🎶 Rich Men North of Richmond

Happy Tuesday! It’s August 22 — people are talking about the divisive song “Rich Men North of Richmond”, the ethics of screenshotting, and more.

As always, we’ve summarized and organized the different shades of perspective, so you can see the big picture quickly.

🎶 In the news: Rich Men North of Richmond

Oliver Anthony’s new country song "Rich Men North of Richmond" is a viral sensation, logging over 32 million views in 2 weeks. But why is it so divisive?

🎶 WaPo thinks the song’s popularity shows that conspiracy theories are becoming mainstream — the lyrics have QAnon undertones. Anthony has shared other conspiracy videos, like one that suggested Jews are to blame for 9/11.

🎶 But Taste of Country doesn't think Anthony is a conspiracy theorist — he’s just a little naïve. We shouldn’t be attacking people on food stamps.

🎶 Fox News says the left-wing media just can't understand the song. They stopped caring about the plight of the working class long ago. Anthony is singing hard truths about the struggles that many Americans go through.

🎶 The National Review doesn't like how the song blames the government for everything. It acts like we're powerless, when in reality we control our destinies.

🎶 The Atlantic thinks everyone is taking the song a bit too seriously. It's art, not a manifesto! Songs aren't meant to be dissected like political commentary.

📱 Cultural trend: Are screenshots ethical?

Keeping and sharing screenshot receipts of text messages is commonplace — but there’s new debate over whether it’s ethical.

📱 Slate says keeping and sharing text message screenshots can be very rude. It's a breach of privacy, and you'd hate if it was done to you.

📱 The Daily Star adds that it's even worse if you share the messages publicly. If the person doesn't consent to their messages being shared, don't share them!

📱 But this Reddit thread thinks it's ethical to screenshot — it’s what you do with the screenshots that may be questionable. But if someone is lying, all bets are off — go ahead and publish the screenshots to call them out.

📱 Honeycombers thinks it’s OK to screenshot as long as it's only shared with close friends — gossip isn’t always bad. Anything beyond that is sketchy, though.

Quick hits

⚫ Rescue efforts are underway in Pakistan after a chairlift cable snapped, trapping 6 children and 2 adults 900 feet in the air. (CNN)

💰 An Atlanta judge approved a $200k bond for Trump on his Georgia election interference charges. (WaPo)

🥇 Sha'Carri Richardson ran a 10.65, the fastest time of her career, to win the 2023 World Championship in the 100m dash. (NPR)

⚾ Max Scherzer, the MLB’s active strikeout leader, passed Phil Niekro to reach 11th on baseball’s all-time strikeout list. (AP News)

That’s it for today! Reply at [email protected] to let me know what you think of our newsletter, or to suggest a topic for next time.

Here at Shades we’re trying something new – quick summaries from different points of view. We think it’s a better way to stay informed and see the big picture. Please reach out if you’re curious to learn more!

- Jeff (co-founder of Shades)