Hello fellow citizens of the internet! Andrew here. Welcome to today’s edition of web_crawlr.
Our top stories today are about: A tenant going viral for showing how she found a snake skin on top of her kitchen cabinet, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) claiming Georgia is pushing for the death penalty for Trump (it isn’t), a viral video sharing the secret of why ballpark hot dogs taste so good, and rumors swirling that Twitter (or X) is going to require ID verification soon.
After that, we are going behind-the-scenes here at the Daily Dot with a “Reporter’s Notebook” Q&A with a familiar face: Claire Goforth, our investigative reporter. She’s sharing with you the reporting process of her second story for the Daily Dot’s new Hi-Res reporting division.
One last thing: If you didn’t take our weekly news quiz yesterday, there’s still time to take it! Just open yesterday’s newsletter and answer the question. If you guess correctly, you might win a “Hot Blog Summer” shirt.
See you on Monday!
— A.W.
⚡ Today’s top stories
🐍 WTF
Tenant finds snake skin on top of kitchen cabinet. She hasn’t found the snake
“So I’m making breakfast, and I just woke up, and I’m like, ‘What is that? That’s weird,’” she says, referring to the hanging object. She then pulls the object down, revealing it to be a molted snakeskin.
🗳️ POLITICS
Marjorie Taylor Greene claims Georgia is pushing for the death penalty for Trump—as she angles for VP slot
Trump isn’t facing the death penalty.
🌭 VIRAL
The secret to why ballpark hotdogs taste so good, revealed
In a viral video, a parent shares an easy hack for making at-home hotdogs taste like what you get at a ballpark.
🖥️ TECH
‘NO ONE ASKED FOR THIS’: Rumors swirl Twitter is going to require ID verification soon
The feature would reportedly ask users to upload a photo ID and take a live selfie.
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📝 Behind the Scenes
By Claire Goforth
Investigative Reporter
The “Reporter’s Notebook” column gives you a glimpse into the reporting process of major Daily Dot scoops and is exclusive to subscribers of web_crawlr. If you want to read behind-the-scenes content like this, subscribe to web_crawlr here.
🕸️ Crawling the web
Here is what else is happening across the ‘net.
🍴 This Chipotle customer is getting a lot of attention online after claiming that they take monthly trips to the restaurant to “restock” on forks and napkins.
☕ A user on TikTok has sparked discussion after claiming he received “dirty looks all morning” after sitting down at a table at Starbucks. The reason? He was seated at the accessible table.
👀 A customer service worker went viral for sharing tips on how to annoy customers while remaining professional.
🚗 This customer alleges that Nissan dealerships are scamming their customers, and she asks viewers for advice on buying a car in 2023.
🪑 After a video of a customer eating alone went viral, viewers were quick to point out that there’s nothing wrong with a table-for-one after a woman was unknowingly recorded looking “sad” at a restaurant.
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🏳️⚧️ We want to hear from trans teens!
In light of the legislative battles and increased attacks on transgender rights, the Daily Dot’s IRL team is taking a pulse of trans and nonbinary teens ages 13-20. Our reporting team is looking for transgender and/or non-binary teens to answer a poll about coming out to their parents.
Have you told your parents you’re transgender and/or non-binary? If so, how did they react? And how did you tell them?
You can answer our survey anonymously. If you’d like to speak further, you can give us your email and we’ll be in touch.
👋 Before you go
A user’s clip on TikTok has gone viral and sparked discussion after alleging that her manager read her private messages and forwarded them to other co-workers.
Employers reading worker messages is nothing new. Earlier this year, a TikTok user virally warned employees that their employer can, in certain cases, read their Slack messages, even those that are considered private.
Now, an Australian TikToker has alleged that she experienced a similar privacy violation after lending her manager her personal laptop after her manager’s laptop broke.
“She read my messages with my boss and sent them to other staff,” says TikTok user Ocean (@oocean.e) in a video with over 883,000 views.
