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Short newsy pieces on viral TikTok trends, AI, Reddit & X controversies. 
As seen in The Daily Dot, Mashed & more.

The Daily Dot •

Have popular kids ruined the internet? Viral TikTok sparks online discussion: "The internet was better when it was just on computers" 

A man has sparked discourse on TikTok by claiming that “popular kids have ruined the internet.”In a video posted to the platform on Oct. 2, Kushal (@skskskushal) presented his theory: that the decline of the internet from its peak around 10-15 years ago coincided with an influx of “normies” arriving online.Commenters were divided on the issue, with many agreeing that the internet has become boring and mainstream, while others found Kushal’s claims childish and overexaggerated.Kushal’s theory is...
The Daily Dot •

"Bro leave her alone": Gen Alpha is showing printed brainrot memes to strangers and the results are hilarious

A surreal TikTok trend sees the chronically online bringing meme culture into the real world, and the results are hilarious. The trend involves people approaching strangers in public and showing them printed folders full of brainrot memes and images, including John Pork and Skibidi Toilet.As always, reactions from members of the public vary, with some appearing confused and only playing along out of politeness, while others seem to genuinely appreciate the community and joy.The “showing brainrot...
The Daily Dot •

The "watch my egg" TikTok challenge brings back the old-school internet prank

A new TikTok trend is cracking people up…literally. In the viral “watch my egg” prank, which first originated in September 2025, users text friends or family an egg emoji (🥚) and ask them to “watch it” while they’re away. What happens next depends on the recipient’s imagination: the egg hatches into a chick, a wolf emoji appears, and chaos ensues. Some “eggsitters” valiantly protect their charge, while others lie about letting it die, prompting one viral comment to declare, “not him gaslighting...
The Daily Dot •

Distracted by the Bob: Inside the new SpongeBob meme taking over TikTok

A new meme called “Distracted by the Bob” has taken over TikTok, and like most SpongeBob trends, it’s as ridiculous as it is surreal. What began as simple jokes about secretly watching SpongeBob instead of doing homework or chores has spiraled into something stranger: people now claim to encounter “The Bob” in everyday life, from themed drinks to spin-off memes like “The Pep” and “The Mins.” The trend seemed to start in mid-September 2025, and typically takes the form of videos like this one, by...
The Daily Dot •

"He is stable, you are deep": How a song lyric became a relationship test

TikTokers are celebrating all things messy, vulnerable, and unhinged again. Nothing new, but this time…well, you could say it goes deep.The “he is stable, you are deep” TikTok trend started as a fun way for people to contrast safe, dependable partners with intense and unpredictable ones, but it has evolved into something much more complex, and, at times, completely hilarious.It’s also leading people to question their relationships and ask whether it’s ever possible to have both Jeremiah and Conr...
The Daily Dot •

Kendamanomics explained: the app, the players, and the kendama rivalries fueling TikTok drama

TikTok has found its latest obsession: kendama, a centuries-old Japanese skill toy now fueling leaderboard rivalries and TikTok fandom wars through an app called Kendamanomics.Kendama dates back to Japan’s Edo period. The game is simple in theory, using a wooden handle (ken) and a ball (tama) on a string, but players use it to perform tricks that can get wildly complex, similar to yoyo or cup-and-ball.Although it’s been a competitive sport for decades, the craze has recently gone viral on TikTok...
The Daily Dot •

Internet clashes over photo of man having intimate chat with AI girlfriend on the subway

A viral photo of a man talking to the large language model (LLM) ChatGPT on his phone has initiated extensive debate on X regarding contemporary uses of AI.The controversial photo, posted on June 3, 2025, shows a man on a packed subway train engrossed in an intimate and vulnerable conversation with ChatGPT. Commenters were torn, with some users expressing concern over the man treating the chatbot “like it’s his girlfriend,” while others criticized the original poster for invading the man’s priva...
The Daily Dot •

"My grandma isn't ready for this": Google's new AI video tool is so realistic, it's freaking people out

A new wave of AI-generated videos is taking the internet by storm. The videos—created with Google’s new, state-of-the-art AI video generator Veo 3—allow users to generate audio alongside visuals, leading to highly cinematic and hyperrealistic results. However, they are leaving users stunned and scared in equal measure, with many calling them so realistic they are “terrifying,” and fearing for the future.In one video posted to the r/singularity subreddit on May 21, various people attend a bustlin...
The Daily Dot •

Here's why the Aerial Tramway Emoji is suddenly in every YouTube comment section

An emoji takeover is sweeping YouTube. After content creator John Casterline urged his 7.2 million subscribers to start using the aerial tramway emoji 🚡, allegedly the “least-used emoji in the world,” comment sections across the platform have been flooded with the little yellow icon.The campaign, which Casterline described as an effort to “make history,” quickly went viral, leaving many out of the loop and those in the know proudly declaring allegiance to “tram gang.” Casterline captioned his or...
The Daily Dot •

What is the 2020 effect, and what does it have to do with a "graphics bug"?

A new trend online is seeing users go outside and declare that the “2020 effect is over.”Those partaking in the trend are claiming that the world has finally regained its color after 4 years of dullness brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, often nicknamed the “2020 effect” or the “2020 curse.” Some are drawing comparisons to video games updating their graphics, while others feel the atmosphere outside reminds them of legendary summers from previous years, like 2016.Videos showing the supposed en...
The Daily Dot •

"Low GPA Activity" meme turns into school trend of kids setting their Chromebooks on fire

Videos of kids setting fire to Chromebooks are going viral in a supposed TikTok “trend,” causing outrage and debate over whether there’s a new wave of classroom vandalism spreading, or if we’re seeing another round of internet-fueled moral panic. Though some are cracking jokes, footage of Chromebooks smoking and going up in flames has teachers seriously concerned that the trend is spreading and encouraging vandalism in schools. Others are drawing comparisons to previous online ‘trends’ such as 2...
The Daily Dot •

'The American mind can't comprehend this' meme has Americans and Europeans beefing

An image of a quintessential English terraced house led to a deeper discussion on X recently, regarding differences between European and American lifestyles. It’s part of an ongoing trend best summarized as ‘The American Mind Can’t Comprehend This’ meme—that, while often fun and lighthearted, hints at a growing gulf between the two regions online. Tom Forth posted the image of a terraced, redbrick house in Leeds, UK, on April 29, 2025, saying, “Incredible to think that many Americans will look a...
The Daily Dot •

People are feeding AI the same image 100 times, and it keeps changing race, gender, and weight. Here's why that's a problem:

The internet has a new AI-image generation trend, and as usual, it’s proving highly divisive. The craze began with a now-viral video where a user inputted a picture of his friend into ChatGPT—instructing it to “create the exact replica of this image, don’t change a thing,” over 70 times. The results were strange and unexpected, but also led to renewed questions about the ethics of AI, on both an environmental and broader cultural level. The original video was posted back in March, but a repost o...
The Daily Dot •

'It's like a Sims world': Edge of Las Vegas videos are TikTok's latest obsession

If you’ve been on TikTok lately, you might have noticed a new unexpected fascination taking over your feed: the “Edge Of Las Vegas.” It all started with a viral video showing how abruptly the city gives way to open desert, prompting comparisons to video games like The Sims, or movies like The Truman Show. Since then, TikTok creators living at the borders of Vegas have been posting their POVs, sparking both admiration for the landscape, as well as an eerie, existential dread over how surreal it a...
MediaCat •

Morbin’ time! When brands misread internet culture

Speaking the language of internet culture is crucial for any brand — something we’re all, hopefully, well aware of in today’s late-stage social media era. But something you might not know is that in 2020, the global meme industry was valued at an inconceivable $2.3 billion dollars, and this figure is projected to almost triple by 2025. Or, that businesses who use memes in their marketing are 60% more likely to land sales than those who opt for traditional graphics. It’s a no-brainer — meme marke
MediaCat UK •

Why is print coming back?

Just like the printing press before it, the internet promised the global delivery and dissemination of information to improve public knowledge. And for a while this worked, until its incentive — to make things uniform, standardised, stuffed with facts — led it to gorge itself into incapacitation on a mukbang of SEO-driven content. Now, we live in fear of a dead internet — an online landscape devoid of creativity where content is generated by bots, for bots (take shrimp Jesus, for example), and w...
Mashed •

The British Chinese Food TikTok Controversy Explained

When you think of Chinese takeout, you might imagine a fold-up paper box overflowing with sweet and spicy kung pao chicken, beef and broccoli, or veggie-packed lo mein noodles. That is, if you're American. If you're British, your meal will look a little different. Your food will usually arrive in Tupperware containers, for starters, which you'll then decant onto your plate. You might have ordered crispy chili beef, fried chicken balls, egg fried rice, and, to the horror of everyone across the pond, salt and pepper chips (aka fries). All topped off with a generous drenching of bright yellow curry sauce.
Mashed •

McDonald's Mukbangs Are The Cringey Yet Satisfying Trend Taking Over TikTok

McDonald's Mukbangs Are The Cringey Yet Satisfying Trend Taking Over TikTok

People have consumed vast quantities of food in single sittings from time immemorial, whether as part of hedonistic ancient Roman feasts or at competitive eating contests for cash prizes across America. The genre of mukbang, though, is a relatively new invention in comparison — first appearing online around the early 2010s in South Korea. In fact, the term "mukbang" itself comes from Korean — it is a portmanteau of the
Mashed •

Is It Weird To Bring Your Own Ranch Bottle To A Restaurant... On A Date?

Is It Weird To Bring Your Own Ranch Bottle To A Restaurant... On A Date? Ranch is the perfect accompaniment for most savory meals, whether it's slathered over salad, stirred into mashed potatoes, or served as a dip for wings and otherwise inedible pizza crusts. There's a reason why ranch is America's favorite dressing, with 40 percent of people naming it as their favorite in a 2017 study, ahead of its next highest competitor, Italian dressing (via The New York Times). But when you think about dr
Mashed •

TikTok's Cartoon Cakes Look So Real They'll Make You Do A Double Take

The latest viral cake trend, which, according to 614, has an incredible 124 million views on TikTok, involves creating 2D cartoon cakes that look like they've jumped straight out of the screen. In a TikTok video, Melbourne-based cake artist Tigga Maccormack (@Tigga_Mac) demonstrates how to make the cute cartoon creation. She cuts the cake into triangles and lines each layer with frosting, before stacking them together to achieve a classic, exaggerated slice shape. She then frosts the cake and co...