How do you fake a trend on Twitter? “Grilled Lamb Delivery” was trending recently – but why would so many people talk about something so routine and mundane?

As it turns out, one of the top trends in Saudi Arabia was being promoted by automated accounts – or “bots”. And it wasn’t an isolated occurrence.This week we find out how companies make it look like lots of real people are talking about a subject online. And what it means for Twitter’s list of top trends.

Are Hollywood films ignoring women? In the 90th year of the Academy Awards we find out how many ‘Best Picture’ winners pass the Bechdel Test: are there at least two named female characters in the cast? Do those two women speak to each other? And do they have a conversation about something other than a man? We reveal the answer in collaboration with the BBC’s 100 Women team.

Why are we so fascinated by dinosaurs and will our love affair with them endure? Mary–Ann Ochota finds out why this reptile beast has become part of our popular culture, as well hooking us into science.

(image: Oscar Winners at the 2017 Academy Awards. Credit Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)

After a shooting at a high school in Florida killed 17 people student’s across the United States of America have mobilised on social media. They’re calling for change using online organising tools and taking to the streets. The gun control debate is a familiar cycle, powerful forces in favour of keeping existing laws make it difficult for change to be passed and after the first initial shock news agencies often move on. So will the students manage to keep the momentum for change going?

Plus – the trending team look at an app designed to give people anonymous feedback online. It has seen a meteoric rise but in the wake of allegations of teenage bullying its downloads have faltered. The team chat to the CEO who developed the app.

And Shivaani Kohok talks to experts to provide an insight into the different types of bullying and what motivates this behaviour.

(image: Canadians Alexander Kopacz and Justin Kripps and Germans Francesco Friedrich and Thorsten Margis celebrate winning joint-Gold in the 2 man bobsleigh at the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympics.Credit:Tom Pennington/Getty Images.)

Patrik Hermansson, a Swedish researcher for the British anti-racist group Hope Not Hate, infiltrated far right groups and spent months undercover. His operation now over, he tells his story, including seeing violence and death in Charlottesville, Virginia - the culmination of the ideologies he had witnessed throughout his time with the alt-right.

Can you fit a guide to questioning dubious statistics on the back of a postcard? Tim Harford gives it a try. He wants us to be curious: asking, why do we “like” one stat but not another, who wants us to see it, and – behind the headline – what is it really telling us.

Job interviews are stressful experiences and have mostly been shown by scientists to be ineffective at picking the best candidate. Catherine Carr explores the cultural and psychological bias that flaws them and asks how we might improve the experience both for the interviewee and interviewer.

Why has there been a disturbing rise in internet pranks that simulate real life attacks? In an exclusive interview, we hear from YouTuber Arya Mosallah, who had his channel terminated after some of his videos - which some thought resembled acid attacks - were removed from the site. And we look at the ethics and morals of the people making videos in the pranking genre.

There’s a stereotype of Russia as a nation of vodka-swilling hard drinkers – but is that idea out of date? The Russian health minister told a conference recently that the country’s alcohol consumption there has dropped by 80% in just five years. Can that be true?

Pain comes to us all at some point in our lives, but a person’s pain is a unique experience and describing what hurts is not a simple task. Sandra Kanthal asks why we need to understand more about pain and reports on new ways being developed to measure and manage it.

(image: People stand next to a shelf with strong drinks in a food store in Moscow. Credit Andrey Smirnov/Getty Images)

Why is the far right so obsessed with Sweden? Despite seeming to be unlikely territory with its reputation for progressive social policies, reports about crime and immigration in Sweden routinely go viral on internet chat forums, Facebook and Twitter. And what links do Swedish activists have with the global alt-right?

Curing phobias, managing pain, entertainment: hypnotism has a number of tangible benefits. But it can also carry significant risks for the most suggestible people. So why would anyone allow a stranger to access their mind? Nicola Kelly speaks to performers, dentists and therapists who use hypnotism in their work and discovers how the brain functions when in a trance.

(Photo: A woman tends to her niece amid the poor surroundings of her home's kitchen. Credit: Frederic J.Brown/Getty Images

Is the US census under threat? The United States are due to run their next nationwide census in 2020, but already critics are warning that under funding and a proposed question about citizenship could affect the accuracy of its results.

Some conspiracy theories spread like wildfire online, despite the truth really being out there (and easily searchable) so what makes people continue to share conspiracies on social media?

Why are more and more people giving up all food produced from animals? Mary-Ann Ochota explores the rise in veganism. She looks at how social media is helping spread the vegan message, the pros and cons of a solely plant based diet and whether eating meat today is ethical.

(Photo: Concerned woman holding a clipboard and a pen. Credit: Nicolas McComber/Getty Images)

The past and future of fake news – what can be done about social media misinformation and what impact does it have around the world? Mike Wendling asks a panel of experts from Buzzfeed, the Poynter Institute, and First Draft News.

Economists rely on data to describe what is happening in a country’s economy, such as the unemployment rate, average wages, and the number of people in poverty. But how individuals manage their money gives a different picture. Rachel Schneider, co-author of The Financial Diaries, describes the findings of a large study in the US.

Why do some sleep disorders turn normal dreams into terrifying nightmares and what do they tell us about the workings of the brain? Neurologist, Dr Guy Leschziner, from Guy's and St Thomas' hospitals in London, introduces us to some of his patients with problems that include sleep paralysis and hallucinations and he explores the reasons why we dream.

(Photo: A couple looking at their finances. Credit: Wayhome Studio/Shutterstock)

The meaning of the term “fake news” has been completely transformed – so what does it mean now, and is the phrase even useful at all?

How Louis Bachelier scooped economists by half a century. A forgotten French mathematician’s unusual approach to the stock market. He anticipated both Einstein's theories and the application of maths to the stock market and his ideas were rediscovered decades after his death.

Why high levels of noise affects all of us. David Baker explores how different sounds can impact on people without them even knowing and how to make our lives more tranquil.

(Photo: Pocket watch. Credit: Kanyapak Lim/Shutterstock)

There are golfers who could go an entire lifetime without getting a hole-in-one. Recently the BBC reported a pair of amateur players who each scored one - one after the other. It was reported widely that there was a 1 in 17 million chance of this happening. We speak to maths writer, Rob Eastaway, who explains the difficulties of trying to work out the chances.

Why do people hear voices in their head - like Rachel Waddingham who hears three-year-old Blue, 11-year-old Elfie and a panel of three critical scientists. Around 2% of people claim, like Rachel, to be inhabited by voices with whom they have full blown relationships. Are they all sick? And why have some psychologists changed their minds about the dangers of colluding with the voices?

Social media has become an integral part of modern life - but what if you have been in jail for the last 30 years? Many recently released so-called juvenile lifers in the US now find themselves grappling with the mysteries of Facebook and Whatsapp, and other aspects of new technology.

(Photo: Man playing golf. Credit: Shutterstock)

The numbers we need to describe the world around us are getting bigger. Maths author Rob Eastaway explains the names for successive sizes of computer storage space and makes the case for a new giant unit of measurement: the Brontobyte.

We review recent developments in social media, such as the rise of 4Chan, and look ahead to the changes we can expect to see online in 2018.

And why are we creatures of habit? Doing everyday tasks without thinking frees our brains for more complicated decision making, but what happens when we form habits beyond our control, and how do we form good habits rather than bad ones? Shiulie Ghosh investigates.

(Photo: Journalist working on his computer, August 1980, at the Agence France-Presse. Credit: Getty Images)