There Are No Girls on the Internet

Meghan and Harry are being targeted by a media manipulation campaign. Former counterintelligence agent Asha Rangappa breaks down how they’re fighting back.    What Harry and Meghan Can Teach Us About Information Warfare:  https://asharangappa.substack.com/p/what-harry-and-meghan-can-teach-us?utm_source=profile&utm_medium=reader2 See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Misogynistic, violent scam influencer Andrew Tate was detained in Romania in connection with a human trafficking ring.  Let’s revisit our episode on who Tate is and why it matters that he has a platform. My piece at the Nation- It’s Not Just Joe Rogan. The Entire Digital Space Is Rotten. https://www.thenation.com/article/society/toxic-podcasting/ The Grid: Andrew Tate isn’t just another misogynist...

Ruby Freeman & Shaye Moss are heroes for their testimony before the Jan 6th commission, but they shouldn’t have to be. The Daily Zeitgeist’s Miles Gray joins Bridget to discuss what happened when the disgraced president and the right wing digital media ecosystem coalesced to attack Black women for simply doing their jobs as poll workers during the 2020 election. See omnystudio.com/listener for...

Last night Elon Musk banned a bunch of journalists, stormed out of a Twitter Spaces when questioned about it, then (maybe?) turned off the Spaces feature for everyone! Given how weird his tenure has been, let’s revisit how we got here with my friends at Stuff Mom Never Told You.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The moral panic around the film Cuties explains why so many right wing extremists are using the “groomer” “child predator” attack to smear their enemies today See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

From pressure to create the perfect holiday scene for family, or the most over-the-top instagram post for “the internet,” the holidays can be a stressful time. As usual,  gendered labor like cooking, presents, and kin-making most often falls to women and moms. Social media companies love to monetize our anxieties in order to sell stuff, and the holidays are no exception, but social media can also...

Electrical engineer and AI ethicist Azariah Cole-Shephard breaks down what we need to know about AI art generation apps like Lensa  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Elon Musk is trying to make fetch happen with the “Twitter Files.”  He’s releasing internal Twitter emails about content moderation decisions on the platform before he took over as CEO. But here’s why it’s not be the bombshell he says it is. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In the conclusion of this two part episode, Bridget continues her conversation with journalist and comedian Francesca Fiorentini to talk through the midterm elections and how online harassment keeps women from succeeding in elected office. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In the fantastic new podcast BEDROCK: USA, reporter Laura Bliss uncovers how  extremists have been quietly building power at the local level, zeroing in on institutions like local school boards in small towns.    And while many of us are paying attention to national issues, it’s happening right under our noses.    LISTEN AND SUBSCRIBE TO BEDROCK USA: https://www.bloomberg.com/bedrock-usa FOLLOW LA...

In the first installment of this two part episode, we’re joined by journalist and comedian Francesca Fiorentini to talk through the midterm elections and how online harassment keeps women from succeeding in elected office. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

LGBTQ youth and the people who affirm and support them are being attacked online. Alejandra Caraballo, Clinical Instructor at the Harvard Law Cyber Law Clinic explains why it should concern all of us. WE’RE DOING A LIVE SHOW in NYC and VIRTUALLY on 5/28! Get tickets: Tangoti.com/live  Donate to the Trevor Project: tangoti.com/trevor   Subscribe to Alejandra’s amazing podcast Queering The Law: http...

We're joined by Prop, host of Hood Politics, to discuss the targeted Twitter hate campaign led by Milo Yiannopoulos against comedian & SNL alum Leslie Jones, that stemmed from her casting in the 2016 Ghostbusters remake. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Girls Who Code exists to close the gender gap in technology and to change the image of what a programmer looks like and does. Pretty inspiring, right? But their books for girls were temporarily banned in a Pennsylvania school district.    CEO Dr.  Tarika Barrett explains how these book bans inspired them to get even more girls invested in technology.    Learn more about GirlsWhoCode: https://girls...

We’re joined by Joelle Monique to revisit the 4chan hoax #EndFathersDay and what it says about impersonation as a destabilization tactic on Twitter.  Mikki Kendall's Guardian piece about starting #SolidarityIsforWhiteWomen: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/aug/14/solidarityisforwhitewomen-hashtag-feminism See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It’s election day in the United States. Bridget is sick with COVID and anxious about what is to come. We’re joined by Producer Mike to talk through common disinformation tactics we’re likely to see on and after election day.  SPEAKING OF VOTING, HAVE YOU VOTED FOR MOZILLA’S IRL PODCAST TO WIN A SHORTY AWARD?  TANGOTI.COM/IRL   Come to Bridget’s free interactive disinfo training with Women’s March!...

VOTE FOR MOZILLA’S IRL PODCAST TO WIN A SHORTY AWARD: TANGOTI.COM/IRL  A historic number of women of color are running for office this election cycle. But their candidacy comes with an added burden.  Bridget joins Sam and Anney at Stuff Mom Never Told You to talk through the midterm elections and what they mean for women online.  And speaking of voting, vote for Mozilla’s IRL podcast to win a Shor...

Most people recall GamerGate, but fewer are familiar with DongleGate, the coordinated online harassment campaign against a Black woman tech worker named Adria Richards that happened in 2013. Bridget charts the story of Adria Richards and why it still matters today. The Hacker News post from the fired PlayHaven employee: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5398681 Amanda Blum's blog post about the...

Black women are sometimes called “canaries in the coal mine” for online harms. On this preview of Internet Hate Machine, Bridget Todd charts how harm against Black women online has led to our current social and political landscape. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Here in the United States, we’ve got a lot to be anxious and overwhelmed about. Are these feelings coloring how we respond to the happiness of strangers on social media?  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Our social media platforms are being used to silence marginalized people, disrupt our democracy, and keep all of us more fearful and polarized than ever. Bridget Todd chronicles how our current social and political hellscape started with attacks on Black women that went overlooked, how it makes us all less safe, and what we can do to fight back.  SUBSCRIBE TO INTERNET HATE MACHINE: https://podcast...

Everyone deserves privacy online, even kids. So what happens when parents make entire social media presences built around sharing their kids' most intimate or sensitive moments with the internet?    Sarah Adams uses her TikTok platform Mom Uncharted to explore what she calls "Generation Shared," parents who share intimate details about their kids on social media for views online.   FOLLOW SARAH AT...

What is going on with our obsession with true crime? From social media sleuths to conspiracy theorists, Jessica Dean—aka Bloodbathandbeyond—joins us to discuss what happens when the darkest moments of a stranger’s life become a trending topic. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Kanye West is trafficking in antisemitism and white supremacy, and he’s using memes to do it. In this longer episode, Bridget talks with Harvard researchers Dr. Joan Donovan and Emily Dryfuss about their insightful new book, “The Meme Wars: The Untold Story of the Online Battles Upending Democracy in America.” They break down the history of memes, and what today’s memes tell us about our social an...

As Mr. Peanut Butter might say: “What is this, a crossover episode?”  When she isn’t hosting There Are No Girls on the Internet, Bridget is having conversations about life in her hometown Washington DC on another podcast project called City Cast DC.  This week, Bridget spoke to Jade Womack who considers herself an “anti influencer.”  Working entirely by herself, Jade built an influential online pl...