Hello fellow citizens of the internet! Andrew here. Welcome to today’s edition of web_crawlr.
Our top stories today are about: A woman finding a “crispy” cockroach in her blow-dryer, how Donald Trump Jr.’s X account was hacked and posted about his dad dying, a look at some of the most popular conspiracy theory memes, and how the FTC flubbed its chance to freeze Microsoft’s Blizzard Activision acquisition.
After that, we’ve got a “Reporter’s Notebook” Q&A with our Investigative Reporter Claire about one her recent scoops.
See you tomorrow!
— A.W.
⚡ Today’s top stories
🐜 WTF
‘He was crispy when he fell out’: Woman finds cockroach in blow-dryer
A woman’s bad hair day became a lot worse when she found a cockroach in her blow-dryer.
🔓 POLITICS
‘Trump has passed away:’ Don Jr.’s X account appears to have been hacked
The account briefly took aim at President Joe Biden, North Korea, and even Logan Paul.
🔎 CONSPIRACY
These conspiracy theory memes will make you want to believe
Here’s a look at some of the more popular types of conspiracy theory memes you’ll come across in your travels through the internet.
🎮 TECH
How the FTC flubbed its chance to freeze Microsoft’s Blizzard Activision acquisition
Here’s the latest.
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📝 Behind The Scenes
The Daily Dot publishes scoops all the time, but we thought it would be fun to give you a look behind-the-scenes at how these stories get published. The best part? Only web_crawlr subscribers like you get to read it.
Today, we are chatting with our Investigations Reporter Claire Goforth about her recent deep dive into a private Facebook group dedicated to hating the modern farmhouse design style.
If you want to read behind-the-scenes Q&As like this, subscribe to web_crawlr here.
🕸️ Crawling the web
Here is what else is happening across the ‘net.
☕ A Starbucks worker shared one of the only drinks that wakes her up in the morning so that she can feel energized throughout her workday, and spoiler alert: It’s not your regular cup of joe.
📷 This worker who recently applied for a remote job went viral after sharing that a prospective employer required employees to always have their camera on.
🧊 A user on TikTok has a piece of advice for viewers: clean your ice makers.
🚘 1.6 million people have watched this viral video where a woman says she caught a Toyota salesman talking bad about her.
🍔 A former McDonald’s corporate chef went viral after sharing a “steamed bun” hack for customers of the fast-food chain.
🥪 “We’re going to have Jersey Mike’s at home.” That’s what one TikToker thought when she decided to hit the grocery store rather than the popular submarine sandwich chain. Unfortunately, she didn’t consider rising grocery prices and walked out with a whopping $60 receipt.
🌲 An ex-Aramark worker went viral for exposing the reality behind her summer job at Yosemite National Park.
👶 From the Daily Dot archive: The many lives of the Dancing Baby,cyberspace’s first cringe meme.
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👋 Before you go
A user on TikTok has gone viral for sharing how he enacted revenge on his landlord after the property owner reported his car to the city for parking in front of their property.
In a video with over 983,000 views, TikTok user Jer (@confused_millennial) recounts the full experience.
“So my landlords called the city on me. I got a ticket for parking in front of their house,” he explains. “They’re going to love it when I call Revenue Canada and let them know that they have an illegal basement suite that I pay cash for so they don’t have to claim rental property on their taxes every year.”
“Play with fire, get burned,” he concludes.
