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Hello fellow citizens of the internet! Andrew here. Welcome to today’s edition of Internet Insider.
Happy Friday! We’ve got all kinds of news for you today, ranging from a “historic” net neutrality win in California, to a review of Dr. Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
Plus, our Culture Editor Tiffany Kelly delves into how bad the Roe v. Wade discourse was online in her “This Week On The Internet” column. Also, scroll down for even more internet culture news and Tiffany’s pick for “Meme of the Week.”
Enough from me, let’s get right into the news.
— A.W.
SCOTUS: Right-wingers online are continuing to take it upon themselves to out the person they believe was behind the leak of a draft decision that said the Supreme Court would overturn Roe v. Wade. Several people have blamed clerks after searching around online based purely on speculation. Our Politics Editor David Covucci breaks it all down here.
NET NEUTRALITY: Trade groups representing internet service providers ended their lawsuit against California’s “gold standard” net neutrality law. That decision ends a years long legal battle over the law and is being hailed as a “historic win for Californians and the open internet.” Check out our full report here.
MULTIVERSE OF MESSINESS: The latest installment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Dr. Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, comes out today… and well, our Culture Reporter Gavia wasn’t exactly fond of it, calling it a “messy, thematically vacant Marvel spinoff.” You can read all of her review of the film here.
The discourse around the Roe v. Wade leak is bad
Since the news broke Monday night of a leaked draft opinion showing the Supreme Court voting to overturn Roe v. Wade—the 1973 decision that allows women the right to have an abortion in the U.S.—the discourse online has become a mess.
Among all the feelings of sadness and anger, there is a lot of blaming going on.
Blame on Trump for appointing three conservative Supreme Court justices. Blame on Obama and Biden for not codifying Roe v. Wade into law—as the latter said he would in 2019. Blame on people who did not support Hillary Clinton in the 2016 election, especially actress Susan Sarandon. People are also blaming Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who died in 2020, for not stepping down. There are probably several others I’m missing.
The point is that people are looking to blame this heartbreaking news on one person or a group of people. While there are some people who deserve to be blamed for stripping away peoples’ rights—namely the justices if they vote in favor of overturning Roe v. Wade in the final decision—coming up with a list of people from the past decade to also blame this on is not exactly helpful. All it does is add a bunch of noise.
In a statement, Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. confirmed the authenticity of the draft, though he clarified that “it does not represent a decision by the Court or the final position of any member on the issues in the case.” But if Roe v. Wade is indeed overturned next month, it will let individual states decide whether to allow abortion. And abortion is already being heavily restricted across southern states; we could potentially see these states completely ban abortion.
It’s a lot to process, and that’s why we’re seeing so many debates happen on social media this week.
But the main aspect we should focus on is how to fight back and how to ensure that pregnant people have access to the healthcare they need—and, yes, that includes abortion.
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👀 TODAY ONLINE
Here are some key dispatches from across the ‘net.
🍽️ This comedian says she experienced the “worst first date ever” after a man invited her over for dinner and proceeded to put his “wiener on a plate.”
👗 Kim Kardashian wore the same dress Marilyn Monroe wore in 1962 to the Met Gala earlier this week and apparently needed to lose 16 pounds to fit into it. Her doing so sparked debate about how the Kardashian industrial complex has set impossible, damaging beauty standards.
💼 A TikToker has gone viral for recounting in a video how half of her co-workers quit, including the person who was training her, during her first week on the job.
💸 In a viral video, a man says his trailer park community is becoming unaffordable to its residents due to new property requirements introduced by its owner. The owner is “making it so people can’t afford to fucking live her anymore,” he says in the video.
🥝 Vickaboox shares how she cultivated a “community of little sisters” on TikTok. Want more stories like this? Sign up for Passionfruit, the Daily Dot’s weekly creator economy newsletter, for more coverage
🎥 Staying in this weekend? These are the best movies to help you turn your movie night into a party on your couch.*
📜 When you think of the early days of the internet, what does that look like to you? In “The Lost History of the Internet” the Daily Dot explores the online communities and events that shaped us.
🍪 A former employee of Crumbl Cookies said she quit the company because it doesn’t “value employees” in a series of viral videos.
*The Daily Dot may receive a commission in connection with purchases of products or services featured here.
📅 MEME OF THE WEEK
There’s a new Marvel movie out, so you know what that means: A meme parodying how much homework you have to do to watch the movie.
Now Playing: 🎶“Feels Blind” by Bikini Kill🎶
