TikTok
TikTok Oracle Deal is reportedly ‘Shelved Indefinitely’
Sourced from Cosmico Last year, Tik Tok’s parent company ByteDance and Oracle reached a “technical partnership” for the social media platform’s US operations. The deal was expected to address the national security concerns surrounding TikTok, raised by the Trump Administration. But now, it would seem that these efforts have been ‘shelved indefinitely’ while US President Joe Biden “undertakes a broad review of his predecessor’s efforts to address potential security risks from Chinese tech companies”. Spokesperson for the National Security Council, Emily Horne told the Wall Street Journal that “we plan to develop a comprehensive approach to securing US data that addresses the full range of threats we face. This includes the risk posed by Chinese apps and other software that operate in t...
TikTok Launches Android TV App
Sourced from Cosmico TikTok has launched an Android TV app, available from the Google Play Store – making it even easier for users to spend hours watching shortform videos. According to 9to5Google, the TikTok app works similarly to the regular app where “videos are shown in a feed [and users] can flip through to see more content”. The difference is that using the Android app, users will see a vertical version of the video with the title, category, and comments off to the side of the screen. /* custom css */ .tdi_3_806.td-a-rec-img{ text-align: left; }.tdi_3_806.td-a-rec-img img{ margin: 0 auto 0 0; } “[Our] shortform videos are fun, genuine and creative. And now, we’re bringing that fun content to your television,” reads an official statement from TikTok. “Whether you’re a sports fanatic, ...
TikTok “Dreams” Sensation to Skateboard in Joe Biden’s Inauguration Parade
With that one loser finally on his way out of the White House, Joe Biden’s Inauguration Day celebrations are expected to be all about the good vibes. And who better to bring them than Mr. “Good Vibes Only” himself, Nathan Apodaca, a.k.a. TikTok “Dreams” skateboarder @420doggface208. According to TMZ, the viral sensation is scheduled to appear as part of Biden’s virtual inauguration parade later this week. The President-elect’s planning team reportedly tapped Apodaca “because they saw how his feel-good video uplifted the world this past fall during social unrest and pandemic anxiety.” For those who may have somehow missed it, Apodaca’s famed TikTok clip saw him skateboarding blissfully to Fleetwood Mac hit “Dreams” while sipping from a bottle of Ocean Spray. For a brief moment, the hum...
Here’s an EDM Remix of the Viral “Wellerman” TikTok Sea Shanty—And It’s Actually a Banger
Because nothing should surprise you at this point in the post-apocalyptic digital hellscape of content shoved down our throats in 2021, sea shanties have exploded on TikTok. Yes, the ol’ hymns chanted by 19th century pirates and barnacle-scrubbing, drunken sailors have found new life in a social media platform dominated by prepubescent teens. After a Scottish man named Nathan Evans posted his renditions of “The Scotsman” and “The Wellerman,” other TikTok users sang their own versions and stitched them together to create a chorus. Due to the collaborative nature of the songs, the trend erupted on the platform and mutated into what is now referred to as ShantyTok. Eventually, EDM found itself in the crosshairs of ShantyTok. A music producer and TikTok user named...
Cottagecore: Create Your Own Version of the “Strawberry Dress” With This Dreamy Tutorial
In summer 2020, cottagecore enthusiasts stumbled upon a comforting escape from the news cycle — Lirika Matoshi’s Strawberry Dress. The pink tulle midi dress with puff sleeves, ruffle hems, and a glitter strawberry print went viral on TikTok and Instagram, and now you can create your own dream dress with help from Instagram user @crescentshay‘s tutorial. Cosplay fashion designer Shay (@crescentshay) has a lot of experience creating fantasy dresses. On her Instagram, she has shared dozens of behind-the-scenes videos of how she re-creates Disney princess dresses, dresses worn by Effie Triket in The Hunger Games, a replica of Lady Gaga’s fuchsia gown from the 2019 Met Gala, and even a “social distancing” dress with a skirt that measures 12 feet. Shay’s most ...
Egypt court acquits TikTok stars jailed over ‘debauchery’
An Egyptian appeals court has acquitted two young women imprisoned for “attacking society’s values” over videos they published on TikTok. The women had been sentenced to two years in prison last July for “breaching public morals”. “The court of appeal accepted the appeal filed by Haneen Hossam and Mawada al-Adham against their imprisonment … on charges of incitement to debauchery and attacking society’s values,” a court official said on Tuesday, asking not to be named. Hossam, 20, was acquitted after being jailed for encouraging women among her 1.3 million subscribers to broadcast videos in exchange for money, while al-Adham’s two-year sentence for publishing indecent photos and videos was cancelled. Hossam’s lawyer Hussein El Bakar told Thomson Reuters Foundation that her client, a studen...
Alexander Wang responds to sexual assault claims
Fashion designer Alexander Wang is facing accusations of sexual assault, prompted by claims from Owen Mooney, a male model who, in early December, shared an encounter on TikTok that he’d had with Wang in 2017 at a nightclub. In the video, Mooney said: “I was by myself at one point, and this guy next to me obviously took advantage of the fact that no one could fucking move, and he just started touching me up, like, fully up to my leg, in my crotch. And then I looked to my left to see who it was, and it was a really famous fashion designer, and I just couldn’t believe that he was doing that to me.” Though Mooney initially did not disclose a name, in a subsequent post he revealed the person to be Wang. Soon after, eight men and trans women also shared stories of lewd behavior by Wang, accordi...
TikTok Star Shreds Metallica Songs on Guitar After She’s Called Out for Wearing Band’s T-Shirt: Watch
A TikTok star set out to seek and destroy after commenters called her out for wearing a Metallica shirt in her videos. Not only did aspiring R&B/hip-hop vocalist and dancer Zaria prove she was a fan of the iconic metal band, she proceeded to shred some of their classic songs on guitar. Celebrities and social media personalities wearing heavy metal T-shirts as a fashion statement is nothing new. We’ve often wondered, “Do the Kardashians really listen to Metallica and Slayer?” So, it’s not surprising that Zaria got some pushback in her comments section, with at least one person challenging her to “name three Metallica songs.” Well, Zaria took her response one step further. In a clap-back video, she exclaims, “My response to you guys is like, ‘Really, only three songs? How ’bout I play th...
TikTok to hide graphic videos behind warning screens
TikTok has unveiled a newly updated set of community guidelines and tools, which include new warning screens on graphic videos, a new text-to-voice accessibility feature, and updated health resources. The update brings new vaccine information which will be added to TikTok’s coronavirus resource hub as well as resources to be shown if people search for certain terms, like those related to self-harm. According to TikTok, the graphic content warning screens are meant to prevent the accidental viewing of content that some might find disturbing. The screen gives two options, letting users either view the clip or skip it entirely. More extreme content is removed from the service entirely, but the new warning labels cover clips that might be allowed for “documentary reasons,” scenes from horror m...
Reddit Acquires TikTok Competitor Dubsmash
“Both Reddit and Dubsmash share a deep-rooted respect for how communities come together,” said Reddit CEO Steve Huffman. “Dubsmash elevates underrepresented creators, while Reddit fosters a sense of community and belonging across thousands of different topics and passions. It’s clear that our missions closely align and that our community-focused platforms can coexist and grow as we learn from each other.” While Dubsmash launched as a creation tool for lip-synching videos in 2015, its founders retooled the offering two years later to add social media elements. It has since emerged as a strong competitor in the growing social video app market, which is dominated by TikTok (with 100 million monthly active U.S. users and 2 billion global downloads) but also include...
China accuses India of discrimination over latest app ban
Beijing lashed out at India on Wednesday after it banned another tranche of Chinese apps for national security reasons, the latest sore point between the two nuclear-armed neighbours. Tensions remain high between Beijing and New Delhi after a deadly June clash in a disputed border area that left 20 Indian soldiers dead and an unspecified number of Chinese casualties. India banned 43 Chinese apps on Tuesday — including some from e-commerce giant Alibaba — for threatening “sovereignty and integrity”. China said it had “serious concerns” about the move and India’s “so-called pretext of upholding national security”. “The relevant methods clearly violate market principles and WTO guidelines, and severely harm Chinese companies’ legal rights and interests,” said foreign ministry spokesman Zhao L...
Dillon Francis Remixed Dixie D’Amelio’s Song “Be Happy” and Broke Into Her House to Debut It
TikTok “Snailgate” drama be damned—the show must go on. Last week, Dillon Francis sat down with TikTok megastar Dixie D’Amelio for her YouTube series “The Dixie D’Amelio Show” to promote his new single “Be Somebody.” What came out of the slightly uncomfortable interview, beside the fact that D’Amelio called Francis a “world-renowned pop singer,” was a challenge for him to take on her song “Be Happy” with a deadline of one week. He stayed true to his word and delivered a remix that makes the original much more club-ready, even if most of the D’Amelio family’s fans aren’t old enough to get in yet. There is no denying the reach of Dixie D’Amelio, whose debut single ha...
