Newsletter: Wildfire rent spike sparks landlord ‘name and shame’ campaign

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Hello fellow web crawlers! Andrew here. Welcome to today’s edition of web_crawlr. 

Our top stories today are about: How internet users are pledging to “name and shame” landlords who attempted to profit off the L.A. wildfires, why people are disgusted by the idea of Elon Musk buying TikTok, why a cake smashing video has sparked a ton of discourse, and 25 of the funniest celebrity deleted tweets of all time. 

After that, our Assistant Newsletter Editor Kira has a “Decoding Fandom” column for you. 

See you tomorrow! 

— A.W. 

Today in Internet Culture

‘NAME AND SHAME’
Zillow price hikes on L.A. rentals used to ‘name and shame’ landlords attempting to profit off fires

The incidents of price gouging prompted calls to “name and shame” the landlords significantly raising prices.

➤READ MORE

TECH
‘Worse than banning it’: TikTok gags over news Musk might buy it

TikTok users are wary of the prospect of a Musk-owned TikTok, with some people pointing to the shake-ups X underwent when Musk bought out Twitter and rebranded it.

➤READ MORE

VIRAL
Viral cake smash video sparks debate over whether woman’s reaction to ruined photo was too extreme

A video of what looks like a playful date night joke gone “smashingly” wrong has gone viral, with some shedding light on darker connections to abuse it may or may not be associated with. 

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POP CULTURE
25 of the funniest deleted celebrity tweets of all time

From cryptic messages to impulsive rants, celebrities often learn the hard way that what happens on the internet, stays on the internet—forever.

➤READ MORE

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By Kira Deshler
Assistant Newsletter Editor

Comic fans sound off about Superman’s new look in upcoming film

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.

UPDATE: A Daily Dot story we published earlier this month about Vogue Pakistan’s Instagram account has caused a stir. Meta removed nearly all social media accounts belonging to the publishers accused of impersonating international media companies. The story seems to have caused the Daily Dot’s website to be blocked by certain internet service providers. 

Russell Crowe saying ‘I don’t even think you really know what a bad day is’ has gone viral online.

If you’ve been topping off your tank at the pump consider this your warning. Do not overfill your gas tank.

In a viral video, a man revealed the ‘ultimate’ seasoning hack for when you’re running out of Old Bay and Mrs. Dash.

Got any Amazon returns on your to-do list? Make sure this doesn’t happen to you. This creator explains why they were charged for an item although they say they returned it.

From the Daily Dot archive: Here’s a look at the wild history of fanfic censorship. 

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 SEEN THE TRAILER FOR THE UPCOMING JAMES GUNN ‘SUPERMAN’ MOVIE?

To answer questions like this in the future, sign up for web_crawlr here.

Today’s Viral Video

The calls to ban AI are growing louder amid the Los Angeles wildfire. 

Now Playing: “Kryptonite” by 3 Doors Down