor most incoming college students, the path to financing their education can be daunting. Scholarships and loans are often some of the only viable options, and the number of choices can be incredibly overwhelming.Patel breaks down the main two paths forward for prospective students: loans and merit-based aid.When it comes to loans, Patel urges borrowers to regularly visit studentaid.gov, in order to stay on top of any updates to eligibility, deadlines, or new programs available to you.Another tip from Patel is to negotiate your financial aid packagean option "many students and parents don't even realize is available to them." If your family's financial situation has changed since you originally applied months agofrom, say, job loss or medical expensesthen you should document these circumstances and send a formal appeal letter to your financial aid office. Patel stresses the importance of going in person or speaking to the office over the phone, if possible. Compared to the impersonal communication of an email, you'll be better poised to make your case and understand the timeline for getting a response. And like with any negotiation, if you have a better offer from another school, bring that up. The financial aid office may be able to match or approve upon that competing offer. When it comes to scholarships and other types of merit-based aid, Patel's big tip is go local. "When I was a senior in high school, I applied to 100 scholarships," shares Patel. "I won 20, and 19 of those scholarships were local to my city and state." It makes sense: With national scholarships, your competition is stiff. With niche, local scholarships, you increase your odds tenfold. Do some in-depth research about scholarships available in your area. There could be a local business you've never heard of that has a program with money available to fund your way to school.Patel shares one more underrated strategy for anyone short on college funds: Consider attending a junior community college for two years, and then transferring to a traditional four-year institution. You can save significant amount on tuition and fees, and "many community colleges have existing transfer agreements with four-year universities to ensure a seamless and cost-effective transition." Patel knows many students who have been able to transfer to top universities after essentially halving the cost of a four-year degree.The takeawayBy exploring all available options, including federal aid and niche, local scholarships, students can make informed decisions that align with their educational goals and financial circumstances. Remember, the key is to start early and stay organized. Again: Regularly visit studentaid.gov to take advantage of the most up-to-date tools and information for debt relief.

The Google Pixel 8 lineup was impressive when it came out late last year with its advanced AI features. They still are impressive, with new AI features dropping every few months. If you're interested in getting one of these phones, the Pixel 8 offers great value for your money, as long as you're okay giving up some things. Right now, you can get the 128GB Google Pixel 8 for $499 (originally $699), the lowest price it has been on Amazon according to price checking tools, beating the Prime Day deal by a dollar. Google Pixel 8 Unlocked Android Smartphone with Advanced Pixel Camera, 24-Hour Battery, and Powerful Security. $499.00 at Amazon $699.00 Save $200.00 Get Deal Get Deal $499.00 at Amazon $699.00 Save $200.00 What makes the Google Pixel 8 lineup great is their unique features and seven-year commitment from Google to keep updating its software. The Pixel 8 is the sweet spot between the three phones. Right now, the budget Pixel 8a is only $50 cheaper than the Pixel 8, but the Pixel 8 brings a lot more value than the $50 difference. The Pixel 8 Pro is also at its lowest Amazon price of $699 (originally $999), but those $200 mainly get you a better camera with a telephoto lens and a thermometer (you can see the breakdown in more detail here). The Pixel 8 has the same Tensor G3 processor and Android 14 software as the Pixel 8 Pro for much cheaper.The Pixel 8 has some cool AI features, like AI-enabled photo editing, audio editing, and live translation. Some of my favorite features include the Audio Magic Eraser, which gets rid of distracting sounds in videos, and the Best Take feature, which lets you pick the best shot from a series of photos. The phone also has an IP68 rating, gives you water and dust resistance, and the camera will give you a bit more than 10 hours of juice.

You can get Windows 11 Pro and Microsoft Office Pro 2021 on sale for $59.97 right now (reg. $438) through August 4. The Windows 11 Pro license works on two PCs (minimum requirements include 4GB of RAM and 64GB of available storage), and it includes support for biometrics login for compatible devices, encrypted authentication, and BitLocker device encryption. You can also download the newest, non-cloud-based version of eight essential Microsoft Office apps: Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Teams, OneNote, Publisher, and Access, onto one computer with at least 1GB of RAM and 4GB of free hard disk space. And since this isnt a Microsoft 365 subscription, you won't have to renew or pay subscription fees.You can get Windows 11 Pro and Microsoft Office 2021 on sale for $59.97 right now (reg. $438) through August 4 at 11:59 p.m. PT, though prices can change at any time.

When it comes to tracking health and fitness data, we most often think about smartwatches and other wearables. As it turns out, your Android phone can track some basic metrics all by itself, and you might not even be aware it's happening.Apps such as Google Fit and Samsung Health can log steps, active minutes, calories burned, and more in the background while you use your phone day to day, and they can also share data with other health and fitness apps on your phone.Of course, this can all be useful for insights into your health and daily routine, but it's important to be aware of what's being collected and where it's being stored. Best of all, running an audit of these apps only takes a few minutes.How your data is storedGoogle Fit now makes use of an underlying technology called Health Connect, which manages everything locally on your smartphone and keeps it fully encrypted: This data can't be accessed by anyone else, unless they're somehow able to unlock your phone, and it applies to all the apps who want to use the Health Connect standard.As for Google Fit, it does sync data to the cloud as a backup, but it isn't end-to-end encrypted. That means it has Google's standard security protections around it, but someone at Google could technically see that data if they wanted to. This is actually the same as a lot of Google services, including Gmail: You're trusting the company to keep your data secure and safe. Health Connect manages apps connected to Google Fit and Samsung Health. Credit: Lifehacker It's a similar story when it comes to anything saved to Samsung Health: By default, this data is stored locally on your phone and encrypted there using Samsung's own Knox technology. You also have the option to save it to the cloud if you want, which lets you sync it between devices. By default, this isn't end-to-end encrypted either, so while it will be well-protected, there is some element of risk in terms of it being hacked.That said, Samsung recently introduced an Enhanced Data Protection mode for files stored in Samsung Cloud, including those synced from Samsung Health. That means data in the cloud will be fully encrypted and inaccessible by everyone else, though for the time being it's only available on the Samsung Galaxy S24 series.Checking health data trackingOpen up Google Fit on your Android phone and you'll get an overview of all the health and fitness data that's currently being tracked by your handset: You'll typically see steps, energy expended, and heart points (a measure of your exercise routines) if the default data types are being logged.Any of this data can be deleted by heading to the Profile tab, tapping the gear icon (top right), then choosing Delete your data. The next screen lets you delete data from particular categories, or completely erase everything. To delete an individual data point, such as a single run, select it from the Journal screen, then tap the three dots (top right) and choose Delete. You can delete data with a couple of taps. Credit: Lifehacker To stop any of the tracking Google Fit is doing, or to stop it communicating with other apps, open the Profile tab, tap the gear icon (top right), then Manage data and access. From here, you can choose App permissions to connect or disconnect third-party health and fitness apps, and Data and access to manage particular data categories.So, for example, to stop Google Fit tracking your steps every day, you would head to Data and access > Activity > Steps > Fit. Here, turn off the Steps toggle, and you're done. The same screen lists all the different types of data that Google Fit can log if you want it to, and it's the same if you select another app. You have control over the data Google Fit can access. Credit: Lifehacker If you have a Samsung Galaxy device and Samsung Health, there are a few differences. You can select a type of data, such as steps, then tap the three dots (top right) to pause recording that type of data. To wipe all of your data, head to the Home tab, tap the three dots, then choose Settings and Erase personal data.From the same Settings page, you can access Health Connect, which works the same way as it does inside Google Fit: You can manage which apps (including Samsung Health) have access to the data your phone's sensors are reporting, dig into the different categories of data that have been logged, and choose which apps and connected devices (like smartwatches) are allowed to report back to Samsung Health.

Bleach makes a great disinfectant, but safety is important. You already know not to mix it with ammonia, vinegar, or alcohol, but did you know that the temperature of the water also matters? Here's a guide to properly diluting bleach so you can use it as a disinfectant. Spoiler: a lot of you are doing it wrong.Why dilute bleach? If you want to disinfect a surface with bleach, diluting bleach with water is actually more effective than using it straight. Diluted bleach is also gentler on the materials that the bleach contacts, and saves money and troublea bottle of bleach can last a very long time when you're only using a few tablespoons at a time.Use cold or room temperature waterWhen washing things with soap, we usually go with warm or hot water, since heat energy helps chemical molecules to interact with each other more often. If you've ever washed dishes with cold water at a campsite, compared to the hot water of your sink at home, you already know this difference. But when it comes to sanitizing with bleach, the higher temperature isn't worth the drawbacks. Using hot water isnt dangerous, like some other things people are doing with bleach (please dont put it on your skin), but it has some distinct disadvantages. First, a steamy hot bleach solution is more likely to allow some of the bleach to waft into the air. Bleach fumes can irritate your eyes and nose, and you should be using bleach in a well-ventilated place if possible, anyway. Using room temperature water will minimize this effect. The other problem is that hot water will make the chemicals in bleach break down more quickly. Even a properly made bleach solution will be less effective if you leave it out overnight, which is why you should mix up a fresh solution every day. If you need a bucket of diluted bleach to last for an afternoons cleaning spree, it will keep its effectiveness better with lukewarm water than with hot.There is one situation where hot water is okay, though, and thats laundry. Clorox says its fine to wash your clothes in hot bleachy water, and the heat can even help the bleach work more quickly. The concerns about fumes and about waning effectiveness dont apply when the bleach is confined to the inside of the washing machine for the short amount of time it takes to wash your socks. Use the right kind of bleachYou'll find a lot of things that market themselves as "bleach," like color-safe bleach, splashless bleach, Clorox-branded cleaning solutions, and more. When we're talking about using bleach to disinfect things, that refers to regular household bleach (like this) with an active ingredient of 8.25% sodium hypochlorite. For the dilution instructions below, the CDC says to use bleach that is anywhere between 5-9% sodium hypochlorite. If it doesn't give a percentage, don't use it. And if the percentage is outside that 5-9% range, either don't use it or look up the appropriate dilution ratio from the manufacturer or another source. Clorox Original Liquid bleach 64 oz - 2 Pack (128 oz Total) $18.99 at Amazon Shop Now Shop Now $18.99 at Amazon Mix the bleach and water in the correct ratioDon't just dump a glug of bleach into a bucket of water. Measure. The CDC recommends the following ratios, using standard household bleach: 5 tablespoons per gallon of room temperature water, or4 teaspoons per quart of room temperature waterNote the difference in units: if you're measuring by the gallon, you're using five tablespoons. That's a little more than a quarter-cup. (If you've heard that you should use 1/3 of a cup per gallon of water, that's basically the same as this rule. Close enough.) On the other hand, for a quart, that means four teaspoons. If you're mixing up a smaller amount for a spray bottle, two teaspoons will work for 16 ounces. This is easy math if you've memorized common kitchen unitsthree teaspoons to a tablespoon, four tablespoons to a quarter-cup, two cups to a pint, two pints to a quart, four quarts to a gallon. I understand that not everybody has committed these to memory, so here is a handy chart from Clorox that lays out the appropriate measurements for buckets and spray bottles of various sizes.Store it properlyDiluted bleach doesn't last forever. If you're mixing it in a bucket right before you use it, and dumping any leftovers down the drain immediately, you don't need to worry about storage. But if you're mixing a supply to use throughout the day, as in a spray bottle, dump it at the end of the day. Bleach breaks down once it's diluted, and the solution is only good for about 24 hours. That same spray bottle isn't going to be effective for sanitizing the day after tomorrow. Bleach solutions also break down faster in sunlight, so if you will be storing the solution temporarily, use an opaque container.

Apple pulled the latest short film in its The Underdogs: OOO (Out of Office) series set in Thailand. The tech giant scrubbed it over complaints about stereotypical portrayals of Thailand and its people in certain scenes.The Bangkok Post reports that Apple issued an apology to the people of Thailand for the fifth film in its Underdogs series. The ad series features a group of travel weary office workers navigating the world using Apples various products.Several viewers posted comments criticizing the films use of a sepia filter to make Thailand seem underdeveloped. The comments also called out the costuming and scenery decisions in its airport scene using outdated representations of Thailands citizens.Sattra Sripan, the spokesman for the Thai House of Representatives committee on tourism, called for a boycott over the ad.Thai people are deeply unhappy with the advertisement, Sripan said in a statement. I encourage Thai people to stop using Apple products and change to other brands.Apple issued an apology for the ad shortly after pulling it off of YouTube. Lawmakers have also invited Apple representatives to visit with them to discuss the ads and how they portray Thailand on film.Our intent was to celebrate the countrys optimism and culture, and we apologize for not fully capturing the vibrancy of Thailand today, the statement read.This is the second time this year that Apple has apologized for a commercial. Apple pulled an ad back in May that it told AdAge missed the mark for its new thin iPad Pro. The commercial features a giant pneumatic press crushing a large collection of items used in or to represent creative endeavors such musical instruments, paints, a generic arcade cabinet, and camera equipment. The steel crusher smooshes everything flat and lifts up to reveal an intact iPad sitting on the lower steel block that a voiceover describes as the most powerful iPad ever is also the thinnest.Artists, musicians and other creators took offense to the ads implied tone that generative AI would replace human artistic endeavors. Apple vowed not to air the ad on TV but its still on its YouTube page with the comments section disabled.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apple-apologizes-for-another-ad-that-missed-the-mark-220045564.html?src=rss