Hello fellow web crawlers! Kira here. Welcome to today’s edition of web_crawlr.
Today’s top stories are about: a new online concept known as Dorito Theory, the surprising number of Americans who believe in the Joe Biden/Taylor Swift conspiracy theory, the internet’s response to Russian nukes in space, and the cast announcement for Marvel’s ‘Fantastic Four’ movie.
After that, check out our trending team’s “Main Character of the Week” column.
And don’t forget our weekly news quiz down below. If you guess the question correctly, you’ll be entered to win a web_crawlr t-shirt.
Until next time,
— K.D.
We crawl the web so you don’t have to. Sign up to receive web_crawlr, a daily newsletter from the Daily Dot, in your inbox each day.
⚡ Today’s top stories
🍟 VIRAL
‘One thing I can’t stop thinking about’: Woman believes she’s discovered the ‘Dorito Theory.’ Is she onto something?
The theory captures why we engage with products that leave their users unsatisfied.
🇺🇸 CONSPIRACIES
Almost 20% of Americans now think Taylor Swift is secretly colluding with Joe Biden to steer the 2024 election
It’s the hottest conspiracy of 2024.
💣 POLITICS
How a vague warning about a ‘national security threat’ turned into a panic over Russian nukes in space
That escalated fast.
🎬 POP CULTURE
After years of fan speculation, Marvel Studios just announced the official ‘Fantastic Four’ cast in the most casual way possible
Pedro Pascal, Joseph Quinn, Vanessa Kirby, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach are suiting up for the new film.
✏️ Take our weekly news quiz!
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If you answer correctly, you’ll be entered to win a web_crawlr shirt, and we’ll shout out five people who won the shirt!
WHICH CELEBRITY WAS ACCUSED OF BEING A DEMON AFTER ATTENDING THE SUPER BOWL?
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👑 Main Character of the Week
By Ramon Ramirez
Managing Editor
Main Character of the Week: The lemon tree woman
Main Character of the Week is a weekly column that tells you the most prominent “main character” online (good or bad). It runs on Fridays in the Daily Dot’s web_crawlr newsletter. If you want to get this column a day before we publish it, subscribe to web_crawlr, where you’ll get the daily scoop of internet culture delivered straight to your inbox.
🕸️ Crawling the web
Here is what else is happening across the ‘net.
🍔 An advertisement for a burger has gone viral on X. The catch? The ad’s not actually selling anything.
💗 Biden tried to connect with the youth on TikTok on Valentine’s Day. It backfired.
🍰 A baker debunked a common misconception that red velvet cake is the same as chocolate cake.
🍟 A woman on TikTok discovered the true meaning of ‘turn halfway through cooking’ instruction on frozen french fries.
💳 A TikTok user was shocked to discover her credit score went down after paying off her debt.
🧇 A Waffle House worker shared how much she made in tips during a single shift. The number might surprise you.
💰 From the Daily Dot archive: How a cryptocurrency fortune crippled a deceased billionaire’s estate.
👋 Before you go
DevOps company Gitlab posts many of its Zoom meetings onto its Gitlab Unfiltered YouTube channel, including product marketing meetings, product team meetings, technical meetings, and company workshops.
But some of those videos have become a method by which people trick their families and co-workers into looking like they’re working.
“So GitLab posts their internal Zoom call recordings on YouTube, and some have HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS of views…” posted @pronounced_kyle on X on Tuesday.
In the comments section of the video, users revealed that they use the Zoom recordings to pretend to be working. “Sometimes when I need to get away from the kids for a bit… I turn this on and close the door,” commented one person last year.
