Hello fellow web crawlers! Andrew here. Welcome to today’s edition of web_crawlr.
Our top stories today are about: Pictures of former President Trump looking oddly slim sparking accusations that he’s taking a popular weight loss drug, a worker claiming that they called out sick only to wake up and see their boss at the foot of their bed, hackers spending stolen church funds on inflatable sea lions after a pastor called out President Biden, and a look at Mercury Retrograde memes.
After that, our Senior Politics and Technology Editor David has a “Deplatformed” column for you.
See you tomorrow!
— A.W.
⚡ Today’s top stories
🤨 POLITICS
Recent pictures of Trump looking oddly slim spark Ozempic accusations
Former President Donald Trump appeared considerably slimmer in recent photos. Trump, who was met with immense fatphobia during his presidency, is now facing speculation that he is taking super popular weight loss drugs.
🛏️ LABOR
‘My hands really be trembling’: Worker calls out sick, wakes up to boss at the foot of her bed
This utter invasion of privacy by a boss will have your skin scrawling. The worker said the interaction haunts her to this day.
💻 TECH
Furry hackers spend stolen church funds on inflatable sea lions after pastor calls out Biden
SiegedSec, the hacking group allegedly compromised of “gay furries,” claims to have breached a U.S.-based church and used its funds to purchase at least 100 inflatable sea lions.
🌌 MEMES
‘Happy Mercury Retrograde in Aries’: Rounding up the best memes now that Mercury is officially retrograde
Are people making memes about Mercury Retrograde? Of course they are!
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🎓 Learn to internet
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🚉 Deplatformed
By David Covucci
Politics & Technology Editor
Deplatformed: Jack Black: Would you?
Deplatformed is a weekly column that looks into the nether reaches of the internet—outside the big few that everyone already covers—to tell you the political discourse online. It runs on Thursdays 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.
🎂 A mom took to TikTok to call out Whole Foods for “ruining” her son’s first birthday, but she probably didn’t anticipate the wave of reactions her story would trigger.
🌮 In a viral video, a popular Taco Bell worker revealed “the best addition they’ve ever made.”
🗑️ This grocery store customer went viral after catching Glad trash bag shrinkflation “red-handed.”
🚙 A Nissan driver posted a PSA to drivers who own or are looking to buy new vehicles, warning them that mechanics may not be able to work on their cars anymore.
💵 Is cash a thing of the past? One customer’s recent experience at Chipotle has her thinking so.
📝 Question of the Day
Everyone’s got opinions, and we want to know yours. Just click a button below to answer the question, and tomorrow we will let you know how fellow web crawlers like you answered.
HAVE YOU BEEN WATCHING MARCH MADNESS?
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👋 Before you go
A Hilton Hotels & Resorts valet worker was caught taking a customer’s car for a joy ride and is allegedly unemployed as a result.
In a viral video that has amassed over 5.7 million views and more than 715,600 likes, TikToker and neurosurgeon Betsy Grunch, MD (@ladyspinedoc) shared the dashcam footage that caught the disturbing behavior.
“Just curious how you guys would feel if someone was driving your car like this in a valet parking lot?” the woman asked.
As she spoke, dashcam footage of a car speeding through a parking lot played in the background.
