Trending

They spread like wildfire, but where do they come from? This week, the world of memes. What goes viral online might seem random, but memes can be engineered and hacked to carry political messages.

Picture Caption: One example of the “Distracted Boyfriend” meme

The booming global gaming industry is dominated by young people. But five pensioners who call themselves the “Silver Snipers”are proof of gaming’s wider appeal. Trending follows the team as they head to DreamHack, a professional eSports tournament in Sweden.

Image caption: A team photo of the Silver Snipers / Credit: BBC

It was one short tweet. A transgender activist Miranda Yardley called another transgender activist, Aimee Challenor, a “man”. It certainly wasn’t the first controversial or potentially offensive remark that Miranda Yardley had tweeted out, but it does appear that it was the final straw for Twitter, which handed her a permanent ban. While Miranda says that her views should be protected under the principle of free speech, Aimee says the tweet - and other comments posted online - were part of a long pattern of bullying and harassment. Trending explores the complicated political world of transgender activism and how philosophical battles within transgender communities are playing out on social media.

Presenter: Lee Kumutat

(Photo: Illustration of people going from woman to man Credit: Getty Images)

Who is “Philip Cross”? That’s the name on an account that has made more than 130,000 Wikipedia edits since 2004. But it’s not so much the volume of his work but his subject matter that has irritated anti-war politicians and journalists around the world. His detractors claim that he’s biased against them and that his influence has made some entries unreliable. It’s a charge that’s rejected by the foundation behind Wikipedia, but the person behind Philip Cross remains elusive. So what happened when we tried to track him down?

Presenters: Lee Kumutat, Jonathan Griffin

Picture Caption: Screenshot of the online encyclopaedia Wikipedia, one of the world’s most popular websites.

Anna Scanlon made videos about her vegan lifestyle. It was a good way to build connections and keep in touch with people from back home. But one day she angered a fellow vegan blogger.

(Photo: Anna Scanlon)

This year Mexico will hold both its presidential and congressional election at the same time. With such high stakes, political parties are being accused of systemically using bots and cyber trolls to spread online propaganda – even though they deny this. Researchers and activists have catalogued examples of bots and troll farms being used to promote specific candidates

Presenter: Anisa Subedar

(Photo: Automated accounts boosted the 2012 presidential campaign of Enrique Pena Nieto. Credit: Getty Images)

After comments by writer and author Chimamanda Ngozi Adiche divided opinion, we speak to members of some of Nigeria’s secret gay and transgender on groups who rely on each other on social media for support. They communicate with each other in private and closed ambiguously named WhatsApp and Facebook groups.

Presenter: Mike Wendling

(Image/Credit: Miss Sahhara)

The Alt.Right in the US is locked in a fierce ideological battle with Antifa - a group of anti-fascists. We investigate online dirty tricks by both sides.

And debunking myths in India. How the country is getting to grips with the spread of fake news on an untrackable social platform.

Producer: Anisa Subedar

(Image: Protest, Credit: Getty Images)

A Russian-funded online new agency has an office in Scotland. We look into allegations of ‘misinformation’ . Is it another just another perspective on news or is an example of what some call ‘Russia’s state-run propaganda machine’?

Produced by Anisa Subedar and Will Yates.

Image caption: Online agency branding / Image credit: BBC

Happy couples in Shanghai have been rushing to divorce because of rumours of rules change that would make it more expensive for them to buy property.

Our second story looks at the first anniversary of the death of three-year-old Alan Kurdi. Did the iconic image of Syrian toddler’s body washed up on a beach lead to real changes in public opinion and the way governments treat refugees?

Producer: Anisa Subedar

(Photo credit to Think Stock)