Hello fellow citizens of the internet! Andrew here. Welcome to today’s edition of web_crawlr.
Our top stories today are about: How Lara Trump’s new Barbie-themed MAGA merch is getting mocked, people defending a Delta flight attendant for sharing their hotel safety tips, a look back at the year in Twitter (or X), and an explainer about the “crying cat” memes.
After that our Senior Politics and Technology Editor David has a “Deplatformed” column for you.
See you tomorrow!
— A.W.
⚡ Today’s top stories
🧢 POLITICS
‘Be a Trump girl in a Trump world’: Lara Trump drops new Barbie-themed MAGA hats—that retail for $47
Former President Donald Trump’s daughter-in-law, Lara Trump, has dropped new Barbie-themed MAGA merch. The promotion was met with backlash on social media, with some critics accusing her of grifting or “fleecing the gullibles.”
✈️ VIRAL
‘Preparing for the worst is not living in fear’: People defend Delta flight attendant for sharing hotel safety tips after she was accused of being ‘paranoid’
Viewers were quick to defend the poster’s caution, writing that they felt they had to resort to similar methods for personal safety while traveling alone.
💻 TECH
The year in Twitter. Oh sorry, the year in X
Elon Musk‘s tenure has been a disaster.
😿 MEMES
Explaining ‘crying cat’ memes (aka ‘cat crying’ memes)
The perfect meme for when you’re holding it together—but just barely!
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🚉 Deplatformed
By David Covucci
Senior Politics and Technology Editor
Deplatformed: American women don’t accept Sharia Law
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.
🐶 How would you react in this situation? A user on TikTok has sparked discussion after claiming that someone offered her $200,000 for her dog, a Doberman Pinscher puppy.
🎄 This Home Depot customer sparked discussion after alleging she tried to return an artificial Christmas tree to the store—only to be told that the tree had already been returned.
💵 A Dollar Tree customer went viral for showing people how you can now buy ‘mini items’ to make charcuterie boards for $1.
🏈 Dallas Cowboys memes are all over the internet. Why is that?
🥩 This PSA about marinated meat at grocery stores is getting a ton of attention online.
🎬 Bring the cinema into your living room with this step-by-step guide to building a home theater.*
💬 A college student claims that she failed a paper because she used Grammarly when submitting an essay. Apparently, the use of artificial intelligence was the reason.
🗣️ A former Rita’s Italian Ice franchise owner posted a TikTok series warning against the chain after her franchise was cut off.
🔍 From the Daily Dot archive: Telegram is supercharging conspiracy theories across the planet.
*The Daily Dot may receive a commission in connection with purchases of products or services featured here.
📝 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.
ARE YOU STILL ON TWITTER/X OR HAVE YOU LEFT?
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👋 Before you go
A Jimmy John’s customer shared their disappointment with the portion sizes they received in four containers of potato salad in a series of TikToks.
Megan DeGidio-Flickner (@megandegidioflickner) says that she was charged $20 for the sides, calling out the chain for the cost of the items as part of her pick-up order. Numerous TikTok users who replied to her video said that they, too, have had unsatisfactory experiences not just with Jimmy John’s, but other restaurant chains when it came to portions.
“Thank you Jimmy John’s for the $4.99 potato salad. We got four of those and we paid $20 total, Jimmy John’s, for what appears-” the video cuts out at this point, but the DeGidio-Flickner did post follow-up clips speaking to her grievances with the sandwich chain. She said they charged her what she thought was an exorbitant amount of money for the four small containers of potato salad.
