New scam shows workers calling out Walmart, Target for calling ICE to deport them
Here's how to spot it in the wild.
Greetings! Welcome to the Daily Dot’s first official newsletter on Substack.
We’re thrilled you’re here. Now, on to today’s latest trending internet culture stories:
We uncovered a deplorable TikTok scam that shows Walmart and Target workers claiming the companies called ICE to have them deported, the internet reacted to news that free tax prep service Direct File is going away, and yet another commercial—this one from Dunkin’ Donuts, for some reason—is being called into question for its use of the word “genetics.”
Tomorrow’s the weekend! Enjoy it.
— W.J.
⚡️ Today in Internet Culture
"Walmart just called ICE on me": What's going on with the TikTok videos claiming they were fired by Walmart and Target?
Lately, a strange trend has been taking over TikTok. If one looks up “ICE deportations at Target,” “ICE at Walmart,” or even simply “fired from Target/Walmart,” they’ll be greeted by a flood of videos of people claiming that they were recently fired or deported after working at one of these popular retailers — and, consequently, they’re ready to reveal a variety of secrets about the store.
So, what’s going on here? Are all of these people really “spilling the secrets” of these stores — or getting deported while working at Target and Walmart? Nope, it’s a scam.
“A huge handout to tax prep companies”: The Trump admin just made doing your taxes more expensive for millions
The Trump administration has officially ended the IRS’s Direct File program, which allowed some Americans to file their taxes for free. The move sparked immediate backlash online, with critics accusing the administration of siding with tax-prep giants like TurboTax and H&R Block at the expense of working-class taxpayers.
This news irked many Americans tired of watching more of their paychecks disappear to increased costs every month.
Another day, another ad talking about genetics. This time it’s Gavin Casalegno for Dunkin’ Donuts
A new Dunkin’ Donuts ad referencing genetics has people on edge—especially right after the recent American Eagle controversy. The popular coffee chain recently released a new ad featuring The Summer I Turned Pretty star Gavin Casalegno.
“Look, I didn’t ask to be the king of summer. It just kind of happened. This tan? Genetics,” he says. “I just got my color analysis back. Guess what? Golden summer, literally. I can’t help it. Every time I drink a Dunkin’ Donuts Golden Hour Refresher, it’s like the sun just finds me.”
🕸️ Crawling the Web
🍦 Demi Lovato returned to the scene of her 2021 frozen yogurt controversy, proving that she has a good sense of humor and an excellent eye for a viral social media moment.
🐢 A Hawaii tourist trampled through a natural sea turtle habitat for the sake of taking selfies, despite being yelled at.
🪞 SKIMS just released a line of facial shapewear they’re calling face wraps, and people are comparing it to something out of The Handmaid’s Tale, calling it a “product that will literally keep your mouth shut.”
👖 Doja Cat waded into the Sydney Sweeney American Eagle discourse, but probably shouldn’t be throwing stones in glass houses.
🥡 A DoorDash driver was “caught in 4K” eating a customer’s McDonald’s order straight out of the bag and publicly shamed across the internet for it.
🛳️ The top reason you never want to get sick while on a cruise vacation is simply the “diabolical” cost of medical bills.
🔥 Hot on the Dot
This was the most-read story on the Daily Dot yesterday:
➤ Man finds strange goo inside $30 steak from Publix. Then he gets it tested