Hello fellow web crawlers! Andrew here. Welcome to today’s edition of web_crawlr.
Our top stories today are about: A look at conspiracy theories (like him being a lizard or alien) surrounding Mark Zuckerberg, a Taco Bell customer’s humorous viral video about almost being charged $28 for a Baja Blast, President Biden signing the TikTok ban into law, and Katy Perry getting dunked on by fans after showing off her new Cybertruck.
After that, our Senior Politics and Technology Editor David has his “Deplatformed” column for you.
See you tomorrow!
— A.W.
⚡ Today’s top stories
🦎 CONSPIRACY
Do people actually think Mark Zuckerberg isn’t human?
The awkward tech billionaire has been accused of being everything from an alien to a lizard.
🥤 WTF
‘I thought she was being sarcastic’: Taco Bell customer says she was almost charged $28 for a Baja Blast
One woman’s drive-thru video had her fellow TikTokers laughing alongside her after things took an unexpected turn.
⛔ TECH
Joe Biden signs TikTok ban into law—ByteDance has a year to sell
Biden signed legislation banning TikTok if its parent company, ByteDance, doesn’t sell the app within a year.
🚘 POP CULTURE
‘Girl it’s recalled send it back!’: Katy Perry gets dunked on by fans after flaunting new Cybertruck
Singer-songwriter Katy Perry is taking flak online after promoting Tesla’s Cybertruck less than a day before the company’s Q1 earnings call. The truck has drawn numerous unflattering headlines in recent weeks.
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🚉 Deplatformed
By David Covucci
Politics & Technology Editor
Deplatformed: Inside Truth Social’s ‘authentic’ Mexican cuisine group
Deplatformed is a weekly column that looks into the nether reaches of the internet—outside the big few that everyone already covers—to tell you the political discourse online. It runs on Thursdays in the Daily Dot’s web_crawlr newsletter. If you want to get this column a day before we publish it, subscribe to web_crawlr, where you’ll get the daily scoop of internet culture delivered straight to your inbox.
🕸️ Crawling the web
Here is what else is happening across the ‘net.
💸 A woman is begging people to stop banking with Wells Fargo after she says nearly $44,000 disappeared from her bank account.
🍔 Have you heard of the “dinner box” from McDonalds? The item recently went viral, and one creator is showing people how to order it.
👁️ This woman’s dire warning about getting LASIK surgery is going viral after she called it “one of the biggest regrets of my life.”
🍟 Viewers of this viral video are divided after a server picked up a customer’s fries with her hands.
💼 One woman said a co-worker called a wellness check on her because she didn’t show up to work. There was one big problem with the seemingly caring act: The woman said she works from home.
🍒 This Chick-fil-A worker is revealing which of the chain’s new Cherry Berry drinks you should try and which ones you’ll want to skip.
🖥️ 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 HAVE A TATOO?
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👋 Before you go
A user on TikTok has gone viral after claiming to be able to turn $10 into over $1,000 in profit using just a simple item purchased from Home Depot.
In a video with over 30 million views, TikTok user Steven (@linkcrete20) lays out the plan for this side hustle. In short, one goes to their local Home Depot and buys a single length of 4×4 lumber.
From there, one marks the 4×4 every half of an inch, then cuts at those markings. Once the wood has been cut, the person should sand down the squares on all sides.
“Then, you’re going to Google ‘wooden drink coasters.’ You’re going to see they sell for roughly $20 a 4-pack,” Steven explains. With a single piece of wood, Steven says, one can make 288 cuts. Separate that into 72 bundles of 4 coasters, and “that’s $1,440 that you can make off of one $10 investment.”
