Hello Wrecklings! Hope this issue finds you safe and sound post-first-Coachella-weekend-Instagram-posts.

Separately… not complaining, but I’m always anxious it’ll be a slow newsletter week and each time, people don’t disappoint me… by making sure they disappoint by everyone else :)

• “The Instagram Guru 'F**king' His Female Followers 'To Freedom'“- This is absolutely one of those stories that embodies why we were inspired to launch The Wreck List. According to EJ, the writer, the piece currently has a ~6 minute retention rate, which is unheard of for an article, so you know it’s a worthwhile read.

• “Disappointing photos show what Coachella is like in real life”- This basically confirms my hunch that I’d be miserable at Coachella. Especially if you’re navigating that while one iota hungover.

• “Revolve Festival Influencers Complain About Conditions”- While some proclaimed Revolve as being Fyre Fest 2.0, I’m just getting influencers-were-mildly-inconvenienced vibes. So, we continue our watch.

• While a bit late in discovering, Hype Auditor releases an annual State of Influencer Marketing report and this year’s says that 49.23% of influencers are impacted by fraud. Which seems like a nice way of saying they engage in fraudulent activities like buying followers, leveraging bots, etc. Tangentially related, a price list leaked of influencers’ costs to promote NFT projects, def not surprised to see Lindsay Lohan on there, she’s been consistently unashamed to shill whatever, whenever.

• “Influencer Sued Over Claim of Being First Woman to Visit Every Country”- Ahh arrogance of influencers will never cease to amaze. For those with a WashPo subscription, check out the original article here— by Taylor Lorenz who continues to crush it, while also navigating endless internet goblins.

• “‘He cussed me out and tried to belittle me’: CEO berates, fires unpaid intern during Zoom call in viral TikTok”- This story is WILD and yet not terribly shocking? It reminds me of an email someone in leadership once sent to interns at an old job I held. The sign-off still kills me.

  

• “TikToker Dragged For Absurdly Claiming That Nobody Can Survive On Less Than $10k A Month”- As someone whose starting salary in New York City was $30k, this too makes me want to get my ‘lil internet pitchfork out.

• “Urban Outfitters Selling ‘First Legal Psychedelic’ Gone Viral on TikTok”- I feel like if your first psychedelic comes from Urban Outfitters (or WALMART), you can never admit it to anyone ever— or at least say you got it at Hot Topic because… nostalgia? Also the product’s claim, “Stress will melt away and you’ll start to feel happy inside” sounds like how I wished my antidepressants would work.

• “The Counter Has Money, So Why Is It Shutting Down?”- It’s been a hard week for indie pubs, and seems like whether media pieces or Twitter threads, news comes with its own drama.

• “Herschel Walker Claims to Own Companies That Don’t Exist”- Do you think his dad also invented the Toaster Strudel?

More Serious Stories

We realize some of these can be triggering for some readers, so feel free to skip!

• “There are no laws protecting kids from being exploited on YouTube — one teen wants to change that”

• “‘How many bad reviews were deleted before I brought my dog here?’: TikToker says New York City vet is deleting bad Google reviews in viral TikTok”

• “White Reporter Has Meltdown After Seeing Black People At Country Music Awards: 'It's Not Wakanda'“

• “Indigenous women on TikTok say they’re being unfairly harassed for their association with creator Modern Warrior”

• “Ali Wong's divorce news causes another case of #wrongasian”

Have a story or tip you’d like to submit? Share it at Hello@TheWreckList.com or drop us a DM on Instagram.

Got feedback for us? Let us know here - the form is also totally anonymous so please bring the brutal honesty.

P.S. While we’re obsessed with these stories, we don’t endorse any of these insane behaviors. 💋