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A man who was videotaping cops who stopped a black driver was ordered to stop taping, and it ended with the guy getting assaulted.

Joe Bennett was driving home in Jeffersontown, Kentucky when he saw a number of police cars swarm a car. Bennett decided to live stream the stop on Facebook ... as he said, he was doing his "due diligence as a citizen."

Joe is at least 50 feet away, and maybe further, saying "I just wanted to observe, so I tried to give them distance."

He actually says the video is "the most boring live video ever," when at the 3-minute mark a cop walks ominously toward Bennett and orders him to stop filming, coming up with an excuse that it's a crime scene investigation -- as if that's a justification.

Bennett refuses to stop, so the cop asks for his ID. Now, technically, if a cop asks for ID -- even if the request violates the law -- you're supposed to comply, but Bennett says he did nothing wrong so he refuses. That's when the cop attacks, grabbing for Bennett's phone and slugging him.

A police official told Spectrum 1, "Officers were in the area investigating and making arrests related to a check fraud scheme thwarted at the Citizens Union Bank across the street from the McDonalds." What's unclear ... cops reportedly say a suspect claimed Bennett was the driver in the check fraud scheme. You do hear the cop say, "you are involved," but Joe tells us he was never told he was being accused of a check fraud scheme.  "You're involved" could mean he's involved because he's videotaped the stop.

Joe tells TMZ the citation says, "Officers were investigating a case where fraudulent checks were being cashed at a local bank. Officers were informed that there was a gray Jeep involved. Officers were told that the gray Jeep was picking up offenders after they attempted to cash the fraudulent check. This officer was informed that the above subject [Joe Bennett] at which time was standing on the side of his vehicle was the driver of the gray Jeep. Officer approached the subject and asked him for identification. Subject refused. Officer told the subject he was named in the investigation and the subject still refused to identify himself. Officer attempted to put handcuffs on the subject before things escalated. Subject tensed up and started to pull away. Officer delivered one empty strike to the subject and took the subject to the ground."

Bennett says he was cited for resisting arrest and menacing. Bennett tells TMZ officers cleared him at the scene in the check fraud scheme.

We reached out to the police department ... so far, no word back.

Two Oxford scientists have skewered Facebook, claiming the company is engaged in anti-democratic censorship by flagging their article on mask-wearing "false information."

Professor Carl Heneghan and Dr. Tom Jefferson authored a paper called, "Landmark Danish Study Shows Face Masks Have No Significant Effect." They based the article on a study done in Denmark in which 6,000 folks were divided into 2 groups -- half wearing masks outside their homes and half not wearing masks. According to the study, the infection rate for mask-wearers was 1.8%. The rate for those who didn't wear masks was 2.1%.

The study called the results "inconclusive," but the 2 Oxford doctors went further, saying, " ... it seems that any effect masks have on preventing the spread of the disease in the community is small." That was enough for Facebook to step in and call BS, slapping a warning on the article and adding that it was "checked by independent fact-checkers."

Professor Heneghan railed on Facebook, saying, "I'm aware this is happening to others -- what has happened to academic freedom and freedom of speech. There is nothing in this article that is 'false.'"

Dr. Jefferson told the Daily Mail, "It is censorship and it is one of the reasons we face a global meltdown of free thinking and science."

On the scientific front, the study did not address what appears to be an indisputable fact ... that masks do reduce the spread of COVID-laced droplets and that's just common sense ... if someone who is infected wears a mask it's harder for the droplets to escape into the air.

A Facebook group with more than 300,000 members claiming the election's being stolen from President Trump just got removed ... over growing fears it's stirring violence.

The "Stop the Steal" group began picking up serious steam among Trump supporters over the past 24 hours, and was attempting to organize protests this Saturday around the country, claiming ... "PRESIDENT TRUMP NEEDS US NOW MORE THAN EVER."

Facebook's not having it though, and has shut the group down citing "worrying calls for violence from some members of the group." FB also says the group was "organized around the delegitimization of the election process."

The social media giant says ... "In line with the exceptional measures that we are taking during this period of heightened tension, we have removed the Group 'Stop the Steal,' which was creating real-world events."

As you likely know by now ... Trump and his campaign officials have been very active in opposing the ballot-counting process in several battleground states and vowed multiple lawsuits over it.

There has been some chaos at ballot counting centers in Detroit and Phoenix where some of Trump's most avid supporters have shown up to protest, some of them with firearms.

Kim Kardashian's Halloween costume blew Carole Baskin away ... Carole tells us after seeing Kim dress up like her, she just can't live up to her own image anymore.

As you know, Kim dressed to the nines with her Carole Baskin costume, complete with animal print, a flower crown and her kids dressed as tigers ... and Carole tells us Kim's look is a "beautiful version" of herself.

Kim's best friend, Jonathan Cheban, also dressed as Joe Exotic.

Carole's getting the Halloween treatment for the first time this year ... and she says it's weird to see total strangers wearing flower crowns, cat prints and gaudy jewelry to channel their inner Carole Baskin.

You know you've made it when Kim K is dressing up like you for Halloween and not the other way around!!!

'Tiger King' is a huge hit with costumes this year -- Kelly Ripa dressed as Joe Exotic and Ryan Seacrest went as a tiger -- and Carole says Joe's the perfect icon for Halloween because he represents "pure evil."

Carole also tells us she's been so flattered by all the "clever renditions" of her look, she started a costume contest on her Big Cat Rescue Facebook page. Good luck looking better than Kim!

Kim Kardashian, Leonardo DiCaprio and a bunch of other celebs are banning together to make Facebook stop and listen ... by putting its biggest attraction on ice for a bit.

A massive amount of stars are participating in a 24-hour Instagram freeze Wednesday in partnership with Stop Hate for Profit ... which is leading the charge. It's a pretty simple idea ... a one-day moratorium on posting ANYTHING on Instagram, to stick it to Mark Zuckerberg and co.

Their ultimate goal is to let FB, which owns IG, know people are sick of them not running a tighter ship on their platform ... which, as you may have heard, has become home to a lot of misinformation and unchecked hate speech -- all in the name of "fairness."

SHFP isn't buying that "fairness" argument, and neither are its famous supporters like Katy Perry, Jamie Foxx, Ashton Kutcher, Jennifer Lawrence, Michael B. Jordan, Sacha Baron Cohen, Naomi Campbell ... and many, many more.

Obviously, the campaign goes beyond just the A-listers ... so far, this message has been shared by over 200 million accounts across different media platforms ... and it's growing by the hour.

So, you can imagine -- IG will probably be pretty quiet come midnight. No stories, no hashtags, no foodie posts ... nothin', at least from those who are committed to this.

And, if you're wondering if SHFP has a specific list of demands, it does. Among the changes it would like to see happen ... removing FB groups promoting violence, militia groups, white supremacy, conspiracy theories and other harmful content; remove misinformation posts and slap people with fact checks ... just to name a few.

The real issue here for Facebook is about the First Amendment and how far is too far when it comes to censorship ... even of ideas with which you disagree.

Now, we know what you might be thinking ... if these celebs are really about this cause, why just "freeze" activity for a day? Why not a week?? Or ... forever?!?

Here's Boosie Badazz going on a hilarious rant about getting banned from Instagram, and he wants action right now from Mark Zuckerberg ... if he could just get his name right.

The Louisiana rapper is up in arms over the fact he's in social media timeout, and he's making a desperate plea to Mark, but hilariously calls the multi-billionaire Mark Zuckinberger ... and other incorrect variations of Zuck's name.

As Boosie put it ... bosses need to talk to bosses, and that's why he's appealing directly to Mark. BTW, the IG ban is reportedly because of his recent streak of posts with links to his OnlyFans account, which is basically porn ... which is a no-no on IG.

It is weird though 'cause lots of IG users promote OnlyFans. Anyway, Boosie has a solution ... he suggests Mark should take him to IG orientation. Whatever that is.

Boosie says IG is the only way he and other rappers are making money in the pandemic, which has wiped out live concerts, and he says he needs his account to feed his family.

Now might be a good time for Boosie to discover the wonders of Twitter.

Ex-WWE superstar Marty Jannetty may have confessed to murdering someone when he was 13 years old in a bizarre social media post ... and now cops are investigating.

The former member of the tag team "The Rockers" told a story on Facebook about trying to buy weed from a man who worked at a bowling alley in his home town when things went awry.

"I was 13, working at Victory Lanes bowling alley buying weed from a f** that worked there ... and he put his hands on me ... he dragged me around the back of the building ... you already know what he was gonna try to do."

Jannetty continued, "That was the very first time I made a man disappear. They never found him. They shoulda looked in the Chattahoochie River."

By the way, Jannetty is 60 years old -- so the alleged incident would have taken place around 1973.

Now, the Columbus Police Dept. in Georgia tells us straight up, "We are going to look into this."

In fact, a spokesperson from the homicide/cold case division says, "The first step will be seeing if we have any missing persons or unidentified remains cases that match the limited information in the post."

The CPD notes that they have "several current active homicide investigations underway and they will have to remain the priority" -- so, it won't be an all hands on deck situation right now.

We've reached out to Jannetty for comment several times -- but haven't heard back. The Facebook post has since been removed from his page.

Jannetty was huge during the WWF's run in the '80s and '90s -- teaming up with Shawn Michaels on The Rockers ... one of the most popular tag teams of the era.

Priscilla Presley is speaking out about losing her grandson, Benjamin Keough, to suicide earlier this month, and she says the tragedy's left the family broken.

Elvis' widow broke her silence Wednesday saying, "These are some of the darkest days of my family’s life. The shock of losing Ben has been devastating."

Priscilla continued in a Facebook post ... "Trying to put all the pieces together of all the possible whys has penetrated my soul. Each day I wake up I pray it will get better. Then, I think of my daughter [Lisa Marie Presley] and the pain she is going through as she was a doting mother. Ben’s father, Danny [Keough], who is completely lost, as Ben was his only son."

Other than a statement through Lisa Marie's attorney shortly after news broke of Ben's death, neither of his parents have spoken publicly about his passing. Clearly, as Priscilla explains, they're shattered over this ... the entire brood is -- uncles, nieces, nephews and all.

Priscilla ended her thoughts with Ben's only full-blooded sibling, Riley Keough. She says, "Riley, so loving and so close to him; Harper and Finley, who absolutely adored Ben. Navarone, who struggles deeply with loss and death. Rest In Peace Ben, you were loved. ❤️"

Jada Pinkett Smith admits she had a relationship with August Alsina, but takes issue with his claim Will Smith gave permission ... because she and Will say it wasn't necessary, at that time.

Jada and Will sat down for her "Red Table Talk" show which streamed Friday on Facebook and admitted Jada did, in fact, have an "entanglement" with August around 4 and a half years ago ... after Jada and Will had quietly separated. At the time, Jada said she thought the separation was going to be indefinite and didn't think Will was ever going to talk to her again.

In that time, Jada says she and August -- with whom the Smiths were good friends -- started dating. She said initially it was about August's health and trying to help him heal.

As for August's claim, Will gave Jada his blessing ... that's not the case because the only person that could give permission is Jada herself and, remember, she and Will were separated. Near the end of their convo, Jada said she never felt this was a transgression, either.

They laughed and even invoked one of Will's famous lines when they said, in unison, "We ride together, we die together. Bad marriage for life."

As we reported ... August not long ago sat down with The Breakfast Club's Angela Yee and said he had been in a relationship with Jada after being introduced to her by her son, Jaden, in 2015. August said it lasted quite some time.

An NC racetrack owner is being called "horrific", "shameful" and even a downright racist ... and it's all because he advertised the sale of "Bubba Rope" in the wake of NASCAR's noose incident.

Here's the deal ... Mike Fulp, a 55-year-old who owns 311 Speedway in Stokes County, NC -- threw up an ad on Facebook earlier this week for "Bubba Rope."

In the post -- which has since been deleted -- Fulp wrote, "Buy your Bubba Rope today for only $9.99 each, they come with a lifetime warranty and work great.’’

The ad was immediately hit with backlash ... with people outraged over the insensitivity, considering everything Bubba Wallace had just gone through regarding a garage rope pulldown at Talledega Superspeedway over the weekend.

A spokesperson for NC Governor Roy Cooper ripped the post apart in a statement to the Winston-Salem Journal, saying, "This incident of racism is horrific and shameful."

"North Carolina is better than this.''

Hundreds of people also took to social media to blast Fulp ... calling him a racist and threatening to boycott his track's events.

Multiple attempts to reach Fulp for comment by multiple news outlets have been unsuccessful.

Per the Winston-Salem Journal, NAACP officials are now looking to see if bringing criminal charges against Fulp over the post is a possibility.

"It is horrible that someone would post something of that nature," Reidsville NAACP chapter president Jeff Crisp said. "It's just absolutely unnecessary in these times of tension."

An event at Fulp's 311 Speedway, titled "America We Stand" on Facebook, is still scheduled to take place Saturday night.

Customers inside a Target store were sent running for their lives after a man intentionally drove his car into the retail giant, planted fake explosives and live streamed himself in the act.

It all went down in Hammond, Louisiana Friday where cops say Walter Allbritton III used his SUV to plow through the front doors of the store before crashing into a register. A man recording the crash immediately ran through the Target warning other customers to run and get out.

Allbritton went live on Facebook to record the crash and allegedly dropped a fake explosive device in the store once his vehicle stopped.

The incident triggered a massive police response and after arresting Allbritton, cops allegedly found fake explosive devices at multiple other scenes around the area.

He's been hit with a ton of charges including terrorism, attempted aggravated arson, aggravated assault with a vehicle and manufacturing and possession of a delayed action incendiary device.

Sean Reed's father is afraid his son's police-involved shooting death will be swept under the rug, and the officers who opened fire won't be held accountable.

Sean's pops, Jamie Reed, tells TMZ ... he is afraid his son's name is being overshadowed by all the attention surrounding George Floyd and the nationwide protests, and fears it could spell doom in his quest for justice.

Mr. Reed makes it clear he is NOT knocking the protests or outrage over Floyd's death. However, it's been more than a month since his son was gunned down in Indianapolis, while live streaming, and he's concerned Sean's case isn't getting the spotlight it deserves.

Jamie hopes people won't forget Sean was shot dead by Indy cops, because if attention on the case fades, it will be too easy for the officers involved to quietly get off the hook.

Sean's dad says his son's case helped kick-start the country's renewed focus on police brutality, and he sees it as a big reason why people are once again looking into alleged police brutality and corruption.

Sean's father hopes his son's legacy will be the reason for fundamental change in the Indianapolis Police Department, and other PDs across the country, and he's encouraged by the fact there are still protests and gatherings at the scene of Sean's death.

Oprah Winfrey wasn't supposed to be the commencement speaker for this year's graduates, but she's trying to inspire the Class of 2020 to rise above their unprecedented circumstances.

O addressed high school and college graduates across the U.S. Friday as part of Facebook's plan to honor graduating students in lieu of physical ceremonies, which have been canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Oprah acknowledged this is not the graduation any of them envisioned but said that's what makes them special ... heading into a real-world filled with even more uncertainty than usual.

She tells them ... "Never has a graduating class been called to step into the future with more purpose, vision, passion and energy and hope."

Friday's event was hosted by Mindy Kaling and B.J. Novak and also featured appearances by DJ Khaled, Cardi B, Awkwafina, Lil Nas X, John Mayer, Matthew McConaughey, Miley Cyrus and many more.

Oprah's inspirational for sure. If we can offer a few words of our own ... with every crisis comes opportunity. There will be new ways of living, conducting business and socializing. For graduates who had plans that were torpedoed by the virus, figure out where there's a hole in the marketplace -- where you can provide a service of value. The reality in crisis ... ingenuity usually rules.

Barack Obama's slated to speak Saturday, and it all leads up to National Graduation Day on May 17.

An NBA photog claims LeBron James stole his picture and posted it on social media without permission ... and now, the guy is PISSED, suing the Lakers superstar looking for payment.

The photographer's name is Steven Mitchell ... and he says back on Dec. 13, 2019, he shot a SICK photo of LBJ dunking on Meyers Leonard in a Lakers vs. Heat game in Miami.

The problem? Mitchell says he noticed LeBron took the image shortly after the game and threw it up on his Instagram and Facebook pages without Mitchell's consent.

Some photogs don't mind the publicity ... and Bron was clearly appreciative of the art, captioning the pic, "What.A.Time.To.Be.Alive and I’m LIVING with Pure Joy! Thank you 🏀."

But, Mitchell clearly wasn't happy LeBron didn't reach out first ... and now, he's suing the NBA legend.

According to court docs obtained by TMZ Sports, Mitchell is asking for any cash LeBron might have made off the post. Alternatively, Mitchell's seeking up to $150k for each time Bron used the pic.

Dope pic, though.

We reached out to Bron's camp for comment -- so far, no word back.

Ninja, ZeRo, Ronda Rousey???

Yep, the WWE Superstar just inked a deal with Facebook Gaming ... and Rousey is set to stream exclusively on FB.

Ronda made the announcement on Thursday ... saying, “Gaming has always been a huge part of my life, and I can’t wait to share that passion with my millions of fans on Facebook Gaming. Through my streams, people can hang out with the real me, not the ‘character’ version of myself they’re used to seeing, though the ‘Rowdy One’ can’t always be contained.”

“In recent years, games have been a great way for me to keep my mind active when my body is too sore or tired to move."

"One of my favorite gaming memories happened when I was 11 years old and encountered an Articuno on Pokemon Blue for the first time. I was awestruck and thought she looked like an angel," Rousey says.

"Looking back at that same image now, I’m amazed how powerful our imaginations can be and how gaming encourages us to imagine what our reality could be instead of just accepting it for what it is—a skill that has helped me in my fighting and entertainment careers countless times.”

Facebook has been heavy into gaming lately ... signing some of the biggest gamers to 7-figure deals -- and they obviously see Ronda as someone with a huge audience and credibility as a gamer.

Remember, Rousey is in Mortal Kombat 11 ... where she plays the iconic character, Sonya Blade.

Mark Zuckerberg has more money than one could ever possibly spend, but he's still pinching pennies ... and his hunt for a bargain brought him to Costco.

Check out this pic of the Facebook founder and CEO in the TV aisle of the budget store in Mountain View, CA ... it's not exactly the place you'd expect to find a multi-billionaire. He seems to be in the market for a monitor.

Seems Zuck's just like the 99 percent -- aside from his estimated net worth of $77.7 BILLION -- looking for a deal during a holiday shopping spree.

Most members of the three comma club would send an assistant to handle such pedestrian tasks, but not Mark ... instead, he's rolling up his sleeves and braving the outside world with his wife, Priscilla Chan.

No word if Mark and Priscilla also hit up Ross Dress For Less -- there's one in the same shopping mall -- we're guessing they got their fill of bargains at Costco.