Mini Scroll

The biggest stories on the internet from April 21st, 2025.

Timestamps:

2:39 Artist faces backlash for re-selling painted Trader Joes tote bags for a wild amount of money

4:32 MrBeast Las Vegas event turns into a disaster

7:07 Tate McRae faces backlash for Morgan Wallen collaboration

14:46 Reformation line with Devon Lee Carlson sparks backlash from South Asian community

18:37 Revolve sued for $50 million over influencer gifting

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The biggest tech & social media trends on the internet from April 16th, 2025.

Timestamps:

1:23 Adobe gets bullied off BlueSky

6:34 OpenAI is working on a social network

7:42 YouTube doubles down on protecting creators from deepfakes

11:47 Tween boys are podcasting

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Sources:

https://www.garbageday.email/p/maybe-the-capitalists-will-get-it-right-next-time 

https://futurism.com/adobe-bullied-bluesky  

https://www.businessinsider.com/adobe-employees-slam-company-over-ai-controversy-2024-6 

https://www.tiktok.com/@theehazeldomain/video/7491712287280024863?_t=ZS-8vXUr9QmdPe&_r=1 

https://www.garbageday.email/p/maybe-the-capitalists-will-get-it-right-next-time 

https://www.theverge.com/news/647186/bluesky-creatives-have-no-love-for-adobe  

https://techcrunch.com/2025/04/09/youtube-expands-its-likeness-detection-technology-which-detects-ai-fakes-to-a-handful-of-top-creators/  

https://www.theverge.com/2024/6/13/24177686/the-general-perception-is-adobe-is-an-evil-company-that-will-do-whatever-it-takes-to-f-its-users 

https://www.theverge.com/2024/7/31/24210464/senators-will-introduce-the-no-fakes-act-to-keep-ai-companies-from-copying-your-voice-or-appearance 

https://blog.youtube/news-and-events/creative-artists-agency-responsible-ai-tools-for-talent/ 

https://techcrunch.com/2025/04/09/youtube-expands-its-likeness-detection-technology-which-detects-ai-fakes-to-a-handful-of-top-creators/ 

https://variety.com/2025/digital/news/youtube-no-fakes-act-ai-deepfakes-1236363872/ 

https://www.thecut.com/article/tween-podcasts.html 

https://www.theverge.com/openai/648130/openai-social-network-x-competitor 

https://centennialworld.com/addison-rae-deepfake-twitter-explained/ 

The biggest stories on the internet from April 15th, 2025.

Timestamps:

00:48 Breaking down the Drew & Enya Emergency Intercom Podcast controversy

5:13 Netflix Piper Squad docu-series exposes dark side of kid-fluencing

8:04 James Charles opens up about how his fans parasocial relationships are impacting his experience at Coachella amid festival changes

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The biggest stories on the internet from April 17th, 2025.

Timestamps:

00:43 Clayton Echard vs. Gabby Windey continued

2:58 TikTok au pair drama

10:50 Addison Rae makes Coachella debut & Kylie Jenner and Timothee Chalamet

12:25 TikTok flooded with Chinese manufacturers sharing how they make luxury goods to combat tariffs

14:22 Katy Perry goes to space

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Thank you to BRITA for supporting the podcast, helping us keep our deep dives going, and, of course, keeping us hydrated! Check out BRITA here: ⁠⁠https://www.brita.com.au/turnonthetaste⁠

This episode is an exploration of into the rise and consequences of AI slop— how and why the internet has become overrun with disturbing and bizarre mass-produced brainrot content devoid of meaning and if that means the internet actually is becoming less human– or maybe even dead.

Timestamps:

00:42 Intro 

3:04 What is AI Slop?

9:07 The Dead Internet Theory

14:21 How platforms have responded to AI Slop

16:27 Engagement farming & capitalising on confusion

17:44 Ragebait& discriminatory AI memes  

19:49 The consequences of AI slop

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Sources:

https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2024/08/trump-posts-ai-image/679540/ 

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/11/style/ai-search-slop.html https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/chrisstokelwalker/pope-puffy-jacket-ai-midjourney-image-creator-interview 

https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/facebook-ai-generated-slop-1235095088/ 

https://www.garbageday.email/p/slop-void 

https://www.vox.com/culture/378855/ai-slop-fall-autumn-inspiration-vibes-pinterest 

https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2021/08/dead-internet-theory-wrong-but-feels-true/619937/ 

Walter, Y. (2025). Artificial influencers and the dead internet theory. AI & Society, 40(1), 239–240. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00146-023-01857-0

Mariani, R. (2023). The Dead Internet to Come. New Atlantis (Washington, D.C.), 73, 34–42.

https://etymology.substack.com/p/slop-capitalism-and-dead-internet 

https://www.forbes.com/sites/chriswestfall/2025/01/02/meta-opens-floodgates-on-ai-generated-accounts-on-facebook-instagram/ 

https://techcrunch.com/2025/03/21/meta-spotted-testing-ai-generated-comments-on-instagram/ 

https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2024/09/kermit-ai-generated-home-screen/679757/ 

https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2024/09/confusion-is-the-new-clickbait/679916/ 

https://substack.com/@etymologynerd/p-159915598   

https://www.404media.co/brainrot-ai-on-instagram-is-monetizing-the-most-fucked-up-things-you-can-imagine-and-lots-you-cant/ 

https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/social-media/meta-ai-insta-shuts-character-instagram-fb-accounts-user-outcry-rcna186177 

https://www.fastcompany.com/91293162/ai-slop-is-suffocating-the-web 

https://www.newyorker.com/culture/infinite-scroll/is-ai-art-stealing-from-artists 

Thank you to Tempus One for supporting this episode: https://www.tempuswines.com.au/shop/tempus-one-spritzers/

The biggest stories on the internet from April 10th, 2025.

Timestamps:

1:58 Trisha Paytas vs. Mikayla Nogueira

6:58 Gabby Windey responds to Clayton Echard's "bully" accusions

8:54 The viral swinger's party vlogger being memed across the internet

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The biggest tech & social media trends on the internet from April 9th, 2025.

Timestamps:

2:00 The release and success of A Minecraft Movie

6:18 US TikTok ban extended once again

10:17 YouTube quietly removes gender identity from hate speech policies

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Sources:https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2025/04/tiktok-ban-extension/682302/ https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/114280893859636366 https://www.theverge.com/news/643964/tiktok-trump-ban-delay-warner-congress-response https://www.theverge.com/command-line-newsletter/644038/trumps-tariffs-tiktok-deal-china-bytedance https://www.teenvogue.com/story/vivian-jenna-wilson-elon-musk-trans-youth https://www.usermag.co/p/youtube-removes-gender-identity-from https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/minecraft-movie-box-office-record-opening-1236182874 https://variety.com/2024/film/news/skibidi-toilet-michael-bay-movie-adam-goodman-1236077245/

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The biggest stories on the internet from April 8th, 2025.

Timestamps:

2:11 Francesca Farago exposes alleged anti-Hailey Bieber campaign

9:42 Gabby Windey vs. Clayton's dancing

13:49 Dr. Esme Louise James calls out Cosmo for allegedly copying her video essay

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The biggest stories on the internet from April 7th, 2025.

Timestamps:

3:37 Mikaela Testa/Anna Paul/Atis Paul update

13:30 YouTuber arrested for attempting to infiltrate isolated tribe for content

16:44 Becca Moore addresses Shannon Beveridge split

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In this episode, I explore why the concept of virality is dead. I look at how the death of monoculture and our increased reliance on algorithmic-based content consumption has led to a significantly more fragmented internet culture experience for users. In turn, virality no longer exists in the same way it once did.

Timestamps:

00:42 Intro

3:56 Virality is dead

4:57 Viralflation & the death of monoculture

7:35 How the internet became fragmented

10:33 Why it’s so difficult to measure “virality” now

11:20 Brands manufacturing fake viral trends: Athenos Feta soup saga

12:57 The rise of vanity metrics on social media & platforms creating artificial virality

15:21 Bella Poarch

16:19 How Facebook lowered the threshold of what could be considered a “view”

18:12 Cheugy as a “viral” word & how the context was completely lost

20:08 Virality is unpredictable & fleeting

21:30 Risks of going “viral” in 202522:20 TBH Skincare vs. Andrew Tate

23:45 Conclusion

Find our podcast YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC18HclY7Tt5-1e3Z-MEP7Jg 

Subscribe to our weekly Substack: https://centennialworld.substack.com/ 

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Follow Lauren on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/laurenmeisner_/ 

Sources:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2024/03/09/viral-view-counts-inflation/

Maddox, J., & Gill, F. (2023). Assembling “Sides” of TikTok: Examining Community, Culture, and Interface through a BookTok Case Study. Social Media + Society, 9(4). https://doi.org/10.1177/20563051231213565 (Original work published 2023)

https://www.dazeddigital.com/life-culture/article/62285/1/salad-fingers-20-anniversary-david-firth-patron-saint-weird-youtube-came-to-life 

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/jan/30/flash-youtube-nostalgia 

https://zeefeed.com.au/kate-middleton-conspiracies-monoculture/ 

https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/cheugy 

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/29/style/cheugy.html 

https://www.reddit.com/r/tiktokgossip/comments/v69nm3/it_seems_like_tiktok_is_inflating_its/ 

https://www.usermag.co/p/viralflation-comes-to-youtube 

https://techcrunch.com/2025/03/26/youtube-is-changing-how-youtube-shorts-views-are-counted/