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We had 24 hours of a bliss-filled world where the name Donald Trump seemingly didn’t exist, but it looks like the overlords of Facebook might take that back.

With Trump finally out of office and banned from nearly every social media platform, the misinformation spread has slowly ground to a halt. (It’s truly amazing what silencing the Twitter tirades of a megalomaniac can do for democracy and our mental health.) Of course, Facebook thrives off the chaos created by Trump and his MAGA cronies so now, just a short week after the former president was booted off its site, the company has referred its decision to an oversight board where an independent committee will review the case and rule on whether to uphold the ban or reverse it.

Now, we know what you’re thinking, “Facebook has an oversight board? Since when?”

Apparently, the board was created late last year to have the final say on tough censorship decisions after Facebook’s disastrous mishandling of misinformation bots that used the platform to peddle wacky conspiracy theories and incite anger, sometimes even violence. And the oversight board isn’t just Mark Zuckerberg holed up in a dark, windowless room feeding off the energy of machines like some Emperor Palpatine. No (and according to CNN) it’s comprised of a handful of experts who will now weigh in on what might become the most consequential decision on content moderation we’ve seen from Big Tech. And while the choice of whether to uphold the Trump ban only pertains to Facebook and Instagram, the board’s decision could have a ripple effect on other social media platforms.

We’ll have to wait and see how that decision goes.

(Via CNN)

While social media has been a tremendous tool for deseminating news and learning about the world, its dark side occasionally rears its head, exposing how easily false reports can spread when users want to believe them. Usually, it’s harmless; a blog or fan account speculates that an artist is releasing an album and the speculation quickly gets spread as fact, causing artists no small amount of aggravation as they try to squelch untrue rumors.

Sometimes, though, this tendency can be used for malicious or harmful effects. Today, when a hip-hop fan account posited that a lack of active documents in the LA Superior Court website meant Megan Thee Stallion had “dropped her case” against Tory Lanez (which was really the State’s case, which it could pursue whether she pressed charges or not), the “report” was shared widely by Tory fans seeking vindication for their hero and villifying Megan as a liar.

However, there’s just one problem: The report isn’t true and appears to be based in a lack of understand of basic tenets of journalism (as well as lack of experience with court websites, which can often take days to update). As the saying goes though, “A lie gets halfway around the world before truth puts on its boots.” Both parties eventually felt compelled to respond to the rumor, with a rep for Lanez reaching out through New York Times music reporter Joe Coscarelli, who conveyed the message via Twitter.

“The blog that posted this info is wrong,” he reported. ” I assume the docket hasn’t been updated … The next hearing date is in mid-February.”

Meanwhile, Megan, who was again excoriated by misogynistic Tory Lanez fans, vented more emphatically. “AT THIS POINT IM GETTING ANNOYED!” she wrote. “STOP BELIEVING EVERYTHING YOU READ ON THE MF INTERNET. Imagine how I feel waking every day seeing people LIE and turn my trauma into a joke? That whole team figures out ways to create doubt with my story every week and the media eats it up.”

She also pointed out the frustrating double standards that continue to be applied to her situation. “How tf I get shot now I’m the worlds biggest mf villain!?” she wondered. “Y’all so believe black women and protect black women online BUT WHEN I LITERALLY SAY I GOT SHOT ITS CONFUSING.”

Hopefully, the end of the trial — whenever that is — will bring some semblance of closure to this saga. And hopefully, everyone has learned a lesson about which sources are trustworthy, and which aren’t worth paying any attention to at all.

As The Boys Season 3 gets ready to start filming in Vancouver, Homelander actor Antony Starr is feeling nostalgic for his character’s obsession with soaking up as much hero worship as superhumanly possible from an adoring audience. While re-posting a still from one of his favorite The Boys scenes, Starr couldn’t help but share his concerns on how the show will be able to shoot crowd scenes under the new COVID restrictions. Granted, Starr is confident the creative team has a solution, but it turns out that the Homelander actor also enjoys the thrill of a captive audience.

“One of my favourite scenes of the show… ranting at a crowd like a megalomaniac creep…. I never felt so at home…” Starr wrote on Instagram. “Not sure how we will pull these crowd scenes off but I’ll bet our awesome team will come up with something.”

You can see Antony Starr’s Instagram post below:

Arranging a crowd scene is going to be just one of the logistical nightmares facing Season 3 of The Boys. Showrunner Eric Kripke recently revealed that the series will be adapting the infamous “Herogasm” storyline, which involves The Seven pretending to take on an intergalactic threat, but really, they jetted off to a private island for a massive orgy. Via Entertainment Weekly:

The Boys must infiltrate this sex island, complete with a Human Centipede-esque oral sex train, on their latest mission. There’s also a, shall we say, intimate moment between Homelander and Soldier Boy that happens in Herogasm. And, as we know, Jensen Ackles is now playing Soldier Boy in season 3. So… Yeah, we have questions.

While The Boys comic is known for being exceptionally graphic, the TV series hasn’t been hesitant to stay faithful to the source material. In Season 2, the show introduced a live-action version of Love Sausage, a character whose power is having a massive, well, love sausage. So it’ll be interesting to see just how far the series will go when it comes time to adopt The Boys‘ raunchiest storyline.

(Via Antony Starr on Instagram)

Being the President of the United States does not seem like a fun job. Half the country hates you, your salary is only slightly higher than the lowest paid player in the NFL, and let’s face it, the White House isn’t much nicer than the average bed and breakfast.

But hey, free Diet Coke.

Former-president Donald Trump loved Diet Coke so much that he reportedly drank a dozen of them a day. He even had a “Diet Coke button” on his Oval Office desk — when pressed, a butler would bring him a glass of the calorie-free soda. “Midway through my April 23, 2017, interview with President Donald Trump, he reached over and pressed a red button on his desk in the Oval Office. It didn’t trigger a nuclear launch or send advisers scurrying into the room. Instead, a White House butler walked in with a single glass of Diet Coke on a silver tray for the commander in chief,” Associated Press reporter Julie Pace wrote in 2018. The button was later confirmed by the Financial Times’ Demetri Sevastopulo, who jokingly asked Trump if the button would unleash a catastrophic weapon. “No no, everyone thinks it [will],” Trump responded. “Everyone does get a little nervous when I press that button.” They won’t be nervous anymore.

“President Biden has removed the Diet Coke button. When @ShippersUnbound and I interviewed Donald Trump in 2019, we became fascinated by what the little red button did. Eventually Trump pressed it, and a butler swiftly brought in a Diet Coke on a silver platter,” Times Radio chief political commentator Tom Newton Dunn tweeted. “It’s gone now.” Even President Biden’s supporters had to admit: keep the Diet Coke button, Joe.

Trump might be out of the White House, but don’t worry, he’s still drinking “that garbage.”

(Via Time)

Aside from being a defining album for J. Cole, 2014 Forest Hills Drive also has some of the most memorable artwork of the past decade; Even people who haven’t heard the album still recognize the iconic photo of J. Cole sitting on the roof. It’s been about six years since that album dropped, and now, Cole has once again taken to the roof and recreated the cover.

This time, he’s sitting way up there as part of a marketing campaign for Puma. Specifically, he’s teaming with the company to introduce a new signature sneaker, the Dreamer 2s, which he is wearing in the new photo. Cole shared the picture on social media and wrote, “Had to get back on the roof. This time with my own sh*t on. DREAMER 2. First colorway ‘January 28th’ available 1/28 online @puma and @footlocker.”

The shoe is set to retail for $135, and the first colorway available, “January 28th,” is named after the 2014 Forest Hills Drive track of the same title. The shoe is primarily yellow but with a black midsole, and Cole’s “Dreamer” logo features on the heel of the sneaker. Press materials note that the shoe is “a mid-silhouette intended to be worn on and off the court.”

Fans of The Walking Dead have only been treated to one episode since last April. In fact, Season 10 of the series has technically been airing since October 2019, a whopping 473 days ago. Ultimately, the tenth season is not expected to be finished until around April 2021, meaning that (owing to the pandemic) the tenth season will last a full two years. Meanwhile, the eleventh season, which kicks off in the fall, is expected to air 24 episodes in around one year.

In addition to the delay owed to the pandemic, the tenth season also had 6 episodes added onto it as a sort of bridge between the 10th and final seasons. This season is expected to fill in some gaps, namely where Maggie has been; where Daryl was in the years after Rick’s disappearance; and it will provide an origins story for Negan.

It won’t all be storylines from the past, however. The trailer itself features the masked assassin who accompanies Maggie back to Alexandria, played by Cobra Kai star Okea Eme-Akwari, and it also features members of The Commonwealth dragging away Eugene, Ezekiel, Yumiko and the Princess, which is a sequence that picks up where the original season finale left off. We also get our first look at Robert Patrick and Lynn Collins, who will guest star in the extended season, as well as another look at Hilarie Burton’s Lucille, who looks almost unrecognizable in her wig (the character has cancer). The trailer also gives us a first glimpse of Lil Hershel Rhee, Glenn and Maggie’s baby, who is all grown up.

The Walking Dead returns on February 28th.

Earlier this month, J. Cole took to Instagram to tease his latest release in his footwear line with Puma, which Uproxx confirmed would be called the Dreamer 2s. On Thursday, Puma and Cole officially announced the sneakers and paid tribute to his album 2014 Forest Hills Drive in the process.

In a post on his Instagram account, Cole said that he had to “get back on the roof” to unveil the Dreamer 2s, and announced that its first colorway will be called the “January 28,” a nod to both its upcoming release day and Cole’s birthday.

According to a release, the Dreamer 2s are designed to be worn on and off the basketball court, which makes them similar to the first shoe in this line — those were worn by NBA and WNBA players on Puma’s roster in their respective Bubbles last season. Unlike those, which featured a collection of colors on a black silhouette, these are more straightforward. They feature a vibrant yellow design with a black midsole, the RSD logo from the previous sneaker on the tongue, and Cole’s “Dreamer” logo on the heel. Puma also laid out some of the specifics of the sneakers, which has ProFoam in its midsole and took elements of the RS-0, RS-100, and RS-X.

The Dreamer 2s will retail for $135.

BRS Kash is gearing up for the release of his debut mixtape Kash Only, but the rapper has already made a name for himself with the viral track “Throat Baby.” The song, which he recently performed for an edition of UPROXX Sessions, amassed over nine million streams on Spotify alone and put him on the radar for hip-hop fans everywhere. Further teasing his debut project, Kash shared a steamy remix of “Throat Baby” featuring heavy-hitters DaBaby and City Girls.

DaBaby opens with his verse on the remix, delivering clever bars about receiving oral sex inside a Lowe’s department store. After Kash’s chorus comes in, Young Miami and JT offer up their lyrics at the song’s close, with both of the rappers sharing confident lines about their sexual endeavors.

Alongside the remix’s release, Kash revealed that DaBaby and City Girls’ version will show up on the official Kash Only tracklist, which is slated for a release Friday. While he’s just shared the audio for now, Kash said he plans on celebrating his debut mixtape’s release with an official video to DaBaby and City Girls’ “Throat Baby” remix.

Listen to BRS Kash’s “Throat Baby” remix with DaBaby and City Girls above.

Kash Only is out 1/22 via Team Litty/LVRN/Interscope. Pre-order it here.

Erica Banks‘ “Buss It” has officially taken over the internet, but as with nearly all viral video trends, the #BussItChallenge wave seemed to be cresting after several weeks of dominance. Then Chloe X Halle got involved — or rather, elder sister Chloe did — and it seems she’s given the challenge new life, as well as once again dropping jaws on Twitter as she continues to shed her squeaky-clean teen singer image.

Chloe, who set off the trending topics a few weeks ago thanks to her antics during a Chloe X Halle livestream performance, turns in a vintage example of the #BussItChallenge in her video, but the video is likely drawing more attention because of who’s not in it: Younger sister Halle, who was cast in the upcoming live-action remake of Disney Renaissance classic The Little Mermaid.

The conflicting schedule caused the sister duo to finally split their Instagram accounts — now, each has their own separate handle, while their joint account continues to post cute group videos like this one — which may well fuel rumors that one or both of the sisters will eventually go solo. While they’ve maintained that they remain a duo for the foreseeable future, the argument can be made that without the constraints of a Disney contract hovering over her, Chloe has leaned into the more “grown-up” posture the duo embraced on their critically hailed 2020 album Ungodly Hour.

Meanwhile, Erica Banks and Nelly are likely grateful for the boost in popularity for the #BussItChallenge. Nelly recently expressed his approval for the challenge, which helps line his pocket thanks to the sample of his 2002 hit “Hot In Herre,” while Banks garners more support for her future endeavors as she looks to follow her 1501 Certified Entertainment labelmate Megan Thee Stallion into the spotlight.

Mike Lindell (a.k.a., “The MyPillow Guy”) recently complained that he’s been dropped by Bed, Bath & Beyond and more vendors because he won’t stop fueling false QAnon conspiracies about the 2020 election being “stolen” from Trump. He still doesn’t seem concerned that there are consequences for telling seditious lies because he appeared on the Victory Channel’s Flashpoint to flat out dare Dominion Voting Systems to sue him for persisting in pushing election-fraud conspiracy theories. Somehow, he’s not afraid of how Dominion’s already sued wacky Trump lawyer Sidney Powell for a whopping $1.3 billion, and he recently revealed that he still talks to Powell multiple times per day.

Regardless of whether Mike Lindell is capable of feeling fear, he’s still talking. In the above video around the 25:00 mark, he tossed out a dare. “Please sue me, Dominion… it’s like the old mafia days when I used to bet football,” Lindell declared. Mediaite has reported that Dominion has sent a cease-and-desist letter as a precursor to a lawsuit over his false and damaging claims to the company, but Lindell doesn’t seem to care.

In the above video, he proceeds to theorize that such a lawsuit would only rush the issue to court, where he believes that he can unveil his bonkers and dangerous conspiracy theories and have them embraced by the court. This did not work out well for Trump’s Legal Strike Force because judges across the U.S. shut down their invalid claims for a lack of evidence and other problems, but Lindell doesn’t seem to accept reality. He’s also still fiercely proud of the failed MAGA coup that left five people (including two police officers) dead, and he posted a video of himself blatantly lying to the QAnon crowd while vowing, “Donald Trump’s gonna be your president for the next years.”

Well, that didn’t happen, obviously. In related and also completely unexpected news, the Daily Mail has reported that Lindell secretly romanced 30 Rock and The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt star Jane Krakowski for nine months. She reportedly broke things off last summer, and if true, wow, bullet dodged.

(Via Mediaite)