Weekly Internet Roundup: TikTokers Pay the Cheese Tax, Elon Does Ableism, and the Cult of MrBeast

Hello! It's time for another look back on what the past week has been like online, according to a few of the things that we have been talking about the most. In this edition, there are a lot of famous men being varying levels of annoying douchebag, with a side order of adorable animal relief. We like to keep these things balanced, y'know. Anyway, this is what has been happening. 

Another Week, Another Elon Musk L

You would think that our friend Elon would have realized by now that just because you own a social media platform doesn't mean you win every fight you get into on it. If he had, he might not have been forced to apologize after a series of embarrassing events recently. 

Former Twitter employee Haraldur Thorleifsson was forced to call out the CEO on Twitter to confirm whether he had lost his job, claiming that HR was unable to do this for him. Musk responded to the information by apparently trying to do a public exit interview, then claimed that his subordinate “did no actual work" and used a fake disability as an excuse (Haraldur has muscular dystrophy). 

It wasn't long before he got put in his place, deleting his tweets and releasing an apology for his behavior. Still, pretty impressive that he managed to sink any lower than he had already.

How to Win Parasocial Relationships and Influence People

In a just world, the only people that would know about the existence of MrBeast would be off-putting tech bros and ten-year-old iPad kids. Unfortunately, though, life isn't like that, and the wider internet is forced into acknowledging the soul-sucking algorithmic game that is his entire schtick. 

When he's not making children do Soyjack faces for his videos about cynical charity efforts, he's making money with merch. Feastables are the new line of MrBeast chocolate bars, and his sneaky attempt at promoting them raised eyebrows earlier this week.

Asking his Twitter followers to clean up any messy displays of Feastables that they saw in Walmart, many were all to happy to oblige. However, others were less than impressed at his request for free labor. The Antichrist allegations grow more and more compelling. 

Is This Another Social Experiment?

Cole Sprouse has not been looked upon kindly online since he dramatically deleted his 2010s relic of a Tumblr account and told the world “I'm a weirdo” in his much-memed stint on Riverdale. He's carved a specific niche for annoying stunts, which did not do him any favors when he was interviewed on the Call Her Daddy podcast.

A clip of the conversation went viral after people expressed bafflement at the actor smoking inside while he was talking, and managing to look deeply uncool while he did it. 

While he may have made any vaper look like Marlon Brando in comparison, Cole can't be too down on himself. This whole debacle detracts from the accusation that he's on a PR tour to deny an abusive relationship with ex Lili Reinhart.

New Cultural Expectation for Dog Ownership Just Dropped

Everything comes at a price these days. Taxes are high, the cost of living is higher, and now a catchy song is imploring that everyone who lives with a dog has to make a payment every time they open their fridge. The Cheese Tax is what all human beings have to pay to their canine overlords, and it's exactly what it sounds like. TikTok has turned this into a catchy tune, so you have something to be reminded of whenever your dog gives you those pleading eyes for a dairy-based treat.

This is all that we're going to look at this week. Hope you have a good weekend that hasn't been spoiled by the burden of this useless and somewhat irritating knowledge. See you on the flip side!