The internet is chaotic—but we’ll break it down for you in one daily email. Sign up for the Daily Dot’s web_crawlr newsletter here to get the best (and worst) of the internet straight into your inbox.
Hello fellow web crawlers! Andrew here. Welcome to today’s edition of web_crawlr.
Our top stories today are about: A Wells Fargo customer going viral for warning about a sophisticated bank scam that cost her $25,000, RFK’s campaign really leaning in to the brain worms discourse, a look at the “reality shifting” TikTok trend, and why people online are blaming Megan Fox for the “bottom teeth talker” phenomenon.
After that, our Assistant Newsletter Editor Kira has a “Decoding Fandom” column for you.
See you tomorrow!
— A.W.
⚡ Today in internet culture
💸 SCAM WARNING
‘I suddenly had this gut feeling’: Wells Fargo customer loses $25K to sophisticated bank scam. She says the bank isn’t helping
A woman is distraught that she’s lost $25,000 of her hard-earned small business money, in a scam in which she claims she thought she was stopping a wire transfer but was actually enabling one.
🧠 WORM-GATE
RFK Jr.’s campaign leans into brain worm revelation, considers ‘uncensored scientific research platform’ on brainworm.com
Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s running mate, California lawyer Nicole Shanahan, is not shying away from the revelation that Kennedy once suffered from a brain-eating parasitic worm.
👥 VIRAL TRENDS
What is ‘reality shifting?’ The TikTok trend, explained
Can you convince your body to switch to another reality? Some TikTok users believe so.
🦷 POP CULTURE
‘I’m mortified’: TikTok is blaming Megan Fox for ‘bottom teeth talker’ phenomenon
The Transformers actress has people questioning their entire existence.
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.
⭐ Decoding Fandom
By Kira Deshler
Assistant Newsletter Editor
‘Our Flag Means Death’ fans launch #DontStreamOnMax campaign, want David Zaslav fired
In each edition of web_crawlr we have exclusive original content every day. On Wednesdays our Assistant Newsletter Editor Kira Deshler dives deep into the world of fan culture in her “Decoding Fandom” column. If you want to read columns like this before everyone else, subscribe to web_crawlr to get your daily scoop of internet culture delivered straight to your inbox.
🕸️ Crawling the web
Here is what else is happening across the ‘net.
💰 A recently settled class action lawsuit against Walmart means that shoppers could be entitled to a payday.
🗣️ This Ace Hardware customer says a worker was rude to her after she denied his help with lifting a bag of soil.
🍪 In a viral video, a woman compares the new Crumbl mini cookies with the regular Crumbl cookies. She’s suspicious.
🚗 An auto repair shop that regularly goes viral for its TikTok videos is at it again. This time, its mechanics reveal what tire brands they trust—and which ones they don’t.
🌴 A Sandals Resorts customer says she and her husband were robbed on their honeymoon in St. Lucia. When they reported the infraction, she says they were told they should have used the room’s safe to secure their valuables.
💍 This viral video, where a bride-to-be says her wedding venue suddenly closed just after cashing her $7,000 check, is getting a lot of attention online.
💻 From the Daily Dot archive: Can we ever get back the excitement of logging on?
📝 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.
DO YOU THINK YOU COULD FALL FOR A BANK SCAM?
To answer questions like this in the future, sign up for web_crawlr here.
👋 Before you go
In a viral TikTok video, a former hotel worker, Lusea (@Lusea), says hotels often cut corners when it comes to cleaning rooms. Lusea shares that she worked at a major un-named chain hotel when she was younger and alleges that hotels don’t wash comforters.
“Staying at a hotel is one of the nastiest things you can do. I don’t care how ritzy it is. Corners will be cut,” she alleges.
She then shares a list of reasons why hotels are the “nastiest.”
🎶 Now Playing: “Avalanche” by Leonard Cohen 🎶
