Ticketmaster texts bragging about fees ignite backlash
Plus: Denver Airport's kind TSA gesture backfires.
It’s Friday the 13th!
Here are the latest trending internet culture stories today:
If you weren’t already enraged about Ticketmaster, these newly leaked texts of two company directors joking about ripping off customers ought to do the trick.
People can’t decide if the Denver International Airport asking passengers to bring gift cards for unpaid TSA agents is sweet or a complete conflict of interest.
Fact checking Trump’s claims that rates are “all the way down.”
See you next time,
— W.J.
⚡️ Today in Internet Culture
“Bloodboiling” leaked texts show Ticketmaster execs bragging about overcharging fans
Newly public court exhibits from the Justice Department’s antitrust case against Live Nation reveal internal messages in which Ticketmaster executives joked about gouging concertgoers with inflated fees and parking charges.
The texts were shared between regional ticketing directors, and show them openly bragging about overcharging fans while mocking customers as “stupid.” The messages surfaced just days after the Trump administration agreed to settle the case with Live Nation rather than pursue a breakup of the dominant ticketing company.
Denver International Airport seeks gift card donations for TSA agents without pay amid partial shutdown
Denver International Airport posted an appeal on X asking the public to bring gift cards for TSA workers. The airport security staff are not getting paid as the federal government shutdown stretches into another week. However, many TSA agents continued working even though paychecks stopped.
Meanwhile, passengers are facing wait times of up to three or more hours, when before they could reliably arrive at the airport two hours before departure without issue.
Trump says groceries, hotel rates, car prices, and rent are all “way down.” Let’s fact check that
At a political rally in Hebron, Kentucky, yesterday, President Donald Trump claimed that everyday costs, from groceries to rent to hotel rooms, are “a lot” lower since he returned to the White House.
While inflation has slowed and a handful of items have dipped in price, many of the goods Trump cited are actually more expensive than they were a year ago.
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🔥 Hot on the Dot
This was the most-read story on the Daily Dot yesterday:
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