There Are No Girls on the Internet

Taylor Swift conspiracy theories, misinformation on TikTok, and online antisemitism discussions. Amazon sued for spy cams. GOP debate stats misinterpreted. Dublin riots response by Meta and TikTok. Anthem Award nomination for the podcast.

The tech conference Devternity has been canceled (not fake canceled, literally canceled) after allegations that the founder has been inventing fake women and catfishing on Instagram for years.  Bridget does a deep dive to get to the bottom of it, and what it says about default, dismissive attitudes about marginalized people in tech. There were real women the whole time! Why not invite one of them?! A Tech Conference Listed Fake Speakers for Years: I Accidentally Noticed: https://blog.pragmaticengineer.com/devternity-fake-speakers/ Male Tech Conference Founder Is Behind Popular Woman Coding Influencer Account: https://www.404media.co/coding-unicorn-instagram-julia-kirsina-devternity/ Tech Conference Collapses After Organizer Admits to Making Fake ‘Auto-Generated’ Female Speaker https://www.404media.co/devternity-fake-speakers-eduard-sizovs/ Eduards Sizovs’s full response thread: https://twitter.com/eduardsi/status/1728422017417032140 Here’s a collection of Julia through the years: https://docs.google.com/document/d/10Fds4DgzU_Yem577sfGykauuNkltIq3ykZdZUd1EAUE/edit?usp=sharing  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We’re soft-launching having a little banter at the top of the episode, but to get straight to the news go to the 4:25 mark!  Wanna listen to Bridget dig into her Spotify Wrapped?5:20  Check out the Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/tangoti NameDrop is safe. The fearmongering about it is not: https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2023/11/27/namedrop-iphone-ios17-safety/ Your Step-by-Step Guide to Disabling NameDrop (if you want to):  https://www.cnet.com/tech/mobile/your-step-by-step-guide-to-disabling-namedrop/ Instagram’s Algorithm Delivers Toxic Video Mix to Adults Who Follow Children (paywalled) https://www.wsj.com/tech/meta-instagram-video-algorithm-children-adult-sexual-content-72874155 How One Stupid Tweet Blew Up Justine Sacco’s Life: https://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/15/magazine/how-one-stupid-tweet-ruined-justine-saccos-life.html Google agrees to pay publishers in Canada and drops plans for blocking news: https://www.theverge.com/2023/11/29/23981515/google-canadian-government-online-news-act-link-tax-agreement Why Mickey Mouse’s 1998 copyright extension probably won’t happen again: https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2018/01/hollywood-says-its-not-planning-another-copyright-extension-push/ Sports Illustrated Published Articles by Fake, AI-Generated Writers: https://futurism.com/sports-illustrated-ai-generated-writersSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Last week, Sam Altman was abruptly fired from Open AI. Don’t worry, he’s already been reinstated.  Dr. Misty Heggeness, Associate Professor in the School of Public Affairs and Administration at the University of Kansas, talks with Bridget about what all the drama around his departure and return says about male leaders in tech and beyond.  Read Misty’s op-ed: How the OpenAI saga illustrates tech’s toxic masculinity problem: https://www.fastcompany.com/90986317/openai-saga-techs-toxic-masculinity-problemSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

After being falsely accused of murder in a global scandal screamed from tabloid headlines, these days exoneree, activist, mom, and host of the podcast Labyrinths Amanda Knox spends her time imagining a healthier media landscape. Check out the work Amanda does alongside her husband Chris: https://www.knoxrobinson.com Read Amanda's Medium piece, Who Owns My Name: https://amandamarieknox.medium.com/who-owns-my-name-93561f83e502 Amanda and Chris' podcast Labyrinths is very good, but this episode is my favorite: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-half-life-of-prejudice-malcolm-gladwell/id1494368441?i=1000497457213 Subscribe to our Patreon: Tangoti.com/patreon  Help support the show at our merch store: TANGOTI.COM/store  Want to say hi? Hit us up at Hello@Tangoti.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There’s a lot going on with Twitter! It’s been a few weeks since we’ve done an installment of our segment, “What’s Elon Done Now?” because we were sick of talking about him. But some big things happened this week, so Bridget sits down with Producer Mike to recap and talk about what it all means.  From Elon boosting antisemitic tweets and calling it “actual truth” to Media Matters releasing a damning report about hate speech on the platform and major advertisers pulling the plug, it’s been an eventful week.  Media Matters report on Twitter ads being placed next to nazi content: https://www.mediamatters.org/twitter/musk-endorses-antisemitic-conspiracy-theory-x-has-been-placing-ads-apple-bravo-ibm-oracle  How Elon Musk came to have so much leverage over the U.S. government, and the U.S. military’s uncomfortable reliance on Starlink. (it’s a long read but a good one): https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2023/08/28/elon-musks-shadow-rule  Dr. Caroline Orr Bueno’s Twitter thread on informational dark spaces: https://twitter.com/RVAwonk/status/1726851801658589525 Elon Musk’s ‘thermonuclear’ lawsuit over hate-adjacent ads on X… actually confirms them: https://techcrunch.com/2023/11/20/elon-musks-thermonuclear-lawsuit-over-hate-adjacent-ads-on-x-actually-confirms-them/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Learn more about Joey’s new podcast with Raquel Willis Afterlives: https://www.them.us/story/afterlives-layleen-polanco-trans-incarceration-podcast?utm_source=twitter&utm_brand=them&utm_social-type=owned&utm_medium=social Dear Video Game Industry, Please Name A Woman: https://kotaku.com/pc-gamer-30th-anniversary-women-games-1851021562 FCC moves to help domestic violence victims with new rules around cellphones: https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/fcc-moves-help-domestic-violence-victims-new-rules-cellphones-rcna124902 Haley walks back declaration that all social media users must be verified: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/11/15/nikki-haley-social-media-anonymous/ YouTube will label AI-generated videos that look real: https://www.npr.org/2023/11/14/1212986395/youtube-will-label-ai-generated-videos-that-look-realSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Is it just me or are ads everywhere on TikTok right now? Welcome to TikTok Shop. Is this the new normal? TikTok creator PrettyCritical joins Bridget to discuss. Follow Pretty Critical: https://www.tiktok.com/@prettycritical?lang=en Teens are trying to cash in on the TikTok Shop gold rush between classes: https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/social-media/tiktok-shop-teens-high-school-open-how-to-make-money-long-deliver-us-rcna102788 The Junk Is Winning TikTok’s experiment in shopping has quickly become another place to hawk products: https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2023/10/tiktok-shop-cheap-products/675761/ TikTok cashing in on sale of counterfeit cosmetics and prescription skin creams: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2023/apr/23/tiktok-cashing-in-counterfeit-beauty-products-skin-gels  TikTok Forced to Close Shopping Feature in Its Second-Largest Market: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/05/business/tiktok-shop-indonesia-ecommerce-ban.html HERE’S HOW TO BLOCK TIK TOK SHOP: https://www.tiktok.com/@thomasgermain/video/7270529252703898922?lang=enSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

“We got the yacht!”  https://www.bravotv.com/the-real-housewives-of-new-york-city/season-8/episode-17/videos/sonja-we-got-the-yacht Actors strike wins concessions that will impact AI and streaming for decades: https://www.wired.com/story/hollywood-actors-strike-ends-ai-streaming/ Zuckerberg personally and repeatedly blocked efforts to make Meta's products less harmful: https://www.cnn.com/2023/11/08/tech/meta-facebook-instagram-teen-safety/index.html How to be a whistleblower with Sophie Zhang: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-to-be-a-whistleblower-with-sophie-zhang/id1520715907?i=1000539829571 Building a Better Internet with Carrie Goldberg: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/building-a-better-internet-with-carrie-goldberg/id1520715907?i=1000489091000 Omegle’s goodbye: https://www.omegle.com/ Advertisers Don’t Want Sites Like Jezebel to Exist: https://www.404media.co/advertisers-dont-want-sites-like-jezebel-to-exist/ Jezebel and the Question of Women’s Anger https://newyorker.com/culture/the-weekend-essay/jezebel-and-the-question-of-womens-angerSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In the wake of Britney Spears’ hit memoir, are social media bots changing the conversation? Bridget does a deep dive into how social media bots are changing the landscape of social media discourse. From celebrity disputes to television reviews and political discourse, the threat of bots and inauthentic accounts are shaping how we think and how we talk to each other, whether they’re real or not.  Massive Twitter Bot Farm Is Heaping Praise on Trump and Trashing DeSantis” https://gizmodo.com/twitter-bots-trump-desantis-maga-facebook-1850199161 Is There a Bot Behind That Tweet? https://insight.kellogg.northwestern.edu/article/is-there-a-bot-behind-that-tweet Bots on X worse than ever according to analysis of 1m tweets during first Republican primary debate: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2023/sep/09/x-twitter-bots-republican-primary-debate-tweets-increase Even a few bots can shift public opinion in big ways: https://theconversation.com/even-a-few-bots-can-shift-public-opinion-in-big-ways-104377See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.