Hello fellow citizens of the internet! Andrew here. Welcome to today’s edition of web_crawlr.
Our top stories today are about: The internet obsessing (and going to war over) whether young Al Pacino or young Robert De Niro was hotter, Taylor Swift fans booking a “scary” Airbnb to attend the singer’s Eras tour, a look at why the new Netflix show The Diplomat is just “rose-tinted propaganda,” and a viral video of a student catching a professor using AI to give them feedback.
After that, our Senior Culture Reporter Audra has a “Now Streaming” column for you.
See you tomorrow!
— A.W.
⚡ Today’s top stories
🔥 INTERNET CULTURE
The internet is completely divided over who was hotter: Young Al Pacino or young Robert De Niro
In an old-school Twitter moment akin to The Dress, this weekend saw the app go to war over a surprisingly divisive question: Who is hotter, young Al Pacino, or young Robert De Niro?
🏠 VIRAL
Taylor Swift fans book ‘scary airbnb’ to afford Eras tour tickets
Two Swifties elected to stay in a “scary” Airbnb rental in order to attend the second night of Taylor Swift’s Eras tour show, a move that viewers called dangerous.
🎬 CULTURE
Netflix’s ‘The Diplomat’ is rose-tinted propaganda
Echoing the dated liberal optimism of The West Wing, The Diplomat is totally disengaged from real politics—and not in a way that feels escapist or fun.
🎓 FAIL
‘Did you even read it?’: Student catches professor using AI to give her feedback
A college student claims to have caught her professor using artificial intelligence to give feedback. She suspects he didn’t even read her paper.
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😌 Chill vibes only
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📺 Now Streaming
With ‘Bupkis,’ Pete Davidson addresses those internet theories
In each edition of web_crawlr we have exclusive original content every day. On Wednesdays our Culture Reporters Audra Schroeder and Michelle Jaworski review or analyze the latest streaming content in their “Now Streaming” 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 you inbox.
🕸️ Crawling the web
Here is what else is happening across the ‘net.
🛒 A shopper on TikTok found that her Aldi grocery bill increased in price by 41%, for the same exact stuff, since November 2020.
🍔 This woman is going viral for going to McDonald’s, Taco Bell, Wendy’s, and Burger King to get the cheapest menu items.
🦄 How would you feel if you got a unicorn pin from corporate as a “thank you” for doing a good job?
📽️ From our friends at Passionfruit, the Daily Dot’s creator-centric newsletter: “What creators can learn from the Writers Strike, Part 1: The Profit Motive.”
💸 An Ontario-based tattoo studio is being accused of scamming customers by two TikTokers who spoke about negative experiences they allegedly had with the business.
💼 This Paramount worker is going viral for filming herself getting laid off during a group call.
🏳️🌈 From the Daily Dot archive: From Club Penguin to Roblox, LGBTQ youth have always flocked to gaming websites.
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👋 Before you go
A lot of unhinged behavior can go down in fast food restaurants—and now, thanks to TikTok, much of that behavior has been documented for the world to see.
For example, in December of last year, a customer went viral after throwing an incorrect order onto the ground. In November, another altercation between a customer and staff went similarly viral after the customer yelled at the staff for putting too much ketchup on her burger (upon which she had asked for extra ketchup).
Now, another interaction between fast food staff and a customer has sparked discussion.
In a video with over 228,000 views, TikTok user Nardo (@llxnardo) films a barefoot customer hurdling over the counter and barreling toward the employees.
🎶 Now Playing: “Destiny” by Zero 7 🎶