Rickrolling began in 2007 as a prank that hid a 1987 pop song behind a fake link

pop & funWikipedia2007

Rickrolling began in 2007 as a prank that hid a 1987 pop song behind a fake link

the gist

Rickrolling is an internet prank in which a link promises one thing and delivers Rick Astley's 1987 song Never Gonna Give You Up. It grew out of earlier 4chan jokes like duckrolling, where links led to a picture of a duck on wheels. In 2007, a user posted a link claiming to be the new trailer for Grand Theft Auto IV, which had crashed Rockstar's site, but it led to the Astley video. The trick spread quickly on forums and YouTube, and it boosted downloads of the song. Astley himself was tricked by the prank before he understood the joke.

so what

Rickrolling shows how a single bait-and-switch link became a lasting internet ritual and a case study in how memes spread. It also shows how a 20-year-old pop song found a new audience through a joke.

fun fact

Rick Astley was himself fooled by a rickroll through emails from a friend before he understood the joke.

Hampi was once one of the world's largest cities, until its Vijayanagara capital was destroyed in 1565

the gist

Hampi is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Karnataka, India, with more than 1,600 surviving remains spread over 4,100 hectares. It was the capital of the Vijayanagara Empire from 1336 to 1565. Travellers from Persia and Portugal described it as a prosperous, wealthy and grand city with temples, markets and farms along the Tungabhadra River. By 1500 it was estimated to be the world's second-largest city after Beijing, and probably India's richest at the time. In 1565 a coalition of Muslim sultanates defeated the Vijayanagara Empire, its capital was conquered and destroyed, and the city was left in ruins. Hampi remains a religious centre, with the active Virupaksha Temple at its heart.

how it works

The city was built around a fortified core with temples, markets and water structures along the river, supplied by an extensive network of roads and waterworks. When the empire fell, the city was not rebuilt, so its stone monuments were left standing.

so what

Hampi shows how quickly a great city can vanish after a military defeat, and how a ruined capital can remain sacred. Its ruins give historians a view of medieval South Asia that few other sites can match.

fun fact

The name Hampi comes from Pampa, an old name for the Tungabhadra River.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia · text CC BY-SA 4.0

Image: Wikimedia Commons

source: Wikipedia ↗

2 min

politicsshortCNA2:01

False allegations about Singapore’s hand in Indonesia’s markets and a made-up meeting

from CNA

CNA Verify has found close to 400 posts pushing falsehoods tying Singapore to Indonesia’s stock market rout and to a secret meeting that never took place. Together, they drew nearly 12 million views, and some were circulated by accounts that appeared to be working in concert, across multiple social media platforms.

Here’s how the disinformation campaign targeting Singapore was uncovered.

on YouTube: CNA ↗