There Are No Girls on the Internet

Amazon responds to Shein and Temu threat with new low-price storefront: https://www.techspot.com/news/103565-amazon-responds-shein-temu-threat-new-low-price.html Fast fashion retailer Shein’s brand trip didn’t quite go as they planned. They sent a group of influencers to China to tour their facility after a bunch of bad press, but now those influencers are facing backlash themselves, and renouncin...

Want to write a book, be a musician, or be a podcaster? You’d better also be a social media branding expert, too. Bridget joins writers and creatives Yvest Jeffcoat and Katie Mitchell from the podcast On Theme to dive into why social media has turned everyone into personal branding experts and why it can sometimes be so exhausting.  Everyone’s a sellout now: https://www.vox.com/culture/2024/2/1/24...

What’s the Deal With ‘Hawk Tuah’ Girl?  https://www.thecut.com/article/hawk-tuah-girl-viral-tiktok-video-explained.html   Exposing Cheaters Isn’t Always a Flex  https://www.thecut.com/article/man-cheating-on-flight-tiktok.html See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

After Georgia Congressman Mike Collins tweeted in support of frat guys harassing a Black woman with racist tropes… nothing really happened. Popular Information's Judd Legum explores why we need better stories about our democracy, the intersection of media complacency with corporate money, and what's at stake. UPDATE: Congressman Collins feels the heat: https://popular.info/p/update-congressman-col...

Friend of the show Abbie Richards explains why low effort AI generated conspiracy theory content is all over TikTok right now and who is profiting from it.  With TikTok creator program, AI-sped misinformation pays: https://www.axios.com/2024/03/26/tik-tok-creator-program-ai-misinformation Follow Abbie Richards on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@tofology See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy info...

If a tree falls in the garden where a woman enjoys drinking coffee with her husband and no one’s there to hear it, should the Internet harass her anyway? In 2022, Daisey sent one innocuous tweet that launched a thousand takes. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It’s Pride Month, which is a great time to be thinking about the LGBTQ people who have been beacons of the vastness of what is possible for our communities. In this episode, Bridget highlights the incredible achievements of Lynn Conway, a trans woman who invented a lot of the tech we take for granted today. Despite a successful track record at IBM, her contributions were credited to others for alm...

2024 isn’t just an election year, it’s THE election year, with almost half the global population voting in elections this year. And unfortunately women leaders and candidates are facing identity based attacks just for wanting to serve their communities. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Listen to the Outspoken Network’s new pod But We Loved : https://www.iheart.com/podcast/1119-but-we-loved-174494262/ Listen to Joey’s take on Bottoms on Stuff Mom Never Told You: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/105-stuff-mom-never-told-you-21123631/episode/feminist-movie-friday-bottoms-183565696/ Israel Secretly Targeted American Lawmakers With Gaza War Influence Campaign: https://www.haaretz.com/i...

Grant program for Black women business owners is discriminatory, appeals court rules: https://www.npr.org/2024/06/03/g-s1-2649/fearless-fund-grant-program-appeal-ruling Fearless Fund is a Black woman-led venture capital firm that offers investment, financial support, and mentorship to Black women-owned businesses.  But they are under attack for providing support for traditionally marginalized entr...

Hi There Are No Girls On The Internet Fans! Take a listen to the trailer of our newest show Sixteenth Minute (of Fame) About the show: Sixteenth Minute (of Fame) is a weekly show from Jamie Loftus that takes a closer look at the internet’s main characters – one part reported, one part interviews, and one part Jamie collapsing her permanently internet-damaged brain. Whether it’s an enduring meme or...

HE’S GUILTY song of the summer by Mad McFadden: https://www.tiktok.com/@madmcferrin/video/7374903247653326122 'All Eyes on Rafah' image shared by millions on Instagram following Israeli airstrike: https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/internet/-eyes-rafah-image-shared-millions-instagram-rcna154380 Donate to the Palestinian Children’s Relief Fund: https://www.pcrf.net/ 'Sextortion guides' sold on social med...

After the tragedy at Travis Scott’s Astroworld festival that left 10 dead and hundreds injured and traumatized, the rapper announced a “partnership” to provide a free month of therapy through the app BetterHelp, which is basically the Tinder of therapy.  Jeff Guenthr, creator of Therapy Den, has been using his platform on TikTok to shed light on BetterHelp’s practices when it comes to data privacy...

Spike Jonze’s 2013 movie Her is in the tech zeitgeist. Have tech leaders watched the whole thing?  Brian Merchant’s piece on Her and Open AI is a must read: https://www.bloodinthemachine.com/p/why-is-sam-altman-so-obsessed-with?utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web Bridget rocking Google Glass in 2013: https://www.instagram.com/p/Z1xL1OHw-Z/?igsh=MTR0OXU5aGV2Z3V3NA%3D%3D Listen to our summary of th...

Scarlett Johansson says Open AI ripped off her voice for their ChatGPT4.0 even after she said no. No means no, Sam Altman!  Here’s what their behavior says about consent in tech. Scarlett Johansson Says OpenAI Ripped Off Her Voice for ChatGPT: https://www.wired.com/story/scarlett-johansson-says-openai-ripped-off-her-voice-for-chatgpt/ AI Art and the Problem of Consent https://artreview.com/ai-art-...

The weekly news roundup is back! Bridget’s piece on Elizabeth Holmes’ hair: https://www.instyle.com/hair/elizabeth-holmes-white-privilege-messy-hair Zuck's new style was on full display at his birthday: https://ca.news.yahoo.com/rapper-swag-zuck-gone-too-085234346.html #Blockout2024: Why people are blocking celebrities on social media: https://mashable.com/article/tiktok-blockout-2024-celebrity-me...

Kate Taylor’s reporting led to HBO’s new documentary Brandy Hellville and the Cult of Fast Fashion. She joins Bridget to discuss what Brandy Mellville’s rise says about social media, girlhood, and exploitation, and what it means for the rest of us.   Read Kate’s piece (all of her pieces are dope)  https://www.businessinsider.com/brandy-melville-teen-fast-fashion-racism-exploitation-hitler-marsan-2...

Campuses are canceling and shrinking graduation ceremonies after waves of student protests. The protests have also triggered a wave of harassment, doxxing, and online harm. Caroline and Sam, digital security and privacy experts with Convocation Research and Design, share some shocking facts and thought provoking perspectives about state surveillance during the protests.  They also describe steps p...

More and more workers are unionizing across the country.  Metalhead and labor journalist Kim Kelly on the exciting new wave of unionization and what it means. Follow Kim Kelly on Twitter: https://twitter.com/GrimKim Check out Kim’s new book Fight Like Hell: The Untold History of American Labor: https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Fight-Like-Hell/Kim-Kelly/9781982171056 Join our newsletter: Tang...

Even if you’ve never seen Lenna Forsén’s image, you know it, because an image of the Swedish former model went on to be one the most important images in internet history.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Don’t freak out! You can still use TikTok for the time being. But here’s where we could be headed. Here's what TikTok's anticipated court challenge could look like: https://www.politico.com/news/2024/04/26/tiktok-congress-legal-00154688   Alleged pro-Palestinian bias was part of the argument used to justify banning TikTok, but that argument doesn't make a lot of sense: https://www.washingtonpost.c...

A hologram of the late Whitney Houston is doing a residency in Las Vegas.  Spirituality writer Brooke Obie asks what this means about celebrity, greif, and technology.  Read Brooke's piece The Zombification of Whitney Houston:  https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/2021/11/10725817/whitney-houston-hologram-tour Read Deepfakes, dead relatives and digital resurrection:  https://theface.com/society/deepfa...

Extremists like Chris Rufo are setting their sites on NPR, and the New York Times is helping them do it. Again. The Real Story Behind NPR’s Current Problems: https://slate.com/business/2024/04/npr-diversity-public-broadcasting-radio.html See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Evan Rachel Wood’s documentary Phoenix Rising paints a horrifying picture of abuse she experienced by Brian Warner, also known as Marylin Manson.  Bridget joins Sam and Anney at the podcast Stuff Mom Never Told You to talk through why it’s also a tech accountability issue.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Romeo & Juliet theatre star suffers ‘barrage’ of online racial abuse: https://www.theguardian.com/society/2024/apr/05/romeo-juliet-theatre-star-suffers-barrage-of-online-racial-abuse Tom Holland Urged to Speak Out After Nearly 900 Black Actors Condemn Racial Abuse of Romeo & Juliet Star Francesca Amewudah-Rivers: https://www.teenvogue.com/story/tom-holland-racial-abuse-romeo-and-juliet-fra...