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<ul class="summary-list"><li>Cher says her mother wasn't pleased when she started dating Sonny Bono, who was 11 years older.</li><li>The "Believe" singer told "CBS Sunday Morning" that she "lied to him a few times" about her age.</li></ul><p>There's at least one person who didn't initially approve of <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/cher-will-have-long-hair-wear-jeans-when-old-2023-9">Cher</a>'s age-gap relationship with Sonny Bono — her mother.</p><p>During an interview with Anthony Mason<strong> </strong>on "<a target="_blank" href="https://www.cbsnews.com/video/extended-interview-cher/">CBS Sunday Morning</a>" on Sunday, Cher spoke about how her relationship with Bono — who was 11 years older than her — started when she was still underage.</p><p>The "Believe" singer first met Bono at a coffee shop in the early 1960s and she lied to him about her age, she said.</p><p>"I lied to him a few times. I told him I was 18, and then someone said, 'You know, I don't think she's 18.' So I said, 'OK, I'm not 18 but next month is my birthday' — which was true — 'and I'm going to be 18,'" Cher told Mason, recounting her words.</p><p>"He said OK, and then I was 17. And my mom told him she was going to put him in jail," Cher said.</p><p>Her first meeting with Bono left a huge impression on her, she said.</p><p>"I thought it was like when Tony met Maria," Cher said, referencing the main characters of "West Side Story."</p><p>While it wasn't "love at first sight," it was "something" that she "never felt" before, she said: "I mean, everybody disappeared and it was just the two of us. But he didn't like me."</p><p>Even though Bono didn't find her attractive initially, their relationship eventually blossomed, she said.</p><p>Cher married Bono in 1964, and soon, they started performing together. Their child, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/cher-sons-chaz-bono-elijah-blue-allman-everything-to-know-2023-12">Chaz Bono</a>, was born in 1969, and the couple divorced in 1975.</p><p>Looking back on their relationship, Cher says that their 11-year <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/age-gap-relationship-difference-hidden-secret-regret-2024-2">age gap</a> never felt strange.</p><p>"He was kind of childish. He got to be real with me because I didn't expect anything. I didn't want money, I didn't think about anything, you know. And all these other women that were his age, they wanted him to be grown up," Cher said.</p><p>These days, Cher — now 78 — <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/cher-dates-younger-men-older-dead-terrified-age-gap-relationship-2024-5">prefers dating younger men</a>.</p><p>"And the reason why I go out with young men is because men my age or older — well, now they're all dead — but before, they just never, they were always terrified to approach me," Cher said on "The Jennifer Hudson Show" in May.</p><p>The singer has been in a relationship with music exec Alexander Edwards since 2022. <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/cher-40-year-age-gap-boyfriend-alexander-edwards-2022-11">They have a 40-year age gap</a>.</p><p>Cher isn't the only <a target="_blank" rel="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/celebrity-couples-with-the-biggest-age-differences-between-them-2017-9"><u>celebrity in an age-gap relationship</u></a>. Others include <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/dick-van-dyke-secret-to-long-life-longevity-exercise-gym-2024-7">Dick Van Dyke</a> and Arlene Silver, who have a 46-year gap, <a target="_blank" rel="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/beyonce-jay-z-net-worth-music-first-billionaire-couple-money-billion-2019-4"><u>Jay-Z and Beyoncé</u></a>, who have a 12-year gap, and <a target="_blank" rel="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/blake-lively-ryan-reynolds-work-parenting-kids-personal-life-2024-2"><u>Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds</u></a>, who have an 11-year gap.</p><p>In March, on "The View," Whoopi Goldberg said that she once <a target="_blank" rel="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/whoopi-goldberg-40-year-age-gap-relationship-the-view-2024-3"><u>dated a man who was 40 years older</u></a> than her. In that same episode, her cohost Joy Behar said that it's <a target="_blank" rel="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/joy-behar-women-date-younger-men-age-gap-relationship-2024-3"><u>"scientifically smart" for women to date younger men</u></a> because they'll have similar lifespans.</p><p>A representative for Cher said that the singer did not have any further comment.</p>

Cher says her mother wanted to put Sonny Bono 'in jail' because of their 11-year age-gap relationship

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Cher filed for conservatorship of her son Elijah Blue Allman on Wednesday.</li><li>The singer asked a Los Angeles court to put her in charge of her 47-year-old son's finances.</li></ul><p><a target="_blank" href="https://www.insider.com/cher-best-style-moments">Cher</a> filed for conservatorship of her son, Elijah Blue Allman, on Wednesday, according to court documents seen by <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/cher-conservatorship-block-son-from-spending-over-drug-use-2023-12?r=US&amp;IR=T">Business Insider</a>.</p><p>The 77-year-old singer petitioned the Los Angeles Superior Court to put her in charge of the finances of her 47-year-old son because, according to the filing, he is "unable to manage his assets due to severe mental health and substance abuse issues."</p><p>Allman is the youngest of Cher's two children. Here's everything to know about Allman and his brother, Chaz Bono.</p><h2>Chaz Bono is the son of Sonny Bono and Cher.</h2><div type="image" title="Sonny and Cher posing together." height="1800" width="2400" msid="106388844" hostid="261" sizebytes="458394"></div><p><a target="_blank" href="https://www.insider.com/cher-40-year-age-gap-boyfriend-alexander-edwards-2022-11">Cher</a> met fellow singer and entertainer <a target="_blank" href="https://www.insider.com/celebrity-politicians-2018-3#sonny-bono-was-part-of-the-musical-duo-sonny-and-cher-with-ex-wife-cher-but-he-was-elected-mayor-of-palm-springs-california-and-served-as-a-california-congressman-7">Sonny Bono</a> in 1962, and the pair fell in love and married in 1964. They produced nearly three dozen Billboard top 10 songs and had several successful TV shows and specials, but divorced in 1975.</p><p>Cher then went on to have a solo singing and acting career, winning an Academy Award for best actress for her performance in "Moonstruck." She is the only artist, other than the Rolling Stones, to have a No. 1 song on a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.billboard.com/music/chart-beat/cher-no-1-song-billboard-chart-seventh-decade-dj-play-a-christmas-song-1235518147/">Billboard</a> chart in each of the last seven decades.</p><p>Their son, Chaz, was born in 1969.</p><h2>Chaz Bono is an actor and had a brief music career.</h2><div type="image" title="Chaz Bono Cher" height="491" width="654" msid="106388845" hostid="261" sizebytes="23682"></div><p>As a child, Bono often appeared in skits on "The Sonny &amp; Cher Comedy Hour" and began pursuing acting in earnest at 13, according to <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-chaz-bono-lost-60-pounds-2013-4?r=US&amp;IR=T"><u>People</u></a>. He was eventually offered a scholarship to a performing arts school, LaGuardia High School, in New York City.</p><p>"I started acting in high school. It was the career that I wanted, but I stopped because I couldn't really do a good job playing female characters, and I didn't know why," he told <a target="_blank" href="https://people.com/celebrity/chaz-bono-i-never-dreamed-id-play-male-roles/">People</a> in a 2013 interview.</p><p>During his senior year, he was offered a male role for the first time and "really excelled," he said. "But I told myself, 'This will never happen as a professional, so I need to find another career.'"</p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1993-09-21-ca-37606-story.html">Bono briefly pursued</a> a music career and formed a band with a college friend called Ceremony in 1988. The band signed with a record label in 1990 and released its only album, "Hang Out Your Poetry," three years later.</p><p>In 1990, Bono was outed as a lesbian by the tabloid press, which he later said ground to a halt his <a target="_blank" href="http://edition.cnn.com/books/news/9810/14/bono.out.cnn/index.html ">coming out process.</a> He had a proper coming-out later when he appeared on the cover of the LGBTQ+ magazine The Advocate in 1995.</p><p>That was the start of Chaz's activism journey. The actor became a spokesperson for the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.hrc.org/press-releases/human-rights-campaign-statement-on-chaz-bonos-announcement-of-transitioning">Human Rights Campaign</a>, a writer for the Advocate, and the entertainment media director for <a target="_blank" href="https://variety.com/1998/biz/news/glaad-taps-seomin-as-media-director-1117480705/">GLAAD</a>.</p><p>Following his transition, Bono pursued acting, going on to star in "Degrassi: The Next Generation," <a target="_blank" href="https://www.insider.com/american-horror-story-ranked-worst-to-best">"American Horror Story"</a> and "Curb Your Enthusiasm."</p><p>Bono has also appeared as a guest on <a target="_blank" href="https://www.insider.com/rupauls-drag-race-2019-1">"RuPaul's Drag Race"</a> and a contestant on <a target="_blank" href="https://www.insider.com/dancing-with-the-stars-pros-most-wins-then-and-now">"Dancing With The Stars"</a> and remains an activist for the LGBTQ+ community.</p><div type="image" title="Chaz Bono heavy" height="532" width="709" msid="106388846" hostid="261" sizebytes="20572"></div><p>Chaz's coming out caused issues with his parents, he later said. </p><p>Although Cher was a gay ally at the time, Chaz told <a target="_blank" href="http://edition.cnn.com/books/news/9810/14/bono.out.cnn/index.html">CNN</a> that his mother went "ballistic" when she found out her son was a lesbian — which Chaz privately revealed in 1987.</p><p>"I think she had certain expectations, hopes, and dreams of what her child's life would be, and she wanted it to be as smooth and easy as possible," Chaz said.</p><p>"I don't remember the exact words," he told <a target="_blank" href="https://www.vanityfair.com/news/1998/10/chastity-bono-199810">Vanity Fair</a> in a 1998 interview. "But her initial reaction was more based on her being the last person in my immediate family to find out. And she was kind of embarrassed. I don't think it was really a shock. But I think it was this thing that she had been hoping wasn't true, and then it turned out to be."</p><p>While Sonny Bono always accepted his son, Bono's activism began to conflict with his father's role as a Republican congressman.</p><p>Sonny Bono, who served as a US congressman from 1995 to 1998, sponsored the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.congress.gov/congressional-report/104th-congress/house-report/664/1">1996 Defense of Marriage Act</a>, which denied recognition of same-sex marriages.</p><p>"I would have a lot more respect for him if he really was anti-gay and voted this way, as opposed to being so great about it, which he was when I came out," Bono told <a target="_blank" href="https://www.nytimes.com/1997/07/09/garden/growing-up-in-public-from-babe-in-arms-to-gay-advocate.html">The New York Times</a> in 1997.</p><p>Sonny Bono died in 1998. Chaz Bono told CNN he had not seen or spoken to his father in the year before he died.</p><h2>Chaz Bono came out as a transman in 2009.</h2><div type="image" title="Cher and Chaz Bono in 2017" height="1997" width="2663" msid="106388847" hostid="261" sizebytes="205136"></div><p>Chaz Bono came out as a trans man in 2009 at the age of 40.</p><p>"If I was an average Joe, I would have done this years ago," he told <a target="_blank" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-BHPl0-rsw">"Nightline"</a> in 2011. "I felt a tremendous responsibility not just for myself, but what am I doing to my family? What am I going to put them through?"</p><p>Of her earlier decision to come out as a lesbian, he said: "I mistook sexual orientation for gender identity."</p><p>Chaz documented his transition in the 2011 film, "Becoming Chaz," and a memoir, "Transition: The Story of How I Became a Man."</p><p>In October, Cher told <a target="_blank" href="https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/music/story/2023-10-20/cher-christmas-biden-alexander-edwards">the Los Angeles Times</a> she initially struggled with the news.</p><p>"Now I'm totally fine. But it's hard to lose one child to get a new one, especially so late," the "Believe" singer said. "I think that was the hard thing for me. I don't think it was the transition. It was waiting to see who the person would be, and would they be so much different than the person that was before them."</p><h2>Elijah Blue Allman is the son of Gregg Allman and Cher.</h2><div type="image" title="Cher and Gregg Allman" height="1747" width="2329" msid="106388869" hostid="261" sizebytes="122712"></div><p><a target="_blank" href="https://www.insider.com/cher-will-have-long-hair-wear-jeans-when-old-2023-9">Cher</a> married rock musician Gregg Allman in 1975, the same year she finalized her divorce from Sonny Bono. A year later, the pair had a son, Elijah Blue, but ultimately split in 1979.</p><p>Cher raised both Elijah Blue and Chaz as a single mom.</p><p>In 2014, Elijah Blue Allman said in an interview with the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2551939/Cher-never-congratulated-marriage-Elijah-Blue-reveals-rift-famous-mother-recovery-heroin-addiction-explosive-new-interview.html">Daily Mail</a> that he had reunited with his father as an adult and repaired their relationship. Greg Allman died in 2017.</p><p>"I've seen my dad a lot more in the last year than I have in a long time," he said, noting that his father had been "absent when I was growing up."</p><h2>Elijah Blue is a musician like his parents.</h2><div type="image" title="a woman in a black coat and a man in a blue puffer vest standing next to each other" height="984" width="1312" msid="106388871" hostid="261" sizebytes="92278"></div><p>Allman pursued music after high school in the early '90s, using the stage name P. Exeter Blue. He then formed the metal band Deadsy with a group of friends.</p><p>The band released three albums before going on hiatus in 2007. Allman then briefly formed another band called Elijah Blue and the Trapezoids.</p><h2>Elijah Blue and Cher have had a rocky relationship for years.</h2><div type="image" title="Elijah Allman and Cher during 2002 Billboard Music Awards" height="1707" width="2276" msid="106388872" hostid="261" sizebytes="169048"></div><p>Allman married fellow musician Marieangela King in 2013.</p><p>In 2014, Allman told <a target="_blank" href="https://www.etonline.com/news/143228_Cher_Son_Elijah_Blue_Felt_Shunned_as_a_Child">Entertainment Tonight</a> that he felt abandoned by his parents as a child.</p><p>"When you go to boarding school at 7 years old, it's kind of hard to feel like you're not being shunned," he said.</p><p>At the time of the 2014 interview, Allman said he hadn't spoken to <a target="_blank" href="https://www.insider.com/cher-says-she-doesnt-like-her-own-voice-believe-2023-10">Cher</a> in months due to a disagreement after he'd moved into his mother's house with King.</p><p>"You know, man, we have our issues. We've worked through a lot of them. We've got some more to go," Allmam said at the time. "But when you're an adult, you take on a different sort of tone than when you're an adolescent, and I'm not going to sit in an adolescent's kind of a mind frame, because that will affect me negatively in my own life when I start my own family."</p><p>In a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.etonline.com/news/143189_Elijah_Blue_Allman_Opens_Up_About_Heroin_Abuse">separate interview</a>, he told the outlet he first started using weed and ecstasy when he was 11. He said he later turned to heroin and other opiates. At the time of the interview, he said he'd been sober for six years.</p><p>"I did have some close calls and some moments of really feeling at the edge of mortality," he said, later adding: "The wrong combination of things can happen, and you can just slip into the abyss. I knew it was wrong, and I knew that I was very unsatisfied with life at that point."</p><h2>Elijah Blue split from Marieangela King in 2021.</h2><div type="image" title="Queenie and Elijah Blue" height="1500" width="2000" msid="106388873" hostid="261" sizebytes="177608"></div><p>King and Allman split in 2020, and Allman filed for divorce a year later.</p><p>According to a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/cher-conservatorship-block-son-from-spending-over-drug-use-2023-12">December 2022 affidavit</a> seen by Business Insider, King said the pair attempted to reconcile in November 2022 and spent twelve days together. However, their reconciliation was cut short when a group of four men barged into their New York hotel room and took Allman to a drug treatment facility.</p><p>King said one of the men told her that Cher had hired them.</p><p>Multiple media outlets reported that Cher had "kidnapped" her son, but in an October 2023 interview with <a target="_blank" href="https://people.com/cher-speaks-out-on-kidnapping-plot-allegations-about-son-not-true-exclusive-8350230">People</a>, Cher denied the claims.</p><p>"I'm a mother. This is my job — one way or another, to try to help my children. You do anything for your children," Cher said. "Whenever you can help them, you just do it because that's what being a mother is."</p>

Cher has 2 sons. Here's what to know about Chaz Bono and Elijah Blue Allman.

<p><div class="image-container float_right" style="width:400px"><div class="image"></div><p class="source">Jason Merritt/Getty</p><p class="caption">"Meats and vegetables and fruits are my diet," Cher's son <keyword id="768307" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Chaz-Bono">Chaz Bono</keyword> says of his new eating healthy routine.</p></div>Chaz Bono has gone through many <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/Health/transgender-chaz-bono-seeks-penis-genital-surgery-risky/story?id=15299871#.UXgChyu4GaM" target="_blank">body transformations</a>.</p>
<p>But Cher's 44-year-old son's latest look is a much slimmer frame <span style="line-height: 1.5em;">— </span><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">60 pounds lighter, to be exact.</span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">"I've just changed the way I eat," <a href="http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20693357,00.html" target="_blank">he told People</a> at the <span>GLAAD Media Awards on Saturday</span>. "Diets don't work. You just have to change what you eat, and I have." </span></p>
<p>For Bono, that has meant <span>"I really avoid grains and starches, so meats and vegetables and fruits are my diet. I make them all different ways to keep it interesting."</span></p>
<p><span><span>Bono used the </span><a href="http://www.freshology.com/#nationwide" target="_blank" class="tracklink3">Freshology</a><span> delivered-meal plan to achieve his initial <keyword id="6358794" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="Weight-loss">weight loss</keyword>, but now, he says <span>"I cook a lot of different stuff."</span></span></span></p>
<p>As for his work out routine, the former "Dancing with the Stars" contestant<span style="line-height: 1.5em;"> says <span>"I still enjoy dancing. I still take classes." He also added that he does regular <span>martial arts training.</span></span></span></p>
<p><strong><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Bono elaborated on his diet and fitness regimen on Twitter:</span></strong></p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<p>What's worked for me is, no sugar, no grains, no dairy except goat cheese, no white starches, portion control, and high intensity workouts.</p>
— Chaz Bono (@ChazBono) <a href="https://twitter.com/ChazBono/status/321352579546226688">April 8, 2013</a></blockquote>

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<p>I find it so ironic that I'm getting tweets from folks asking me for diet advice. It's not about dieting, it's changing eating habits 4ever.</p>
— Chaz Bono (@ChazBono) <a href="https://twitter.com/ChazBono/status/321351086667603968">April 8, 2013</a></blockquote>

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<p>Thanks for all the congratulatory tweets about my weight loss. If I can change my diet, giving up grains, sugar, and dairy, anyone can!</p>
— Chaz Bono (@ChazBono) <a href="https://twitter.com/ChazBono/status/327079911888130049">April 24, 2013</a></blockquote>

<p><strong>Here's what Chaz Bono looked like at the GLAAD Media Awards in 2012:</strong></p>
<p><div class="image-container" style="width:600px"><div class="image"></div><p class="source">Kevin Winter/Getty</p></div> </p>
<p><strong>And here's Bono's 60-pound lighter frame at this weekend's GLAAD Media Awards:</strong></p>
<p><div class="image-container" style="width:600px"><div class="image"></div><p class="source">Jason Merritt/Getty</p></div></p>

Chaz Bono On 60-Pound Weight Loss: 'Diets Don't Work'

<ul class="summary-list"><li>CancelCovid is a new initiative focused on tracking one possible symptom of the novel <keyword id="1754604" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="coronavirus">coronavirus</keyword>: the loss of one's sense of smell (known as <strong>anosmia or hyposmia</strong>).</li><li>The all-volunteer organization is tapping TikTok <keyword id="1112328" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Influencers">influencers</keyword> to spread awareness about anosmia and encourage social-media users to share data on whether or not they've lost their sense of smell.</li><li>The nonprofit group, which is led by an MIT economist, medical doctors, marketers, and other businesses with skill sets relevant to the initiative, hopes it can eventually offer data to public health experts on previously unreported incidences of anosmia.</li></ul><p>Some influencers have <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/02/style/influencers-leave-new-york-coronavirus.html">come under fire</a> in recent weeks for not adhering to social-distancing measures and other public health guidelines during the coronavirus pandemic. But now a team of academics, medical doctors, and marketers are asking them to join a campaign to help stop the virus' spread.</p><p>The initiative, <a href="https://www.cancelcovid.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">CancelCovid</a>, is focused on spreading awareness about and collecting data on incidences of anosmia — a sudden loss of smell — which the <a href="https://www.who.int/health-topics/coronavirus#tab=tab_3" target="_blank" rel="noopener">World Health Organization</a> and <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/hcp/clinical-tips-for-healthcare-providers.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">CDC</a> have recognized as a COVID-19 symptom (though the CDC noted in a <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/hcp/clinical-guidance-management-patients.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">recent post</a> that "more information is needed to understand its role in identifying COVID-19").</p><p>The project was <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2020-04-01/tracking-coronavirus-by-smell-test-is-risk-manager-s-project-now" target="_blank" rel="noopener">originally conceived</a> by Peter Hancock, a former chief risk officer at JPMorgan, and Claire Hopkins, an ENT Surgeon and Professor of Rhinology at King's College, London who <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/coronavirus-symptoms-loss-of-smell-taste-covid-19-anosmia-hyposmia-2020-3">looked at incidences of anosmia and hyposmia</a> among COVID patients in South Korea, China, and Italy. The team created a website called SniffOutCovid.org where it described itself as "a nonprofit collaboration between leading medical researchers and talent in academia and technology to track COVID through social <keyword id="6354777" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Media">media</keyword>."</p><p>The SniffOutCovid project folded fairly quickly, but was reborn a few weeks later under a new team of volunteers that included Hopkins and experts from academic institutions like MIT and companies like the ad-tech firm ViralGains, influencer-marketing platform Mavrck, scientific due-diligence firm <keyword id="41551" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="60" keywordseo="science">Science</keyword> Bounty, and VC firm Pallasite Ventures.</p><p>CancelCovid's initial goal is to spread awareness about loss of sense of smell as a possible COVID-19 symptom while also gathering data on the prevalence of anosmia through a survey on its website.</p><p>"More accurate reporting of individuals who have contracted COVID-19 is a critical step in helping restore our economy on a national level and subsequently, international level," said Erik Brynjolfsson, an economist at MIT's Sloan School of Management.</p><p>In order to get the word out that losing one's sense of smell is a possible sign that an individual may have contracted the novel coronavirus, the CancelCovid team is tapping influencers to create TikTok videos for a #cancelcovidsmellchallenge hashtag.</p><p>"Video content seemed to be the right format because we're trying to highlight folks actually smelling something and not being able to smell it," said Lyle Stevens, the CEO of the influencer-marketing platform Mavrck, which is running CancelCovid's influencer campaign. "We're using some of the nuances of TikTok to spread that message as quickly as possible."</p><p>Because the awareness campaign is being running on TikTok, Mavrck has focused on music and humor for its influencers' videos — two content categories that creators and marketers have found success with on the app in the past.</p><p>Some influencers have posted videos of themselves <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@gregtube/video/6821185190006770949" target="_blank" rel="noopener">smelling random objects</a> in an effort to encourage their followers to do the same. Other creators are dancing to a custom "Cancel Covid" song created by the TikTok user <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@chazbruce0/video/6825692780438818053" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Chaz Bruce</a>. All TikTok influencers have worked pro-bono thus far, though Mavrck said it is considering paying creators down the road (at reduced charity rates) if the company thinks a particular influencer could have an outsized impact on the campaign.</p><p>"It's difficult to make a trend with somewhat of a more complicated call-to-action, but it's for the greater good," said Greg Auerbach, a TikTok user with <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@gregtube" target="_blank" rel="noopener">nearly one million followers</a> who volunteered to make a video for the CancelCovid smell challenge. "We brainstormed ideas with the marketing company and some other creators [for] concepts we thought would catch on."</p><p>"We wanted to approach this similar to the famous Ice Bucket Challenge that did so well so many years ago," Stevens said. "You smell something, you can prove whether or not you can smell it, but then you mention or challenge three other people to also do it."</p><p>It's still early days for the campaign, which launched on TikTok at the end of April and will continue for the foreseeable future. Mavrck said 37 influencers have posted videos so far. The campaign has driven 4.5 million video views and over one million engagements ("likes," comments, and shares) on TikTok.</p><p>"TikTok is well aware of this initiative and what we're trying to do here," Stevens added. "We've collaborated with the social networks to make them aware."</p><h2>Using TikTok influencers as a way to gather <keyword id="6354525" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="healthcare">healthcare</keyword> data</h2><p>Beyond spreading awareness about anosmia as a possible marker for COVID-19, the CancelCovid team hopes to collect data from social-media users on whether they've recently experienced a loss of smell.</p><p>The CancelCovid website currently includes a <a href="https://www.cancelcovid.org/submit-smell-results/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">short single-question survey</a> asking users if they've experienced the symptom. Some TikTok influencers have asked their followers to submit their smell results online as part of the non-profit's campaign.</p><p>"The way the question and answer are phrased, we can find out whether it came up suddenly and whether you've completely or partially lost your sense of smell," said Tod Loofbourrow, CEO of the ad-tech company Viral Gains, which is powering CancelCovid's survey. The company is using marketing technology (and third-party data providers) to determine each survey respondent's location and age in order to understand more about the prevalence of anosmia in certain populations.</p><p>"We can do things like, by region, see where sense of smell loss is growing and therefore by implication, COVID is growing," Loofbourrow said. "Identify areas where maybe it's coming. That data is useful for researchers and public health folks and people trying to identify the spread."</p><p>Loofbourrow said the response rate for its survey is currently low, but the organization hopes to collect a statistically significant number of responses in the coming weeks as more social-media users learn about anosmia through its marketing and earned media efforts.</p><p>Having a simpler way to collect data on COVID-19 without requiring a nasopharyngeal swab test is appealing, though it's still too early to tell whether tracking anosmia is an effective way of understanding where the coronavirus pandemic is spreading. </p><p>In the near term, the team at CancelCovid is focused on driving awareness about anosmia as a potential COVID-19 symptom. The organization found that 55% of the 2,500 Americans it surveyed between May 10 and 13 were not aware that the sudden partial or complete loss of the sense of smell is a <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/coronavirus-sudden-complete-loss-of-smell-covid-19-symptom-2020-4">potential indicator</a> of a novel coronavirus infection.</p><p>"What we're trying to do is spread awareness, not of the virus, but of that symptom," Stevens said. "This campaign will persist well through the summer ... And then depending on the trajectory of the pandemic, CancelCovid could morph into other campaigns or initiatives around coronavirus."</p>Read the original article on <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/mit-economist-tiktok-influencers-marketers-tracking-potential-coronavirus-symptom-2020-5">Business Insider</a>

Why an MIT economist is teaming up with TikTok influencers to gather data on a potential COVID-19 symptom

<p></p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div>Caitlyn Jenner has a staunch ally in the form of Siri, iPhone's voice-activated virtual assistant.<p>Siri got attention recently after users discovered its sassy response to the question, "<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/siri-divide-zero-by-zero-math-apple-iphone-2015-7"></a><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/siri-divide-zero-by-zero-math-apple-iphone-2015-7">What's zero divided by zero?</a>"</p><p>Since that revelation, iPhone users have been discovering even&#xa0;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/best-siri-responses-2015-6">more quirky responses</a> from Siri, uncovering a programmed personality of sorts.&#xa0;</p><p>The latest revelation? Siri is more capable than some humans when it comes to understanding gender identity.</p><h2>Check out how Siri reacts when users ask a question about Jenner's gender.</h2><p></p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div><h2>&#xa0;</h2><h2>Ask a question using Jenner's former first name, Bruce, and Siri will reply using Jenner's new name.</h2><p>&#xa0;</p><p></p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div><h2>&#xa0;</h2><h2>Keep asking about "Bruce," and Siri might even get a little impatient with you.</h2><p>&#xa0;</p><p></p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div><h2><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">&#xa0;</span></h2><h2><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">This also applies when you ask Siri questions about Jenner's life.</span></h2><p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">&#xa0;</span></p><p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div><br /></span></p><h2><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">&#xa0;</span></h2><h2><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Siri respects Jenner's chosen name and gender identity, refusing to call her by her previous name.</span></h2><p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">&#xa0;</span></p><div><div></div></div><p class="embed-spacer"></p><div><div></div></div><p>&#xa0;</p><div><div></div></div><h2 class="embed-spacer"><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;">&#xa0;</span></h2><h2>Caitlyn Jenner isn't the only transgender person on Siri's radar.&#xa0;</h2><p class="embed-spacer">Siri aced the gender pronouns when I asked it about four other famous transgender people.</p><p class="embed-spacer">Balian Buschbaum is an accomplished German pole vaulter and a transgender male. He was born with the name Yvonne Buschbaum.</p><p class="embed-spacer"></p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div><p class="embed-spacer"></p><h2 class="embed-spacer">Laverne Cox is a member of the cast of "Orange is the New Black." She is a transgender woman.</h2><p>&#xa0;</p><p class="embed-spacer"></p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div><p class="embed-spacer"></p><h2 class="embed-spacer">Alexis Arquette was born with the name Robert Arquette. Siri acknowledges Alexis's female gender identity.</h2><p>&#xa0;</p><p class="embed-spacer"></p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div><p class="embed-spacer"></p><h2 class="embed-spacer">Chaz Bono is a transgender male born with the name&#xa0;Chastity Sun Bono. He is the son of entertainers Sonny Bono and Cher.&#xa0;</h2><p>&#xa0;</p><p class="embed-spacer"></p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div><p class="embed-spacer"></p><p>This isn't the first time a computer proved it was able to adapt to gender changes more quickly than humans could - a Twitter bot spent the day of Jenner's Vanity Fair cover reveal <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/twitter-robot-tweeting-about-caitlyn-jenner-2015-6">scolding people for messing up her pronouns online</a>.</p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/siri-tell-me-story-response-apple-iphone-2015-7">You get a really long-winded answer when you ask Siri to tell you a story</a></h3>        <div>            <div>        <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="dwaWIydjo-nPKGk-h29mo7XNj0SMl4C8" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>        </div>        </div>            </div>

Siri has been programmed to respect Caitlyn Jenner's gender identity

<p></p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div>Hillary Clinton has <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/hillary-clinton-historic-speech-2016-6">"reached a milestone,"</a> and many celebrities couldn't be happier.<p>Clinton made history Tuesday night when she became the first female presumptive presidential nominee.</p><p>Stars such as&#xa0;Amy Schumer, Josh Gad,&#xa0;Lindsay Lohan, and Mia Farrow took to Twitter and Instagram to congratulate Clinton and voice that they're "with her."</p><p>Read what other celebrities had to say about Clinton's historical moment.</p><p>&#xa0;</p><p>&#xa0;<div></div></p><p><div></div></p><p>&#xa0;<div></div></p><p>&#xa0;<div></div></p><p>&#xa0;<div></div></p><p>&#xa0;<div></div></p><p>&#xa0;<div>    </div></p><p>&#xa0;<div></div></p><p>&#xa0;<div></div></p><p>&#xa0;<div></div></p><p>&#xa0;<div></div></p><p>Apparently Amy Schumer also felt inspiration from JoJo's tweet...</p><p>&#xa0;<div></div></p><p>&#xa0;<div></div></p><p>&#xa0;<div></div></p><p>&#xa0;<div>    </div></p><p>&#xa0;<div></div></p><p>&#xa0;<div></div></p><p>&#xa0;<div>    </div></p><p>&#xa0;<div></div></p><p>&#xa0;<div></div></p><p>&#xa0;<div>    </div></p><p>&#xa0;<div></div></p><p>&#xa0;<div></div></p><p>&#xa0;And then there's Lady Gaga being very true to herself...</p><p><div></div></p><p>&#xa0;</p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/how-its-made-worlds-smallest-car-2016-5">Here's how the world's smallest car that just sold for $176,000 is made</a></h3>        <div>            <div>        <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="M4dTJsMzE6MJx-VQoAa62WvavO3M_RS4" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>        </div>        </div>            </div>

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