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Main Header Menu

The Daily Dot

Mustafa Gatollari has been an internet culture writer for over a decade. He has a passion for connecting what’s trending on social media to solid research—helping to separate clout-chasing claims from facts.

Mustafa Gatollari

Hand holding glass filling with water from faucet(l), Reddit post(c), Tip jar with money(r)

‘We don’t have water’: Customer removes 15% automatic gratuity after restaurant refuses to give him tap water

Marlon Ettinger writes about politics, crime, and culture.

Marlon Ettinger

‘I would have guessed like 12’: DocuSign layoffs have the internet shook (again) about how many people work at DocuSign

Jay Hathaway is a former senior writer who specialized in internet memes and weird online culture. He previously served as the Daily Dot’s news editor, was a staff writer at Gawker, and edited the classic websites Urlesque and Download Squad. His work has also appeared on nymag.com, suicidegirls.com, and the Morning News.

Jay Hathaway

Memes

The Virgin vs Chad meme, explained

Restaurant calls itself a 'no-tip establishment.' But it's charging a 17.5% service fee to pay workers

‘So a mandatory tip’: Restaurant calls itself a ‘no-tip establishment.’ But it’s charging a 17.5% service fee to pay workers

Maya Wray was a Fall 2022 FOIA intern for the Daily Dot. She is currently a senior at the University of Texas at Austin, where she studies journalism in the Moody College Honors Program. She has written for the Daily Texan and the Austin Chronicle.

Maya Wray

Starbucks worker shows the state of the cold brew machine at their store

‘Welp, not drinking cold brew anymore. Thank you’: Starbucks worker shows the state of the cold brew machine at their store

Tiffanie Drayton is a geek culture and lifestyle reporter whose work covers everything from gender and race to anime and Xbox. Her work has appeared in Complex, Salon, Marie Claire, and elsewhere.

Tiffanie Drayton

Store questions customer's decision to leave no tip

‘That might be an accident. Would you like to leave a tip?’: Local brewery questions customer’s decision to leave no tip on 4-pack of beer

Customer says the default tip for a single $5 croissant was 102%

‘It really is turning into low key scamming’: Customer says the default tip for a single $5 croissant was 102%

Braden Bjella is a culture writer. His work can be found in Mixmag, Electronic Beats, Schon! magazine, and more.

Braden Bjella

Customer gets asked to leave tip to pay for workers’ bonuses for the quarter

‘Now I’m responsible for company bonuses’: Online shopper gets asked to leave tip to pay for workers’ bonuses for the quarter

Allyson Waller is a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin and has written for other publications such as the New York Times and the Miami Herald. Outside of the journalism world, some of her joys include delving into book recommendations from TikTok, listening to pop culture podcasts, and playing with her dog, Theo.

Allyson Waller

restaurant bill with text circled in red (l) tip with check (c) restaurant bill (r)

‘People shouldn’t have to “opt out” of anything’: Customer takes back the 18% gratuity that was automatically added to their check

Stacy Fernández is a freelance writer, project manager and communications specialist. She’s worked at The Texas Tribune, The Dallas Morning News and run social for The Education Trust New York. Her favorite hobby is finding hidden gems at the thrift store, she loves a good audio book and is a chocolate enthusiast.

Stacy Fernandez

Statrbucks barista with metal cup (l) coffee beans (c) Starbucks cashier at register (r)

‘We were also told now to not tell anyone’: Starbucks worker says management told them to use decaf after running out of regular coffee, espresso

Tide Pods locked behind clear casing (l) Target (r)

‘Are people actually stealing these?’: Target worker questions store after it locks up Tide Pods in individual boxes

TikToker explaining that Cane's Chicken Tenders are now being made smaller.

‘What is this? A nugget for ants?’: Raising Cane’s customer claims chicken tenders are now smaller

EpsteinGPT—built to parse new unredacted documents—earns creator warning from OpenAI

Glowing monitors float in a surreal scene.

Tech

The dumbest moments in big tech in 2023

Phil West is a veteran professional writer and editor, and his works include two nonfiction books and articles in myriad print and online publications.

Phil West

first time meme: James Franco in The Ballad of Buster Scruggs

Reddit