Lifestyle
Pornhub, Reddit, and Twitter are now banning deepfakes
But Nicolas Cage face swap memes are still legal
You know you effed up if even the internet’s most inclusive websites decide to ban you from their servers. Reddit, Twitter, and Pornhub have all raised the ban hammer against porn and AI’s absurd love child, deepfakes.
Late last year, Redditor u/deepfakes used facial swapping AI to swap the faces of Hollywood celebs with lookalike porn stars. The trend launched a series of fake porn GIFs and videos, centered around the creator’s own subreddit, r/deepfakes.
Even as the trend was just starting, concerned users and lawmakers cried foul over the usage of likenesses without consent. Despite the uproar, laws have yet to account for the legality of face-swapping porn.
Now, they might get their wish, courtesy of the communities that spawned them in the first place.
The ban hammer first swung from Discord and Gfycat, banning the content from their own sites. Discord is a voice and text chat app that deepfakes makers used to share their own creations. Meanwhile, Gfycat is a hosting site that makers used to upload their GIFs for public viewing.
Larger sites would follow soon after, starting with Pornhub. The porn platform is draconian over blatantly illegal content like child pornography. Because of the concern over deepfakes, Pornhub has included deepfakes in its list of bannable content.
After Pornhub, Twitter started policing the content by suspending any account that creates deepfakes. Among the big social media platforms, Twitter is the most liberal, allowing nudity and porn content to run free.
Finally, the internet decided to nip the bud at its source — Reddit. The site decided to update its rules following the wave of bans spreading across the net. Previously, Reddit’s rules only vaguely covered non-consensual content. This time, the new rules include deepfakes as an offense. The original subreddit has since been suspended.
Pornhub, Twitter, and Reddit all voice out that they will not stand for non-consensual porn that uses likenesses of both porn actors and celebs without consent.
The legality of face-swapping porn is still up in the air, but the tech still proliferates. While popular sites are cracking down, underground communities are sure to pop up. Despite this, the face-swapping tech is still legal. Safe-for-work face swaps, like those that placed Nicolas Cage in movies where he shouldn’t be in, are still a-ok with the internet.
SEE ALSO: People are using face swapping to make fake celebrity porn
Cosmic Orange had a good run. For one generation, Apple’s “brave” iPhone Pro color turned into the flex color of 2025, and Android brands spent the better part of a year chasing that same citrus glow on everything from budget phones to tablets.
That cycle just repeated itself, except this time the copying started before the original even launched.
Apple made it official recently: the iPhone 18 Pro’s flagship shade is Burgundy, a deep red that leans warm and shifts toward purple depending on the light.
It’s the successor to Cosmic Orange, and Apple’s own language calls it “sophisticated.” Fair enough.
But Burgundy didn’t sneak up on the industry when Apple’s event wrapped. It’s been the worst-kept secret in tech since spring, when the first “dark cherry” and “deep red” leaks started making rounds.
By the time Apple actually confirmed the color on stage, at least four other phone makers had already shipped something wine-toned of their own.
Xiaomi got there first, on purpose
The Xiaomi 18 Fold, the company’s first wide-format foldable, launched with a Cherry Red colorway that multiple outlets pointed out looked a lot like Apple’s rumored shade, months before Apple confirmed anything.
Xiaomi timed the whole announcement to land just ahead of Apple’s own event, essentially racing to market with the same design language and a matching color story.
Whether that’s coincidence or a very calculated troll depends on how cynical you want to be about the smartphone industry, and honestly, you should be pretty cynical about it.
HUAWEI’s been circling this shade for a while
HUAWEI didn’t need to react quickly because it was already in the neighborhood.
The Pura X Max shipped in a Bordeaux Red, and the newly launched Pura X View came in a Shadow Red variant that sits comfortably in the same wine family.
HUAWEI has actually been rotating red-adjacent colorways across the Pura X lineup since last year, with Stylish Red and Stylish Orange finishes added as running refreshes rather than one-off marketing stunts.
TECNO didn’t just match the color, it named the reference
The TECNO Camon Slim 5G might be the most self-aware entry in this whole cycle.
It launched at IFA with a Burgundy Red option sitting alongside artist-inspired finishes like Van Gogh Blue and Neo Mondrian, and GSMArena‘s own unboxing coverage flat out called the color “iPhone 18-anticipatory.”
TECNO wasn’t hiding what it was doing. It saw the leaks, built the phone, and then, shipped it before Apple’s event even happened.
This isn’t Burgundy’s first lap
Wine-colored phones aren’t new, they just don’t usually get a moment like this.
Samsung quietly ran a Burgundy Red Galaxy S8 as a limited South Korea release back in late 2017, then brought the same shade back for the Galaxy S9 and S9+ the following year alongside Sunrise Gold.
A Burgundy Galaxy Z Fold4 later became an online-exclusive color that didn’t cost extra despite the exclusivity. None of those got the fanfare Apple’s version is getting now, mostly because Samsung treated Burgundy as a nice-to-have rather than the hero shade.
Burgundy used to be the tasteful alternative color buried three options deep in a lineup. Now, it’s the one every brand wants on the box art.
Why burgundy, and why now?
The appeal is pretty straightforward once you look at what came before it. Bright colors like Cosmic Orange photograph well but can feel a little loud on a device you’re carrying around all day.
Burgundy splits the difference. It reads as premium in product shots and it doesn’t look like a toy in person. Yet, it still stands out next to a wall of black and silver phones on a shelf.
It’s the color equivalent of a phone trying to look expensive without trying too hard. And after a year of neon everything, that’s clearly what buyers and brands both wanted.
Whether Burgundy becomes as inescapable as Cosmic Orange did remains to be seen. But for a color Apple hadn’t even confirmed until its event, it’s already had one of the busiest years any smartphone shade has had in a while.
Entertainment
PH to celebrate 1st ever National Cinema Day; movies start at less than $2
Watch a movie on September 12 for a fraction of the cost
The Philippines will be celebrating its first ever National Cinema Day on September 12. On this day, movie tickets will go for as low as PhP 100 (US$ 1.60) at regular 2D cinemas.
The campaign aims to make moviegoing more accessible to audiences. This includes families, friends, students, and cinephiles in general.
Such initiative has been a staple in other countries, like the United States, United Kingdom, Spain, Germany, Australia, New Zealand, and more. The same concept applies, with movie tickets going on sale for a lot less.
What’s great about the celebration is that all movies scheduled for exhibition on September 12, whether local or international, shall get the special admission price.
Advanced tickets sales have already begun. Customers can purchase through participating box offices, official websites, mobile apps, and authorized platforms.
Tickets will be sold on a first-come, first-served basis and remain subject to theater capacity. Prices vary for other viewing formats like Director’s Club or IMAX, for instance.
The campaign is organized by the Cinema Exhibitors Association of the Philippines (CEAP), along with industry and government partners.
The initiative is supported by the Film Academy of the Philippines (FAP), Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP), Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB), and the Metro Manila Film Festival through the MMDA.
Participating cinemas include Ayala Malls Cinemas, SM Cinemas, Robinsons Movieworld, CityMall Cinema, Megaworld Cinemas, and more.
Lifestyle
adidas’ hybrid training shoe gets a Solar Turbo makeover
Same hybrid-training tech, now in Solar Turbo / Lucid Pink~
adidas is giving the Adizero Dropset Pro a new look. Three months after the shoe first launched, the brand is rolling out a fresh colorway that keeps everything about the original build intact.
The Dropset Pro was built for hybrid athletes: the ones who run one day, hit the weight room the next, and throw in functional training somewhere in between.
adidas designed it to hold up across all three, and this newrefresh doesn’t touch that formula. What you’re getting is the same shoe in a much bolder shade.
A louder colorway
The new Solar Turbo / Lucid Pink colorway is hard to miss. adidas is positioning it as a style update on top of a shoe that already had its performance case made back in June.
The shoe still runs on full-length Lightstrike Pro foam, which adidas says handles cushioning and energy return without adding bulk.
EnergyRods are built into the midsole to help the foot roll through each stride. Lighttraxion covers the outsole for grip that doesn’t weigh the shoe down.
There’s Continental Rubber underneath for traction whether you’re training indoors or catching wet pavement outside. Also, there’s a 2.6mm Adizero sockliner that’s there to keep the shoe light while still giving you a feel for the ground under you.
Price, availability
If you’ve already got a pair of Dropset Pros in the original colorway, this isn’t a reason to upgrade. If you’ve been eyeing the shoe but wanted something less understated, this might be the version that gets you to check out.
The adidas Adizero Dropset Pro in Solar Turbo / Lucid Pink is available now at PhP 8,500. It’s in stock since September 2 at adidas and sports retail stores nationwide, on adidas.com.ph, and through the adidas App.
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