The Internet Is Lying to You, How Rich People Vote and More #Mustreads

Good morning!

So you turned on your computer. Now you might as well peruse these links, brought to you by Re/code:

1. Yesterday we linked to a story about how a picture of an okay-looking teen who worked at Target became Twitter famous among teenage girls over the course of a single day. Now a viral marketing firm called Breakr is claiming credit for the rise of “Alex From Target.” CNET wrote the first story on this revelation, but you can read Breakr’s CEO’s essay about the thing on LinkedIn. The lesson here is that nearly everything on the Internet is garbage, and you should trust no meme.
2. The rich are different. They have more money. They also get valet parking, lamb chops and live harp music when they vote. At least in Bel-Air, anyway. The Los Angeles Times has the story. Meanwhile, Mother Jones reports on what it was like to vote yesterday for the rest of America.
3. Though you’d never guess from “Law & Order” or “Night Court,” an astonishing 95 percent of criminal cases in America are settled by plea bargains. This is not necessarily a good thing! Find out why in this detailed and thoughtful essay in the New York Review of Books.
4. There are large swaths of the U.S. with lousy Internet access. But in a lot of places, it’s much worse than you think. And we’re talking major metropolitan areas: In Birmingham, Ala., and Jackson, Miss., (and Detroit, too), roughly 40 percent of households have no Internet access whatsoever. Read more about the appalling state of Internet connectivity in America over at Ars Technica.
5. This summer, the music magazine Fader published a big profile of the Philly musician Alex G, calling him “the Internet’s secret best songwriter.” Alex G is kind of a poppy Elliott Smith, with evocative lyrics and catchy melodies. He and Ryan Hemsworth, one of the best DJs and producers working today, teamed up on an excellent new track, which you can listen to at Fader.

If you see any stories you’d like to send our way (or have any questions/comments about stories we’ve recommended), feel free to shoot an email to noah@recode.net.

This article originally appeared on Recode.net.

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