An Ignoble Experiment: 💵 Asked to tip at a self-service kiosk

Curating the best and worst of the internet
Tuesday November 14, 2023

Hello fellow citizens of the internet! Andrew here. Welcome to today's edition of web_crawlr.

Our top stories today are about: How Panera has made a decision to "delete" its highly-caffeinated and very viral Charged Lemonades, how everyone wants to know what happens to Sen. Tim Scott's (R-S.C.) girlfriend after suspending his presidential campaign, a look at the Daily Dot's new YouTube series "Meme History," and a customer sparking a discussion after being asked to tip after shopping at a self-service kiosk.

After that, our Senior Reporter Tricia has a "Problematic on TikTok" column for you.

See you tomorrow!

— A.W.

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⚡ Today's top stories

🍋 VIRAL

'We were forced to move them because people can't read the warning labels': Customer says Panera 'deleted' the Charged Lemonades

A Panera customer's video about the chain's decision to "delete" free refills of its Charged Lemonades sparked a viral discussion about the offering's caffeine content.

➤ READ MORE

🗳️ POLITICS

'Thanking God her contract ended': Everyone wants to know what happens to Tim Scott's 'girlfriend' after he suspends presidential campaign

She had a very brief moment in the sun.

➤ READ MORE

🌐 MEMES

Introducing 'Meme History,' a new series celebrating the best memes online

The Daily Dot is launching a new YouTube series 'Meme History,' celebrating the most iconic memes that have graced the internet since its inception.

➤ READ MORE

💸 WTF

'The tipping culture has gotten way out of control': Customer uses self-service kiosk to buy $1.99 bottled water. She's then asked to tip

When a cashier asks you to tip, at least you can see the face of the person you would be tipping. But who receives a tip in a self-serve kiosk?

➤ READ MORE

🏆 Did you vote in the Daily Dot Hall of Fame?

The second round of nominees for the Daily Dot Hall of Fame went out to web_crawlr readers just a few days ago. If you haven't voted yet, go check your inbox and choose who you think should be inducted in the "Urban Legends" category.

If you are new here, don't worry! The next round is coming on Saturday. If you missed the first two rounds, you can catch up on them here and here.

Week 1

Week 2

😬 Problematic on TikTok

By Tricia Crimmins
Senior Reporter

@elshenwrites/TikTok (Fair Use)

TikTok's AI studio photo filter is lightening skin and making people look thinner

The racist and fatphobic biases of artificial intelligence are on full display in the latest AI-based filter going viral on TikTok.

AI studio photo, a TikTok filter that has been used in videos almost 4 million times, transforms users' likeness into a professional-looking photo from another time. Many of the end results look like photos from the 1940s—and the filter seems to have taken that time period's societal prejudices into account when creating the final images.

In a TikTok posted last week, E.L. Shen, an Asian woman, shows how the filter took her face and transformed her into a white, blue-eyed woman. Shen wrote in her video's overlay text that she tried the filter eight times, and each time it turned her into a "white lady who would be the one signing the Chinese Exclusion Act." The Chinese Exclusion Act was a 1880s law that banned immigration from China to the U.S. for ten years.

TikToker Drae (@coyoteugly2.0) also posted that the AI studio photo filter lightened her skin: Drae, a darker skinned Black woman shows that the filter made her skin color significantly lighter.

"They took your melanin," a commenter wrote on Drae's video.

And the filter isn't only changing the color of people's skin, it's also changing the shape of their faces. Abby Morris (@morethantracyt), who has called out other TikTok filters for their fatphobia, shows how the AI studio photo filter made her face thinner.

"You will not convince me to get on board with AI until one of these trends keeps me fat," Morris wrote in her video's caption.

Why it matters

The opportunity of seeing yourself in the style of an old-timey portrait is only being given to white, thin people. If your body deviates from that, the filter doesn't work as well on you—and that's unfair and discriminatory.

We know that artificial intelligence is prejudiced because of the systems it learns from are as well. But why aren't newer AI releases being engineered to avoid the racist and fatphobic issues of their predecessors? Especially when TikTok creators call out these issues time and again?

🕸️ Crawling the web

Here is what else is happening across the 'net.

🥚 A McDonald's worker showed a behind-the-scenes look at a contraption used in cooking scrambled eggs that has to be seen to be believed.

🌿 How would you react if someone mowed your lawn without your permission and then demanded $150 for the work?

🍗 This worker went viral after sharing that after he asked for a raise, his company instead catered Chick-fil-A for the staff.

🥗 Have you ever experienced sticker shock while ordering lunch? Then you're not alone. Recently a TikToker went viral when she posted about paying $31 dollars for a salad.

🎁 With the holiday's approaching, a beauty expert is going viral for sharing which Sephora holiday sets are a ripoff.

🧸 Gather the family for some G-rated fun. These are the best kids' TV shows that are actually good.*

💰 Ever since TikTok debuted its shopping experience, users have become concerned about the over-commercialization of the platform, like this one user who called out the "dystopian" merchandising landscape.

🍹 Two customers went to Applebee's with just $3 and ordered two Dollaritas. They were shocked when the bill arrived.

*The Daily Dot may receive a commission in connection with purchases of products or services featured here.

📝 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 TRIED THE VIRAL CHARGED LEMONADE AT PANERA?

Yes!

No way!

Yesterday's responses: 71% of web crawlers have not had a Pumpkin Spice Latte yet this fall, while 29% said they have.

👋 Before you go

How often do you need to wash out your water bottle? Definitely more frequently than never.

In a TikTok from the account @kookynell, that has more than 1.7 million views, a woman's first time washing out her water bottle is documented, as is the gunk that's been chilling in it.

As if seeing the dark-colored gunk on a soapy pipe-cleaner brush isn't enough, you also get a glimpse into the depths of the hydro flask, where there is more gunk—possibly mold.