Newsletter: 🚗 No, Kamala Harris didn’t paralyze a child

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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 Trump’s online army is pushing a fake story about Kamala Harris paralyzing a child, an explainer of what “GIFTok” is, a customer sparking discussion about the size of Starbucks cups, and a woman going viral for claiming that a school misplaced her child. 

After that, our Senior Reporter Tricia has a “Digital Democracy” column for you. 

See you tomorrow! 

— A.W. 

⚡ Today in Internet Culture

🚗 DEBUNK
Trump’s all-star meme team launders disinfo campaign that Kamala Harris paralyzed a child

As many began to dig, it quickly became apparent that the allegation was part of an elaborate attempt to stir up chaos amid the election season.

➤ READ MORE

📱 TRENDS
What is GIFTok? TikTok’s latest trend, explained

GIFTok is a new trend wherein TikTokers post videos of the same clip on repeat that they claim to be GIFs, often with the clip being slowed down in subsequent versions as a humorous nudge. 

➤ READ MORE

☕ CONSUMER COMPLAINTS 
‘I KNEW IT WAS DIFFERENT’: Is Starbucks scamming customers with its new tall cups?

A man recently went viral on TikTok with a skit concerning the new tall Starbucks cups, and whether or not they are a “rip-off.”

➤ READ MORE

🏫 WTF
‘I go to pick him up just to get told my child was absent’: Woman says school misplaced her child

A mother says she found out her Kindergarten-aged son’s school marked him absent when she arrived to pick him up after school. The problem: She had dropped him off at the school herself that morning and watched him walk into the building.

➤ READ MORE

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By Tricia Crimmins
Senior Reporter

‘This is Handmaids Tale’: DeSantis accused of voter intimidation over abortion ballot measure

In each edition of web_crawlr we have exclusive original content every day. On Tuesdays our Senior Reporter Tricia Crimmins explains the legislation that is captivating the internet in her “Digital Democracy” 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.

🥨 This is not a joke: Auntie Anne’s is launching a new perfume that smells like their pretzels.

💵 In a viral video, a CVS customer says that her young cashier didn’t know to count back change. Here’s why commenters are on the cashier’s side.

🛍️ Are low DoorDash orders a sign of a looming recession? A DoorDash driver seems to think so. She’s ringing the alarm after noticing a sharp decline in food delivery orders.

✈️ A group of American Airlines passengers alleged the airline dropped them off in the Bahamas on a domestic flight. As many did not have their passports, this left them no way to exit the terminal for around seven hours.

🥤 A TikToker said that she paid $3.03 for a large Diet Coke at McDonald’s, sparking discourse about where to score an affordable soda as prices continue to soar.

💻 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 GO TO STARBUCKS OFTEN? 

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🤳 Today’s Viral Video

We need Al Roker on TV for as long as possible. 

🎶 Now Playing: “High On You” by Buzzy Lee 🎶