Stock photos trade in stereotypes–but they just got more diverse

Where rental stores couldn’t compete, non-profits step in to preserve physical media in the digital age. Despite promises of unlimited access to media, online streaming services have actually reduced the variety of films available to their subscribers. In contrast to the vagaries of digital streaming business models, Beyond Video in Baltimore looks to members, donors, and volunteers to grow and maintain a lending library—already larger than the Netflix catalog—invested in promoting film culture and history.

The Netrevalók program pairs tech-savvy Hungarian high school students with seniors in monthly library sessions to teach digital skills. They have reached 59,000 participants and reduced both digital isolation and loneliness while fostering empathy and purpose in young volunteers through meaningful intergenerational connections.

Four Corners television produced a documentary about the coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan, China that uses footage filmed by residents. The clips, which show people with the virus being taken by police and bodies left on the street, were found on a YouTube channel where they were uploaded to prevent deletion by government censors. The company verified the location, time, and factual context of each clip, and wove them together with original reporting. The raw footage, shot on the ground with smart phones, was particularly memorable and the film received over 12 million views and high ratings in Australia.

AllGo, a Portland-based organization is an app that aims to combat fat bias in the media by creating a collection of stock photos of exclusively plus-sized models. The app is a completely free resource that aims to offer another perspective in stock photography, which tends to err cis-gendered, able-bodied, and thin. Their photos now have more than 76,000 downloads and over 24 million views, and the creators and models look forward to shooting many more scenes as "an act of resistance."

100% Mamans, an association in Morocco that aids single mothers, has created a radio show called "Mères en Ligne" that is hosted and run by unwed mothers. The show, which at this point can only live online because Morocco prohibits community radio to broadcast on air, allows women to tell their stories and advocate for their rights despite the heavy stigma. Since the show launched in May of 2017, it has already received 2,500,000 visitors and counting.

The Academy Award-winning documentary "A Girl in the River: The Price of Freedom" is being toured around small towns and villages in Pakistan, the country that the documentary is set in. The movie is about honor killings, but the director has since started hosting viewings of other movies about topics that discuss changes in the law and how women can advocate for themselves. The mobile cinema has since led to the closing of a "forgiveness" loophole in the law that allowed men to get away with the murders, and its model is now spreading to Bangladesh and Syria.

In the midst of a seemingly increasingly divided political and racial landscape, some artists of color are pushing back to create art that represents their own non-White communities. Some artists have chosen to do this by recreating Norman Rockwell’s paintings, which in the earlier part of his career mainly showcased White people. “The image haunted me because of the world we live in,” the artist said, referring to today’s divisive political climate. “I wanted to imagine what it would look like today.”

Libraries in the United States have traditionally been centers to consume information, offering users books in quiet isolation. However, a new movement across the country is transforming libraries by providing internet access, creating spaces to study and learn, and meet with members of the community. There has even been the creation of pop-up happy hour libraries at bars, and bike book deliveries to distribute free books. These new libraries are re-inventing how communities learn and demonstrating that even the oldest institutions are elastic to communities' needs.

ClaimStat is a New York city program that uses data to track allegations of police misconduct on a neighborhood level and shares the information with the public, helping prevent lawsuits against the city and diverting settlement funds to core city services like education or street cleanup. Chicago looks to learn from the program and reduce the millions spent on police misconduct lawsuits each year.

Women in Jos, Nigeria formed cross-religious peace networks and vigilante patrols that eliminated conflict deaths between 2014-2023 in their communities, restored inter-faith relationships, and reduced crime through nighttime security operations, though they face ongoing challenges from lack of police support and systemic justice failures.