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I dont know what more we could possibly say about Trump, South Park co-creator Trey Parker told Vanity Fair last September. Then Trump won the 2024 election. After witnessing the chaotic first six months of the presidents second term, the razor-tongued, foul-mouthed satirists behind South Park have understandably found more to say. The July 23 premiere of Season 27 skewered Trumps extractive legal battles with the media and other institutions, his long entanglement in the Jeffrey Epstein saga, and, well, his manhood. The Department of Homeland Security has since tried to reclaim the narrative, using South Park for its own ends by putting an image from the show into a try-hard tweet. But this is one battle the U.S. government has no chance of winning. The day before its most recent episode aired, the shows X account tweeted a pair of images, debuting a South Park-ian version of real DHS Secretary/influencer Kristi Noem and depicting South Park Elementary guidance counselor Mr. Mackey as a new member of ICE. Within hours, the DHS account reacted, repurposing an image of masked ICE officers from the teaser and adding a link to ICEs recruitment site. (The episode comes amid a major recruitment push; on August 6, Noem announced the removal of ICEs current 21-and-up age limit for new recruits, perhaps hoping to capitalize on all the fresh attention.) https://t.co/nZkBEj3GGi pic.twitter.com/N7cFpDhb7W— Homeland Security (@DHSgov) August 5, 2025 The goofily menacing use of South Park animation in a tweet is perfectly in keeping with DHSs social media in 2025. Americans generally tend not to look to the government for daily doses of humor, but try telling that to the second Trump administration. Since Januarys inauguration, the official White House X account has posted images of Trump as a king, pope, and Star Wars sith, while the DHS account has posted edgelord tweets including Studio Ghibli-style AI images of immigrants being taken into custody in tears, not to mention AI crocodiles wearing ICE hats to inaugurate the so-called Alligator Alcatraz detention center. These accounts conjure a queasy alchemy of the visual vocabulary of memesonly wielded with the sneering smugness of total authority toward people who have no power to fight back. Now, however, theyve squared up against people who do have that power. Trying to get in on the joke Not long after DHS tweeted a South Park-branded recruitment ad for ICE, the show clapped back. Its X account quote-tweeted DHSs post, adding: Wait, so we ARE relevant?a reference to the White House statement about South Parks season premiere, which claimed the show has not been relevant for over 20 yearsand adding, for good measure, a hashtag encouraging DHS to eat a bag of, well, manhood. Wait, so we ARE relevant?#eatabagofdicks https://t.co/HeQSMU86Da— South Park (@SouthPark) August 5, 2025 That tweet is just the beginning, too. Unlike the various social media managers embedded in this administration, the South Park creators have at their disposal more humorous weapons for a flame war than a basic command of memes and an absence of empathy. Beyond their ICE-mocking August 6 episode, subsequent outings could remain laser-focused on the topic and, of course, on Trump, if Parker and co-creator Matt Stone feel suitably inclined. As the 2012 documentary 6 Days to Air divulgedwithin its very titleSouth Park episodes can go from conception to execution in less than a week, and they can include new material practically right up until airtime. This show is nimble, adaptableand savage. These are not people this administration wants for foes. As evidenced by Trump gushing over Sydney Sweeneys membership in the GOP this week, as well as the Department of Defense referencing Sweeneys much-discussed American Eagle ad in a tweet about Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, this administration is desperate for MAGA to become as culturally relevant as it is politically powerful. South Parks equal-opportunity satire Part of what South Park made fun of in the premiere, in fact, was Trump seeking to exert his wil over popular culture through political pressure, nodding toward The Late Show With Stephen Colberts cancellation and the defunding of NPR. But the younger pop-culture junkies Trump hopes to bring or keep in the tentthe Joe Rogan contingent, for instancetend to be the very audience South Park most reliably attracts (men under age 35). Even in its 27th season, the show still carries weight with young people who consider themselves politically unaffiliated. Its unapologetic, equal-opportunity satire has never been woke, per se, nor specifically anti-woke, even as it has chafed, at great length, over the strictures of political correctness. Like its fellow multigeneration-spanning vehicle for satire, Saturday Night Live, South Park punches up at whichever party is in power. Its approach to politics is perhaps best summarized in an infamous 2004 episode that depicted the election between John Kerry and George W. Bush as one between a literal giant douche” and a “turd sandwich. South Park has no sacred cows, and having just signed a $1.5 billion streaming deal with Paramount, its creators have nothing to lose. Why MAGA wont win this meme war As with all the administration’s memes, the unsuccessful South Park rebuttals can’t cover up the MAGA movement’s overall feelings of aggrievementits festering sense that no matter how much power it amasses or how many people it gleefully deports, broader cultural cachet remains unattainable. Flailing to contort the shows barbs into content only gives South Park more power. Though Parker and Stone lamented last year that there was nothing left to say about Trump, taking the administration to task has already elevated South Park to its highest ratingsand yes, relevancein years. On top of everything else, this is all unfolding right as Joe Rogan and his ilk grow increasingly disillusioned with Trump over both his Epstein entanglements and the ICE raids, creating a perfect storm of bad buzz that this administration cant meme away. Sure enough, the episode about ICE ended up about as brutal as the DHS social media manager may have feared. After months of citizen outrage over masked ICE officers raiding spaces as innocuous as an elementary school graduation, with many comparing it to the secret police of authoritarian countries, the show parodied the agencys overzealous, blundering tacticswith a violent raid on a Dora the Explorer theatrical performance. In one especially incisive jab, the episode depicts the hypocrisy of ICE officers need for anonymity. Im proud to work for the I-C-E, one masked agent says in a recruitment video, pulling the mask higher on his face. The only response to the episode as of Thursday afternoon was from notoriously thin-skinned Vice President JD Vance, who was doing his best to appear unbothered by his debut on the show as a photoshopped, stout minion to Trump. Perhaps DHS and the White House have learned their lesson, or maybe their social teams are currently formulating what they consider the perfect response. Either way, many of the young people theyre hoping to reach are likely far more interested in what South Park has to say about the government than vice versa.
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Duolingo may be known as the worlds largest language-learning app, but it also wants to get users hooked on learning music. On August 6, Duolingo announced its plan to acquire the team behind the London-based gaming startup NextBeat. The startup’s mobile gaming catalog, which includes Piano Tiles-style games like Beatstar and Country Star, has amassed around $200 million in revenue. Now, NextBeats staff will help Duolingo make its Music course more fun, effective and, ultimately, something you don’t want to put down. [Beatstar and Country Star] combined chart-topping licensed music with intuitive, satisfying gameplay and reached tens of millions of players worldwide, a Duolingo spokesperson said of the acquisition. The teams background spans game design, music licensing, live operations, and mobile monetization, all of which will strengthen Duolingo Music and beyond. For Duolingo, the deal is part of a larger plan to build out its non-language courses using its uniquely gamified learning modelultimately moving toward becoming an all-encompassing education app. What’s next for Duolingo Music The NextBeat acquisition announcement came on the same day as Duolingo’s second-quarter 2025 earnings report, which notched a 41% increase in revenue year over year and an 84% increase in net income. The report marked an overwhelmingly positive quarter for Duolingo, in spite of the backlash the company received earlier this year when CEO Luis von Ahn announced that Duolingo would be going AI first. On an earnings call with investors, von Ahn shared that the company would be raising its full-year guidance while still investing in both our core business and exciting new areas, like chess, math, and music, that we believe will drive long-term growth. Duolingo first added math courses to its repertoire in 2022, followed by music in 2023 and chess earlier this year. While the company declined to share specific numbers on the Music courses performance, a spokesperson did say that millions of learners are studying music on Duolingo, and the company views it as a key pillar of our evolution into a broader learning platform. Currently, Duolingos sole Music offering is a piano course. Through the NextBeat acquisition, though, the company plans to experiment with new modules like guitar, voice, and rhythm-based activities, chief business officer Bob Meese told Bloomberg News. Furthermore, a spokesperson shared with Fast Company that NextBeat will help to smooth out the in-lesson user experience by improving course pacing, personalization, and feedback mechanics. Were focused on making the Music course even more joyful and captivating, the spokesperson said. Our vision is to make music learning feel just as engaging and habit-forming as language learning does on Duolingo.
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Shares of Intel dropped more than 3% Thursday after President Donald Trump demanded the immediate resignation of the chipmakers CEO. Claiming that there is no other solution to this problem, Trump said Lip-Bu Tan is highly conflicted in an early-morning post on Truth Social. Though the president didnt elaborate on his reasoning, Reuters has previously reported that Tan, either directly or through venture funds, has invested at least $200 million in Chinese manufacturing and chip companies. Intel shares dropped as much as 3.5% before recovering some of those losses. Tan caught the ire of Trump one day after Sen. Tom Cotton, a Republican from Arkansas, called Tans ties to Chinese firms concerning and questioned the potential impact on U.S. national security in a letter he sent to Frank Yeary, Intels board chair. In his letter, Cotton requested that Yeary respond by next week to questions about Tans ties to Chinese firms and his prior tenure as CEO of Cadence Design Systems, which last month agreed to plead guilty in a past criminal case. He also cited Intels receipt of nearly $8 billion in funding under the CHIPS and Science Act during Joe Bidens presidency last year. Intel is required to be a responsible steward of American taxpayer dollars and to comply with applicable security regulations, Cotton wrote. Mr. Tans associations raise questions about Intels ability to fulfill these obligations. TAN AND TRUMP Tans past investments came under scrutiny following his appointment as Intel’s CEOalthough as a former venture capitalist, the size and scope are perhaps not so unusual. A Reuters investigation found that Tans investments in China were made through Walden International, the venture capital firm he founded in 1987, along with two Hong Kong-based holding companies. Reuters said it found no evidence that Tan was invested directly in any company thats banned by the U.S. Treasurys Chinese Military-Industrial Complex Companies List. Whats more, Walden International wasnt an anomaly: It was one of five American venture capital firms that were the subject of a congressional investigation last year into investments in Chinas semiconductor industry that have totaled $1 billion since 2001. The other funds on the list were GGV Capital, GSR Ventures, Qualcomm Ventures, and Sequoia Capital. But Walden Internationaland Tanmay be out of favor with the Trump administration for other reasons. GGV Capital split its U.S. and China operations into two firms last year, while GSR Ventures did so this year. Qualcomm donated $1 million to a nonprofit that supported Trumps 2024 election bid, while Shaun Maguire, one of Sequoias partners, is a vocal Trump supporter and the firm has ties to David Sacks, the White House AI and crypto czar. As recently as March, Tan said the Trump administration was prepared to help Intel so the U.S. can maintain semiconductor leadershipand he would seek the administrations help, as needed. On Wednesday, Trump threatened a 100% tariff on imported semiconductors and chips, which would actually favor Intel, as it has domestic facilities. Even if information about Tans investments is known, its trickier to track the personal investments of CEOs in foreign companies, as theyre not required to disclose that information unless theres a potential conflict of interest. But sometimes their investments do catch the eye of watchdogs. Last year, for example, Campaign for Accountability, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit that runs the Tech Transparency Project, reported that former Google CEO Eric Schmidt had invested nearly $17 million through his private foundation into the Chinese AI industry, even as he was leading the National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence. INTELS WOES The Santa Clara, California-based company issued a statement in response on Wednesday, saying: Intel and Tan are deeply committed to the national security of the U.S. and the integrity of our role in the U.S. defense ecosystem. The company hasnt responded to Trumps call for Tans immediate resignation, according to reporting by other news outlets. Tan was appointed as CEO of Intel in March, replacing Pat Gelsinger, who was forced out in late 2024 after the board of directors lost confidence in his turnaround plans for the company. In his first few months, Tan has already embarked on an aggressive plan to streamline the organization with more layoffs, to the tune of about 15%. In a July letter to employees about Intel’s second-quarter financial results, Tan said such efforts are steps in the right direction. REACTIONS TO TRUMPS POST On social media, several commenters questioned whether Intel will bend the knee and submit to Trumps call for Tans resignation. Analysts also weighed in about the implications of the presidents post. Unfortunately, unlike other tech CEOs, Lip-Bu does not appear to have cultivated the kind of personal relationship with Trump that would help to assuage his ire, Bernstein analyst Stacy Rasgon said in a note to clients. And Trumps apparent meddling in corporate leadership could be setting a very unfortunate precedent, Phil Blancato, CEO of Ladenburg Thalmann Asset Management (which does not own Intel shares) told Reuters. You don’t want American presidents dictating who runs companies, but certainly his opinion has merit and weight.”
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