Category: Worldwide

Just last year, Megan Thee Stallion graced the cover of XXL‘s 2019 Freshman Class as a rising rapper. Fast forward a year and she is prominently displayed on the cover of Time‘s “The 100 Most Influential People” issue. While the rapper has had a number of successful singles over the course of the past year, none were as discussed as her NSFW song “WAP” with Cardi B. Nearly everyone had an opinion about the track, from conservative talk show host Tucker Carlson to Tiger King star Carole Baskin. The track even riled up a few right-wing politicians, but Megan was not expecting the single to receive the amount of controversy it did.

According to Billboard, Megan addressed the song’s backlash in her conversation with Time. The rapper was especially dumbfounded when politicians began offering their opinions about the track. “When I saw all of the politicians in an uproar about mine and Cardi’s ‘WAP,’ I was just really taken aback,” she said. “Like, why is this your focus right now? If you have an issue with what I’m saying, don’t listen to it.”

Elsewhere in the cover story, actor Taraji P. Henson praised Megan for her tenacity as a musician: “Once you discover her, you become a fan. I don’t like to put the stigma of the word strong on Black women because I think it dehumanizes us, but she has strength — strength through vulnerability. She’s lost much of her family — her mother, her father, her grandmother — yet she is the epitome of tenacity, of pulling herself up by her bootstraps. She was shot this summer, and still people tried to tear her down. But she’s out here still loving and being sweet.”

Some of the artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Something that doesn’t happen very often in video games is a late surge in popularity. It’s not that it never happens, but typically you can tell how popular a game will be based on its initial sale numbers. Every once in a while, an initial disappoint gains second life thanks to major patch updates, but even those major updates often see titles reach nowhere near the popularity that hype built up.

This is why the meteoric rise in popularity that Among Us has seen in recent weeks is truly impressive. The indie party murder mystery game first released all the way back in 2018 remained in relative obscurity until its explosion into current game of the moment status. The title does have some elements of the traditional path of patch updates to improve an underperforming debut — for example it took two months to make online multiplayer a thing — but even then, it was hardly a game that everyone knew about when it was first released. So what has made Among Us the sensation it currently is today?

It all starts with the pandemic. As many in the United States and the rest of the world continue to abide by social distancing rules, it has created a major need for video games to act as a social device. Games that actively encourage friends to virtually get together, play a game, and are able to do so online are perfect in the current world climate. And Among Us is exactly that, which is a big reason it’s become so popular so fast.

Among Us is a simple but endlessly addicting title, which is what all great party games should be. Up to 10 players gather on a space ship together and are tasked with completing objectives around the ship. These tasks can include re-fueling the engines, fixing the electrical wires, clearing the oxygen vents, and shooting asteroids. Each task is a small mini game that you must complete to do the task. None of them are particularly hard, but some take longer than others. Among these 10 people, though, there are two imposters. It’s the job of the imposters to kill at least six of the eight non-imposters. If they do, they win. If the crew members finish all their tasks, or expose the imposters, then the crew wins.

The way the crew can expose imposters is by proving that they have killed other crew members. As you go around completing tasks, you may discover the dead body of a crew member. You can then report that dead body and call everyone to a meeting where everyone has a chance to discuss who they may believe the killer to be. If you saw one of your friends hanging out with one of your other friends in the Admin room, only for one of them to turn up dead later, you can make a case for them to be an imposter. If everyone agrees with you, then that person is then voted off. If you’re wrong, though, then you have lessened your numbers and improved the imposters chances at winning.

It’s a game concept that isn’t exactly new, but Among Us offers some really fun strategy and works seamlessly online. It’s also a very satisfying watch on Twitch, which is another factor that’s fueled its rise in popularity in a huge way. Watching imposters call in sabotages that, if not completed in time, lead to an automatic loss for the crew makes for a surprisingly drama-filled experience. You can use these sabotages as an opportunity to kill crew members, or to fake your innocence and assist them in fixing the sabotage only to stab them in the back later. There is strategy in all of this. There are also vents that only the imposters can hide in that they can use as quick getaways, but don’t spend too long in there or everyone will wonder where you have been.

What’s truly great about this game is that it gives friends the perfect party game to play online over Discord chatting with one another. You may have played a board game similar to this — Donner Dinner Party or The Resistance or Werewolf — during game nights that might not be safe to have in person these days. Among Us encourages conversations, stories, and is at its best when you have a really great group of people to play with. In many ways it’s the perfect party game for 2020. Not bad for a game that came out in 2018.

If nothing below suits your sensibilities, check out our guide to What You Should Watch On Streaming Right Now.

Enola Holmes (Netflix film) — Netflix loves Stranger Things‘ Millie Bobby Brown, who’s now making her turn as Sherlock Holmes’ younger sister Enola Holmes. As a bonus, The Witcher‘s Henry Cavill is onboard to play Sherlock with Sam Claflin stepping in as Mycroft Holmes, and between the two of them, they have the fancy hair and twirling-of-mustaches quotient covered. Fleabag director Harry Bradbeer should make this an even more interesting affair, especially given the story: after Enola’s mother (Helena Bonham Carter) disappears without a trace on her daughter’s sixteenth birthday. Sherlock and Mycroft determine to ship the teen off to finishing school, where she’d become a “proper” lady. She’s not having it and strikes out on her own find her mother.

The 100 (CW, 8:00pm EST) — The Disciples are closing in on their target while a desperate rescue mission is in the works from Clarke and Octavia.

Coroner (CW, 9:00pm EST) — Jenny and McAvoy are digging up clues to capture a serial killer after a coworker dies.

Late Show With Stephen Colbert — Jeff Daniels

Jimmy Kimmel Live — Riz Ahmed, Tim McGraw

The Late Late Show With James Corden — Sharon Stone, Alicia Keys

Late Night With Seth Meyers — Sarah Paulson, H. Jon Benjamin

It’s a sad day in the wrestling world, as news broke this morning that Road Warrior Animal has died. Animal, whose real name was Joseph Laurinaitis, was half of one of the most legendary tag teams of all time, alongside Road Warrior Hawk, who died in 2003. The pair were known primarily as the Road Warriors in NWA/WCW, and as the Legion of Doom in WWE, but they used both names throughout their career.

Animal actually debuted on his own as the Road Warrior in 1982, but it was only when manager Paul Ellering paired him with Animal’s old friend and training partner Hawk for a run in Georgia Championship Wrestling that they became stars. What started as a biker gimmick took on apocalyptic overtones borrowed from The Road Warrior, the 1981 Mel Gibson film (originally titled Mad Max 2 in Australia). That’s when Hawk and Animal started painting their faces and coming out to the ring in spiked shoulder pads. At Hawk’s suggestion, they also shaved their hair into interlocking patterns—a mohawk for Animal and a double mohawk for Hawk.

The two of them revolutionized tag team wrestling in the 1980s, with a hard-hitting smashmouth style that favored power moves and aggressive brawling over technical wrestling. As enthusiastic power-lifters, Animal and Hawk didn’t just have bodies that looked impressive (although that was certainly a factor in their success as well), they had the brute strength to throw their opponents around the ring with so little apparent effort that they looked like superheroes… or monsters. Whichever they were, fans fell in love and refused to boo them even when they were presented as bad guys.

They were so popular during their time with the NWA and WCW that they spawned many imitators, most notable WWF’s Demolition, who the Legion of Doom feuded with upon their arrival in that company in 1990. They worked in several companies throughout the ’90s, but returned to WWF just in time for the attitude era, at which point they were placed in a questionable storyline about Hawk’s real-life substance abuse problems. Both that storyline and the real problems it was based on led to their departure in 1999.

After Hawk died of a heart attack in 2003, Animal soldiered on, even returning to WWE in 2005 for a run that he dedicated to Hawk’s memory. In 2011, the Road Warriors and their manager Paul Ellering were inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame, and Animal was there to accept the honor along with Ellering.

Although he had his last WWE match in 2006, Animal has been a fixture in the wrestling world in the years since, appearing at many conventions and events. He even showed up at 2018’s All In, the independent PPV that led to the creation of All Elite Wrestling.

Road Warrior Animal died yesterday, reportedly of natural causes. He was 60 years old. Few other details have been released at this time, although WWE has released a statement acknowledging his death. Our thoughts are with his family and friends.

Over the past week or so, Kanye West has been on a crusade to re-write the rules of the music industry, with the goal of creating a world where musicians have more ownership over their creative works. He believes that artists should own their master recordings, and now, as the founder of his GOOD Music label, he’s doing everything in his power to make that happen.

The label apparently owns a 50-percent share of its artists masters, but now Kanye says he’s giving those shares back to his artists: He tweeted today, “I’m giving all Good music artist back the 50% share I have of their masters.”

Artists currently signed to GOOD Music include Big Sean, Teyana Taylor, Pusha T, and Q-Tip. It’s not clear if this give-back applies to former GOOD Music artists as well. If it does, receiving ownership of their royalties are Kid Cudi, Common, John Legend, Desiigner, Mos Def, and others.

Sean offered a response to the news, tweeting, “Thank you!!! This would help so much.”

Earlier this month, Kanye went on a Twitter rant on the topic of masters ownership, writing, “In the streaming world master ownership is everything… that is the bulk of the income … in COVID artist need our masters … it’s more important than ever before. […] When you sign a music deal you sign away your rights. Without the masters you can’t do anything with your own music. Someone else controls where it’s played and when it’s played. Artists have nothing accept the fame, touring and merch.”

Top five lists have been prevalent in hip-hop lately. After Drake shared his vote for the best five rappers of all time, a handful of prominent rappers have offered their own picks. Snoop Dogg named Slick Rick and two members of Run DMC, while Westside Gunn recently included himself and other Griselda members in his own list. Now, Big Sean has added to the discourse and offered his five favorite rappers.

Sean recently sat down for an interview with Fat Joe on the MC’s Instagram page. Throughout the lengthy chat, the two covered topics like Sean’s record Detroit 2, working with Nipsey Hussle, and how Eminem is trying to coax Fat Joe out of retirement. Towards the end of the conversation, Fat Joe asked Sean to name his top five list. The rapper said he could “easily” name ten rather than five but proceeded chose Notorious B.I.G., Eminem, Kanye West, Jay-Z, and Lil Wayne.

Sean didn’t stop at just five, though. Naming a handful of honorable mentions, the rapper said: “I could go Rakim, I could go Nas, I could go ‘Pac, I could go Snoop. I mean, so many bro. I gotta put Outkast as one. There’s so many ways to go. The reason I call myself Big is because of Big Pun, Biggie Smalls, Big L, you know what I mean?”

Watch Big Sean’s full interview with Fat Joe above.

Detroit 2 is out now via G.O.O.D. Music. Get it here.

Nipsey Hussle is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

We’re not going to lie, it was tough to limit the SNX Top Five to just five sneakers this week. All of our favorite sneaker brands brought their A-games. What didn’t make the cut? Bodega’s New Balance 997S, a LEGO Adidas ZX 8000 linkup, and Nigo’s latest Human Made Adidas collection. Those drops are definitely worth your time if you’re not finding a lot to love in this week’s top five, but consider yourself warned: you’re going to find a lot to love.

On the apparel end, we have extensive fall and winter collections from both NOAH and Supreme, as well as a smaller capsule collection from Chinatown Market and corduroy loving hero, Sean Wotherspoon, that (surprisingly enough!), doesn’t have any corduroy in sight.

Let’s dive into this week’s best sneaker and apparel drops!

Nike Ruohan Wang Flyleather Collection

Throughout this year we’ve been tracking how sustainable sneakers have slowly started to become more stylish and vibrant while looking less like recycled cardboard or something only your hemp-obsessed cousin would wear. But no pair has looked quite as stylish as Ruohan Wang’s Nike Flyleather collection. Consisting of an Air Force 1, Blazer Mid 77, and Air Max 90, this Flyleather collection sports graphics by the Berlin-based artist in his typical highly illustrated pop-art style over a clean white Flyleather upper made from 50% recycled leather fiber.

With the Flyleather collection and the Space Hippie line, Nike has solidified itself as the king of sustainable footwear in 2020.

The Nike Ruohan Wang Flyleather collection is set to drop on September 24th with the Air Force 1 retailing at $100, the Blazer Mid at $110, and the Air Max 90 at $130. Pick up a pair through Nike SNKRS.

JJJJound x Reebok Classic Nylon

Anytime JJJJound drops a sneaker, we pay attention, and this week the label is linking up with Reebok for the long-anticipated release of the Reebok Classic Nylon. Featuring an upper of white nylon with leather and suede paneling and accents atop an EVA midsole, The Classic Nylon looks so incredibly clean we’d just as soon keep it in a glass case than risk wearing them out. But of course, we’re function-over-everything seven times out of ten and we’ll eventually wear them until the sole rips off.

The JJJJound Reebok Classic Nylon is set to drop on September 25th for an unannounced retail price. Pick up a pair exclusively through the JJJJound webstore.

Nike Dunk High Maize and Blue (Michigan)

Another week, another classic University inspired colorway from Nike. This high top Dunk — officially dubbed “Maize and Blue” — is an obvious nod to the University of Michigan’s colors and features a full-grain leather upper, OG tooling for a vintage look, and a classic mesh tongue. You don’t need to be a Wolverines fan to rock a pair of these, they’re dope enough on their own, but be prepared to be stopped by many a Michigan fan who wants to chop it up about the Wolverines when they spot you.

The Nike Dunk High Michigan is set to drop on September 23rd for a retail price of $120. Pick up a pair through Nike SNKRS or at Juice Store.

COMME des GARÇONS Converse Chuck 70 Collection

Releasing just in time for the holidays, COMME des GARÇONS and Converse are dropping a refresh of their now-iconic Chuck 70 collection. Complete with the recognizable heart-eyes logo, the full collection consists of low and high-top Chuck 70s in your choice of black or white, with each pair featuring a contrasting heel stripe. There isn’t much to say about this collection aside from reminding you that there is probably somebody in your life who would love a pair for the upcoming holidays.

You might even be that person. In which case, cop them for yourself!

The COMME des GARÇONS Converse Chuck 70 collection is set to drop on September 22nd for a retail price of $150. Pick up a pair through the Converse webstore or retailers like END.

Atlas Nike SB Dunk High Lost At Sea

A subtle yellowed midsole with tonal laces, that Pacific blue paneling and wrap around swoosh — it’s all perfect. This collaborative Nike SB with Atlas is the type of drop that is worthy of landing in a year-end list of the best sneakers (hold me to it). Inspired by the story of the Hansa Carrier, classic 90s design lines, and the San Francisco Bay, the Nike SB Dunk Lost at Sea features a full-grain white leather upper with dual Nike and Atlas branding on the tongue and seafarer’s style blue accenting on the outsole, swoosh, heel, and tongue.

The collection will come as part of a full apparel line and will be released in two separate raffles on the Atlas webstore due to high demand.

The Atlas Nike SB Dunk High Lost at Sea is set to drop on September 26th for an unannounced retail price. Pick up a pair exclusively at Atlas.

NOAH x Barbour Fall/Winter 2020 Capsule

It’s been a minute since we’ve shown some love to Brendon Babenzien’s NOAH, but this new fall and winter focused team up with Barbour is just too good to ignore. Bedale jackets, patchwork Wax pieces, and various waxed cotton t-shirts make up the bulk of the collection which also features a hoodie, hats, and bags. The collection combines NOAH’s branding with Barbour detailing like the checked lining in the jackets, an obsession with wax construction, and late 80s early 90s silhouettes.

The NOAH Barbour Fall/Winter 2020 capsule is set to drop on September 24th and will be shoppable at the NOAH and Barbour web stores, as well as stockists like the Dover Street Market. Check out the full collection at NOAH.

Sean Wotherspoon x Chinatown Market Three-Piece Capsule

Chinatown Market has teamed up with corduroy king Sean Wotherspoon for a nostalgic three-piece capsule collection that references Wotherspoon’s own Round Two, Nintendo 64, Tamagotchis, and the West Coast hippie iconography that has become Chinatown Market’s bread and butter. The collection consists of a long-sleeve, a t-shirt, and a pair of sweat pants which all feature cartoon graphics is a wavy asymmetric printing style.

The Sean Wotherspoon Chinatown Market Three-Piece capsule collection is available now. Shop the collection at the Chinatown Market webstore.

Supreme Fall/Winter 2020 Collection

Supreme’s fifth Fall/Winter 2020 drop consists of seasonal staples and a small capsule collection made in collaboration with New Mexico-based photographer Joel-Peter Witkin. Witkin’s photos are dark, adding a horror-like quality to Supreme’s stock crewneck and hoodie silhouettes that coincides nicely with the Halloween season. Outside of the Witkin pieces, Supreme’s fifth drop is packed with vibrant hoodies, crochet zip-ups, patchwork sweaters, and matching sweatpants, for a cozy collection of cold-weather staples.

The fifth Supreme Fall/Winter 2020 drop is set for September 26th. Shop the looks at the Supreme webstore.

It’s hard not to notice Gerso Fernandes when he’s on the pitch for Sporting Kansas City. A native of Guinea-Bissau who plied his trade in Portugal from the time he was a teenager up until he made the jump to the U.S. in 2017, Gerso boasts the kind of game-changing pace that stick out among professional athletes. In fact, his speed isn’t just noticed by fans; it led to him earning the honor of being named the fastest player in MLS in FIFA 21.

MLS revealed a number of distinctions among its players in the game, which hits consoles on Oct. 6, in a Twitch stream last week. This included giving Gerso his player card, with his eyes locked on his Pace rating. It was the highest mark in the league, although on first glance, he thought it was a little lower than he deserved.

Still, Gerso is happy with how his ability to turn on the jets is viewed by the folks at EA Sports, even if he’s not exactly the most frequent video game player on earth. Uproxx Sports caught up with Gerso before last Saturday’s game against FC Dallas to discuss FIFA, why he’s not a big gamer, this MLS season, and his first year as a father.

I’ve been told you’re not a huge gamer, is that correct?

Yeah, just because I didn’t grow up having video games. I grew up more playing soccer, obviously, playing hide-and-seek with my friends, so I didn’t really know video games and all that stuff. Then when I had the chance to buy the video games and play them, I tried, but I wasn’t good at it, so I decided to just not play as much.

Ah, so how often do you play FIFA?

Now I don’t play it at all. I used to — my first year, when I started playing for Sporting, I bought a PS4 for my apartment and I used to play after practice a couple times. I wasn’t that good, but I would play friends sometimes. But then, eventually, I met my wife, we started dating, and my life has changed and video games just weren’t part of my life anymore.

How popular is FIFA in the Kansas City locker room?

Oh it’s very popular. I would say probably me and some other guys that are already dads and have kids — which would be like four or five — that don’t play. But the rest of the young guys, all of them play a lot, and they usually do competitions when we are in preseason, the players, and I love that, they take it serious.

We got a video of your reaction when you learned you were the fastest dude in MLS, same pace as Raheem Sterling, Mo Salah, Leroy Sane, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. But it seemed like you weren’t quite happy with what your rating was, why was that?

[laughs] This is funny, so we have the GPS that monitors everything we do in the game. And that GPS, I don’t know if it’s very accurate, but it gives you your top speed in the game — if it’s only just one sprint where you went very fast, it will give you that top speed. We were playing in one of the games, my top speed was very close to Alphonso Davies’ top speed, like a week before the German league had games saying he was the fastest player and they showed his speed in the game, and my top speed in one of the games was pretty close. It was still behind it, but it was pretty close. So that’s why I was like, 93, maybe I can get a little closer to Alphonso Davies [ed. note — Davies’ pace in the FIFA 21 is 96]. But I’m happy with 93, no doubt.

Still, guys like Sterling, Salah, Sane, that’s not bad company to keep.

Not at all, not at all. I was excited for sure.

Are these ratings something that players talk about among themselves?

Mostly when they come out and everybody’s like … yeah, some of my teammates were pretty sad and not happy with their ratings, and some of them were joking and congratulated me about being the fastest player in MLS. So yeah, that’s we do talk about it and joke about it when someone has a bad rating and we think they should have a little better. We talk about it, we make fun of some of them, and it’s fun.

Would love to pick your brain about this MLS season a bit. First, you’re in first in the West, coming off a win this week, what’s the vibe around the team?

It’s good. Being in first place means that your team’s gonna be good and you’ve gotta be playing good, and all of that’s happening for us and that’s why we’re at the place we are. The vibe is good, but everybody knows you’ve gotta be working very hard to stay in first place, because there’s a lot of good teams and if you stop working and don’t care, you can easily get in trouble, or someone can easily pass you in your position.

You’re an experienced team with a manager who knows what needs to happen in order to win. As a group, do you talk about winning MLS Cup and Supporters Shield, or is it more “we’re gonna take this one game at a time”?

The main goal is eventually to win Supporters Shield and MLS Cup, that’s why we work so hard and try to play the best that we can. But during the season, we try to take one game at a time, because we cannot be thinking of winning the MLS Cup and Supporters Shield if you don’t get ready for the games you have during the season. So we take one game at a time knowing what is our biggest goal.

I wanna ask you about Gianluca Busio. There is so much excitement over him from soccer fans, can I get your thoughts on him as someone who sees him every day?

Oh yeah, definitely. You’ve been hearing about him, all good things, and I would agree with all of it. Busi’s an exciting player, he has a lot of quality, and for his age, already playing and playing so, so well, he doesn’t even look like he’s 18 when he plays. And the quality and confidence he has, he has the potential to be a very, very good player, and he knows it, and he works for it, so hopefully he just keeps being as humble as he is right now and I think he will reach his top level one day.

To talk about you a little, this is your fourth year in MLS. What did you think about the league when you first joined KC and how has that opinion changed over the years?

When I first got here, it was so different, quite honestly, from Portugal. Not in a bad way, but just different. Since then, it’s now been four years, the best years of my career have been spent with Sporting Kansas City in MLS, so I’m really happy I accepted the challenge to play for Sporting Kansas City in 2017 and everything has been good so far. I’m glad for that. I think the league keeps growing and growing and has a lot of potential.

How has Kansas City been as an adopted home? As I was doing some research, I came across a story that said after you joined the team, you Googled “Where Is Kansas City?” because you wanted to get to learn about a place that you weren’t too familiar with.

Well, when you’re from Portugal and Europe, a lot of cities and states you hear people talking about are New York, Miami, Chicago, all those big, fancy cities. You never heard about Kansas City. So I was kind of curious about it, so I went to search where was Kansas City, and I saw it was right in the middle of the United States, and I went, “Well, if it’s right in the middle, then something special’s gotta be there.” And everything ended up well — I love Kansas City, it’s a nice city, nice state, and the people here are very nice.

Great football culture in that city, too. I know people in that city love the sport.

Yeah, definitely. We have awesome supporters for Sporting Kansas City and sports in general. But from a soccer perspective, it was way better than I thought when I first moved here. Eventually the stadium will need more capacity because people are getting more involved and liking it more.

And how’s this season been for you? Have to imagine it’s been something else between MLS Is Back, and now playing in home stadiums during everything going on right now.

I think overall, with everything that’s happened this year, everybody has had to adapt to whatever happens at the moment. Overall, I’m happy to be able to keep playing soccer and just running around. It was MLS Is Back, now we have the season, but I think overall, I’m just happy to have the chance to keep playing soccer.

Would love to know what your experience was like during MLS Is Back, because SKC was down there for quite a while.

Yeah, definitely. Well, I’m not gonna lie, it wasn’t easy for me and I know for a lot of other of my teammates. But we tried to make the best of MLS Is Back, and we were in first place in the group phase then we lost against Philadelphia. But overall, it was a good experience.

To end, I know you have a son who turned 1 a few months back. How’s this year been for you away from the pitch, as we’re in such a hectic time but you’re also trying to raising a youngster?

It’s been good, especially with practice in the morning and having the opportunity to be free most of the time. I feel like I’m blessed to have pretty much every afternoon after practice with my son, and to see him grow and play with him and just being part of his life for most of the day, which, not a lot of people can do that, so I’m really happy and thankful that I have the style of life that allows me to spend a lot of time with my son.

On Wednesday afternoon, Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron announced the decision from a grand jury regarding charges for the three officers who raided the home of Breonna Taylor and her boyfriend in late March and killed Taylor, who was unarmed. Cameron announced that only one officer (Sgt. Brett Hankison) would be charged at all, and that his crime was merely “wanton endangerment” for firing shots into other apartments, unrelated to Taylor’s death. Athletes across the NBA and WNBA, who have called and fought for justice in this case all summer, responded swiftly on social media.

In particular, alumni of the University of Louisville, near where Taylor lived and was killed, criticized their adopted home for the way it handled the case and handed down limited charges.

Many others responded as well, including fervent criminal justice reform advocate and a leader in the WNBA’s push to support Taylor’s family and case, Layshia Clarendon.

Washington Mystics center Tianna Hawkins, whose son the team rallied around all year in an effort to create a brighter and less dangerous future for him, questioned how the charges on Hankison could be considered justice at all.

Chicago Sky head coach James Wade, one of only two Black head coaches in the WNBA, called out how little Black life means to society when it comes to serving justice.

Veteran leaders in the NBA responded too, arguing that the settlement the city came to with Taylor’s family and this one simple charge are far from real justice for Taylor’s killing.

All-Star center DeMarcus Cousins put into context the hypocrisy of these charges, which he called a “slap on the wrist,” for malfeasance that resulted in the death of an average citizen compared with the extreme charges we’ve seen against protestors all summer.

Expect to hear more from around the two leagues as the day continues. The WNBA dedicated its entire season to Breonna Taylor, whose name is on the back of each player’s jersey this year. Players across the NBA have held media blackouts in order to draw attention to her case and have redirected conversations back to charging the officers who killed her. Now that the decision is out and the opposite has happened, we are seeing an extremely frustrated reaction across basketball.

We’ve heard from U.S. intelligence officials for at least four years that other countries are engaging in disinformation campaigns designed to destabilize the U.S. and interfere with our elections. According to a recent New York Times article, there is ample evidence of Russia attempting to push American voters away from Joe Biden and toward Donald Trump via the Kremlin-backed Internet Research Agency, which has created a network of fake user accounts and a website that billed itself as a “global news organization.”

The problem isn’t just that such disinformation campaigns exist. It’s that they get picked up and shared by real people who don’t know they’re spreading propaganda from Russian state actors. And it’s not just pro-Trump content that comes from these accounts. Some fake accounts push far-left propaganda and disinformation in order to skew perceptions of Biden. Sometimes they even share uplifting content to draw people in, while peppering their feeds with fake news or political propaganda.

Most of us read comments and responses on social media, and many of us engage in discussions as well. But how do we know if what we’re reading or who we’re engaging with is legitimate? It’s become vogue to call people who seem to be pushing a certain agenda a “bot,” and sometimes that’s accurate. What about the accounts that have a real person behind them—a real person who is being paid to publish and push misinformation, conspiracy theories, or far-left or far-right content?

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The fact of the matter is that these accounts are hard to spot. The art of online psychological warfare has only gotten more and more honed—as strange as it may sound, these are highly skilled, professional-level trolls. And the more hyper-partisan and polarized our discourse become, and the more kooky conspiracy theories slip into the mainstream, the more success these trolls will have in swaying the minds of the masses.

Two professors from Clemson University have created a quiz to help us learn to spot fake accounts. In the “Spot the Troll” quiz, users examine eight sample social media accounts to determine if the account is legitimate or a disinformation tool of bad actors. You get to see the person’s profile and can scroll through some of their posts. All eight accounts are real-life examples—as in they actually exist or existed—though some of them have since been removed for being troll accounts.

Not gonna lie. The quiz is really hard. I feel pretty good about my ability to spot fake accounts, and I got a 6 out of 8. I’d be super impressed if someone were able to get a perfect score. But Darren Linvill, one of the quiz creators, pointed out that a perfect score is not the point.

“This quiz is about the journey, not the destination,” Linvill told the Charleston City Paper. “I don’t care what your score is. I care that you went through it and thought about it. Our goal is to get people to consider who they’re engaging with, who they are retweeting and not do it lightly because their accounts are the tools of disinformation. Disinformation doesn’t spread without people spreading it.”

The quiz is part of Clemson’s new Media Forensics Hub, which is designed to explore innovative ways to evaluate social media and help people spot and stop disinformation.

You can take the quiz cold, or take the advice of Linvill as you try to determine which accounts are real.

“The main thing is to be wary,” Linvill told City Paper. “When something looks too good to be true, it probably is. And at the end of the day, strangers don’t always have your best interests at heart. There are signs one can look for that someone is a real human being. Trolls don’t have depth.”

Take the quiz here: spotthetroll.org.