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Dublin: 5 °C Friday 29 March, 2024
Week in Web

Weird Wide Web: the week in online oddities

The internet’s best offerings in social media, tech, science and weird news.

WELCOME TO THE Weird Wide Web – where we take a look at some of the internet’s best offerings in social media, tech, science and weird news.

Bald for Beiber

This week, a tweet from Entertainment Weekly’s verified Twitter account read:

Pop Star Justin Bieber was diagnosed with cancer earlier this morning. Bieber fans are shaving their heads to show their support.

Justin then (seemingly) responded to say thanks for the support and a photo of two girls with shaved heads started circulating online.

However the tweets were not from Entertainment Weekly or Beiber. They were from 4chan – who had hacked the account, according to Tech Crunch.

In other words, 4chan has made lifelong enemies of several horrified, now-bald, teenage girls.

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Message makeover

You might have noticed the display of your Facebook messages looking a little odd of late. Don't bother trying to "fix" it - it's the latest redesign aimed at making user experience more photo centric.

Via Facebook newsroom

All talk

We all have our hidden passions. For example, Kiefer Sutherland likes baking cupcakes and Megan Fox is fluent in dolphin. There you go.

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Manhattan blackout

Eerie.

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Not so comfortable now

Hurricane Sandy ravaged the Caribbean and US this week - killing dozens, destroying buildings, and knocking off power to much of Manhattan. Some of the most terrifying - and, ultimately, untrue - rumours that spread during the chaos could be traced back to one source: the Twitter account of anonymous user @ComfortablySmug.

Buzzfeed's Jack Stuef quickly figured out the identity of the person who had deliberately caused panic across the city- Shashank Tripathi, Republican political consultant and former hedge fund analyst. Following a backlash, Tripathi announced his resignation from the congressional campaign, saying: "I wish to offer the people of New York a sincere, humble and unconditional apology".

Main photo: Toria via Shutterstock

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