Hello fellow citizens of the internet! Andrew here. Welcome to today’s edition of web_crawlr.
Happy Friday! Anyone doing anything fun this weekend?
Our top stories today are about: A Spectrum customer getting a router delivered to them that was infested with roaches, how the push for public broadband just got a big new (and familiar) person to join the cause, how a woman went viral after showing how her landlord who stole her security deposit asked her out on Hinge, and how an anti-trans medical group left its entire membership list exposed online.
After that, we’ve got a “This Week on the Internet” column from our Culture Editor Tiffany.
Finally, since its Friday, that means it is time for our weekly news quiz! If you answer the question below correctly, you’ll be entered to win our “Blogs in Bloom” shirt. Good luck!
— A.W.
⚡ Today’s top stories
🐜 WTF
‘Somebody had to see that before they shipped it out’: Spectrum customer receives router with a live roach colony inside
People have a lot of strong opinions on internet service providers—many of them negative. But one person’s gripe with Spectrum isn’t about cost, it’s about getting a router infested with roaches.
🌐 INTERNET RIGHTS
Gigi Sohn’s post-FCC-fiasco job will be directing funding to public broadband
The push for public broadband just got a big new name.
👀 VIRAL
‘Only if you’ll give me the security deposit back’: Woman says her former landlord asked her out on Hinge
You never know who you’ll find on a dating app, like one woman learned when her old landlord who stole her security deposit asked her out.
💻 TECH
Anti-trans medical group leaves entire membership list exposed online
An anti-LGBTQ doctors’ organization left over 10,000 sensitive files unsecured online, exposing everything from a decade’s worth of emails to the group’s secretive membership list.
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🗣️ This Week on the Internet
The internet really doesn’t like surprise brunch guests
In each edition of web_crawlr we have exclusive original content every day. On Fridays our Senior Culture Editor Tiffany Kelly recaps the most pressing online discourse of the week in her “This Week On The Internet” column. If you want to read columns like this before everyone else, subscribe to web_crawlr to get your daily scoop of internet culture delivered straight to you inbox.
🕸️ Crawling the web
Here is what else is happening across the ‘net.
🔥 This isn’t something you see everyday. A Burger King customer waiting in line was able to film how workers were handling an oven that caught on fire.
🍦 A viral video showing a mother letting her child order at the drive-thru at Dairy Queen has sparked a lot of backlash (and enjoyment) from people online.
🍟 A TikTok video showcasing a McDonald’s “hack” has gone viral, amassing over 452,800 views, but leaving many viewers disappointed.
🍕 For everyone who orders pizza before noon, this Domino’s worker has a PSA for you.
🎁 Splurge on the superwoman in your life with help from the ultimate Mother’s Day gift guide.*
🌴 Amid the ongoing job economy insecurity, a TikTok video went viral, shedding light on a clash between a worker and their supervisor over paid time off (PTO).
🦠 From the Daily Dot archive: Here are the viral marketing campaigns that helped shape the internet as we know it.
🖊️ This worker has sparked discussion after claiming he was written up while at work for misspelling his co-workers’ names on a whiteboard.
*The Daily Dot may receive a commission in connection with purchases of products or services featured here.
📅 Meme of the Week
With the release of the Dune: Part 2 trailer this week, Dune memes are officially back!
🎶 Now Playing: “Grapevine” by Weyes Blood 🎶