Microbiology Spectrum Table of Contents Volume 11, Issue 3

Fact Check: Alleged Abuser In 2020 Viral Video Misidentified

(Content note: This story refers to sexual assault)

A viral video from 2020 purportedly showing a Texas girl who was allegedly abused in her mother's care has recirculated in online posts in September, with the posts misidentifying the alleged abuser by showing a photo from 2018 of a man who was convicted in a separate case.

The source of the post has also acknowledged misidentifying the alleged abuser.

The widely-viewed post on social media said: "10 year old White girl tells her grandmother that her mother's black boyfriend rapes her while the mother watches and does nothing. Words can't express how much this enrages me." Starting at the 0:03 timestamp, a headshot of a man is shown in the upper right corner while a girl is recorded saying that she was being abused by a man referred to as "Mr. Jake" under her mother's care.

A watermark, "@Klaus_Arminius," at the 0:02 timestamp leads to a Sept. 26 post on messaging platform X, formerly known as Twitter. That user corrected the initial post in the replies section and acknowledged that the alleged abuser had been misidentified.

The clip of the girl describing her abuse stems from a since-removed YouTube video shared by the girl's father in 2020 on a crowdfunding campaign page that is no longer accepting donations. Fox News and Fox 7 Austin reported in 2021 that the father allegedly faked the child abuse claims, citing attorneys in court filings.

Grant Cottingham, the public information officer for Texas' Frisco Police, the department that first investigated the case, said in an email that he has no information to support the caption of the post: "In fact, this is the first I have heard of it."

The headshot of the man in the video circulating in September 2023 can be seen in multiple news reports in 2018 including from The Washington Post and Fox 59, crediting the image to Grant County Jail in Indiana. The man was identified as Nicholas Deon Thrash, according to the reports, and was involved in a sexual assault case separate from the video shared online.

In September 2018, Thrash was sentenced to 160 years after being convicted of 10 counts of child molestation, according to both news reports. He has been serving his sentence at the Indiana Department of Correction since Sept. 20, 2018, according to data on the department's website, which lists the earliest possible release date as Sept. 24, 2141.

Misleading. The man pictured in the social media clip was convicted in a separate case in Indiana in 2018.

This article was produced by the Reuters Fact Check team. Read more about our fact-checking work.

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Country Artists Who Became Famous By Going Viral On TikTok

(Circle) - It's no secret that TikTok has spiked the careers of many people. Those short videos have turned some familiar faces into major country music sensations.

Check out these five country artists who've blown up, all thanks to TikTok.

Lily Rose

Back in 2021, Lily Rose posted a video of her original song "Villain." The video ended up gaining so much attention that it ultimately took her all the way to a record deal with Big Loud Records.

These days, she has more than 900,000 TikTok followers and is hitting the road alongside Shania Twain on the Queen of Me Tour.

Bailey Zimmerman

Bailey Zimmerman's social media presence exploded in 2020 when he began mixing his truck videos with singing clips.

His talent quickly won over many fans, and before you knew it, his name was making waves in the country music scene.

Now, he's sharing the stage with Morgan Wallen on the "One Night at a Time" tour and gearing up to headline, "Religiously. The Tour." It's set to kick off in 2024.

Zimmerman also recently scored his third consecutive number one with the title track "Religiously."

Zach Bryan

Zach Bryan has rapidly emerged as one of the fastest-rising stars in country music.

Growing up in the small town of Oologah, Oklahoma, and having served in the Navy, his journey to fame began by posting videos of him singing online.

He released his original song, "Heading South" and soon became a viral sensation.

Now, he stands as one of the prominent figures in the country music scene, recently securing the No. 1 spot on the Billboard 200 chart with his self-titled album.

Warren Zeiders

At first, Zeiders was pursuing a business degree and playing lacrosse at Frostburg State University.

While there, he dabbled in recording and shared cover songs on TikTok. Eventually, he ventured into co-writing and performing his own songs, with "Ride the Lightning" amassing over 500 million views on TikTok.

Now, Zeiders has launched his debut album, which made its grand entrance as the number one addition on country radio charts.

Priscilla Block

Following her high school graduation, Priscilla made her way to Nashville, Tennessee, determined to carve out a career in the country music scene.

In 2020, her track, "Just About Over You," caught fire on TikTok, catching the attention of Nashville's music bigwigs, who promptly signed her to Mercury Nashville.

As a single, "Just About Over You" climbed the American country charts.

These days, Priscilla is making appearances all over the country, including alongside Old Dominion and hitting the road with Justin Moore, where the duo even has a catchy no. 1 collab called "You, Me, And Whiskey."

Originally appeared on Circle All Access. Https://www.Circleallaccess.Com/

Copyright 2023 Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved.

A Couple Is Going Viral For Predicting Taylor Swift And Travis Kelce's Relationship On Halloween 2020

Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift's ~love story~ is truly something we couldn't have come up with in our ~wildest dreams~ (kay sorry I'll stop), but apparently one couple was out here predicting their relationship all the way back in 2020.

Meet Makayla and Nick Stephens, who randomly dressed up as Travis and Taylor for Halloween 2020—unknowingly giving us a sign from the future while they were at it.

As you might expect, the comments on Makayla's original post are a joy to read, and include "let's thank her," "PHENOM," "you manifested this," and my personal fave, "PLEASE GIVE ME THE LOTTERY NUMBERS."

Anyway! In other Travis and Taylor news, Tay is expected to once again show up at a Chiefs game this weekend, so if "watching football" is a new concept to you, there are still two days to learn the basics and/or buy some Chiefs merch.

Meanwhile, a source tells Entertainment Tonight that things are going great between the pair, and that "When Taylor and Travis first connected, Taylor was looking to have fun while enjoying some downtime. So far, it's been a nice change of pace for her. Now, as things progress between Taylor and Travis, they're both looking to keep it more private. They're both excited about where things are headed."

Despite looking to keep things more private, Travis did just spend a buncha time gushing about Taylor on his podcast, so head below if you're interested in his very lengthy thoughts:

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