Cats and dogs have both brought us many iconic memes over the years, and the pup behind one of the most recognisable viral images – Cheems the shiba inu – has passed away, his owner has announced. Cheems, real name Balltze or ‘Ball Ball’, was popularised online for his love of cheeseburgers or a “cheemsburbger”, and appeared in “Swole Doge vs Cheems” and “bonk” memes too. He was not the pup behind the ‘doge’ meme, however – with that being a shiba inu named Kabosu who, despite reports in December 2022 that she was critically ill with leukaemia, is still smiling away in adorable photos on Instagram. In their post to the social media platform on Friday, Balltze’s owners confirmed Cheems “fell asleep” during a surgical procedure known as thoracentesis, which concerns the removal of fluid or air from around the lungs. He had been battling cancer, with his owners hoping to arrange chemotherapy following the surgery. The owners wrote: “Don’t be sad, please remember the joy that Balltze brought to the world. A shiba inu with a round smiling face connecting you and me, he has helped many people during the pandemic and brought a lot of joy to many of you, but now his mission is completed. “I believe he is running freely in the sky and having a lot of delicious food with his new friends. He will always be inside my heart. “I hope he can continue to bring joy to everyone in the online world, that’s my only humble request.” Tributes soon poured in for Balltze, with Twitter/X users resharing some of their favourite memes of the beloved pup: https://twitter.com/PupperNelson/status/1692848881095111118?s=20 https://twitter.com/RealSpikeCohen/status/1693120280225362193?s=20 https://twitter.com/ManuelNFTs/status/1692937774955925565?s=20 https://twitter.com/babywhalegg/status/1692929323353755831?s=20 Rest in peace to a very good boy. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter 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.

Many online trolls hide behind a keyboard, but when one supporter of white supremacist and far-right American First Foundation leader Nick Fuentes decided to come offline and fight a Jewish UFC fighter in person, it went about as well as you’d expect. Natan Levy, an Israeli professional mixed martial artist with a record of eight wins and one loss, took aim at one Twitter/X user by saying “he’s built like a chopstick” and “definitely not a threat”, only for another known only as Ben to challenge him to a fight. Ben tweeted: “I’ll drive to Vegas any day of the week to spar you on behalf of Nicholas J. Fuentes and America First. With no formal MMA training should be easy, right?” Wrong. So, so wrong… And after Levy agreed to “gladly KO your punk ass”, plans were in place and waivers were signed for the two to throw hands at a gym in Las Vegas. In a video posted to Levy’s YouTube channel, Ben can be seen saying: “[Natan’s tweets were] critical of somebody who associates themselves with America First and the political values that I value. Jewish UFC fighter destroys white supremacist supporter www.youtube.com “As a defender of that, and as a former martial arts experience trained person myself, I thought it would be fun to come spar.” He also insisted he was just “messing around” in the online exchange between him and Levy, and that he is “not a hateful person”. When challenged on his support of Fuentes – a man designated a “white supremacist” by the US Department of Justice – Ben insisted the America First founder is a “revisionist” when it comes to the Holocaust. “Whether it would be numbers that might have been different over the years … I mean, they say six million. “The six million number puts more faces to the name, because a lot of people know people who are Jewish,” he said. In pretty brutal fight scenes, Ben ends up taken to the floor and beaten into submission, stressing he was “tapping” out and even letting out an “I’m sorry” at one point. After their fight, Ben addresses the camera and finally acknowledges that “six million Jews were … murdered in the Holocaust” and admits he needs to “be more well-researched”. Levy added: “He came in and was like, ‘oh, I’m not a hateful person, I was just trolling online’. “Like, OK, so you’re not a neo-Nazi but you’re still a troll.” The pro fighter also summed it up well by saying the session was a “classic case of f*** around and find out”. Ben’s defeat to Levy has since been branded “beautiful” on Twitter/X, with the Jewish sportsman praised for “doing the Lord’s work”: And the video didn’t end there, either, as another troll entered the gym and got into the cage with another professional fighter - Shimon Smotritsky – and that ended with the troll, named Cee-Jay, with a bloody mouth and blood-splattered T-shirt. Ouch. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter 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.

Many online trolls hide behind a keyboard, but when one supporter of white supremacist and far-right American First Foundation leader Nick Fuentes decided to come offline and fight a Jewish UFC fighter in person, it went about as well as you’d expect. Natan Levy, an Israeli professional mixed martial artist with a record of eight wins and one loss, took aim at one Twitter/X user by saying “he’s built like a chopstick” and “definitely not a threat”, only for another known only as Ben to challenge him to a fight. Ben tweeted: “I’ll drive to Vegas any day of the week to spar you on behalf of Nicholas J. Fuentes and America First. With no formal MMA training should be easy, right?” Wrong. So, so wrong… And after Levy agreed to “gladly KO your punk ass”, plans were in place and waivers were signed for the two to throw hands at a gym in Las Vegas. In a video posted to Levy’s YouTube channel, Ben can be seen saying: “[Natan’s tweets were] critical of somebody who associates themselves with America First and the political values that I value. Jewish UFC fighter destroys white supremacist supporter www.youtube.com “As a defender of that, and as a former martial arts experience trained person myself, I thought it would be fun to come spar.” He also insisted he was just “messing around” in the online exchange between him and Levy, and that he is “not a hateful person”. When challenged on his support of Fuentes – a man designated a “white supremacist” by the US Department of Justice – Ben insisted the America First founder is a “revisionist” when it comes to the Holocaust. “Whether it would be numbers that might have been different over the years … I mean, they say six million. “The six million number puts more faces to the name, because a lot of people know people who are Jewish,” he said. In pretty brutal fight scenes, Ben ends up taken to the floor and beaten into submission, stressing he was “tapping” out and even letting out an “I’m sorry” at one point. After their fight, Ben addresses the camera and finally acknowledges that “six million Jews were … murdered in the Holocaust” and admits he needs to “be more well-researched”. Levy added: “He came in and was like, ‘oh, I’m not a hateful person, I was just trolling online’. “Like, OK, so you’re not a neo-Nazi but you’re still a troll.” The pro fighter also summed it up well by saying the session was a “classic case of f*** around and find out”. Ben’s defeat to Levy has since been branded “beautiful” on Twitter/X, with the Jewish sportsman praised for “doing the Lord’s work”: And the video didn’t end there, either, as another troll entered the gym and got into the cage with another professional fighter - Shimon Smotritsky – and that ended with the troll, named Cee-Jay, with a bloody mouth and blood-splattered T-shirt. Ouch. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter 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.

A woman travelled from America to Scotland to attend her friend's wedding and accidentally showed up at the wrong ceremony, leaving people in hysterics. The viral clip posted to TikTok shows Arti (@firstseedfoods) sitting in a taxi on the way to the big day. "POV: You travelled >3,000 miles and accidentally showed up to the wrong wedding," she wrote as the video's on-screen text, which has been viewed almost half a million times. Arti then shows a shot of the decorative sign, reading: "Caitlin and Stephen. 12.08.2023. Thank you for sharing our special day with us." Luckily, the bride and groom were good sports and found the mix-up amusing. "You’ve come to Scotland from America and come to the wrong wedding," the groom's brother jokes."It’s true, oh my gosh I’m at the wrong wedding," the TikToker responds. "My wedding and her wedding," the groom continues while pointing at his wife. @firstseedfoods congratulations Caitlin and Stephen? thanks for being such good sports and inviting me in for a drink #weddingtiktok #scotland #ohno Fortunately for Arti, she managed to get a taxi to the correct venue. Despite missing the speeches, she did end up making her friend's wedding after all. In a follow-up video, Arti explained the situation to intrigued viewers. "Immediately no one looked familiar, which is okay because I’m coming from out of town," she said. @firstseedfoods Replying to @Kate the story gets crazier! #storytime #glasgow #scotland #punjabiwedding "I didn’t know a lot of the wedding guests but then I saw the big board that said 'congratulations Caitlin and Stephen' and I though oh I must just be at the wrong entrance. Maybe it’s a big building and it’s hosting multiple events," she continued, before revealing the hilarious blunder. "This needs to turn into a rom com movie NOW!!! Lol," one fellow TikToker commented, while another joked: "Somewhere in this story is your future husband, even if you’ve got one now." Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter 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.

Brits are losing their minds over a TikTok showing two American influencers trying out "London snacks" – with one very unique choice. In a viral clip that's racked up over half a million views, couple Dani and TBell (@tanddtv) showcase the range of snacks including Walkers crisps, Starburst, a vegan KitKat, Skittles – and tinned mackerel. "Not looking forward to this," Dani tells viewers while holding up the tinned fish. "Oh my god, that looks appetising to you?" she says as they peel back the lid. "Yeah, it looks protein-packed," her partner TBell responds before giving it the taste test. TBell appears to thoroughly enjoy the "interesting" choice by rounding off with a cheese and onion crisp for good measure. "This is what you call fish and chips," he jokes while enjoying the mackerel and crisp combination. Meanwhile, Dani wasn't so much a fan and looked repulsed. "I don't like it," she says. "I'm going to be sick." It didn't take long for British viewers to spam the TikTok with comments, with one saying: "Calling mackerel and crisps fish and chips is just offensive" "Nobody in London eats mackerel for a snack," another highlighted, while a third reiterated: "This is not what we mean by fish and chips." @tanddtv this one was interesting?? #couplesthings #couplestravel #london #love #snacks #couplesmukbang #relationshipgoals The comments continued to roll in, with confusion around the fishy snack. "I don’t think any one in England eats tinned mackerel," one TikToker wrote. "Ya’ll really said let’s try fish and chips and bought canned mackerel and chips," another joked. Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter 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.

We all know that rapper Stormzy (real name Michael Omari) has a talent for rhythm and poetry, but things got all too poetic on Friday (18 August) when the musician performed his gospel track “Blinded By Your Grace” to a crowd standing in torrential rain. The “Vossi Bop” star was headlining his co-curated bill for All Points East festival’s ‘This Is What You Mean Day’ event when the “spiritual” moment occurred, during the track which includes lyrics such as “I’m God’s son”, “what a God I serve” and – rather spookily – “and the rain was pouring”. And pour, it did. As Twitter/X user Sean Spooner put it, it was “absolutely pooooouring with rain” at “the second” Stormzy played the track to the 50,000 fans in attendance – something he said was “absolutely magical” and “one way to feel alive”. Others fortunate enough to make the event were in agreement, describing it as “magic”, “incredible” and a “beautiful experience”: The performance concluded the event in London’s Victoria Park, which also featured artists Kehlani, Sampha, Lucky Daye and Ms Banks. All Points East festival continues on Saturday with Field Day (featuring performances from Aphex Twin, Bonobo and SBTRKT), before The Strokes and Jungle make their way to the park next week. Stormzy himself acknowledged the special moment on Twitter/X on Saturday morning, when he simply tweeted “wow” along with happy tears, praying and heart emojis. Quite. Stormzy’s set from This Is What We Mean Day will be broadcast on Channel 4 at 10pm on Sunday. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter 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.

Popular streamer iShowSpeed has opened up about his mental health after accidentally exposing himself to thousands of fans. The 18-year-old, whose real name is Darren Watkins, was live streaming to 24,000 fans when the incident took place. "Oh my god," he said when he realised he had revealed his privates. The streamer has since returned to the platform and addressed the "embarrassing moment," and how it's impacted him mentally. "These past days and hours, I've been suffering very mentally, genuinely," he told viewers. "At the end of the day, I'm still a human being." He said it was "one of the worst fears" that has happened and that it's "just depressing." "You guys are joking, you guys can crack your jokes – but you're genuinely not looking a the bigger picture," he said. "Do you all know I have family, little siblings?" "I don't know what to do anymore, bro," Speed continued. A snippet was soon shared to X (formerly known as Twitter) where it garnered hundreds of supportive messages from fans. "i feel bad for him fr, some people in chat are a bunch of lames/weirdos," one person wrote, while another added: "Bro actually i feel bad he was trying to make us laugh and messed up." "It really feels bad," a third said. "He always tries his best to make us laugh but this time he messed up We should not troll him for this guys. Respect!" Meanwhile, another use added: "Don't beat yourself up about it bro, we all make mistakes it'll pass and be forgotten, here for chats anytime, I didn't see the live and plan to avoid seeing any reposts. everyone should take a second and have some tact he's only 18 where I'm from thats a teenager." Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter 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.

The world is home to some uniquely bizarre behaviours and habits that are sometimes dangerous or even life-threatening. Enter, TLC's My Strange Addiction. The American show premiered back in 2010 and has been going strong ever since, with its extreme obsessions with random objects, food and alternative lifestyles. From being an adult baby to eating cat hair to being in a long-term relationship with a car, here are eight of our all-time favourites – for all of the wrong reasons: Obsessed with sniffing tuna Tuna-loving man Tyler confessed to being addicted to the tinned fish, sniffing and drinking the brine at every given opportunity. He even demonstrated to his date how he sometimes uses it as an aftershave on his neck. This Man Is Addicted to Smelling Tuna! | My Strange Addiction: Still Addicted? | TLC www.youtube.com Adult baby who still wears nappies and sleeps in a cot Riley from Buffalo, lives her life as a full-grown baby. She wears nappies, sleeps in a cot with a dummy and plays with teddies. "It helps me wash away the stress of the big, tough world," she said. Addicted To Living As An Adult Baby | My Strange Addiction www.youtube.com Man romantically involved with his car Nathanial got candid about his romantic relationship with his "handsome man," AKA Chase the car. He told TLC it was "love at first sight," after seeing the car's "body, his interior and everything just together that seemed to fit." Sex With My Car | My Strange Addiction www.youtube.com Addicted to eating dirty nappies Keyshia from Queens, who was expecting her first child, opened up about one very unique obsession: chewing dirty nappies. "It has to have pee in it," she said. "The heavier ones that have more pee, smell better." My Strange Addiction Chews Dirty Diapers Season 5, Episode 5 www.youtube.com Woman who licks cats Lisa candidly shared how she was addicted to "eating cat hair."She described the sensation as "relaxing" and "comforting," before comparing the texture to "cotton candy". Woman Grooms Cat With Her Own Tongue And Eats The Hair | My Strange Addiction www.youtube.com Obsessed with bee stings Margaret can't get enough of stinging herself with bees all over her body, with 15-20 stings in her left hip during one single sitting. Addicted to Bee Stings | My Strange Addiction www.youtube.com Sexually attracted to balloons Julius opened up to My Strange Addiction about his love for balloons, which he described as "beautiful, soft, smooth, delicate". He acknowledged that while he is aware they are not alive, that his love for them brings them alive. Meet The Man Who Is Sexually Attracted To Balloons | My Strange Addiction www.youtube.com Eating sand 'for the crunch' Brea's favourite snack is sand... She likes to season her food with grains but her favourite combination is chewing gum mixed with sand. "I Just Love The Crunch" Young Woman Is Addicted To Eating Sand | My Strange Addiction www.youtube.com Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter 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.

‘Less’ versus ‘fewer’ is pretty straightforward. ‘Less than’ vs. ‘fewer than’ is slightly less so. Here’s how to get it right every time.

Donald Trump supporters have used old footage of the former president to suggest he had visited Maui in the aftermath of the wildfires this month. One social media post claimed on Aug. 16 that the former president and first lady had visited Maui, writing "The People's President, Donald J. Trump and our Beautiful First Lady Melania Trump, checking up on the people of Maui after #MauiFires." In reality, the clip being shared is actually from 2019, when Trump visited Beauregard, Alabama after a tornado killed nearly two dozen people in the area. The clip was seemingly circulated after TikTok account @me421 posted the video from 2019. Many tweets on the misleading video contain screenshots from the video posted to @me421's account. On Friday, the account posted a statement saying: "A few days ago I share a post about our President Trump. My intentions was never to make anyone believe that he was in Maui [sic]." "My intentions was to show what kind of leadership Maui needed. President Trump is a kind soul. His reaction to situations are not emotionless [sic]," they added. "The power of unity he brings to this country is truly a gift from God." The account ends the statement by saying: "I apologise if there was nay misunderstanding on that video God bless all Americans." It seems the account has deleted their upload of the clip, but that hasn't stopped it from being shared by Trump fans across social media. TikTok account @kaiser_ifa also shared the 2019 clip with the captions "Trump 2024" and "The Really President truly cares". The TikTok currently has over 120,000 views. "Why don't we see this on the news?" commented one user. Another said, "does it for America, not for publicity. Just beautiful to be a witness to. Trump 2024." "Thank you for visiting this devastation. America needs you president Trump," read a further comment. The original clip can be found on The Associated Press' YouTube channel with the title "Trump visits tornado-ravaged town in Alabama." On August 14th, Trump posted a video on Truth Social in which he gave his "sympathy and warmest regards" to those affected by the wildfires. But he has not visited the site himself. In the video Trump also called president Biden "disgraceful" and claimed Biden "refuses to help or comment on the tragedy in Maui." 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. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter

Australia fans who are upset at the team being defeated by England in the semi-final game at the Women's World Cup have been flooding Big Ben with negative reviews. The Matildas lost 3-1 to the Lionesses in what was an exciting semi-final match at Stadium Australia in Sydney, with Ella Toone, Lauren Hemp and Alessia Russo scoring to secure a place for England in the final where they will face Spain on Sunday (August 20). Following the match, Aussie media outlets described the defeat as a "Heartbreakerr" and a second headline read: "It hurts... but we're so proud," while fans online slammed England's physical tactics and others even criticised the Matildas performance. Among the array of emotions and reactions, some Australian supporters decided to express their anger and upset via the Google review section on the popular English landmark, Big Ben. One-star reviews began to emerge as Aussies left petty comments such as: "If I wanted to see a clock, I’d just look at me wrist." "Was soooo dirty, just like the English played against the Matildas.” “Pretty tall building … almost as high as that kick to Sam Kerr’s face," and "could use a bit of a clean up, like the English soccer team," News.com.au reported although Google look to have removed them at the time of writing. While England fans responded by posting equally petty five-star reviews on Big Ben's page while also having a dig at their rivals Down Under. "Smells much better than the stench of defeat in Australia," one reviewer said, while another added: "Have been to Australia, not good. Big Ben, however, best day of my life.” Despite Aussie and England fans being at loggerheads online, there are still two matches of the tournament yet to be played. England is up against Spain in the Women's World Cup final on Sunday (August 20) where the Lionesses will be hoping to be the first senior England team since 1966 to win a World Cup final. Meanwhile, Australia faces Sweden in the third-place match tomorrow (August 19). Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter 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.

GoFundMe has deleted an OnlyFans model's campaign after she offered nudes to anyone who donated $10 to Maui wildfire victims. Mariah Casillas, also known as 'Lavaxgrll' had created a GoFundMe to help raise money for those in Maui who have been affected by the wildfires that have tragically claimed up to 100 lives so far. In order to raise as much money as possible, Casillas offered to send nudes to anyone who proved that they had donated $10 or more to her campaign. It seemed to be working as Casillas managed to raise over $6,000 in just a couple of days, but GoFundMe removed the campaign. Meaning that all the money raised went with it, too. In response to GoFundMe's move, Casillas took to social media to reassure fans that she was not going to let it stop her from raising money. "GoFundMe took down my account but that isn't going to stop me from doing what I can to help the people of Maui," she wrote. "I'll be making a list of nonprofits to donate towards instead, you can still send me your screenshots!" It seems that GoFundMe took down Casillas' campaign as it violated its services that state GoFundMe can't be used to raise funds if they involve, "offensive, graphic, perverse or sensitive or sexual content." In order to keep raising money, Casillas has moved her fundraiser to OnlyFans telling subscribers to "drop your donations on my pinned post and let's get to work." On Wednesday a GoFundMe spokesperson told FOX Business that its platform had raised over $30 million for the communities needing support in the aftermath of the wildfires. 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. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter