Will TikTokers ever host the red carpet again after this?
Plus: RFK Jr. wrestles a Twinkie.
Greetings!
Here are the latest trending internet culture stories today:
The trend of using influencers on the red carpet (instead of reporters and journalists) is finally receiving the backlash many were waiting for.
Speaking of trends that need to end, how many more shirtless RFK Jr. videos must we be forced to endure?
Over a decade of data unknowingly gathered by players of Pokémon Go will be used to power AI delivery robots.
See you in the next one!
— W.J.
⚡️ Today in Internet Culture
“How’d you get this gig?”: The people demand no more influencers as red carpet hosts after TikTok star fumbles Julia Fox interview
Fans of the Oscars hated the performance of an influencer interviewing stars on the red carpet, which launched discourse into the overall trend. In recent years, people with big TikTok accounts have begun to replace trained, seasoned reporters at events like the Vanity Fair Oscars party, and it’s not going well.
TikToker Jake Shane, in particular, received poor reviews online for his performance.
“Kids are dying of measles”: RFK Jr. reaches untold cringe levels with AI Twinkie fight video
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. continued his weirdness campaign with an AI video of himself fighting a Twinkie. The Sunday slop shows a jacked version of RFK Jr. (in jeans, of course) marching into the “SnackDown” ring and beating up a guy in a costume made to look like the cake treat.
“Nothing is sacred”: Your Pokémon Go photos are training a new line of AI delivery robots
Former Pokémon Go owner Niantic announced last week that it will be using the data generated by millions of users to assist AI delivery bots. Whether all those players explicitly consented or not, the company is partnering with Coco Robotics ahead of its new generation of bots, coming soon to the streets of Los Angeles.
Those in the Venn diagram intersection between “Pokémon fans” and “AI haters” are not happy.
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🕸️ Crawling the Web
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📺 Sarah Michelle Gellar said one executive played a key role in “Buffy” reboot cancellation
🫠 Gen Z streamers mock Conan O’Brien’s “brainrot” Oscars joke while proving its point
🐒 Punch the monkey who went viral for being lonely has found a new companion
📱 Peacock is launching an AI Andy Cohen on its app. Fans say no thanks
🍻 Jon Taffer from Bar Rescue comes for Elon Musk’s Grok, of all people
🔥 Hot on the Dot
This was the most-read story on the Daily Dot yesterday: