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Dating apps rarely encourage deep and meaningful communication but they are a minefield for people living with HIV as a series of real messages sent to gay men on Grindr reveals. The hurtful texts have been read out by HIV-positive men to highlight stigma, misunderstanding and ignorance around the virus. The messages, which include 'You're a walking disease, mate' and 'Sluts like you deserve it,' were sent to Grindr users and the Gay Men's Health Charity (GMFA) asked a group of HIV-positive models to read them out and react. ...

Grindr, the gay dating app, is an effective way to get gay black and Hispanic men to try home H.I.V. self-testing kits, according to a recent study. The small study was confined to Los Angeles, and fewer than 400 test kits were distributed, but the idea has broader potential. Grindr is used by at least five million men in 192 countries, according to its developer. In the United States, young gay black and Hispanic men are the groups most likely to be infected with H.I.V. and the least likely to be tested for it, because they often lack health insurance...

The news in this year's Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report on sexually transmitted diseases is not good. The number of cases of chlamydia and gonorrhea in the United States increased between 2013 and 2014, after being on the decline for several years. Cases of syphilis, which have been on the rise for the last decade, shot up in 2014. Chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis are the three most common STDs in the United States that are also notifiable, meaning health departments are required to report new cases to the CDC. (HIV and shigella are also notifiable STDs.) Chlamydia is...

North Dakota state Rep. Randy Boehning has come out as bisexual after a 21-year-old man claimed the Republican sent him a photo of his genitals via the gay dating site Grindr. Mr. Boehning, 52, says the man who came forward is retaliating against him for a recent vote against expanding gay rights, The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead reported. Dustin Smith, 21, contacted the newspaper earlier this month, saying he recognized Mr. Boehning from Grindr, chatting under the user name Top Man! According to exchanges reviewed by The Forum, Mr. Boehning sent Mr. Smith an unsolicited photo of his penis on March...

Hillary Clinton Wins Award From Gay Hookup App By Brianna Keilar December 11, 2014 Washington (CNN) -- Users of Grindr, the leading gay hookup app, have voted Hillary Clinton their "Straight Ally of the Year." The former secretary of state joins a slate of other noteworthy figures highlighted in Grindr's 'Best of Awards' for 2014, including Neil Patrick Harris (voted "Gay Icon of the Year" for the second year in a row) and Vladimir Putin (voted "Enemy of the LGBT Community"). While Clinton's team has not responded to request for comment, it seems likely she would welcome the positive reaction...

PIKE CREEK, Del., May 3 (UPI) -- New Castle County police are charging 34-year-old prosecutor Daniel Simmons with four counts of fourth degree rape for allegedly sexually assaulting a 16-year-old boy. Following an investigation that began in March, police say Simmons first contacted the alleged victim via the social networking app Grindr. The Delaware attorney general's office was informed upon the investigation's conclusion and quickly approved warrants for the defendant's arrest on Friday. State Attorney General Beau Biden, son of Vice President Joe Biden, who established Delaware's Child Predator Unit has yet to issue a statement about a member of...

In January of last year, Roman Sidorenko and Alexander Kukhtenko had an idea to break their sexual dry spells the way they solved many of their other problems: with an app. "We wanted an easy way to find sex, basically," says Sidorenko. But the two friends (who describe themselves as "pomosexuals") were too impatient to use the available dating apps on the market, all of which required them to spend hours flirting with potential flings via chat or text message before getting a date and, possibly, sealing the deal. They knew there were horny people around them looking for sex...

AN ONLINE gay dating service CRASHED seconds after the first Olympic athletes touched down last week due to massive increase in demand. The mobile phone app - Grindr - lets gay men zero in on potential partners nearby using GPRS in their phones. Experts on the site believe the arrival of the Olympic teams on Monday sparked a flood of new customers - and crashed the service in East London. One frustrated Londoner said: "It happened almost as soon as the teams got here. Either loads of athletes were logging on to meet fellow Olympians or were looking to...

A 54-year-old Vancouver man has been arrested for allegedly assaulting a 15-year-old North Vancouver youth after using a new mobile GPS technology designed to help gay men hook up. Brent Tynan, 54, of Vancouver, faces charges of sexual interference, invitation to sexual touching and sexual assault, RCMP Cpl. Marlene Morton said in a press release. Police said the 15-year-old youth said he met the suspect through an application called Grindr, a social networking tool that connects users to gay and bisexual men who are nearby, Morton said. The application works on mobile devices that have a built-in GPS function to...