Topic: Weird & Viral

Weird & Viral brings together the stories that defy easy categorisation: unusual discoveries, internet-fuelled controversies, eccentric cultural moments and the stranger corners of science, technology and entertainment.

It is where a niche fascination can become a global conversation overnight, and where online trends can reveal wider questions about misinformation, platforms, identity and public attention. For readers, it offers a quick way to follow the unexpected stories people are sharing, debating and trying to make sense of.

  • No, Madonna Was Not in Trump’s Suite at the World Cup Final

    Rolling Stone has debunked a viral social media claim that Madonna was spotted in Donald Trump’s luxury suite at the FIFA World Cup final at MetLife Stadium. The rumour began after a brief camera shot of Trump’s box during the Spain–Argentina match showed a woman seated near Melania Trump, which users on X wrongly assumed…

  • How To Find Bones In Phasmophobia

    In Phasmophobia, locating the bone is a useful optional objective during an investigation. Finding and photographing it can increase the team’s reward, while collecting it before leaving removes it from the level and adds further value to the contract. Bones can spawn in a wide range of accessible areas, including rooms, corridors and other small…

  • Spider-Man: Brand New Day Star Sadie Sink Asked About Jean Grey Rumor, Tries to Respond Without Spoiling Anything

    With Marvel’s Spider-Man: Brand New Day due for release, mystery still surrounds the character played by Stranger Things actress Sadie Sink, and fan speculation that she is portraying X-Men telepath Jean Grey has intensified. A podcast interviewer tried a playful trick to get a reaction from Sink, casually working the words “jean” and “grey” into…

  • All Phasmophobia Spirit Box Questions and Responses

    GameSpot explains how to use Phasmophobia’s Spirit Box to obtain evidence and communicate with eligible ghosts. – Use it in the ghost room with lights off; be alone if the ghost responds only to solo players. – Response range is 3m, 4m and 5m for Tier 1, 2 and 3 boxes respectively. – Ask aggression,…

  • 5 Reasons ‘The Odyssey’ Defied Box Office Expectations, Including Imax’s Monster $52 Million Start

    Christopher Nolan’s adaptation of Homer’s “The Odyssey” delivered a stronger-than-expected opening weekend, taking $124.5 million domestically and $264.1 million worldwide. The result marks the biggest global debut of Nolan’s career, surpassing 2012’s “The Dark Knight Rises,” and is notable because a big-budget film based on an ancient Greek epic poem was not a guaranteed commercial…

  • Man who died in jail after South Yorkshire disorder was ‘strange’ after arrest, inquest hears

    An inquest has heard that Peter Lynch appeared confused and behaved unusually after his arrest over disorder outside a Rotherham hotel housing asylum seekers. A custody sergeant said, in hindsight, Lynch should have been referred to mental-health specialists, making the evidence relevant to the inquiry into whether opportunities for support were missed before his death…

  • Samsung 990 review: a lower-spec SSD that’s weirdly great for games

    Rock Paper Shotgun has reviewed Samsung’s new 990 SSD, a lower-specification, DRAMless drive that unexpectedly excels at reducing in-game load times despite unremarkable overall benchmark performance. The review highlights an odd contradiction: the drive underperforms rivals in general read/write speed tests and comes with a shorter warranty, yet it matches or beats pricier alternatives when…

  • Marvel Just Paid Off a 31-Year-Old Storyline With the Perfect James Cameron Sci-Fi Homage

    X-Men ’97 Season 2’s latest episode, “Weapon X, Lies, and DVDs,” has finally given the Brood – one of the X-Men’s most notorious alien enemies – a full on-screen appearance after 31 years, having previously only cameoed as a virtual simulation in the original 1994 animated series. The episode also doubles as an affectionate homage…

  • YouTube clarifies policies around AI slop and upsetting videos

    YouTube has updated its content policies to clarify exactly what counts as unmonetisable “inauthentic content”, part of a wider effort to curb AI-generated “slop” on the platform. The move builds on rules introduced last year that blocked revenue for mass-produced and repetitive AI content, but adds more precise definitions so creators know what is and…

  • Z1ON Finally Unleashes Viral Single ‘Magazine Girl’

    Rising artist Z1ON has released his new single ‘Magazine Girl’, following weeks of viral build-up around the track’s title phrase. The rollout saw Z1ON distributing branded t-shirts to notable figures on social media, generating buzz well before the song’s official release, which underlines the growing role of pre-release seeding and celebrity co-signs in breaking new…