Campaign to host second digital takeover in support of Colchester man with cancer
A CAMPAIGN is asking Colchester's community to turn their screens black tomorrow night in support of a man battling cancer.
Stuart Smith, nicknamed Stu, was first diagnosed with melanoma six years ago.
The 40-year-old accountant lives in Stanway with his wife, Lauren - who, together, have been on a gruelling journey of failed treatments and surgeries.
The pair, along with countless supporters and campaign #DoItForStu, are on a mission to raise £167,000.
Fighter - Stuart Smith is battling stage 4 cancer (Image: #DoItForStu) The funds will be spent on a potentially life-saving treatment in Israel - which is Stu's last chance to beat his stage four cancer.
The fundraising figure now stands at £107,976, including an anonymous donation of £20,000.
Tomorrow night at 8pm #DoItForStu will host its second digital takeover and is asking Colchester's community to join in on the social media blackout.
The online event reached over 60,000 people within 24 hours last month, and campaigners are hoping to see the same level of support tomorrow.
A spokesman for #DoItForStu said: "The impact was huge and since then, this movement has grown faster than we ever imagined.
"Now we are SO close to Stu's target and this is the moment to come together again and push harder than ever.
"I'm asking EVERY single one of you to unite once more and flood Facebook with Stu's story.
"We need to tip this movement over the line and we need to do it now because Stu doesn't have time on his side.
"This is a united movement - one last big blackout, one last big push, one chance to save a life.
"Please stand with us tomorrow - together, we are unstoppable."
United - The digital takeover will begin at 8pm tomorrow night (Image: #DoItForStu) The digital blackout will see Stu's friends, family members and supporters posting the #DoItForStu blackout image, as well as changing their profile pictures and flooding their feeds with the viral hashtag.
For more information, visit facebook.com and gofundme.com

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
Resident Evil 9 Lets You Swap Between First-Person And Third-Person Whenever You Want
Resident Evil Requiem, aka the game we are all going to refer to as Resident Evil 9, was revealed during last week's Summer Game Fest. The trailer didn't confirm what perspective Requiem will use, but now we know via a hands-off demo that when Capcom's latest horror game arrives in February 2026, it will feature both a first-person and third-person option. At Summer Game Fest, Kotaku's Kenneth Shepard attended a hands-off demo of Resident Evil Requiem, which featured a new character, Grace Ashcroft, strapped to a gurney in a decrepit and dirty hospital. We saw Grace in the game's first trailer. During the demo, she escaped from the building, found a lighter, and used a fuse to solve a puzzle. Eventually, without a weapon to defend herself, she ran into some creepy monsters. That's where the demo ended. All in all, pretty standard Resident Evil stuff! The entire demo up to this point was in first-person, similar toResident Evil 7 and Village. But then, at the very end, Capcom reloaded a save file and paused Requiem. They then switched to third-person for a moment before ending the demo. So we didn't get to see a ton of gameplay in that perspective, but it's clear that Capcom wants everyone to know that this time around, you'll be able to swap between first-person and third-person whenever you want. This is a departure from recent Resident Evil games, which have been first-person only. Some longtime Resident Evil fans didn't like this, and Capcom even added a third-person mode in Village after launch. Requiem launching with this is a big deal and a sign that Capcom is listening to longtime fans, even as it continues to experiment with its long-running series. Resident Evil Requiem launches on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC on February 27, 2026. . For the latest news, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.


TechCrunch
6 hours ago
- TechCrunch
Meta AI gains video editing capabilities
Meta said Wednesday that it is adding video editing capabilities to Meta AI that let users edit short videos using preset AI prompts to change costumes, locations, and styles. With these new features, the company is taking on rivals like Google that have been steadily adding generative AI video tools to their apps, as well as other AI-powered editing platforms like Captions. The company is rolling out the editing tools to the Meta AI app, website, and its Capcut competitor, Edits, in the U.S. It says that the features were inspired by its Movie Gen AI models, but it's not clear if the company is using those models to power the editing tools. For now, users will have to deal with 50 presets to edit a 10-second video. Meta said that it gathered feedback from creators to make these presets so that they can be easily included in the Edits app. Image Credits: Meta AI The presets can apply a 'vintage comic book style' to a video, change the lighting in a clip to a rainy day, or swap out a subject's clothing to a space cadet suit, to give a few examples. You can share edited videos directly to Facebook and Instagram from the Edits and Meta AI app. Meta said it plans to add more customization options later this year. 'We built this feature so that everyone can experiment creatively and make fun, interesting videos to share with their friends, family, and followers,' the company said in a blog post. 'Whether you're reimagining a favorite family memory or finding new ways to entertain your audience, our video editing feature can help.' Meta AI already has image generation features across platforms. It seems with this video editing feature, Meta wants more creators to use its own tools rather than third-party apps.


Newsweek
6 hours ago
- Newsweek
Princess Kate Apologizing to William in Public Goes Viral
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Princess Kate apologizing to Prince William after twice beating him in a yacht race has gone viral on TikTok. The Prince and Princess of Wales visited New Zealand in 2014 when they had a boat race in Aukland. The pair are famous for being competitive with each other when it comes to sport, so Kate perhaps anticipated some hurt feelings when she beat her husband. Princess Kate and Prince William reunite after a sailing race which Kate won at the Viaduct Basin, in Auckland, New Zealand, on April 11, 2014. Princess Kate and Prince William reunite after a sailing race which Kate won at the Viaduct Basin, in Auckland, New Zealand, on April 11, 2014. Fiona Goodall-Pool/Getty Images Why It Matters A clip of victorious Kate apologizing to William after reuniting on dry land went newly viral after being liked 18.5k times and viewed 448k times. What to Know In the footage, Kate, wearing a blue and white striped top, can be seen saying, "I am sorry," while she held hands with William, who wore a blue baseball cap. William and Kate each took the helm of an Emirates Team New Zealand Americas Cup yacht for the race at the Viaduct Basin, in Auckland, in April 2014. Quoted by Sky News at the time, Prince William later said, "We were sabotaged," and when told Kate looked pleased, he added: "I bet she is. Selfless husband. I wanted a quiet night." And the skipper of his boat, Eric Haagh, 36, said: "William was a good sailor but Kate pushed us around into a bad position. She did very well. "William was very competitive right from the start—he didn't want to lose. When Kate won both the races he just said: 'At least she'll be happy'." What People Are Saying One fan replied, "everything she does is so elegant," while another wrote: "Wow! Listen to how she says 'I am sorry.' Her smile, the love, her body language. She absolutely gorgeous." Another wrote: "Born to do this role and duty in life. God sent her for a reason!" Princess Kate Visits V&A East Storehouse This week, Kate wore a blue Alexander McQueen pantsuit as she visited the V&A East Storehouse, an East London satellite of the Victoria and Albert Museum, of which she is a patron. Kate viewed the artwork, including the largest Picasso in the world, and met staff. Jack Royston is chief royal correspondent for Newsweek, based in London. You can find him on X, formerly Twitter, at @jack_royston and read his stories on Newsweek's The Royals Facebook page. Do you have a question about King Charles and Queen Camilla, Prince William and Princess Kate, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry, or their family that you would like our experienced royal correspondents to answer? Email royals@ We'd love to hear from you.