Bibi H How it Is (Wap Bap) Music Video

“How It Is” by German singer and YouTube vlogger BibisBeautyPalace (Bibi H), has already been disliked 1.7 million times despite only been uploaded to youtube for a few days.

The music video by the German singer has generated a viral audience in Germany and now around the world. The common criticisms of her music are the non-sensical lyrics and bland music. Most notably the chorus of unintelligable noises “wap bap”. How it Is has been compared to Rebbecca Black’s Friday music video, despite being on youtube for a limited time. It is currently the 7th most disliked video on the youtube website.

Lyrics

Verse 1
It’s late at night I go to bed
But I can’t get no rest
My boyfriend quit I’m almost dead
I’ll have to do my best!
I’m up and down I feel so fat
I ain’t got no more fizz
Don’t even get to keep the cat
But that’s just how it is!

Chorus 1
I Sing…
Wap bap wah da de da dah
Dap bap bah da de da dah
Dap bap bah da de da dah dah!
Wap bap wah da de da dah
Dap bap wah da de da dah
Dap bap Bah da de da dah dah!

Verse 2
I get up late I stub my toe
I’ve got a few missed calls
I lost my job I didn’t know
And that’s not good at all!
I get my bag I go outside
Just minding my own biz
I go to pay but my card has been denied
But that’s just how it is!

Chorus 2
I Sing…
Wap bap wah da de da dah
Dap bap bah da de da dah
Dap bap bah da de da dah dah!
And everybody sing…
Wap bap wah da de da dah
Dap bap wah da de da dah
Dap bap Bah da de da dah dah

Verse 3
Another week the same old shit
My troubles getting worse
And then I get a bigger hit
Cos someone stole my purse!
I met a guy he knows my name
He also told me his
And if we want to have some fun
Well that’s just how it is

Spread

How it Is started trending in YouTube Germany then quickly spread to the global site, garnering many comments and jokes about the song’s content. Many youtube videos have been uploaded reacting to the music video.

About

Tomfoolery refers to a piece of production music from the Nickelodeon cartoon SpongeBob SquarePants, where it is used in the show for comedic effect whenever a character is doing something silly or in a ridiculous situation. It is also used as inappropriate background music in remixes of online YouTube videos to either further emphasise the awkwardness, hilarity or silliness of the situation in the video, or to create humour from the contrast between the serious subject matter and the inappropriately goofy-sounding music.

Origin

The composition originated as background music that usually plays when a character, usually SpongeBob, Patrick, or Squidward does something silly. The instruments include the piano, the flute, the trumpet and the euphonium. On April 20, 2017, YouTube user Doodley uploaded a video called “i put spongebob music over that useless $400 juicer”, which has over 501,936 views as of May 9, 2017. The video was a remix of the infamous “Juicero: Making Juice is Easy” video whilst “Tomfoolery” played in the background, lampooning the Juicero Juicer Controversy by further emphasising how nonsensical and absurd the concept of the juice was.

Spread

More than two weeks after the initial “Tomfoolery” video, nearly dozens of similar videos appeared on YouTube with titles sharing the original’s title of “I put spongebob music over X (the name of the video the background music is being played)”. By 9 May, a playlist entitled “I put spongebob music over ..” already documents at least 20 instances of the “Tomfoolery” background music being used in other videos.

Notable Examples

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External References

^[1]YouTube – SpongeBob SquarePants Production Music – Tomfoolery / Posted on 5-12-2010
fn2. YouTube – i put spongebob music over that useless $400 juicer / Posted on 4-20-2017
fn3. YouTube – I put spongebob music over north koreans marching. / Posted on 5-06-2017
fn4. YouTube – I put spongebob music over trumps victory speech. / Posted on 5-06-2017
fn5. YouTube – I put spongebob music over .. / Posted on 5-09-2017
fn6. YouTube – I put spongebob music over this isis training video / Posted on 7-09-2017
fn7. YouTube – i put spongebob music over soviet people in the 1960s cyka blyat / Posted on 6-09-2017
fn8. YouTube – I put spongebob music over that stupid 50 genders video / Posted on 6-09-2017
fn9. YouTube – i put spongebob music here in my garage / Posted on 7-09-2017

Paul Sykes better known as Sjin from the Yogscast mistakenly learnt that ‘144’ is a Baker’s dozen when in fact it’s ‘13’. He was so confident that the number 144 was a Baker’s dozen that it shall now be named Sjin’s dozen.

Fire Dan Snyder Guy has become a DC sports icon following his photograph in Game 5 of the NHL Playoffs between the Washington Capitals and Pittsburgh Penguins. He first attracted attention due to his comedic shirt that read “Fire Dan Snyder Guy,” but has grown to represent the larger DC sports fan base who have not seen a championship in their town since 1992. Since his fame, the Washington Capitals are 2-0 after being down 3-1 in their series, and the Washington Wizards are 1-0 and have tied their series against the Boston Celtics. He is being called a symbol of hope for all of DC sports.

About

William Shatner is a Canadian actor best known for portraying the character James T. Kirk in Star Trek franchise.

History

On September 22nd, 1966 the second pilot episode for Star Trek was released, which was the first episode featuring Shatner as Captain James Kirk of the USS Enterprise. In 1969, the series was canceled. In the 1970s, Star Trek gained a cult following from syndicated reruns of the show, leading Shatner to begin appearing at Star Trek conventions. In 1979, Shatner played Captain Kirk in the feature film Star Trek: The Motion Picture, and went on to play the character in the following six films in the franchise.

Online Presence

In June 2008, Shatner launched the @WilliamShatner^[4] Twitter feed, which gathered more than 2.53 million followers over the next nine years. In February 2009, the official William Shatner Facebook^[5] page was created, accumulating upwards of 1.1 million likes within eight years. On February 19th, 2013, the /r/WilliamShatner^[3] subreddit was launched for discussions about the actor, which gained over 3,900 subscribers over the next four years.

On YouTube

On March 12th, 2006, YouTuber Des Sherwood uploaded a Star Trek clip dubbed with fart noises titled “William Shatner: Captain Kirk farts” (shown below). Within 11 years, the video gained over 1.8 million views and 760 comments.

On January 2nd, 2008, a video of Shatner performing a spoken word version the 1972 soft rock song “Rocket Man” by Elton John (shown below, left). On May 30th, 2009, YouTuber Fall On Your Sword uploaded a remix of a Shatner interview titled “Shatner of the Mount” (shown below, right).

4chan Use

On May 7th, 2017, Shatner replied to a tweet asking “what boards do you browse on 4chan,” noting that he mainly views the /tv/ (television and film), /b/ (random) and /x/ (paranormal) boards (shown below, left).^[1] Within 48 hours, the tweet gained over 4,100 likes and 2,300 retweets. That same day, he responded that he found Baneposting“ridiculous” (shown below, right).^[2]

Related Memes

Khan!

Khan! is a YTMND fad that uses a memorable scene from the blockbuster 1982 feature film Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.

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About

DM’d An Ex In Paris refers to a series of tweets mocking a tweet by popular alt-right figure Gavin McInnes in which he included a screenshot of a message from his ex-girlfriend in Paris sent in response to McInnes sending her sent a direct message that read “what the fuck have you idiots done?” McInnes was referring to the country’s election of centrist Emmanuel Macron over far-right candidate Marine Le Pen in the 2017 French Presidential Election. The ex responded by shaming him and insulting him. Twitter users mocked the tweet by including various images and humorous text messages with the text “DM’d an ex in Paris. This was her response.”

Origin

Late at night on May 8th, 2017, Gavin McInnes^[1] tweeted "DM’d an ex in Paris, “What the fuck have you idiots done?” She said this," followed by a screenshot of part of the ex-girlfriend’s message. Though part of the message is cut off, what is visible reads “You must feel very alienated from a lot of people in your past. I’m at a loss as to how I was ever with someone like you. It’s something I’m ashamed of. Your family and wife must be proud. Vive la France.” McInnes’ tweet gained 717 replies, 440 retweets, and over 1,800 likes. (Shown below.)

Spread

The tweet was immediately mocked on Twitter for having the opposite of it’s apparent intended effect of making McInnes’ ex-girlfriend look irrational. User and television critic @seantcollins^[2] had one of the top replies to the tweet, gaining 65 retweets and over 2,700 likes by simply asking, “You really have no idea what a gigantic loser you are, do you?” The parodies of McInnes’ tweet started shortly after. User @pblest^[3] tweeted one of the first with a picture of an caricature of a French person, gaining 9 retweets and over 120 likes (shown below).

By morning of May 9th, the tweet had inspired dozens of parodies, which earned coverage from The Daily Dot.^[4]

Various Examples

Search Interest

Unavailable

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About

Dancing Pikachu Army refers to videos of a dance troupe in large, inflatable costumes of the PokémonPikachu. Though widely considered cute, videos of their dances and performances have been remixed such that it appears as though the Pikachu are dancing to different songs to humorous effect.

Origin

The dancing Pikachu army was first introduced in Yokohama, Japan’s “An Outbreak of Pikachu” summer event in 2014, where the troupe performed dances, marches, and took photographs with the attendees.^[1] There, the troupe of Pikachu was small, but in future festivals, the number of Pikachu would grow to over 1,000.

Spread

The event gained significantly more buzz the following year, as the troupe of dancing Pikachu began to appear at more events throughout Asia. In 2015, they unveiled the “Pikachu Dance” set to Flo Rida’s “I Don’t Like It, I Love It” ft. Robin Thicke and Verdine White (shown below, top). These videos would become fodder for popular remix videos in which the Pikachu are seen dancing to different music, including Carly Rae Jepsen’s“Run Away With Me” (shown below, bottom left) and You Reposted In The Wrong Neighborhood (shown below, bottom right).

Another popular remix format is to take video of the Pikachu marching in line (shown below, top left) and change the music such that the scene looks sinister. Popular songs paired with the video include The Imperial March Star Wars (below, top right), The Hell March from Command and Conquer: Red Alert (below, bottom left), and Soviet war music (below, bottom right).

Pikachu Deflategate

On April 30th, 2017, YouTube user Green Lime uploaded a video of the troupe performing at the World Pokémon Festival in Songdo, South Korea. During the video, the costume of the front Pikachu begins to deflate, prompting an event staffer to rush onto the stage to grab the Pikachu. He is followed by event security to follow and grab the staffer, who did not realize he was working with the Pikachu.^[2]

The video generated a large amount of press coverage. It was first covered by The Verge^[3] on May 5th, and the Washington Post,^[1]NPR,^[2] and more followed.

Various Examples

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About

“Choke Me, Daddy” is an expression used to ask a male sexual partner to choke one’s throat. Online, the phrase is often used in image macros featuring various character being assaulted, making it appear as if they are enjoying the abuse as a form of sexual masochism.

Origin

[Researching]

Spread

On December 25th, 2015, FunnyJunk^[1] user chokinandtokin submitted a screenshot of a mock dialogue between the Star Wars character Darth Vader and a Stormtrooper, in which the trooper asks Vader “harder daddy” while being force choked (shown below).

On May 18th, 2015, Gawker^[3] published an article titled “The White House Is Archiving Every Tweet Begging @POTUS for Sex,” which highlighted a tweet sent to Barack Obama’s Twitter feed saying “choke me daddy.” The tweet has since been deleted.

On February 2nd, 2016, Reddit Wise_Semen posted a multi-pane comic version of the mock Darth Vader dialogue, which gained over 16,600 points (79% upvoted) and 200 comments prior to being archived on /r/funny.^[2]

Last Week Tonight

On May 7th, 2017, John Oliver devoted a majority of his show to explaining the fight over net neutrality, as well as the plans FCC Chairman Ajit Pai had for the future of the internet. Oliver instructed his viewers to comment on the FCC’s website, saying “And do not tell me that you don’t have time to do this,” pointing out various absurd internet phenomenon including those who tweet “Choke me, daddy” at Pope Francis (shown below).

“And finally, I’m looking at the frankly surprising number of people who for some reason keep tweeting “Choke me, daddy” at the Pope!"

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About

Understandable, have a nice day refers to a catchphrase found in a series of image macros in which one person asks for something, the other person denies it to them, and therefore, the initial person responds, “Understandable, have a nice day.”

Origin

The first instance of “understandable, have a nice day” comes from a variation on the Whoppy Machine Broke meme. On February 28th, 2017, Tumblr user Etica^[1] published a three-panel, deep fried image macro, in which basketball player Shaq pulls up at a drive thru and says, “Hello, food?” The drive thru attendant responds, “Food broke.” The final panel shows Shaq relaxing behind the wheel of his car with the text, “Understandable. Have a great day.” The post received more than 32,700 notes.

Spread

On April 7th, Filthy Frank shared the meme on his Instagram account, garnering more than 26,400 likes.^[2]

Search Interest

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About

@MarkusJ’s “Email to My Girlfriend’s Husband” refers to a tweet posted by Twitter user @MarkusJ that included a screenshot of an email he sent to his girlfriend’s husband about him moving to the area where she and her husband lived. The tweet was resoundingly mocked on Twitter, with Weird Twitter joking about it by changing lyrics to popular songs to reference the email.

Origin

On April 15th, 2016, Twitter user @MarkusJ (account since deleted) posted a tweet that said “real shit: this is the email i sent to my girlfriend’s husband about me moving to the area,” followed by an email in which he outlines his passionate love affair with a woman named Laura to her husband (email shown below with a redaction by hipinion^[1] user generic).

Spread

Various Examples

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Unavailable

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About

“Mha Hart, Mah Sole” is a phonetic spelling of the phrase “my heart, my soul,” which is often associated with an illustration of a turtle holding its hand to its chest. The character is often featured in image macros

Origin

On May 3rd, 2015, Imgur^[2] user makaxsoul uploaded an MS Paint-style illustration of a turtle holding its hand to its chest with the caption “mha hart / mah sole” (shown below). Within two years, the post gained over 729,000 views.

Spread

That day, the Mah Hart Mah Sole Facebook^[4] page was created.

On August 23rd, 2016, the Garlic Bread Memes Facebook page posted the turtle illustration with the caption “When the restaurant has ran out of garlic bread” (shown below). Within nine months, the post gained over 20,000 reactions, 14,000 comments and 8,600 shares.

On November 21st, 2016, a picture of a sad-looking cat being flipped off titled “Mha hart, mah sole” was uploaded to 9gag

Search Interest

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About

Mocking SpongeBob refers to an image macro featuring cartoon character SpongeBob SquarePants in which people use a picture of SpongeBob to indicate a mocking tone towards an opinion or point of view.

Origin

The image of SpongeBob used for this series comes from the episode of the animated comedy series SpongeBob SquarePants called “Little Yellow Book,” which first aired on November 25th, 2012.^[1] In the episode, Squidward reads SpongeBob’s diary, where he discovers that whenever SpongeBob sees plaid, he acts like a chicken.

The earliest iteration of the scene being used as a meme occurred on May 4th, 2017. Twitter user @OGBEARD^[2] posted a screenshot of the scene where SpongeBob acts like a chicken with the caption “How i stare back at little kids when they stare for too long.” The tweet (shown below) has received more than 73,000 retweets and 147,300 likes in five days.

Spread

On May 5th, Twitter user @lexysaeyang^[4] posted the same screenshot (shown below), adding a call-and-response element to the meme, creating the effect that SpongeBob’s face and the alternation of uppercase and lowercase text represents a mocking tone. The tweet, which put the SpongeBob picture next to a picture of a bird with arms, received more than 37,100 retweets and 86,600 likes.

On May 6th, Twitter user @DaniLevyyy^[3] posted a variation on the meme (shown below), which removed the second picture, and made a single image macro with the caption “Americans: I need healthcare because I have cancer and I’m dying. Republicans: I NeEd hEaLtHcArE bEcAuSe I hAvE caNcEr aNd iM dYinG.” The tweet received more than 86,900 retweets and 208,400 likes.

In the coming days, Several news sites published pieces on the meme, including The Daily Dot^[5] and Mashable.^[6]

Various Examples

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Overview

Sunny Co Clothing Marketing Campaign is a viral marketing campaign on Instagram by clothing company Sunny Co Clothing in which they said that everyone who reposted a photograph and tagged the brand would receive a free Pamela Sunny Suit, a bathing suit similar to the one Pamela Anderson wore on the television show Baywatch. This led to Instagram being flooded with pictures of the bathing suit on May 3rd, 2017.

Background

On May 2nd, 2017, Sunny Co Clothing posted the image and details of the promotion to their Instagram^[1] account. To receive the swimsuit, one must repost the image and tag the company. The post was a huge success, gaining over 339,000 likes on Instagram. The promotion was sponsored by @twazerapp,^[2] who posted about the promotion on May 3rd. On their post, they outlined the rules of the promotion, which are as follows:

1. No Exchanges/Returns, All Promo Orders Final.
2. Code Valid for 24 hr. only, No Exceptions.
3. Due to the viral volume of participants, we reserve the right to cap the promotion if deemed necessary.
4. Participants must pay Shipping & Handling
5. Due to the overwhelming volume of orders we will work as fast as we can to process + ship (approx. 3-6 weeks) but there may be delays.
6. Promo Code will only work for Participants who reposted and tagged us.
7. Promo Code: Sunny

Developments

That day, E! News^[3] reported that the rules laid out by @twazerapp were in response to the extremely high amount of participation the post received. The ordeal was also covered by Time,^[4] Bustle,^[5]CNET,^[6] and more. As of May 4th, 2017, it is unclear how Sunny Co Clothing will handle the overwhelming demand for the free bathing suit.

Social Media Reaction

Meanwhile, Twitter users responded with exhaustion at the inescapable bathing suit. Many joked about how Sunny Co Clothing were not prepared for the viral success of their promotion, while others mocked how apparently every girl at the beach in the summer of 2017 would be wearing the same bathing suit. Twitter @Karimtbe^[7] tweeted a joke that implied every girl showing up to the beach would look like a team of high school wrestlers from Diary of a Wimpy Kid, gaining over 47,000 retweets and 108,000 likes (shown below). Several questions were posted to /r/OutOfTheLoop^[8] asking about the bathing suit.

Various Examples

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About

Killing Stalking is a Korean manhwa series, first written by artist Koogi and published online by Lezhin Comics in 2016. Due to the series’ yaoi content, the series grew in popularity among fujoshis, but also garnered controversy for it’s dark themes.

Premise

Killing Stalking follows Yoon Bum, a young man suffering with Borderline Personality Disorder, who begins to stalk an attractive man from his college named Oh Sangwoo. After breaking into Sangwoo’s house, Bum discovers that he is actually a serial killer, and is quickly kidnapped by Sangwoo in retaliation. The series follows the two as they learn more about each other following the capture.

History

Killing Stalking was first written by Korean artist Koogi, and published online in Korean, English and Japanese by Lezhin Comics^[1]. The first chapter of Killing Stalking was released on November 23, 2016, with new chapters released weekly, first in Korean on Thursdays and in English the following Wednesday. The series also won the grand prize in Lezhin’s own second World Comics Contest.

Fandom

After the series’ initial launch, the manhwa quickly gained in popularity among fujoshi circles, most notably on sites such as Tumblr^[2] and Twitter^[3]. As well as this though, the series has a notable presence on a number of other sites, such as Reddit^[4], TV Tropes^[5] and 4chan’s /y/ yaoi board.^[6] The Facebook page for the series also currently holds over 50,000 likes and follows as of May 2017.^[7]

Controversy

Despite its large fandom, the series has garnered notoriety for its use of dark and uncomfortable themes. On January 8, 2017, YouTuber jahzarah^[8] uploaded a version of the Don’t Watch An Anime Called Boku copypasta featuring Killing Stalking (shown below, left), going on to receive over 80,000 views. On February 4, 2017, YouTuber akidearest^[9] uploaded a video covering the series under the title “Is This Manga Too Much For You?” (shown below, right), in which she looks at the series and breaks down the shipping fandom surrounding it. As of May 2017, the video has over 450,000 views.

Search Interest

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DancingUrg is a meme created the 10th of May 2017, early in the morning. ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

About

Elmer Earl Hartman IV, better known as Butch Hartman (born January 10, 1965), is an American animator, writer, director, producer, and actor, best known for creating the Nickelodeon shows The Fairly OddParents, Danny Phantom and T.U.F.F. Puppy. Hartman also owns his own production company, Billionfold, Inc., for which he uses primarily to produce his shows. Hartman has been an executive producer on Fairly OddParents ever since its debut in 2001.
Hartman also created Bunsen Is a Beast, which premiered in 2017.

History

Hartman was born in Highland Park, Michigan on January 10, 1965 to Elmer Earl Hartman III and Carol Davis, the eldest of 4 children. He received the nickname “Butch” as a young boy and continued to use the name professionally as an adult. Hartman spent his childhood in Roseville, Michigan and his teenage years in New Baltimore, Michigan. He graduated from Anchor Bay High School in New Baltimore in 1983. He subsequently attended the California Institute of the Arts in Valencia, California.

Related Subcultures

The Fairly OddParents

The Fairly Odd Parents in an American animated children’s show which airs on Nickelodeon. The show follows the life of Tim Turner, an elementary school student who has two fairy godparents, Cosmo and Wanda.

Danny Phantom

Danny Phantom is an American cartoon series created by Butch Hartman and broadcasted on Nickelodeon. The series follows the exploits of Danny Fenton, who after crossing accidentaly a portal between this world and a supernatural world, becomes half-ghost and saves the world from ghost attacks.

T.U.F.F. Puppy

T.U.F.F. Puppy is an American animated television series created by Butch Hartman for Nickelodeon. It premiered on October 2, 2010, on Nickelodeon along with Planet Sheen. T.U.F.F. Puppy is Butch Hartman’s third animated series for Nickelodeon, after The Fairly OddParents (2001–present) and Danny Phantom (2004–2007). The series was cancelled by Nickelodeon on April 4, 2015.

Bunsen is a Beast

Bunsen Is a Beast is an American animated children’s television series created by Butch Hartman for Nickelodeon. It revolves around an eccentric beast named Bunsen, who begins attending a middle school that had previously only admitted humans. In spite of prejudice against beasts, Bunsen befriends a human boy named Mikey Munroe and his homeschooled companion Darcy. Together, Bunsen and his friends try to navigate through school life while outsmarting an evil student named Amanda, who wants to rid society of Bunsen’s kind.

Search Intrest

Amazing Hajj packages from Hajjandumrah.com by Radiant Drops. Perform Hajj or Umrah with our carefully crafted, mesmerising Tours. Like a machine: You come as one person and leave as someone totally different. The focus of our hajj packages is simple: To change lives.

About

Things Filled With Beans That Shouldn’t Be is a photo fad featuring pictures of various objects with baked beans poured inside of them.

Origin

On February 12th, 2017, a Facebook^[1] page titled “Things full of beans that shouldn’t be full of beans” was created, which highlights photographs of various objects filled entirely with baked beans. Within three months, the page gained over 187,000 likes.

Spread

On February 13th, the Facebook page posted a photograph of a person rolling a cigarette with baked beans inside of the paper (shown below, left).^[10] On February 16th, the page uploaded a picture of a glass and a Coca-Cola bottle filled with beans (shown below, right).^[9]

On February 22nd, Imgur^[8] user HKexcess posted a gallery of images featuring objects filled with beans, which garnered more than 365,000 views and 8,100 points over the next three months.

On April 14th, the internet humor site Smosh^[6] published a listicle highlighting 19 images from the Facebook page.

On April 19th, Redditor PMmeYourNoodz submitted a collection of images from the Facebook page to /r/pics.^[5] The same day, the internet humor blog Dangerous Minds^[7] published a listicle of the beans photographs.

On March 2nd, the /r/BeansInThings^[2] subreddit was launched for “pictures of beans in things that beans shouldn’t be in,” which gained over 1,000 subscribers in two months.

On May 1st, 2017, Twitter user @kweenDW^[3] tweeted a photograph of a Crocs clog filled with baked beans, along with the message “cookin up beans in the crocpot” (shown below). Within nine days, the tweet received upwards of 29,000 likes and 12,100 retweets. That day, Redditor LambentEnigma submitted the photograph to /r/shittyfoodporn.^[4]

Search Interest

Not available.

External References

Overview

Following allegations that FBI director James Comey had potentially lied under oath, President Donald Trump dismissed Comey as acting FBI director. However, due to Comey’s ongoing investigation into Trump’s possible ties to Russia, the sudden termination of Comey created a wave of criticism and concern among Washington, the media, and the public.

Background

Since May 2016, the FBI, led by former Director James Comey, had been investigating Hillary Clinton potentially criminal use of a private email server while she was Secretary of State to President Barack Obama. On July 5th, he said that he would not recommend criminal charges against her, which Republicans in Washington criticized.^[1]

While this remained an open source of outrage for the GOP throughout the 2016 Presidential Election, it was not until Comey sent his now infamous letter to congressional leaders on October 28th, stating that they found emails regarding the Clinton investigation on the laptop of top Clinton aide Huma Abedin, that its effects were felt. The New York Times later reported that the letter cost Clinton the election.^[2]

During this time, James Comey also led the investigation into Trump’s potential ties to Russia. On October 7th, the Obama administration accused Russia of meddling into the Presidential election. Roughly six months later, Comey confirms that the FBI has been investigating links between the Trump campaign and the Russian government.

On May 2nd, Hillary Clinton publicly blames Comey for her election lost, saying, "If the election had been on October 27, I would be your president.”^[3] Later that day, President Trump tweeted his outrage towards Clinton’s statements. Over two tweets (shown below), he said, “FBI Director Comey was the best thing that ever happened to Hillary Clinton in that he gave her a free pass for many bad deeds! The phony Trump/Russia story was an excuse used by the Democrats as justification for losing the election. Perhaps Trump just ran a great campaign?”

{height:150px}http://i2.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/001/253/327/246.jpg!

The next day, Comey testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee regarding the reopening the Clinton investigation. During his testimony, he Comey made the allegations that Abedin had forward “hundreds and thousands of emails,” which may contain classified information, to her husband Anthony Weiner.

The following day, ProPublica reported that Comey had exaggerated the number of emails sent to Weiner, writing that “bedin forwarded only a handful of Clinton emails to her husband for printing -- not the ‘hundreds and thousands’ cited by Comey.”^[4] On May 9th, the FBI sent a letter to congress correcting Comey’s statements.

Developments

On May 9th, following council and recommendations from Attorney General Jeff Sessions and his deputy Deputy Rod Rosenstein, President Trump fired James Comey, sending a letter to the director while he was in California. The letters from Trump and Sessions (shown below, left and right, respectively), which contained references to the ongoing Russia investigation, caused outrage and criticism.^[5][6]

{height:150px}http://i1.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/001/253/331/d65.png!

While Trump cited Comey’s inaccurate characterization of the Abedin email scandal, many online focused on the second paragraph of Trump’s letter as a cause for concern. It reads, “While I greatly appreciate you informing me, on three separate occasions, that I am not under investigation, I nevertheless concur the judgment of the Department of Justice that you are not able to effectively lead the Bureau.” Many online saw this as reason for an independent investigation into potential Russian ties.

Search Interest

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About

#BowWowChallenge is a hashtag in which people post photographs of themselves in supposedly glamorous situations, though the pictures are either clearly photoshopped or revealed to be staged. The trend started after rapper Bow Wow posted a picture of a private jet that he was supposedly getting on to begin a tour, but he was photographed on a commercial airline flight moments later.

Origin

On May 8th, 2017, Bow Wow tweeted^[1] an image of a private jet with the caption ""Growing Up Hip Hop Atlanta" Press tour… Starts today. I’m on the move. #GUHHATL" (shown below, left). The next day, @Al_Khee^[2] posted a tweet along with a photo of Bow Wow on a commercial flight, exposing his lie and gaining over 26,000 retweets and 37,000 likes.

Spread

After the exposure, Twitter users began to make jokes at Bow Wow’s expense, which were compiled into a Twitter Moment^[3] that day. User @mamacrimz^[4] found the photo of the private jet Bow Wow posted was actually from an ad for Fort Lauderdale VIP Transportations (shown below).

Meanwhile, the hashtab #BowWowChallenge started on Black Twitter after @MrVashShogun^[5] tweeted “Time to start the #BowWowChallenge half of you niggas already do this on a daily so I know this is your time to shine 😂”, gaining over 100 retweets. This started a trend of people posting photographs where it appeared as though they were living a glamorous lifestyle, only to reveal how they staged the photograph. One of the most popular early examples was posted by @patricepannell5,^[6] who showed a picture of what appeared to be her legs while relaxing on a beach, but was actually her knuckles in front of her computer screen, gaining over 6,000 retweets and 6,000 likes (shown below). The spread of the hashtag also made Twitter Moments^[7] and was covered by Mashable,^[8]XXL Mag,^[9] and more.

Various Examples

Search Interest

Unavailable

External References