Trending

Trending

By BBC World ServiceNews
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Trending episodes

  • How to exit the manosphere

    You may have heard about how young men are being drawn into the so-called ‘manosphere’ but how can they escape?

    Can subreddits such as #IncelExit help men who are involuntarily celibate to put their disturbing views to one side and foster more healthy perspectives about women and dating?

    We hear from former manosphere subscribers around the world who have found comfort in opening up and addressing their issues in relatively empathetic Reddit forums. Academic Josh Thorburn from Monash University in Melbourne welcomes the deradicalisation that can occur in these online spaces and says subreddits are able to reach communities internationally that professionals often can’t.

    However #IncelExit and #ExRedPill are not a silver bullet for deradicalising young men. Many Redditors experience a non-linear journey and don’t get rid of all of their misogynistic baggage overnight. And not everyone is a “decent dude” looking for a way out.

    Presenter: Jonathan Griffin

    Producer: Loonie Park
    Editor: Flora Carmichael

    20 min
  • The germ deniers

    Conspiracy theories about viruses and vaccines have exploded in recent years. At the same time, something arguably stranger has spiralled…groups online who don’t believe germs which cause disease exist at all. They believe that there’s no such thing as viruses and that all diseases are caused by living an unhealthy life, particularly our diet and environmental toxins. It goes hand in hand with a rejection of vaccines and other forms of conventional medicine. The BBC's health and disinformation reporter Rachel Schraer investigates how germ denial has grown and spread on social media. In South Africa, a small group of germ deniers, influenced by American conspiracy theorists, is awaking painful memories.

    Presenter and prodcer: Rachel Schraer
    Editor: Flora Carmichael

    20 min
  • The AI ghosts haunting TikTok

    In a gruesome new trend, TikTok has been flooded with videos in which AI-generated versions of real life child murder victims tell the stories of how they were killed.

    The mother of child murder victim James Bulger and other grieving parents have expressed their disgust that their loved ones digital versions of their loved ones have been created and posted online without their consent.
    In the first episode of “Extreme”, a new series from BBC Trending, Ed Main investigates this phenomenon.
    More than 100 different AI-generated versions of the same child have been posted online. Social media safety campaigner Baroness Beeban Kidron calls it an “emotional assault” on victims’ families.
    While TikTok has banned AI content that uses the likeness of real children, some of these videos have gathered millions of views. So who is creating these mini horror movies and why are people watching them despite the distress they are causing?
    Presenter and producer: Ed Main
    Additional reporting: Thuong Le
    Editor: Flora Carmichael

    22 min
  • Venezuelan deepfakes and propaganda

    Earlier this year videos made using artificial intelligence caused a stir in Venezuela. Many Venezuelans would have thought they were real news reports but a Spanish newspaper exposed them as deepfakes and linked them to a pro-government agenda. The journalist who exposed the fakes was immediately targeted and the Venezuelan government went into damage control, responding on Twitter with the hashtag #SomosInteligenciaSocial – 'We Are Social Intelligence', seemingly to drown out criticism. But what does the hashtag mean, and how does it fit into the country’s wider theme of quashing dissent? Carl Miller delves into the murky world of the Venezuelan state’s propaganda tactics online.

    Presenter: Carl Miller - co-founder of the Centre for the Analysis of Social Media at Demos and author of The Death of the Gods

    Producer: Reha Kansara and Rachelle Krygier
    Editor: Flora Carmichael

    23 min
  • Who’s trolling successful Asian women?

    Jiayang Fan was targeted by trolls while her mother was dying, and again when they learned of her death.

    The New Yorker writer is one of several high profile journalists who’ve been systematically targeted with online abuse.
    The victims are all women of Chinese descent, now living in the West.
    And according to one group of researchers, the perpetrators are mostly bots, and may be the creation of a powerful political force.
    Experts believe the campaign could be part of a broader push by the Chinese Communist Party to silence dissent overseas, but what evidence is there that the government is responsible? And why are women being singled out as targets?
    We hear from Jiayang Fan herself, and the Australian think tank that highlighted the trend.
    Reporter / Producer: Sam Judah
    Editor: Flora Carmichael

    20 min
  • Trolled by a life coaching cult

    A life coaching group has been accused of trolling former members.

    Lighthouse International Group promises to help people realise their dreams and ambitions, but the reality is more sinister.
    Lighthouse obsessively records and stores mentoring sessions and group calls. But when people ask questions or try to leave, that’s when the trouble really starts.
    BBC Trending's series Trolled lifts the lid on online abuse and trolling on and off social media.
    Presenter: Catrin Nye
    Producer: Ed Main
    Editor: Flora Carmichael

    21 min
  • Ghouling: The trolls targeting bereaved people

    Since the Covid vaccines were rolled out, a trend has sprung up – of accounts online linking virtually any death or illness, of a celebrity, athlete or ordinary person, to the shots without any evidence. A conspiracy theory film called Died Suddenly released last year appears to have supercharged this practice- termed “ghouling”. BBC Trending investigates how far the Died Suddenly film has spread and what its impact has been – on the people who believe its message, and on bereaved families being trolled. We speak to Stew Peters, the film-maker behind the film, and challenge him on the misleading claims he is spreading.

    Presenter: Rachel Schraer
    Reporter: Mike Wendling
    Editor: Flora Carmichael

    20 min
  • Brazil’s real life trolls

    In one of the dirtiest electoral campaigns in Brazil's history, figures on the left and right of the political spectrum trolled their opponents with jokes, ridicule and disinformation rocking the country's young democracy.

    We speak to both sides including a Congressman whose series of ambiguous or misleading posts on Twitter got millions of views and an Argentine political consultant whose false claims about voter fraud went viral, playing a key role in the movement that led to widespread national protests.

    So how has trolling evolved to become a central feature in Brazil’s political discourse and is there any way back from here? Jonathan Griffin and Juliana Gragnani investigate.

    Presenters and producers: Jonathan Griffin and Juliana Gragnani
    Editor: Flora Carmichael

    21 min
  • Twitter ‘ninjas’ against climate denial

    Climate-denying trolls, beware: a group of internet vigilantes is coming for you.

    They call themselves “Team Ninja Trollhunters”: a ragtag group of activists from around the globe, who have vowed to fight those spreading climate change misinformation on Twitter.

    The group claims to have succeeded in getting hundreds of users booted off the platform, but their methods aren’t without controversy. As a ferocious information war rages on online, are these vigilantes at risk of behaving like the very trolls they claim to be fighting?

    Presenter: Marco Silva

    Editor: Flora Carmichael

    21 min
  • Myanmar’s digital battleground

    Burmese women have been at the forefront of the resistance against the military junta ever since Myanmar lurched back into a dictatorship in 2021. Online, female activists and politicians have been fighting for their rights, gathering intel and strategizing - hoping that one day Myanmar will return to democracy. But these women have also been on the receiving end of targeted online attacks which have leaked into the offline world. So who is behind these strategic hate campaigns and why are they doing it? BBC Trending’s Reha Kansara investigates and unearths a network of pro-junta online trolls who dox and abuse women who oppose the regime.

    Presenter: Reha Kansara

    Producers: Nyein Chan Aye and Sachin Croker
    Editor: Flora Carmichael

    22 min

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In-depth reporting on the world of social media.

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