Since the world’s richest man bought Twitter last year, more than half the workforce has been sacked and scores of users previously banned for breaking Twitter’s rules were reinstated. Marianna Spring investigates how Elon Musk is transforming one of the world’s most influential social media platforms. She speaks to former insiders and examines evidence that suggests trolling and hate are thriving under the new owner. This is the first episode in BBC Trending's new series 'Trolled'.
Apr 01, 2023•21 min
We investigate the money-making schemes that spring up on platforms like TikTok in the wake of conflict. First - the war in Ukraine saw a wave of donations from ordinary citizens around the world. But as we discover, scammers have joined the fray, exploiting emotive content in a bid to siphon cash from the catastrophe. And second - TikTok livestreams featuring Syrian refugees pleading for help are generating big money from sympathetic viewers online. We find out where most of the funds actually ...
Jan 07, 2023•24 min
If promoting harmful conspiracy theories can be a lucrative way to make money, then is the best way for victims to fight back by hitting those responsible in the wallet? Alex Jones made a fortune from his Infowars website, before he was ordered to pay nearly £1.5 billion in defamation damages for falsely claiming that the 2012 Sandy Hook school shooting was a hoax Parents of some of the 22 people murdered during the massacre, brought the legal action after suffering years of abuse and threats as...
Dec 31, 2022•24 min
The R’n’B singer Akon has had an incredibly successful music career, with a number of smash hits and legions of fans. Recently the singer launched two ambitious projects that are inextricably linked. The first is a cryptocurrency called Akoin that Akon says will provide financial independence for Africans, although some people are dissatisfied after investing in the dream and having nothing to show for it. The other project is a reported $6billion futuristically designed metropolis on the coast ...
Dec 24, 2022•32 min
The lack of science around 'med beds' - miracle devices with magical healing properties - has not stopped people from shelling out thousands of dollars to buy them. Why have med beds taken off online and who is selling them? Presenter: Mike Wendling Producer: Elizabeth Hotson
Dec 17, 2022•26 min
SafeMoon promised its investors a trip to the moon but instead cost some their life savings. We speak to the YouTuber Coffeezilla who investigated the problematic token, the people who lost out and we assess the safety and future of crypto coins. Presenter: Joe Tidy Producers: Jerry Sullivan and Beth Godwin Editor: Flora Carmichael
Dec 10, 2022•24 min
The past few years gave way to a boom in the number of people joining direct selling schemes in India who were lured in by the false promise of riches. These tactics – imported from the West – have been quietly growing without much scrutiny. Ria – not her real name – fell prey to one of the largest schemes operating in the country. In an exclusive interview for BBC Trending, she reveals how she was trained to “attract people” into the business. There is a small group of crusaders who are fightin...
Dec 03, 2022•25 min
In 2020 the Chinmark Group appeared to be a thriving Nigerian business empire, endorsed by a string of popular influencers online. It sold investment deals to its followers, promising them astonishing returns. Today the empire is in tatters, but what went wrong? We hear from a social media star who hyped the company up, a former employee who sold the scheme to the public, and a student who staked his life savings on its success - losing everything in the process. And we’ll find out why firms fol...
Nov 26, 2022•24 min
For more than a decade, he tricked the world into believing a Scottish scientist called Alan MacMasters invented the electric toaster in 1893. At the heart of this web of fantasy was a Wikipedia article that fooled dozens of journalists, public officials, and even primary school teachers. But how did this hoaxer get away with it for so long? And how did an eagle-eyed 15-year-old eventually manage to expose his deception? Presenter: Marco Silva Editor: Flora Carmichael
Nov 19, 2022•26 min
Since the overturning of Roe versus Wade, dozens of US abortion clinics have closed their doors. Now efforts to provide abortion information and access have moved online, where false claims, genuine pills and dodgy remedies sit side by side. We meet the anti-abortion campaigners spreading false claims that clinically approved pills are dangerous and pro-choice supporters promoting dodgy herbal remedies on social media. Presenter: Rachel Schraer Producers: Jerry Sullivan & Kayleen Devlin Edit...
Sep 17, 2022•27 min
Ahead of Kenya’s general election, a bitter war for public opinion was being fought on social media. In a bid to sway the result, online influencers – from students to pop stars – were offered cash in exchange for political messages. Critics say that paid political messages are swamping social media – but they aren’t declared as adverts, and instead they pose as genuine political opinion. We meet some of the key players in the country’s online information economy: micro-influencers, musicians an...
Sep 10, 2022•24 min
MrBeast is YouTube royalty: with more than 100 million subscribers, he has legions of fans around the world, in awe of his elaborate stunts. He is one of the highest-paid stars on the platform - and yet, the American YouTuber says he wants to use his platform to “make the world a better place”. He has thrown his weight behind two viral environmental campaigns: #TeamTrees and #TeamSeas. Together, they have raised more than 55 million dollars to plant trees and remove plastic from the ocean. MrBea...
Sep 03, 2022•25 min
How did a bizarre US-based conspiracy theory about Donald Trump being the saviour of the world, lead to people protesting in the streets of Tokyo and Osaka accusing police of being reptiles? From its obscure online beginnings only a few years ago, the QAnon movement in Japan has morphed through several different phases, becoming ever more extreme in the process. Its latest incarnation is a group called Yamato Q, which embraces a series of wild and false claims. Its members believe they have diff...
Aug 27, 2022•25 min
Romana Didulo is a QAnon influencer who proclaimed herself “Queen of Canada”. She has issued a series of bizarre and bloodcurdling “royal decrees” claiming to have cancelled all personal debt and threatening the death penalty for those who defy her. It’s all a complete fantasy, but that hasn’t prevented her attracting a sizeable following which helps fund her tours around her kingdom in a fleet of large motor homes. Now this maple leaf monarch is seeking to expand her empire beyond Canada. But a...
Aug 20, 2022•24 min
Russian QAnon and the Ukraine dilemma QAnon is rooted in the deep divisions of American politics and helped inspire the storming of the US capitol in Washington. So why has this bizarre and baseless conspiracy theory also been attracting supporters in places like Moscow and Siberia? The third part of Trending’s mini-series about the global impact of QAnon investigates its growing popularity in Russia. But while some supporters have adapted QAnon ideas for a Russian context, this fledgling moveme...
Aug 13, 2022•24 min
What happened when a bizarre US-based conspiracy theory surfaced a continent away in Africa? In the second part of Trending’s mini series about the impact of QAnon around the world, we report from South Africa. At the heart of QAnon is the baseless claim that former US president Donald Trump is waging a secret war against a cabal of powerful paedophiles who run American politics and Hollywood. But in South Africa, elements of QAnon have been translated into the local context of pre-existing tens...
Aug 06, 2022•25 min
Believers in the QAnon conspiracy theory were part of the mob that stormed the US Capitol on 6 January 2021. Even though the movement’s figurehead went silent for months, followers continue to try to influence American politics – but their tactics have changed. Members of a coalition assembled by a QAnon influencer are running for public office in more than a dozen states, targeting positions that control elections. Among them are Jim Marchant, a Republican candidate for secretary of state of Ne...
Jul 30, 2022•27 min
A new extremist Hindu movement made up mostly of young men is emerging in India. They call themselves “trads” – short for traditionalists - and they mimic the tricks and techniques used by the American alt-right. This fringe movement came to prominence after some of its proponents created Bulli Bai, an app that pretended to auction off prominent Muslim women - making them the targets of abuse and harassment. Trads love memes and loathe mainstream Hindu nationalist parties, even the ruling BJP. T...
May 28, 2022•20 min
It is hard not to feel anxious about climate change. After all, the world is already experiencing the effects of global warming - and scientists tell us much worse could still be on its way. For some, tackling climate change feels like a lost cause: a job so big and complex, that it is doomed for failure - the demise of the human species is inevitable. This is wrong. But even though this view is predicated on falsehoods and distortions, it appears to be spreading online - and a lot of young peop...
May 21, 2022•20 min
Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro has enjoyed a particularly close relationship with the gaming community. They were one of the groups he relied on to get elected in 2018 and he has since rewarded them by lowering taxes on video games consoles. The country’s gaming industry is unique – forged by a combination of strict import laws under military rule, homegrown talent and later, high prices which kept the world of gaming firmly in the hands of the rich and privileged. Brazilian gamers were draw...
May 14, 2022•21 min
We hear from a troll from the Philippines - the "patient zero" of fake news. Experts say the problem is as bad as ever, as a new election looms. Researchers claim that tactics seen playing out in the southeast Asian country have cropped up elsewhere since Rodrigo Duterte rose to power – perhaps most notably in the US in 2016. Now it’s time for Filipinos to return to the polls, and the experts warn that the problem hasn’t been solved – the current campaign has been plagued by disinformation. Not ...
May 07, 2022•18 min
When Kakwenza Rukirabashaija mocked the Ugandan president’s son on Twitter, he knew he was playing with fire. Within 24 hours, the satirist had been arrested, and says he was tortured before fleeing the country. Throughout the ordeal, he has not stopped tweeting. He wants the world to know what is happening in Uganda before he returns to face trial, risking his life in the process. Kakwenza’s story is not unique, A report from Human Rights Watch says hundreds of people - opponents of President Y...
Apr 30, 2022•18 min
A number of Ghanaian journalists and influencers have been arrested in recent years – with several recent high-profile cases. Critics say freedom of speech is under serious threat. It wasn’t always this way. In 2018, Ghana was ranked the top country in Africa for press freedom by Reporters Without Borders. But in recent years it has dropped down the table and since the start of 2022 a handful of prominent journalists and social media influencers have been detained. We speak to those who say they...
Apr 23, 2022•18 min
Myanmar has been engulfed by a civil war which is getting deadlier and more violent as time goes on. Last year the Tatmadaw – the Burmese armed forces – overthrew the civilian-led government, led by Aung Sun Suu Kyi. Now they’re acting with impunity, allegedly committing heinous crimes against those who oppose them. In the past year many Tatmadaw soldiers – thousands, according to the opposition – have had second thoughts about their military service and are defecting to the other side. Trending...
Apr 16, 2022•22 min
When war broke out in Ukraine, President Zelensky’s plea for financial aid triggered a wave of donations from ordinary people around the world. But scammers also heard the call. They fired into action, spreading emotional appeals into every corner of the internet. On TikTok, unverified war footage is being exploited by fraudsters, pushing viewers to send emoji hearts that can be swapped for hard cash. And fake websites and emails circulated, complete with heartbreaking stories designed to shake ...
Apr 09, 2022•18 min
In the eyes of the Kremlin, global warming is a threat that needs to be dealt with. So, President Putin is taking action: he wants Russia to go carbon neutral by 2060. And yet, Russia remains one of the world’s top producers of fossil fuels: oil and gas that bring in big money into the state’s coffers. And that poses a question: does Moscow mean business when it comes to climate action? If you look at the media, at what’s said in political circles, climate scepticism is still alive and kicking. ...
Dec 11, 2021•23 min
Saudi Arabia, one of the world's biggest oil producers, says it’s pivoting to green energy. It has a host of big projects and initiatives. But will reality live up to the country’s rhetoric? And why do some activists say they’ve become victims of the government’s grand plans? We’ve been looking at online chatter and PR campaigns pushing the country’s green credentials. At the same time, experts say Saudi officials are trying to secure the future of the country’s huge fossil fuel energy industry....
Dec 04, 2021•23 min
Setting the record straight on some of the most common misleading narratives and tactics to explore what future climate change battlegrounds might look like. We look at how fossil fuel interest groups use division as a distraction: either stoking fear that action to tackle climate change will hurt the poor, or attacking the messengers who raise the alarm. And we take you back to the start of 2021, when blackouts in Texas which killed hundreds were misleadingly blamed on wind turbines. The idea t...
Nov 27, 2021•21 min
At the grand old age of 20, Wikipedia remains one of the world’s most popular websites. The fact that anyone with internet access can edit its pages is a key part of its success. But the website’s openness to the public is also the reason why it has become an unlikely battleground on global warming. Despite the overwhelming body of science proving climate change is real and man-made, deniers are still active on Wikipedia. Whether it is by editing climate pages or spreading conspiracy theories, t...
Nov 20, 2021•19 min
Covid conspiracists are now shifting focus to climate change. An online movement infected with extreme pandemic conspiracies is looking for new territory as debates over lockdowns and vaccines subside in many richer countries. We hear from Matthew in New Zealand. His family is really worried about the future of the planet, but he’s involved in groups where people believe that climate change is a “hoax” designed to limit our personal freedoms. They’ve swapped in “climate science” for “Covid” in t...
Nov 13, 2021•19 min
