There Are No Girls on the Internet

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Latest Episodes:

WHAT WE'RE LISTENING TO — Afterlives: The Layleen Polanco Story Dec 22, 2023

Show notes

We're taking a break from our usual content to share a new podcast from iHeart's Outspoken network, Afterlives: The Layleen Polanco Story.

You can check out the rest of the show here: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/1119-afterlives-the-layleen-po-127683074/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Author loses her book deal after review-bombing authors on GoodReads Dec 19, 2023

Show notes

Cait Corrain is an author who had a highly anticipated book called Crown of Starlight coming out in May of 2024. But now her book has been shelved after she admitted to using Good Reads to review bomb a bunch of other writers’ forthcoming books. Most of her targets were Black or queer, while Corrain is white. This story has a LOT of twists and turns, including her inventing an obviously fake conversation with an obviously fake person.

Canadian author Xiran Jay Zhao was the first person I saw to bring it to wider attention online. They first noticed that Cait’s book Crown of Starlight was getting good reviews from the same accounts who were trashing other books, some of which were not even out yet.

Xiran Jay Zhao also created a 31-page Google document of screenshots showing a bunch of the alleged-but-now-admitted fake GoodReads accounts, screenshots of conversations, and other damning receipts. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1__mO1uqIqcmupBAPKwXDzlUbZIwtY6fKf0S1Y0SNz0E/edit

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Rudy Giuliani ordered to pay $150 million; Verizon gives woman’s phone records to stalker; Discord bans misgendering; Twitter ads get gross; Women in AI are sick of sexist questions; Is ChatGPT on winter break? – NEWS ROUNDUP Dec 16, 2023

Show notes

It’s a Friday news roundup! If you’re new here and looking for a deeper dive into a single topic, check out the episode on Alex Jones from Dec 12, or the (forthcoming) episode on Tuesday Dec 19 about the wild story of an author who created fake Goodreads accounts to review-bomb a bunch of other authors. It’s part scam, part Greek tragedy, and you’ll definitely want to hear it.

Want to skip the banter and get right to the news? Head to around the 6 minute mark

GLAAD’s report on transphobia online: All Social Media Platform Policies Should Recognize Targeted Misgendering and Deadnaming as Hate Speech: https://glaad.org/social-media-platform-policies-targeted-misgendering-deadnaming-hate-speech/

Part one of Bridget discussing Georgia election workers Shaye and Ruby Freeman on Internet Hate Machine: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/part-one-why-trump-targeted-two-black-election-workers/id1648497305?i=1000590820764

Part two of Bridget discussing Shaye and Ruby Freeman: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/part-two-why-trump-targeted-two-black-election-workers/id1648497305?i=1000592261007

Congress Pulls Bill That Would Massively Expand Surveillance After 'Dramatic Showdown': https://www.vice.com/en/article/y3wkdg/fisa-surveillance-bill-congress-pulled

Speaker Johnson adds short term FISA extension to National Defense Bill: https://prospect.org/civil-rights/2023-12-12-mike-johnson-ndaa-surveillance-reform/

Twitter Is Just Running Ads for Stealing Semen Now: https://www.404media.co/twitter-x-ads-stealing-semen-make-a-mom/

Hugging Face’s Rules of [Press] Engagement for writing about women in tech: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/rules-press-engagement-emily-witko--ohlzf/

Discord bands misgendering: https://www.them.us/story/discord-explicitly-bans-misgendering-and-deadnaming-on-its-platform

Chat GPT might be on winter break (and so are we). As ChatGPT gets “lazy,” people test “winter break hypothesis” as the cause: https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2023/12/is-chatgpt-becoming-lazier-because-its-december-people-run-tests-to-find-out/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Elon Musk welcomes BFF Alex Jones back to Twitter Dec 12, 2023

Show notes

Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones has been let back on Twitter after being banned for building a media empire on the lie that the Sandy Hook school shooting wasn't real. When Elon first took over Twitter he said he would never let Jones back on, but that promise turned out to be worth as much as most of Elon’s promises. This week he rolled out the red carpet and sat down for a chit chat in Twitter spaces to talk about how much they both love free speech and hate grieving parents.

In honor of Elon Musk and Alex Jones’s new friendship, we’re re-airing this episode about the defamation trial of Alex Jones in which he was found guilty and ordered to pay over a billion dollars to the families of the victims he profited by lying about.

These people make us sick, but enjoy the episode!

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New Taylor Swift conspiracy drops online; IRL violence from misinformation in Dublin; TikTok makes you 17% more antisemetic? Not quite, Nikki Haley – NEWS ROUNDUP Dec 09, 2023

Show notes

To skip the banter and get straight to the news, skip to 00:04:20

VOTE FOR THE IRL PODCAST TO WIN AN ANTHEM AWARD: TANGOTI.COM/IRL

During this week’s GOP debate, Nikki Haley dropped a curious stat about TikTok making users 17% more antisemitic every 30 minutes, but is that even true? Here’s the original analysis by Goldbloom but (A) Haley misstated the findings, and (B) this study wasn’t peer reviewed or published, so buyer beware: https://twitter.com/antgoldbloom/status/1730255552738201854

Meta and TikTok explain their differing responses to Dublin riots and misinformation: https://www.independent.co.uk/tech/dublin-micheal-martin-meta-tiktok-elon-musk-b2459512.html

Taylor Swift is Time’s Person of the Year and far right grifters are dropping conspiracies about why.

‘What’s happening is not organic’: Why the right thinks Taylor Swift is a government PsyOp designed to swing the 2024 election: https://www.dailydot.com/debug/taylor-swift-psyop-conspiracy-theory-2024-election/

Amazon sued for selling gross spy cams. Judge: Amazon “cannot claim shock” that bathroom spycams were used as advertised: https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2023/12/amazon-faces-trial-after-selling-bathroom-spycam-used-to-abuse-minor/

Listen to Joey’s Afterlives podcast: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/1119-afterlives-the-layleen-po-127683074/

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Devternity! Did this tech conference create fake women to look more diverse? Dec 06, 2023

Show notes

The tech conference Devternity has been canceled (not fake canceled, literally canceled) after allegations that the founder has been inventing fake women and catfishing on Instagram for years.

Bridget does a deep dive to get to the bottom of it, and what it says about default, dismissive attitudes about marginalized people in tech. There were real women the whole time! Why not invite one of them?!

A Tech Conference Listed Fake Speakers for Years: I Accidentally Noticed: https://blog.pragmaticengineer.com/devternity-fake-speakers/

Male Tech Conference Founder Is Behind Popular Woman Coding Influencer Account: https://www.404media.co/coding-unicorn-instagram-julia-kirsina-devternity/

Tech Conference Collapses After Organizer Admits to Making Fake ‘Auto-Generated’ Female Speaker

https://www.404media.co/devternity-fake-speakers-eduard-sizovs/

Eduards Sizovs’s full response thread: https://twitter.com/eduardsi/status/1728422017417032140

Here’s a collection of Julia through the years: https://docs.google.com/document/d/10Fds4DgzU_Yem577sfGykauuNkltIq3ykZdZUd1EAUE/edit?usp=sharing

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

TikTok cracks down on TikTokShop sellers!; Fake writers at Sports Illustrated; Quit fearmongering about Namedrop; Bumble + Tinder drop Facebook ads; Canadian news ban update – NEWS ROUNDUP Dec 01, 2023

Show notes

We’re soft-launching having a little banter at the top of the episode, but to get straight to the news go to the 4:25 mark!

Wanna listen to Bridget dig into her Spotify Wrapped?5:20 Check out the Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/tangoti

NameDrop is safe. The fearmongering about it is not: https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2023/11/27/namedrop-iphone-ios17-safety/

Your Step-by-Step Guide to Disabling NameDrop (if you want to): https://www.cnet.com/tech/mobile/your-step-by-step-guide-to-disabling-namedrop/

Instagram’s Algorithm Delivers Toxic Video Mix to Adults Who Follow Children (paywalled) https://www.wsj.com/tech/meta-instagram-video-algorithm-children-adult-sexual-content-72874155

How One Stupid Tweet Blew Up Justine Sacco’s Life: https://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/15/magazine/how-one-stupid-tweet-ruined-justine-saccos-life.html

Google agrees to pay publishers in Canada and drops plans for blocking news: https://www.theverge.com/2023/11/29/23981515/google-canadian-government-online-news-act-link-tax-agreement

Why Mickey Mouse’s 1998 copyright extension probably won’t happen again: https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2018/01/hollywood-says-its-not-planning-another-copyright-extension-push/

Sports Illustrated Published Articles by Fake, AI-Generated Writers: https://futurism.com/sports-illustrated-ai-generated-writers

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Sam Altman’s OpenAI CEO drama shows the shortcomings of male leadership in tech Nov 29, 2023

Show notes

Last week, Sam Altman was abruptly fired from Open AI. Don’t worry, he’s already been reinstated.

Dr. Misty Heggeness, Associate Professor in the School of Public Affairs and Administration at the University of Kansas, talks with Bridget about what all the drama around his departure and return says about male leaders in tech and beyond.

Read Misty’s op-ed: How the OpenAI saga illustrates tech’s toxic masculinity problem: https://www.fastcompany.com/90986317/openai-saga-techs-toxic-masculinity-problem

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Amanda Knox asks: Who gets to own their story? — Best of TANGOTI Nov 24, 2023

Show notes

After being falsely accused of murder in a global scandal screamed from tabloid headlines, these days exoneree, activist, mom, and host of the podcast Labyrinths Amanda Knox spends her time imagining a healthier media landscape.

Check out the work Amanda does alongside her husband Chris: https://www.knoxrobinson.com

Read Amanda's Medium piece, Who Owns My Name: https://amandamarieknox.medium.com/who-owns-my-name-93561f83e502

Amanda and Chris' podcast Labyrinths is very good, but this episode is my favorite: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-half-life-of-prejudice-malcolm-gladwell/id1494368441?i=1000497457213

Subscribe to our Patreon: Tangoti.com/patreon

Help support the show at our merch store: TANGOTI.COM/store

Want to say hi? Hit us up at Hello@Tangoti.com

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Elon Musk boosts antisemitic tweet and advertisers leave Twitter - Elon’s Media Matters lawsuit explained Nov 22, 2023

Show notes

There’s a lot going on with Twitter! It’s been a few weeks since we’ve done an installment of our segment, “What’s Elon Done Now?” because we were sick of talking about him. But some big things happened this week, so Bridget sits down with Producer Mike to recap and talk about what it all means.

From Elon boosting antisemitic tweets and calling it “actual truth” to Media Matters releasing a damning report about hate speech on the platform and major advertisers pulling the plug, it’s been an eventful week.

Media Matters report on Twitter ads being placed next to nazi content: https://www.mediamatters.org/twitter/musk-endorses-antisemitic-conspiracy-theory-x-has-been-placing-ads-apple-bravo-ibm-oracle

How Elon Musk came to have so much leverage over the U.S. government, and the U.S. military’s uncomfortable reliance on Starlink. (it’s a long read but a good one): https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2023/08/28/elon-musks-shadow-rule

Dr. Caroline Orr Bueno’s Twitter thread on informational dark spaces: https://twitter.com/RVAwonk/status/1726851801658589525

Elon Musk’s ‘thermonuclear’ lawsuit over hate-adjacent ads on X… actually confirms them: https://techcrunch.com/2023/11/20/elon-musks-thermonuclear-lawsuit-over-hate-adjacent-ads-on-x-actually-confirms-them/

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