Welcome to the Monday edition of Internet Insider, where we dissect the weekend online. Today:
- Woman charged with hate crime after video shows her being racist toward Black Amazon driver
- ‘Heyo, the person who sent you this wants you to know’ about this TikTok meme
- Britney Spears takes over the ‘It’s Gonna Be May’ meme thanks to her fans
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BREAK THE INTERNET
Woman charged with hate crime after video shows her being racist toward Black Amazon driver
An Amazon worker described as a “whistleblower” by WFSB exclusively told the outlet that he found a noose at a jobsite. Five additional ropes—that could be interpreted as nooses—were also reportedly found at the location. While the worker says that managers reached out to him regarding the incident and that police are now constantly patrolling the jobsite, the local NAACP is demanding both “a full investigation into the matter leading to criminal prosecution” and “every available measure be put in place to ensure the safety of all workers at the site.” Amazon confirmed with the Daily Dot that a criminal investigation is underway.
Meanwhile, a Black Amazon worker in California was subjected to a woman’s racist verbal attack as the woman’s boyfriend allegedly blocked the delivery vehicle so that he couldn’t leave. The woman has reportedly since been charged with battery, false imprisonment, and several hate crimes. The driver is thankful the incident was recorded by a bystander and revealed that, presumably due to his skin color, he was concerned he was going to be the one to end up in handcuffs once the police arrived.“What constantly was running through my mind was, you know, it could be me in handcuffs instead of her,” he told KRON4. “If there wasn’t a video, it wasn’t being recorded, she probably could’ve gotten away with saying this.”
Catch up on more you may have missed below.
–Eilish O’Sullivan, newswire editor
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FACTS, NO PRINTER
‘Heyo, the person who sent you this wants you to know’ about this TikTok meme
If you’re an avid TikTok user, you’ve probably seen countless videos parodying TikTok influencer Bria (aka @briaalanaa), who’s best known for her signature “heyo, the person who sent you this wants you to know” introduction and “no cap, facts, no printer, copy, no paste” sign off. One of her videos has become one of the biggest memes on the platform right now thanks to Bria’s baby-voiced greeting and her friend’s nearly incomprehensible speech.
–Daysia Tolentino, contributing writer
BYE, BYE, BYE
Britney Spears takes over the ‘It’s Gonna Be May’ meme thanks to her fans
Around this time each year, social media users typically flock to the internet to share an image or GIF of Justin Timberlake from his *NSYNC days, captioned “It’s Gonna Be May.” The meme is a riff off of the band’s popular 2000 song, “It’s Gonna be Me,” in which Timberlake sings the word “me,” pronouncing it as “May.” Several fans of Britney Spears are now saying “Bye, Bye, Bye” to his ritual meme in light of the New York Times’ Framing Britney Spears documentary.
–Alex Samuels, contributing writer