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Hello fellow web crawlers! Andrew here. Welcome to today’s edition of web_crawlr.
Our top stories today are about: A restaurant customer who claims the owner doxed her for leaving a bad review, an exclusive report about a major conglomerate that does business with huge brands and is showing a ton of illegal content, Trump fans who invested in his Truth Social company losing a battle with short sellers, and a baseball fan who sparked a discussion after highlighting the “outrageous” prices at concession stands.
After that, our Assistant Editor Kira has a “Decoding Fandom” column for you.
See ya tomorrow!
— A.W.
⚡ Today’s top stories
👎 WTF
‘She was threatening me’: Restaurant customer says the owner doxed her for leaving a bad review
A TikTok user and customer claims she was doxed by a Pittsburgh eatery after she left a negative review following a poor experience with the establishment.
➤ READ MORE
📺 EXCLUSIVE
Why is this major conglomerate that does business with McDonald’s, Colgate-Palmolive, and the New York Times showing so much illegal content?
The unauthorized reproduction and distribution of intellectual property has long been big business and an even bigger source of disputes. Sources say that this form of piracy is particularly rampant in Pakistan, the world’s fifth-most populous country.
➤ READ MORE
📉 TECH
Trump’s Truth Social investors are losing the battle to short sellers
Short sellers have made tens of millions—and Trump Media holders are going to war with them.
➤ READ MORE
🌭 VIRAL
‘This is not right’: Major League Baseball fan goes to concession stand. It’s $30 for a hot dog
A Major League Baseball fan went viral after showcasing the “outrageous” prices for various snacks and meals. It’s sparked a conversation on just how difficult it can be to take a family out for a traditional day at the ballpark.
➤ READ MORE
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⭐ Decoding Fandom
By Kira Deshler
Assistant Newsletter Editor
Tinseltown/Shutterstock
cybermagician/Shutterstock
(Licensed)
After her latest album, the Swifties are trying to gatekeep Taylor Swift
In each edition of web_crawlr we have exclusive original content every day. On Wednesdays our Assistant Newsletter Editor Kira Deshler dives deep into the world of fan culture in her “Decoding Fandom” 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.
🍪 Yet another Subway customer is accusing the fast-food chain of failing to cook its footlong cookie completely.
🎸 The Warped Tour was a rite of passage for many Tumblr-era scene kids back in the day, but its history is disturbing, to say the least.
✈️ This American Airlines passenger went viral after claiming that ifyour ticket says ‘SSSS’ on it, it’s is the “kiss of death.”
🍴 What’s considered an appropriate time to place an order for food before a restaurant closes shop for the day? One hour? Fifteen minutes? A minute before because technically the restaurant is still open?
💊 A user on TikTok has sparked discussion after alleging that a pharmacy technician forced her to reveal her illness publicly before providing her with her prescribed medication.
📝 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.
DO YOU USUALLY USE SELF-CHECKOUT OR NORMAL CHECKOUT AT STORES?
To answer questions like this in the future, sign up for web_crawlr here.
👋 Before you go
A worker was fired from a St. Louis-area Walmart and then proceeded to trash the store in apparent retaliation—and that’s leading to a complicated range of feelings from people observing the video.
The video in question, which has logged more than a million views since going up, comes courtesy of TikTok creator Terrell Oneal (@terrelloneal). In it, a female narrator describes the scene captured over about a minute of cellphone video, chronicling an unidentified and clearly upset person throwing cans off a shelf at a Walmart store.
“I’m at the Walmart on West Florissant, and they just fired one of their employees,” a female narrator begins the video.
The woman continues, “She’s throwing stuff right now; you don’t need to go through there.” She also added, “She said if she not working today, nobody workin’.”
Later, as the ex-worker throws items from a shelf onto the floor, the narrator observes, “Baby, that sh*t ain’t worth going to jail for.”
Jonathan Weiss/Shutterstock
@terrelloneal/Tiktok
(Licensed)
*First Published: May 1, 2024, 10:30 am CDT
Andrew Wyrich
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Andrew Wyrich is the newsletter editor at the Daily Dot. He previously served as the deputy tech editor. Andrew has written for USA Today, NorthJersey.com, and other newspapers and websites. His work has been recognized by the Society of the Silurians, Investigative Reporters & Editors (IRE), and the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ).
