Newsletter: Trump’s desert rally ‘chaos’ becomes a conspiracy

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

Our top stories today are about: The “absolute chaos” that occurred after Trump held a rally in the desert, why the internet is obsessed with the story of someone finding a random girl’s childhood trophies in a Goodwill, a woman calling out Airbnb after a host refused to refund her amid a recent hurricane, and an explainer of what the “October used to be cold” meme is. 

After that, our Senior Reporter Tricia has a “Digital Democracy” column for you. 

See you tomorrow! 

— A.W. 

Today in Internet Culture

‘ABSOLUTE CHAOS’
Trump fans accuse Coachella mayor of sabotage after being left stranded in desert for hours

The issue, which according to eyewitnesses left many Trump supporters stranded in the scorching desert, looks to have been due to poor planning by event organizers.

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VIRAL
‘I hope Phoebe Kong knows how proud we all are of her hard work’: Why is Goodwill selling this random girl’s childhood trophies?

Zack Wickham posted a TikTok of him documenting a collection of Goodwill trophies labeled with the achievements of one particularly impressive young girl: Phoebe Kong. His video has over 35 million views.

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WTF
‘There’s nothing we can do’: Woman calls out Airbnb after host wouldn’t refund their stay during hurricane

One woman has a bone to pick with an Airbnb host who refused to refund her booking during a recent hurricane.

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MEMES
The ‘October Used To Be Cold’ meme, explained

The “October Used To Be Cold” meme is a phrase that uses older image macros or screenshots from popular media to express this fact. Its ominous vibe, while making a statement about global warming without using the words, fits nicely with the spooky season leading up to Halloween.

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By Tricia Crimmins
Senior Reporter

‘Just a waste’: This Oklahoma voting ballot measure is being called a waste of time by lawmakers and voters

In each edition of web_crawlr we have exclusive original content every day. On Tuesdays our Senior Reporter Tricia Crimmins explains the legislation that is captivating the internet in her “Digital Democracy” column.  If you want to read columns like this before everyone else, subscribe to web_crawlr to get your daily scoop of internet culture delivered straight to your inbox.

Crawling the Web

Here is what else is happening across the ‘net.

On episode 896 of “I was today years old when I found out…,” we learn the deceptive little secret grocery stores are hiding in the seafood aisle. 

Whoops. One TikToker was shocked to discover that she had been fired for downloading the online video game Fortnite onto her work computer. 

What in the world is “miscellaneous meat?” 

A Cadillac owner heard a rattle in the overhead console of his Lyriq and asked the dealer about it. Now he’s taking to the internet to see if anyone can confirm whether this is true—or if the dealership is gaslighting him.

This customer called out Starbucks after seeing how many calories are in their fall drinks.

From the Daily Dot archive: Telegram is supercharging conspiracy theories across the planet.

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. 

HAVE YOU EVER HAD A BAD EXPIERENCE AT AN AIRBNB?

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

Today’s Viral Video

Leslie Jones tells Drew Barrymore she’s not her type—and pitches a genius dating app idea instead. 

Now Playing: “Love 2 Fast” by Steve Lacy