Hello fellow citizens of the internet! Andrew here. Welcome to today’s edition of web_crawlr.
Our top stories today are about: A former Starbucks barista sharing how a rude customer threw hot chocolate at her, the internet cheering a 9-year-old who roasted presidential hopeful Nikki Haley, people online trying to debunk Elon Musk’s massive advertising lawsuit, and an explainer of the many Ben Affleck memes.
After that, our Trending team shares with you its pick for “Main Character of the Week.”
Also, it’s Friday! So don’t forget to take our weekly news quiz. If you answer the question correctly, you’ll be entered to win a “Crawl Into Fall” shirt.
See you around the internet!
— A.W.
⚡ Today’s top stories
☕ LABOR
‘I hate these kinds of ppl’: Former Starbucks barista says customer threw hot chocolate at her. Here’s why
A former Starbucks barista shared some of the “fun things” that happened on the job, including a customer throwing their hot chocolate at her because it had Reddi Whip.
🤣 POLITICS
‘One of your guys gave it to me’: Internet cheers 9-year-old who roasted Nikki Haley over campaign swag compliment
Haley was mocked online for the child’s response to her.
💻 TECH
People are debunking the bold claims Elon Musk made in massive advertising lawsuit—in real-time on his own site
X users are posting screenshots of their searches for white nationalist and antisemitic terms and hashtags—attempting to debunk Elon Musk’s big new lawsuit.
🎭 MEMES
The existential journey of Ben Affleck memes
Ben Affleck is many things: an actor, a Batman, and a Dunkin‘ representative. But in recent years, he’s also inspired many memes.
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💾 Take our weekly news quiz!
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🍿 Still watching
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👑 Main Character of the Week
By Ramon Ramirez
Managing Editor
Main Character of the Week: Office Potlucks
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.
💀 Grandmothers mean well, but their kind gestures can sometimes backfire. Case in point: the Halloween “decoration” that a TikToker’s grandma gave them turned out to be an expired chocolate skull covered in mold.
🐶 What is the ‘Bonk’ meme, and who is the cute dog behind it?
🤔 One mom took to social media to blast Walmart for a “disturbing” toy she found on the retailer’s shelves.
🍔 With global inflation peaking, consumers are feeling the pinch in their wallets. A McDonald’s customer demonstrated this in a viral video, revealing that she spent nearly $25 on just three items.
🗣️ A Kmart worker posted a viral video mocking customers who ask unoriginal and common questions. Other retail workers leave their customer experience stories in the comments section.
💼 Even under the best circumstances, performance reviews can be problematic. One TikToker may have set a new (low) bar for the nerve-wracking process, though.
🏳️🌈 From the Daily Dot archive: Long before #instagays, YouTube’s gay celebs blazed the trail for a generation of LGBTQ youth.
*The Daily Dot may receive a commission in connection with purchases of products or services featured here.
👋 Before you go
A trio of restaurant patrons in New York City ordered a charcuterie board and got something very underwhelming.
Via TikTok post, creator Hallie (@hallielooyaa) shared a video revealing the crime against charcuterie, drawing over 1.8 million views and nearly 145,000 likes since going up. In it, Hallie and two companions react to the charcuterie board they’re served before showing its inadequacies.
The on-screen caption reads, “We ordered the charcuterie board for the table and this is what they brought out.”
The reveal shows what might be four olives in a small dish and twelve roundels of deli meats, arranged in two rows of six, accompanied by audio saying, “We need to call the police.”
