Elon Musk issues foul mouthed retort at Mark Zuckerberg as feud intensifies
Elon Musk has escalated his rivalry with Mark Zuckerberg in his latest tweets, calling the Meta co-founder a "cuck." Since Zuckerberg's Meta launched Threads, a text-based social media app to rival Musk's Twitter, the two billionaire businessmen have been exchanging jibes online. Some of these include Zuckerberg taking to Twitter for the first time in 11 years to post a Spider-Man meme, Musk challenging Zuckerberg to a cage fight and Twitter threatening Threads with a lawsuit. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Now, Musk has responded to a screenshot from Threads that shows a post from the official account of the fast-food chain Wendy’s that reads: "hey @zuck, you should go to space just to make him really mad lol." To which Zuckerberg replied with a crying laughing emoji. Though clearly, this didn't amuse Musk as he declared on Twitter in response: "Zuck is a cuck." And he didn't stop there, in a follow-up tweet suggested another contest - not a cage-fighting one this time but something more explicit: "I propose a literal d*** measuring contest," Musk tweeted, along with a ruler emoji. The Elon Musk parody account cracked a joke in response to the real Musk's latest tweets: "At this point, I can't keep track of which account I'm tweeting from." This is the same parody account that called Zuckerberg a "lizard boy," and caught the attention of the actual Elon Musk who responded: "So many people think this account is me," with the eyes emoji. Zuckerberg has yet to respond in this war of words, though clearly this feud is far from over... Elsewhere, what is Threads, Instagram's 'text-based' alternative to Twitter, Threads users issued warning over new social media app, and Elon Musk responds to parody account calling Mark Zuckerberg 'lizard boy'. Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.
2023-07-10 17:19
Elon Musk responds to parody account calling Mark Zuckerberg 'lizard boy'
Elon Musk has responded to a parody account pretending to be him on Twitter, calling Mark Zuckerberg a "lizard boy." The fake account with the username @ElonMuskAOC has over 358,000 followers and uses the same image of Musk that the billionaire businessman uses for his Twitter account. Also, their name is "Elon Musk (Parody)" and their profile bio reads: "I’m on a quest to bang AOC on Mars. (Parody Account)." Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter On July 7, the parody account tweeted pretending to be Musk where he called Meta co-founder Mark Zuckerberg "Lizard boy." "I spent $44 billion for this app and now Lizard boy just decided to hit copy and paste," to Meta's new social media platform Threads, which is said to rival Twitter. "It's personal now. See you in the cage, Zuck," the account added, referring to Zuckerberg previously agreeing to a cage fight with Musk after Musk tweeted that he was “up for a cage fight” with him. With 35.5m views, 645,000 likes and 22,000 retweets, the parody account's tweet when viral - so much so that the real Elon Musk replied to the tweet. "So many people think this account is me," he wrote, with the eyes emoji. YouTuber MrBeast weighed asking "It's not?" to which Musk confirmed that was not him behind the tweet or account. Another person @stclairashley pointed out something else: "I love that you didn't dispute Zuck being a lizard boy." "Maybe it's just a case of using too much moisturizer," Musk quipped. Well, we all know Zuckerberg likes to slather on the sunscreen at least... Meanwhile the fake parody account decided to riff off of real Musk's tweet and replied in agreement: "Most likely the case, seems like that type." Elsewhere, Mark Zuckerberg ends 11-year Twitter break with ‘savage’ tweet about Threads. Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.
2023-07-08 23:20
Ainsley Harriott joinsThreads with reference to classic This Morning meme
Chef Ainsley Harriott has contributed some great memes to the internet during his distinguished broadcasting career, but the presenter brought back an absolute classic for his first post on Instagram’s new text-based Twitter rival Threads on Thursday. The iconic catchphrase “Why hello Jill” – especially beloved by Radio 1 presenter Greg James – went viral back in 2018 after Harriott made a surprise appearance in a member of the public’s house during a segment of This Morning. Jill Hatton, who was selected to receive a number of surprises as part of Mother’s Day, looked stunned when hosts Eamonn Holmes and Ruth Langsford cut to her in her living room, and seemed equally as shocked as TV personality Alison Hammond sat on her sofa and explained all the amazing gifts she would be receiving. But that wasn’t the moment which would become known across social media. It actually came in the form of what Hammond said after the TV crew brought a brand new TV into her house. Hammond said: “There’s going to be more, because we’ve only got Ainsley Harriott. here, who’s going to do a treat dish for you. He’s going to cook you a lovely treat in your very own kitchen – here he is.” Shaking a frying pan in his hand as he enters the room, Harriott can be heard saying, in a wonderful sing-song voice, “Why hello Jill!” Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter And for those wondering, a follow-up segment of This Morning which aired in December 2019 saw Langsford confirm to James that Jill was doing “very very well” – and check in on the viral sensation who confirmed people were saying it to her in the street “for a long time afterwards”. The saying was even referenced by Ant and Dec in a series of I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! last year, when ex-Lioness Jill Scott appeared as a campmate in the Australian jungle. Now, Harriott did his own take on the meme on the Instagram app by posting “why hello, Threads”, delighting users on the platform. “This is the content I’m here for,” replied one. Another commented: “Worth following just for that.” “Best thread I’ve seen so far, hands down,” declared a third. And of course, James himself was thrilled with the meme’s resurgence, attaching a screenshot of the Thread to his very first post on the platform, which was a picture of a naked Harriott on a sofa, with grapes covering his privates. Harriot isn’t the only one to make a pretty epic entrance on the new social media app, either, as Good Morning Britain presenter and former Labour shadow chancellor Ed Balls’ first post was exactly what you expect it to be. Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.
2023-07-08 00:20
No, "Mr Blue Sky" singer Jeff Lynne does not have an account on Bluesky
With Elon Musk’s Twitter suffering yet another catastrophic outage (which has seen the Tesla and SpaceX founder implement temporary limits on how many tweets we can view in a day), users are once again looking for a rival platform to evacuate to. Previously it was the likes of Post and Mastodon - the latter of which Musk hated so much he restricted users from linking to their new accounts on Twitter - but now it’s the turn of Bluesky to get all the hype. Backed by Twitter founder Jack Dorsey, the platform claims to offer “an open and decentralised standard for social media” – “decentralised” meaning users don’t have an account under one ‘centralised’ company owned by one particular company, but can instead sign up to individual servers and communities owned and managed by other people. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter It's already proven popular, with surreal social media poster Dril and New York congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez already signed up. In fact, after Twitter’s latest blunder, invite codes to Bluesky became so lucrative and sign-ups became so intense that they had to temporarily pause new registrations (they’ve reopened them now, though, if you fancy a try). And while others are considering whether to jump ship to the rival site, or desperately hunting for the code which will let them in, some Twitter users were reminded of a legendary rock band thanks to the platform’s choice of name: Yep, for a handful of individuals, the hit track from Jeff Lynne and his Electric Light Orchestra (or ELO) came to mind – and it’s perhaps made all the more amusing considering one of “Mr Blue Sky’s” lyrics is the rhetorical question, “where did we go wrong”. If Musk were to ask that question, we’d probably say firing almost half of Twitter’s workforce and therefore making it almost impossible to deal with the demand is part of the problem. And if you were wondering, a few searches on Bluesky appear to suggest that neither Lynne or ELO are on the platform. Indy100 has approached Lynne’s representatives for a statement, but they said the musician was unavailable for comment. Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.
2023-07-07 23:47
MrBeast appears to mock Elon Musk with Tesla giveaway
MrBeast, besides being the most followed creator on YouTube, has now added a further accolade to his social media resume by becoming the most followed person on Threads in a staggeringly quick time as well as taking a swipe at Elon Musk in the process. Jimmy ‘MrBeast’ Donaldson, quickly amassed more than one million followers (2.8 million at the time of writing) on the new social media app created by Mark Zuckerberg's Meta, which was launched late on July 5th. Donaldson actually has more followers than Zuckerberg who still has an impressive 2 million followers to his name. However, Donaldson was the first person on the platform to reach one million therefore the record will always stand with him. Much of this record will be down to how easy it is for Instagram users to sign up for Threads which also allows users to easily follow everyone that they already followed on Instagram. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter MrBeast, for instance, has 38.6 million followers on Instagram so expect his Threads followers total to grow and grow in the next few days. His first Thread on the platform read: "Sooooo, how long until we're also addicted to this app? Lol." He did though appear to take a thinly veiled dig at Twitter owner Elon Musk. In one post the 25-year-old wrote: "To celebrate Threads launching, I'm gonna give this Tesla to a random follower in 48 hours. Rethread so people are aware." Donaldson then posted a picture of himself next to the Tesla in question which had a huge Threads logo on the bonnet. For those that aren't aware, Elon Musk also owns Tesla and might not be too happy about seeing a rivals logo on one of his cars. There doesn't appear to be any bad blood between Musk and Donaldson as the two have previously teased a collaboration on Twitter. However, the YouTuber has also teased working with Amazon owner Jeff Bezos so he's clearly keeping the billionaires of the world close to him. Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.
2023-07-07 21:20
Watch Tom Hardy read a CBeebies bedtime story to celebrate 75 years of the NHS
Thousands are getting ready to tune into CBeebies tonight (5 July) - even if they don't have kids - as Tom Hardy is back for another Bedtime Story. The actor is celebrating 75 years of the NHS with a rendition of Zog and the Flying Doctors by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler. "Brilliant people like nurses and doctors can help us feel better. And many others, with exciting sounding jobs like radiographers and paramedics.", he reads in a clip shared by the channel. "So, I'm going to read you a story all about a very special team of magnificent people, and a dragon! " He's previously made a number of appearances on the segment. Sign up to our new free Indy100 weekly newsletter
2023-07-05 19:49
Jeff Bezos teases giving MrBeast $1bn for free
Need money fast? As it turns out, your best bet might be randomly DMing Jeff Bezos and just asking for it. MrBeast has been keeping his followers updated after randomly asking for cash from one of the world’s richest men. On July 1, the YouTuber wrote a tweet saying that it “feels like a great day for Jeff Bezos to give me a billion dollars for fun”. In all fairness, Bezos probably has it spare. The Amazon founder’s net worth is estimated at around $150bn, despite the fact he was recently overtaken by the likes of Elon Musk and Bernard Arnault according to Forbes. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter MrBeast, real name James Stephen Donaldson, posted a tweet notifying that Bezos had followed him back. “He just followed me,” he wrote, posting a screenshot of Bezos’s account following him. Could Bezos be preparing to send him the cash? Or planning an unlikely collaboration perhaps? Watch this space. Whatever happens, it’s become clear in recent weeks that MrBeast has plenty of friends in high places. The YouTube sensation recently showcased his weight loss results online with his impressive 'before and after' photos shared on Twitter. The post has since drawn attention from thousands across the globe, including one surprise fan: Arnold Schwarzenegger. Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.
2023-07-05 17:27
Jake Paul gambling advert banned by watchdog as YouTuber has 'strong appeal to under-18s'
Jake Paul is arguably one of the most well-known influencers in the world right now, but unfortunately for gambling firm Ladbrokes, the YouTuber-turned-boxer’s widespread appeal has landed them in a bit of trouble with the UK’s Advertising Standards Authority (ASA). The independent advertising watchdog, which regulates the advertising industry, enforces rules drawn up by the Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP), which has some pretty strict rules when it comes to gambling ads. In addition to requiring said adverts to be “socially responsible” and “protect children … from being harmed or exploited”, the CAP’s code states marketing communications must not be “likely to be of strong appeal to children or young persons, especially by reflecting or being associated with youth culture”. “They must not include a person or character whose example is likely to be followed by those aged under 18 years or who has a strong appeal to those aged under 18,” it reads. After Ladbrokes shared a promoted tweet in February featuring Paul – following his defeat to Tommy Fury – in which Twitter users were encouraged to vote on “what’s next for Jake Paul”, a single complaint was made to the ASA as to whether it may be in breach of the Code. Responding to the ASA’s enquiries, the betting company noted the advert contained no calls to action, promotions or links back to its website – and was “age-gated” so only users who had confirmed their age as being over 18 could see it. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter The ad was specifically targeted at users aged 25 and over, receiving close to 16,500 impressions with just over 47 per cent of these being from individuals aged between 20 and 29 years. Ladbrokes also cited demographics for Paul’s following across several social media platforms, showing that the percentage of users aged between 13 and 17 years old was below 20 per cent on Instagram, YouTube and TikTok. On Twitter, zero per cent of his followers were reportedly registered as being under 18. The company also directed ASA to the watchdog’s own guidance on “protecting under-18s” from advertising about gambling and lotteries, in which it states “sports like … boxing … are more adult-oriented and unlikely to be of inherent ‘strong’ appeal” to children and young people. Zing. However, in a decision which saw the regulator uphold the complaint against Ladbrokes, the ASA ruled there was still a responsibility to comply with the rule about not appealing to under-18s because the advert “appeared in a medium where under-18s could not be entirely excluded from the audience”. It continued: “CAP guidance stated that sportspeople involved in clearly adult-oriented sports who were ‘notable’ stars with significant social media and general profiles which made them well-known to under-18s were considered moderate risk in terms of how likely they were to be of strong appeal to under-18s. “We also considered that Jake Paul would primarily be known for making YouTube videos and that he had a large social media following. We acknowledged that he had within the last few years turned to boxing. “However, because of his career on YouTube, we considered that he had a high profile within the sport and was well known outside of the sport and social media.” Although they noted Paul had no followers aged under 18 on Twitter, where the ad was located, the ASA concluded the content creator was still of “inherent strong appeal” to under-18s because “such large numbers” of his followers were in that demographic. They also mentioned Paul’s appearance on the Disney Channel series Bizaardvark between 2016 and 2018 about two teenagers, with the target audience for the show likely to be “around the same age”. As such, they found Paul still had a “strong appeal” to under-18s and that Ladbroke’s advert was “irresponsible”. Not the first time Paul and “irresponsible” have appeared in the same sentence, to be honest… Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.
2023-07-05 07:24
Pink being handed random objects has become an instant meme
Singer Pink has become an instant meme after fans get creative about handing her things during concerts. The foundation for the new meme was laid when a fan at a London festival threw a plastic packet containing their mother’s ashes at the American singer-songwriter, leaving her stunned, saying it was a “first” for her. It was followed up by another viral clip of a fan handing Pink a massive 3kg wheel of brie, which the singer appeared thrilled by. Pink gratefully took the cheese and showed it to the crowd before thanking the fan for the gift and giving them an air hug. The clip has sparked a whole host of new memes as fans have creatively Photoshopped random items in the place of the brie wheel. One person joked: “Fan hands P!NK a dishwasher during her show in London.” Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Another said: “A fan hands P!nk a priceless imperial Fabergé egg that had been missing since the fall of the Romanov dynasty in 1917.” “Fan hands P!nk Skinnygirl branded ham during her show in New York,” someone else shared. One Twitter user added: “Fan hands Pink the Dial of Destiny.” It’s not the first time in recent weeks that a performer has been surprised by an object at a show, as singer Bebe Rexha was struck in the face by a phone thrown at her by a fan. Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.
2023-06-29 20:52
Melanie Martinez fans left disappointed with "interactive photo experience" for VIP guests
Melanie Martinez fans have expressed their disappointment with the popstar over her VIP package on her Portals tour. The description of the package on Ticketmaster promises an "interactive photo experience" for VIP ticketholders, leading fans to believe this meant an in-person meet-and-greet with Martinez herself. However, this wasn't the case as the photo experience was Martinez in the form of an AI-generated hologram of that greets fans in her prosthetic mask, so the fans didn't get to meet the singer in person. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter With VIP tickets costing around $400, it has led to fans sharing their discontent on social media. "Does anyone else think the VIP AI meet and greet with Melanie is kinda stupid? I mean, the VIP tickets were $400, and you didn't even really get anything," one fan complained on TikTok. @melsgrippingtoes I still love melane and everything Im literally going to her concert. But she could atleast put in some more effort @kbhorsefan I’d be beyond upset oh my god #melaniemartinez #portals Another added: "When I saw videos of it, I thought that it was a joke, but then no that’s the real thing and it’s so disappointing." "It’s not even ai it’s just a pre-recorded video of her," someone else replied. A fourth person commented: "I would not pay for that… imma just take someone else’s video and photoshop me in. Same thing." Though some fans did defend Martinez, noting that a meet-and-greet was not mentioned in the package. One person said: "I thought it was cute everyone's hating it never said anywhere there was going to be a meet and greet. The concert was so fun." @katebellla I thought it was cute everyones hating it never said anywhere there was going to be a meet and greet. The concert was so fun 🥰 #portalstour @Melanie Martinez "It wasn’t labeled as a meet and greet tho. It was 400 to be upfront in her concert, the ai thing was just an extra thing included," another person wrote. Someone else added: "I mean if it stated AI meet and greet and cost $400 maybe just don’t go." While other fans also claimed they didn't receive their VIP merchandise such as a signed poster, VIP merch and tote bag. One person said: "I didn’t even get the merch bruh," as another similarly echoed: "I heard someone bought VIP and didn't even get the merchandise stuff." Melanie Martinez's third album, Portals is out now after being released back on March 31. Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.
2023-06-27 20:25
30 Author Names You Might Be Mispronouncing
If you’ve been pronouncing Roald Dahl’s first name as “rolled,” you should read this.
2023-06-22 02:25
Elon Musk wants a 'cage fight' with Mark Zuckerberg
We could be about to see two of the biggest billionaire dweebs go head to head, after Elon Musk made it clear that he’s up for a cage fight with Mark Zuckerberg. It comes following speculation that Zuckerberg is going to release his own platform named "Threads", which sounds like a pretty similar concept to Twitter, and Musk doesn’t seem happy about it. In fact, he’s joked about taking the Meta founder on in a fight. Froothie founder Mario Nawfal posted about the new platform on Twitter, writing: “META, the same company that copied Snapchat, TikTok, StumbleUpon, Foursquare, BeReal, and Clubhouse, began coding ‘Project 92’ three months after Elon acquired Twitter…Rumors have been circulating about the app’s public name being Threads”. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Musk replied, commenting on Meta’s grip over the social media landscape, writing: “I’m sure Earth can’t wait to be exclusively under Zuck’s thumb with no other options. At least it will be ‘sane’. Was worried there for a moment.” Not finished there, he added: “I’m up for a cage match if he is lol.” In all fairness, Zuckerberg has shown that he’s no stranger to MMA fighting recently. He surprised people after turning up at a jiu-jitsu tournament, with footage appearing to show him looking a little unhappy with the result of his bout. The Meta CEO was spotted taking on a fellow competitor in Redwood City in California earlier this year and he was eventually pinned after a tussle in the ring. The referee stopped the fight and awarded it to his opponent after believing that Zuckerberg had 'tapped out', with the referee later clearing up exactly what happened. Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.
2023-06-21 18:49