Newsletter: Delta’s disgusting ‘nightmare’

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Hello fellow web crawlers! Andrew here. Welcome to today’s edition of web_crawlr. 

Here’s the latest trending internet culture stories today: A truly disgusting “worst nightmare” experience on a Delta flight, why fans of Luigi Mangione are pledging to make him a martyr in the wake of the DOJ announcing they are seeking the death penalty, memes about “torpedo bats” in baseball, and a cybercrime forum claiming to have the “largest social media breach ever.” 

After that, our Senior Politics and Technology Editor David has his “Deplatformed” column for you. 

Don’t forget to check out what the most popular story on the Daily Dot yesterday was in our “Hot on the Dot” section at the bottom of the newsletter. 

See you tomorrow! 

— A.W. 

Today in Internet Culture

WTF
‘My WORST nightmare’: Woman has disgusting experience with fellow Delta Airlines passenger. Then Delta offers her this

A Delta Airlines customer is voicing her frustration after a horrifying experience pre-flight—and she claims the airline failed to make proper amends.

➤READ MORE

LULU
Luigi Mangione fans pledge to make him a martyr in wake of DOJ death penalty announcement

Mangione fans flocked to social media to protest the news and rally around the alleged perpetrator.

➤READ MORE

SPORTS
Are torpedo bats ruining baseball? These 13 memes think so

The New York Yankees’ controversial adoption of “torpedo bats” have become the latest flashpoint in MLB’s never-ending tug-of-war between tradition and modernity.

➤READ MORE

HACKING
Cybercrime forum alleges ‘largest social media breach ever’—drops 200 million X records as tease

Data on more than 201 million X users was reportedly leaked last week to a prominent cybercrime forum.

➤READ MORE

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By David Covucci
Politics & Technology Editor

Forbidden ChatGPT prompts flood Threads

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 urging viewers to check their bank statements after she says she caught a Starbucks barista helping herself to a 100% tip.

The Gothic vampire aesthetic is dominating fashion again—here’s why. 

Some passengers refused to board their American Airlines flight after it was delayed by five hours because of a potential bomb threat via a Wi-Fi network. What would you do in this situation?

If you’re tired of fishing unpopped kernels out of your popcorn one by one, one woman shares how the Pop Secret bag design can help.

It seems deceptive pricing might be added to the long list of controversies associated with popular arts and crafts retailer Hobby Lobby.

From the Daily Dot archive: Here’s why Netflix action movies always suck. 

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 A BASEBALL FAN?

To answer questions like this in the future, sign up for web_crawlr here.

Hot on the Dot

This was the most read story on the Daily Dot yesterday: 

➤‘I was so excited to get my next car’: Woman walks into Toyota dealership to upgrade from her Corolla. She leaves empty handed