Memphis on the internet.
Defender Drama
Right here last week, we reported that a TikTok post by DeeDee Williams was blowing up. In it, she thanked Donald Trump and the Memphis Safe Task Force.
Since then, Manning claimed she was fired from the Tri-State Defender (writing under the name Dalisia Ballinger) because of her views, sharing the story with conservative talk show host Todd Starnes on Newsmax, for example.
Defender editor Stephanie Jones issued a statement on Facebook late last week that said, “This is not true.” Manning, she said, was a freelancer for the newspaper and could “not be fired from a job she didn’t have.”
“Every journalist with integrity and an ethical foundation knows that you cannot report facts and then share your personal opinion with the masses on what you’re covering,” Jones wrote.
Further, Jones said she left it up to Manning on how to proceed. She chose the “option of leaning into the publicity her social media post had garnered over her commitment to cover the Memphis Safe Task Force.”
No Kings
Memphis showed up for the second No Kings rally at Poplar and Highland Saturday. There were signs (Stop Pretending Your Racism is Patriotism!), inflatable costumes (including a Baby Trump), and tons of speeches.