Hello fellow web crawlers! Andrew here. Welcome to today’s edition of web_crawlr.
Anyone got any fun weekend plans? I’m going to my first baseball game of the year!
Anyway, our top stories today are about: Right-wingers amplifying a false claim that the FBI was secretly trying to assassinate former President Trump, a Taco Bell worker getting fired after a customer shot out their drive-thru window, director Martin Scorsese stepping in to direct his daughter’s TikTok, and an explainer of the “Messy Bratz Doll” meme.
After that, the Trending Team shares with you their pick for “Main Character of the Week.”
Since it’s Friday, it’s time for our weekly news quiz! Just scroll down below to answer the question. If you guess correctly, you’ll be entered to win a “Take Me Out To The Blog Game” shirt.
See you tomorrow!
— A.W.
⚡ Today in internet culture
🔍 CONSPIRACY
‘Biden ordered the hit’: The far-right thinks the FBI was secretly trying to assassinate Trump
Supporters of former President Donald Trump are trying to amplify the false claim that the Justice Department under President Joe Biden sought to kill his political rival. Also, somehow Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) has become part of the conspiracy.
🌮 VIRAL LABOR
‘Wait You got fired????’: Taco Bell worker gets fired after customer shot out their drive-thru window
Working in the service industry, you’ll always run the risk of dealing with aggravated customers, but commenters were stunned to hear that one Taco Bell worker got fired after a customer shot out their drive-thru window.
🤳 POP CULTURE
‘Dad, it’s a TikTok’: Martin Scorsese steps in to direct daughter Francesca’s TikTok
The Oscar winner takes on a smaller-scale project.
🤣 MEMES
For our messiest moments, the ‘Messy Bratz Doll Meme’ will do just fine
Sometimes, you’re just having a messy moment. For those moments, there’s the long-beloved Messy Bratz Doll Meme.
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👑 Main Character of the Week
By Ramon Ramirez
Managing Editor
Main Character of the Week: Carnival customer who had her $15k trip canceled
Main Character of the Week is a weekly column that tells you the most prominent “main character” online (good or bad). It runs on Fridays 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.
🚚 If you’ve been on a busy freeway anytime in the last few years, you might think that driving a semi-truck would be a pretty good living. However, a viral video may help illustrate why so many truckers are actually leaving the field.
🚶 In a viral video with over 2 million views, a Target customer confronted a man who she believes was following her around the store.
🍩 Krispy Kreme started selling Pokemon-themed donuts in South Korea. Obviously, many American fans were very jealous.
🐔 This Chipotle worker went viral after claiming that their store had begun rationing the chicken.
📷 Bet you didn’t know your car might have this little trick for cleaning your backup camera.
⚰️ From the Daily Dot archive: Here are the real-life stakes of faking your death online.
👋 Before you go
Airlines seem to be slapping flyers with more and more surcharges throughout the years, with some outlets bluntly stating that air travel companies actively attempt to “squeeze” passengers “out of every penny.”
A new rule, according to a Southwest passenger, is no different. They claim the airline is now counting blankets and pillows as carry-on items that travelers will be charged for if they attempt to bring them aboard.
Carissa (@carissamonyce) posted a viral TikTok about the practice, claiming that Southwest isn’t messing around when it comes to the new policy.
Several viewers said that they also came across gate agents who were dead set on enforcing this ruling, while others offered up some innovative approaches to getting away with bringing blankets and pillows aboard.
