if ( ! empty( $args['after'] ) || ! empty( $args['before'] ) ) {
            $args['after']  = empty( $args['after'] ) ? '0000-00-00' : $args['after'];
            $args['before'] = empty( $args['before'] ) ? current_time( 'mysql', 1 ) : $args['before'];

            $date_created = "AND `date_created_gmt` BETWEEN STR_TO_DATE('" . esc_sql( $args['after'] ) . "', '%Y-%m-%d %H:%i:%s') and STR_TO_DATE('" . esc_sql( $args['before'] ) . "', '%Y-%m-%d %H:%i:%s')";