memes
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The FDA may have unintentionally made 'NyQuil Chicken' go viral on TikTok
Nyquil Chicken was neither new, nor particularly viral, and the FDA’s bizarrely-timed warning may have backfired, making the meme more popular than ever.
GIF inventor Stephen Wilhite has died
GIF inventor Stephen Wilhite has died from COVID-19 at the age of 74 with his wife Kathaleen at his bedside.
The Sad Wolverine meme will be immortalized as an action figure
The Sad Wolverine meme is finally becoming an action figure.
Real-life 'Disaster Girl' turns her meme into a $500,000 NFT
The “Disaster Girl” photo that sparked a thousand memes is the latest to make it big all over again as an NFT.
Facebook is testing a tool to let users claim image rights
Facebook's Rights Manager of Images could make it easier for creators to issue takedown requests.
Facebook deploys AI in its fight against hate speech and misinformation
The company has long sought to rein in the prevalence of hate speech spread on its site. Detecting hate speech is no easy feat. The company is even tackling hate memes.
Why do memes suddenly matter in politics?
Michael Bloomberg's failed bid to become Democratic Party nominee will go down in infamy. Not only because he bankrolled the whole thing with his own vast fortune, but also where he spent it. Bloomberg's team enlisted figures from Jerry Media, the agency connected to Fyre Festival, where he spent $1 million a day on social campaigns. He even offered minor-ish Instagram stars $150 a pop to support his campaign on the platform. But why? We asked several people connected with politics, memes, and political memes the obvious question.
Facebook: Creators must disclose paid partnerships with political campaigns
Mike Bloomberg's ploy to reach voters through bad Instagram memes may be tacky, but it is not violating any Facebook or Instagram rules, as long as creators disclose paid partnerships. "After hearing from multiple campaigns, we agree that there's a place for branded content in political discussion on our platforms," Facebook said in a statement provided to Engadget.
Snapchat Cameos lets you insert your face into a GIF
Snapchat's secret weapon is its uncanny face-swapping and -tracking algorithms, and it has just deployed those to great effect in a new chat feature called Cameos. The feature, which leaked out yesterday, inserts your selfie into short, looping videos featuring cats, shopping carts, cars and more. The idea is to send your pals an expressive GIF, starring... you.
Lil Bub, the internet’s favorite smooshed-face cat, has died
If you needed any more evidence that we are in fact living in the worst possible timeline, here it is: Lil Bub, one of the world's favorite internet-famous cats, has died. Her human dad, Mike Bridavsky, shared the news on Monday.
Recommended Reading: How memes became political weapons
How memes got weaponized: A short history Joan Donovan, MIT Technology Review Memes are entertaining, but they've also become key weapons in politics and the spread of misinformation. This piece starts with just one of many insane stories: "In October 2016, a friend of mine learned that one of his wedding photos had made its way into a post on a right-wing message board," Donovan writes. "The picture had been doctored to look like an ad for Hillary Clinton's campaign, and appeared to endorse the idea of drafting women into the military."
Facebook built a tool to track misinformation about itself
Facebook isn't just concerned with the fake news, conspiracy theories and malicious content spread on its platforms. It's also worried about the rumors spread about its platform. According to Bloomberg, the company has a special software program called Stormchaser used to track and debunk misinformation about Facebook, including rumors spread on WhatsApp.
Facebook's latest attempt to court teens is a 'cringey' meme library
Facebook is once again trying to court the kids, this time with a meme-filled app called LOL. Facebook confirmed the existence of the LOL to TechCrunch. The app, which offers an endless feed of videos clips and GIFs, features content pulled from the most popular meme pages on Facebook but apparently is not resonating with the kids testing it.
Sweden's ad regulator says 'Distracted Boyfriend' meme is sexist
One of the most popular memes of recent times is sexist, according to Sweden's advertising watchdog. A Swedish Internet company named Banhof jumped on the bandwagon by sharing the viral "distracted boyfriend" meme online to advertise job vacancies, only to be chastised by the regulator. The image -- which shows a man gawking at a woman in a red dress while his girlfriend looks on in shock -- is discriminatory to both men and women, ruled Sweden's Reklamombudsmannen.
Facebook is fact-checking photos and videos to fight fake news
It's no secret that Facebook has been struggling to stop fake news from spreading on its site, though it has indeed made progress since the 2016 US presidential election. Now, as part of its ongoing efforts to fight misinformation, Facebook has announced that its 27 fact-checking partners across the world now have access to a new tool that will analyze pictures and videos. According to Facebook, this feature is powered by machine learning and is designed to help reviewers identify and take action against false content faster.
Drake is the king of memes
Drake has done it again. And no, we're not talking about him repeatedly smashing Apple Music and Spotify streaming records. We're talking about one of his tracks being turned into meme gold. This time it's the track "In My Feelings" from his new record, Scorpion. The internet has taken the lyrics and turned them into a dance that's about to conquer social media. What seems to resonate with his fans the most is the chorus, in which Drake asks, "Kiki, do you love me? Are you riding? Say you'll never ever leave from beside me. 'Cause I want ya and I need ya." Anyone who listens to Drake regularly knows he's always been an unapologetic emotional dude, and people love to turn his brooding and confessionals into viral fodder.
'Alexa, is football coming home?'
You've gotta hand it to England's football fans -- what they lack in World Cup wins they more than make up for in boundless optimism. It's been 52 years since the team won the World Cup, but after their unbearably tense win against Colombia earlier this week, football (or "soccer", except not soccer) is now closer to coming home than it has been for more than half a century -- and even Alexa knows it.
The FCC's 'Harlem Shake' video may violate copyright law
This is a bit ironic. When FCC chairman and former Verizon lawyer Ajit Pai uploaded a video this week detailing all the things we'll still be able to do after he killed net neutrality, he apparently forgot one key step: asking permission. You see, part of the smarmy and glib clip the FCC produced with The Daily Caller has EDM producer Baauer's "Harlem Shake" in it. Baauer claims he received no licensing requests for the once-viral track and in a tweet pledged that "I'm taking action. Whatever I can do to stop this loser."
Snapchat's dumb dancing hot dog is now an $80 Halloween costume
As of today, Snapchat sells three physical products: Spectacles, a charging case for the Spectacles, and a Halloween costume based on its dancing hot dog filter. The company confirmed to Engadget that, yes, it IS officially hawking the getup. So if you really want to spend $80 to look like a meme that briefly crowned the internet earlier this year, here's the link.
Junk technology: A ridiculous history of fast-food PR stunts
Who doesn't love a good, over-the-top marketing stunt? Recently we've seen a lot of those, including Pizza Hut's Pizza Parka, a coat made out of the same insulating materials as its delivery pouches. Because why not? That ridiculous product from Pizza Hut shouldn't come as a surprise. After all, this is the same company that made shoes that can order a pie for you. But Pizza Hut isn't the only one trying to get creative using technology to promote its brand.
