Facebook Botches Trump's Unbanning, Platinum Selling Musician Hangs It Up To Parent, A Disturbing Combat "Sport" Emerges, NEEDTOBREATHE Co-Founders Return (The Five for 01/27/23)
Hey, welcome to The Five, a publication about the things that matter.
It’s Friday, so let’s dive into Culture & Commentary.
[one]
Former President (and current Presidential candidate) Donald Trump is back on Facebook.
The company said in a blog post it is adding “new guardrails” to ensure there are no “repeat offenders” who violate its rules, even if they are political candidates or world leaders.
“The public should be able to hear what their politicians are saying — the good, the bad and the ugly — so that they can make informed choices at the ballot box,” wrote Nick Clegg, Meta’s vice president of global affairs.
Clegg added that when there is a “clear risk” to real-world harm, Meta will intervene.
“In the event that Mr. Trump posts further violating content, the content will be removed and he will be suspended for between one month and two years, depending on the severity of the violation,” he wrote. Facebook suspended Trump on Jan. 7, 2021, for praising people engaged in violent acts at the Capitol a day earlier. But the company had resisted earlier calls — including from its own employees — to remove Trump’s account.
LOOOOTS of questions here:
A. Why now?
B. Are the rules clear on what constitutes a month ban, vs. a two-year ban? Because I can’t find anything?
C. Is anything being done to review lower level (non-famous) accounts that may have been banned by lower-level Meta employees, and never reviewed by higher ups?
While Trump fans may be elated (or maybe not, it’s possible that many of them mainly hang out on Trump’s own TRUTH Social now) and detractors may be infuriated…what’s more important than the individual un-banning is the fact that Meta (parent company of Facebook) is still appears to be making up the rules as they go along and as it suits them, rather than clearly laying out policies for their user base to follow.
[two]
I’m not one for reality TV, but I am Shauna Rae is an interesting concept…documenting the life of an adult woman who appears to be a child, due to repercussions from surviving cancer.
In the new season of the show, Shauna starts dating a travel blogger, and both she and her new love interest have been massively bullied online, which her then-boyfriend spoke out about this week.
Swygart insisted that he was "absolutely disgusted" by people's attitudes towards the reality star and their friendship.
"I cannot believe some people who deny her the right to have a friendship or connection with someone else," he said. "She is a human being, she is a cancer survivor, she's got disability, she had dwarfism. Who are you to take away her right to have a friendship and connection with someone? How dare you? How dare you?"
After just days in the public eye, Shauna and her boyfriend broke up.
What’s fascinating and tragic here…is how little backlash there is to what this woman has gone through.
Shauna Rae is absolutely being bullied for a disability…and there’s little more than crickets from the mainstream media, which are normally all over “bullying “ and “online abuse” stories.
[three]
This week finds me being forced to take an odd position…against a combat sport.
I’m note quite a lifelong fan of UFC, but only because UFC 1 didn’t happen until I was 10 years old (which I watched…90% sure without the knowledge of my parents).
In the early days, MMA was only legal in a handful of states and largely looked down on, despite being notably safer than the NFL (measured by CTE and life-disabling injuries). Counter-intuitively, amature boxing, another “scary looking” sport, results in less head injuries than high school cheerleading.
Both boxing and MMA are…sports, which require training, life-changing discipline and a mix of physical prowess and strategy. (Yes, I’m aware that “is ____ a sport” is one of the oldest and most worn out conversations in the world).
Last week, UFC President Dana White launched his latest venture into a new combat sport…slap fighting. Which involves two people taking turns smacking each other in the face until one of them falls down…or something.
This may take strength, and maybe a little skill? Heck, you might even train hard for it (genuinely not sure here).
But one of the hallmarks of sport is…human dignity. Win or lose, a heartfelt performance is an inspiring thing.
That can’t be said for two guys (or women) slapping each other in the face to the point of knockout. This is low-brow entertainment for drunks at the dive bar, and little more.
[four]
Well, a major artist quitting in this manner is rare. And probably healthy.
Nobody saw Panic! at the Disco lasting this long. Signed in 2006 by Fall Out Boy bassist/lyrist Pete Wentz to his boutique label Decydance, Panic! only had one song…when that one song, “I Write Sins Not Tragedies” became a smash. Oh, and the members were all still in high school.
Classic one-hit wonder story, right? Not quite. Somehow, Brandon Urie endured a bad first record and the other three members leaving the band…to hang in there and become one of the more reliable pop mainstays for the better part of two decades. (See the band’s average critic scores via Metacritic, also listed in the above screenshot).
This week, Urie announced he and his wife are expecting their first child, and he’s done with music. Panic! will play a few more shows in Europe, and then will wrap up.
Props for knowing when to walk away and prioritize what matters most in life…very few go out on top, but that’s exactly what Urie is doing.
[five]
As always, let’s head into the weekend with a pop culture roundup…
Daaaaang it. Daisy Jones & The Six, based on a bestselling novel, more or less feels like an update on Almost Famous/A Star is Born/Walk The Line/Insert Your Favorite Music Biopic Here.
But I’m trying to take 2023 off from having a Prime subscription.
It appears that Dungeons & Dragons, based on the popular board game (which played a pivotal role in season 4 of Stranger Things) has been described by star Chris Pine (Star Trek, The Final Hours) as pulling as much from The Princess Bride as from fantasy epics like Game of Thrones and Lord of the Rings.
Now that the final trailer has dropped, it feels like a lot of Harry Potter and even Thor: Love and Thunder are mixed in. Which sounds like…it shouldn’t work (and like I would hate it), but I’m strangely intrigued, even though I know nothing about the game/world. The humor does seem to hit right…
So, kind of a Stepford Wives meets horror flick concept?
Ranking The Strays as a possible watch if I get time for it (read: probably not in the next five years).
Very Camp. Very 80’s. We Have a Ghost is about a family that, well, has a ghost in their new house, become social media stars thanks to their transparent undead live-in, and in turn are being hunted by the CIA (huh? Why?). S
Anthony Mackie (Avengers, Falcon & The Winter Soldier), David Harbour (Stranger Things) and Jennifer Coolidge (White Lotus) lead the cast…usually that much talent on a project means the story is solid.
And speaking of the script, it’s based on a short story originally posted to a message board more than five years ago. Weird-slash-cool.
NEW MUSIC: Bo Rhineheart is best known as a founding member and vocalist of Americana outfit NEEDTOBREATHE, who rose to national fame by opening for Taylor Swift on one of her mega-tours.
Two years ago, Bo left the band without giving much of a reason…which he’s now ready to talk about. According to his interview on the Typology Podcast, Bo hit a breaking point while struggling with alcoholism and dealing with the weight of unresolved trauma from childhood sexual abuse.
The video, which features Bo’s five year old son as the lead character, provides a stunning visual.
It’s also noteworthy that Bo’s brother Bear and fellow NEEDTOBREATHE co-founder is putting out new music with his side project Wilder Woods. Maybe there’s hope for a brother solo tour?
AND BEFORE WE GO…
Spotify | Apple Music | YouTube Music
I was THIS CLOSE to finishing an entire issue without mentioning the top-three over-covered topics in The Five (Zach Bryan, Yellowstone and Kid Cudi).
But Zach went and dropped a new single with Maggie Rogers, the indie electronic/folk pioneer who was discovered as a teenager by Pharrell Williams (Clipse, N.E.R.D.), and it’s REALLY good.
Until the next one,
-sth