Forever 21 is having a really bad week, Cadbury’s “diverse” chocolate bar deemed a marketing misstep, Lizzo is topping the charts, and more viral moments sweeping the web this week…
1. Forever 21 Sued For Using An Ariana Grande Look-Alike
Forever 21 is having a rough week. First, they decided to file for bankruptcy, thanks to stalled sales—and memes about the news abounded. Then, they were accused of using a “look-alike model” to make shoppers think they were working with Ariana Grande. But Arianators (her Next Level Fandom) and Grande herself weren’t fooled: The singer has filed a lawsuit, citing several social media posts that recall looks from the viral “7 Rings” music video—including one that has a familiar looking “7” in it, per the New York Times. However, Grande herself is in the hot seat this week, too; while she’s accusing Forever 21 of copying her, Diet Prada is accusing her of copying several black female artist’s fashion looks, including Rihanna and Cardi B. Grande has been accused of appropriation before; in fact, last time, the discussion centered around her “7 Rings” song.
2. Cadbury’s “Diverse” Chocolate Bar Is Not The Kind of Woke Consumers Want
Cadbury created a “diverse” chocolate bar with squares in varying shades of brown. Their “Unity Bar” combines four different kinds of chocolate in one bar and was released to celebrate India’s Independence Day. However, the attempt at wokeness is being soundly mocked by Twitter users like @tejalrao, who wrote, “congratulations to Cadbury for solving racism.” Others called out that the colors are separated into sections, which doesn’t exactly indicate unity, per Insider, while Marketing Week adds that Cadbury’s problematic history makes any half-hearted attempt at diversity appear hypocritical. CNN reports that despite the bar being called a marketing misstep, Cadbury says it actually sold out quickly and was a financial boon for the brand.
3. Viral Memes Helped Lizzo’s “Truth Hurts” Top the Billboard Charts
Lizzo’s “Truth Hurts” just climbed to the top of the Billboard Hot 100, two full years after its release, reports Uproxx. The music artist has risen through the ranks to become a music artist to watch who regularly goes viral on social media—whether it be for twerking and playing the flute at the same time or for ballet dancers setting their routines to the song, reports PopSugar. Speaking of the latter, while the song has been growing in popularity all summer, just last week a line from the single, “I just took a DNA test, turns out I’m 100% that bitch,” was transformed into a meme in which The Daily Dot reports that people broke down their DNA by factors like finding out they’re “100% still gay and anxious.” Spotify accelerated the meme’s viral status by creating an interactive selfie-based quiz, per BuzzFeed.
4. Deepfake Videos Are Getting More Realistic—And Easier To Make
Deepfakes (part one of our Black Mirror reality) have invaded the internet, and they’re getting increasingly difficult to differentiate from reality. For the uninitiated, Urban Dictionary defines “deepfake” as, “A horrific AI-assisted face swapping app which takes someones [sic] face and places it on someone else’s body. Particularly great if you’re a creep imaging [sic] what your favourite celeb-crush looks like naked.” Using different apps and platforms, users have created a slew of videos that are racking up views. Just this week several have swept the internet: like one of Will Smith starring in The Matrix, or another of comedian Bill Hader’s face transforming into the actors he is impersonating throughout the clip—which has over 5 million views on YouTube. Zao, a new app from China, has also been trending for making it easier than ever for users to create their own realistic deepfake videos. Mashable reports that it only takes seconds to sub your face into famous scenes from TV shows and movies, and that videos under the hashtag #zao have over eight million views on popular Chinese platform Weibo. Being creepy is not the only issue with deepfakes: They’re also a privacy protection nightmare.
5. Links We’re Passing:
Demi Lovato posted a body positive cellulite shot, a meme for all the undervalued, versatile female actresses is retaliating to a Reuters tweet, an influencer has incited the internet’s rage, and Tana Mongeau uploaded an oddly mesmerizing vlog about Billie Eilish unfollowing her Instagram.
