This is a couple of articles that show what was popping in the news in 2020. I haven't had time to write anything, since I had exams today.
*It went well anyway, so don't worry*
Anyway, just enjoy these for now, while, until I get time to write for real
Protests over George Floyd's death continue as Celebrities join the campaign.
Since last week, major cities in the United States have been thrown into chaos over the death of a black man, George Floyd. His death sparked this chaotic situation because it appears to be a 'double whammy' of institutional racism and police brutality. The deceased 46-year old died on 25 May after he had been arrested and had his neck knelt upon for over eight minutes, despite his pleas that he was unable to breathe. And the reason for this brutal means of tackling a non-hostile suspect? A report by a store employee that Floyd had tried to purchase a box of cigarettes with a fake $20 bill.
This has sparked a lot of protests in Minnesota, the city of New York, Atlanta and many other cities. A Lauderhill protest that was supposed to take place by 3:00pm on Sunday, the 13th of May was postponed due to the riots and violence rapidly spreading across the country. Floyd's death led to the #BlackLivesMatter campaign being broadcast both in the protests and on social media platforms.
The amount of damage reported was shocking, hence justifying the decision in Lauderhill. In Florida, a demonstration quickly escalated into a scene of carnage as tear gas canisters among other suppressive equipment were used to disperse the protesters. Tallahassee saw the incident where a truck was using to mow through a crowd of protesters. In Tampa, businesses and buildings were set on fore as the riots grew destructive. Most of the protests demand that the other officers present at the scene should be arrested for not intervening when it was clear that Floyd's life was in danger.
Celebrities have joined in the campaign, as this is a sort of 'all-in' situation where people are beginning to see the threats police brutality and racism still pose to peaceful living. Popstar Halsey and her ex-boyfriend Yungblud were spotted on Saturday taking part in protests at Los Angeles. Others also seen at this area where model Emily Ratajkowski, actress Courtney Eaton, Ross Lynch and Jeremy Meeks. Note that Loss Angeles has basically been the center of the most violent protests: this has culminated in the arrests of hundreds of people.
Grammy Award-winning musician, Billie Eilish has lashed out at white people who launched an 'all lives matter campaign' as a response to the Black Lives Matter version. She posted this tirade on Instagram, citing that the whites are privileged just because they are white. Eilish countered the response by saying the blacks' campaign does not imply that the lives of people of other races do not matter, but that society thinks black lives do not, which she states that they do. This post has amassed over four million likes on the platform, and was praised by man celebrities among other fans.
The post was reposted by superstar Pink, who obviously supports Eilish's message. She also gave witty retorts to comments by users who remained adamant about the 'White Lives Matter' idea. With much buzz being created about the topic, it is obvious talks on the issue are not going to die down any time soon.
Jason Derulo gets injured on a Tiktok video.
Many countries imposed a compulsory stay at home order as the global health crisis worsened and the numbers of dead soared every day. And when it became obvious that the order was not going to be lifted any time soon, people of the world began to gear themselves for a very boring couple of weeks or even months. But then again, it was left to social media to provide a way for people to defuse the tension and anxiety during the trying times. And of course you all know about Twitter, YouTube, Facebook and Instagram, but one of the popular platforms which blossomed during this period is Tiktok.
Tiktok was officially launched in 2017 for iOS and Android users outside China, the country where the app's development took place, and now the platform has become one of the most popular social media platforms. The app is actually a video sharing social networking service and was founded by Bytedance. In October 2018, Tiktok became the most downloaded app in the United States in October 2018. And for two consecutive years which were 2018 and 2019, it was the most downloaded app on the Apple App Store. Through Tiktok, users have unleashed their inner talents and sense of humor in funny and interesting posts.
But posts of late have made people wonder the real dangers of the application. In India, authorities have complained that the population using Tiktok, over 600 million people, has outnumbered the population of customers in its country of birth China, having just over a hundred million in its community. They have also complained that its users are becoming much less productive, and of the community, majority being youths are becoming less interested in their studies and in making a change in society. The so-called"leaders of tomorrow" are instead with having more likes and followers on the app.
And of late, their fears and petitions were increased when popular singer, Jason Derulo appeared to perform a dangerous life hack which ended in an injury. The said 'accident' took place recently on a live Tiktok video where he was attempting to eat an ear off a cob. If that sounds pretty normal, perhaps you will be shocked to note that the cob was mounted on a rotating electric hand drill. He called the act a life hack but fans are wondering exactly what was the point of this particular hack.
So, it was all fun until the 30-year old appeared to chip his front tooth with the tool. It appeared to be an accident and looked quite gruesome as his tooth was broken almost in half by the tool. He cried out and subsequently stopped the video in a few minutes. Later on, he posted another video where he was showing the damage to his girlfriend. In comments laced with expletives and lisps he complained about how bad the injury was and how much it would take to fix it.
If that was outrageous, then you'll be surprised to know that most of the fans feel that the whole thing is just a prank. One viewer even commended him on the 'cool' special effects used to create the video. Others were convinced that it was a prank because of the lack of blood around the area. Jason Derulo hasn't released any response to these claims so it is unknown whether the 'skit' which amassed over sixteen million views is a prank or not.
This is not Derulo's first rodeo on the platform as he came under fire on Sunday. Reason being for sampling a piece of music by a member of the Polynesian Tiktok community without giving credit or obtaining official permission. That beat was used for his new song "Savage Love", the snippet of which was posted on Instagram. The original beat is titled "Laxed" and was produced by New Zealand musician Joshua Nanai who goes by the stage name Jawsh 685. Number 685 his name as well as lyrics of the song pay homage to his Samoan and Cook Islands origin, 685 being the calling code of the island. "Laxed" went viral on the app and was used for thousands of videos subsequently.
The backlash received from that post was very high, and in the next "Savage Love" post, he gave credit to Nanai for the beat.
