Whistleblowers, dolphin memes, and a million dollar toilet

How has an algorithmic arms race created an environment where controversial and incendiary content is routinely amplified on our feeds? On this episode, Marianna discusses her latest investigation, which provides a paper trail showing how social media giants ignored internal warnings about the design of their platforms. She's heard from whistleblowers about problematic moderation practices, how companies deal with so-called borderline content, and the troubling reality that algorithms may now be beyond our control.

Also this week, we look at the website 'your ai slop bores me' which launched two weeks ago and is already claiming over a million unique visitors. It may look like a chatbot, but this is actually humans cosplaying as generative AI and completing mundane tasks for one another. Matt explains how this relates to what's becoming known as the 'meat layer', where humans are used to prop up the shortcomings of artificial intelligence.

Plus, how did a satirical post about a man being kidnapped by dolphins inspire a whole ecosystem of memes? And can you really make a million dollars online by selling ad space on your toilet seat?

Top Comment is hosted by Marianna Spring and Matt Shea. The series producer is Laurie Kalus. The social producer is Sophie Millward. The technical producer was Mike Regaard. The editor is Justine Lang. The senior news editor is Sam Bonham.

If you want to get in touch about something that's popped up on your feed, our email address is topcomment@bbc.co.uk or you can send us a WhatsApp on +44 330 123 9480.

Tämä jakso on lisätty Podme-palveluun avoimen RSS-syötteen kautta eikä se ole Podmen omaa tuotantoa. Siksi jakso saattaa sisältää mainontaa.

Jaksot(96)

Angel Vic and the truth about hustle culture

It's the latest example of an influencer's digital persona disintegrating before our eyes. For several years, Angel Victoria Murdock has been portraying a life of self-made success, from real estate d...

4 Syys 34min

Lindsay Clancy and the age of TikTok trials

A Massachusetts jury are deliberating in the shocking case of Lindsay Clancy, a mother who admits to killing her three young children amid suffering, her lawyers argue, extreme post-partum psychosis. ...

27 Elo 38min

Everybody wants to be Ellie Ellis

How did a 16-year-old girl with no prior online presence manage to gain more than 700k TikTok followers within a week of her first post? On this episode, we discuss the theories behind Ellie Ellis' un...

21 Elo 38min

Exposed: the faceless accounts inflaming the Ceuta crisis

After roughly 78,000 migrants made the journey from Morocco to the Spanish enclave of Ceuta in a matter of hours at the end of July, reporters across the world were quick to identify the role of socia...

14 Elo 30min

A grievance syndicate is defrauding young men

The manosphere is just the tip of the iceberg - that's the premise of a new report, shared exclusively with Top Comment, about the so-called male grievance industry. Its author, Kristina Wilfore, has ...

7 Elo 33min

The vigilante streamers destroying reputations on Kick

From chasing pickpockets to unmasking predators, vigilantism has become one of the biggest trends on social media. On this episode Matt and Marianna discuss how the age of streaming has added a new la...

30 Heinä 35min

Andrew Tate is blaming the Matrix again

Manosphere kingpin Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan were arrested in the US over the weekend after British authorities announced dozens of new charges against the pair, including rape and sex traff...

23 Heinä 31min

Erling Haaland, crypto billionaires, and the foxes incident

You may already think crypto is overexposed online, but is what we're experiencing just the tip of the iceberg? On this episode, Matt talks about his new BBC documentary in which he meets some of the ...

16 Heinä 39min