The modern news cycle moves at a rapid pace. As publications tooth and claw their way to the top of their SEO brackets, corners get cut, facts go unchecked, diligence is undone. Sometimes, rumors and innuendo stand in for leads and sources--that's what happened today (July 8), when a bevy of news sites reported that Jay Z and Beyoncé were considering spending $280 million to trademark (and presumably restrict usage and reproduction of) the Confederate flag. Of course, this was based on an item from the satirical news site News Watch 33, known for such stories as "Lebron James Breaks Both Legs In Car Accident Caused By Angry Fan" and "END OF DAYS? 2.5 Mile Wide Comet Expected To Impact Earth September 15-28, 2015."

Though Black artists reclaiming the image would not be without precedent--Kanye West's Yeezus Tour did just that with its merchandise in 2013--there is no truth to the Carter rumors. In fact, as Gawker points out, it would be a legal impossibility: As per the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, "A [patent] refusal must be issued if the design would be perceived by the public as a flag, whether or not other matter appears with or on the flag." The Confederate flag, originally representative of the secessionist movement that started the Civil War, has been a has been popular on its own and on clothing and accessories in some parts of the American South for some time now. Intermittently a contentious issue, it was brought to the national forefront in the wake of the Charleston massacre, when the South Carolina state legislature entered into debates about whether the flag should be flown at government buildings. 

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