PODCAST · news
Trending
by BBC World Service
In-depth reporting on the world of social media.
Episodes
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Trending is moving to the Documentary Podcast
BBC Trending's podcast feed is closing, but we'll be publishing new episodes in the BBC World Service's Documentary Podcast from now on. Search for The Documentary wherever you get your BBC podcasts, and subscribe to get new episodes of BBC Trending along with a range of exciting new…
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Colombia’s guerrilla recruitment video problem
Fighters from dissident armed groups in Colombia are using TikTok to glorify their lives as guerrillas and recruit youngsters. These armed groups didn't like the terms of a peace treaty negotiated between the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and the government in 2016, and they kept...
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The Kenyan influencer championing climate denial
Jusper Machogu is a farmer from southwestern Kenya who describes himself as a “climate sceptic”: he wrongly claims that climate change is a “scam” or a “hoax” designed to hold Africa back. On social media, he has also become known as a staunch defender of fossil fuel exploration in Africa. His...
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Is Russia targeting Poland's farmers’ protests?
Farmers' protests have been erupting across Europe, and on February 20th one image from a protest in Poland went viral. It showed a tractor carrying a soviet flag and bearing a slogan calling on Russian President Vladimir Putin to ‘bring order to Ukraine, Brussels and our rulers.’ The man driving...
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Love and deception in the age of AI
In a viral thread posted on X in January this year, a 23-year-old Russian man claims he used ChatGPT to filter through and chat thousands of women on Tinder, eventually proposing to one that was selected by the algorithm. The scale and success of his experiment sparked scepticism. Some raised...
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Long Covid: Think yourself well?
Long Covid can ruin lives, and scientists are striving to understand the condition and beginning to get some early clues about possible treatments. While there are still more questions than answers, though, many have turned online for help. But could what they find there sometimes do more harm…
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The anti-vax candidate?
In 2024 yet another Kennedy is making a bid for the White House. Robert F Kennedy Jr - nephew of the late President John F Kennedy - is enjoying strong polling numbers for an independent candidate. He’s running on a platform of promising to take on powerful vested interests to create a better…
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Democracy on the brink in Tunisia?
In 2011, Tunisians took to the streets against the ruling authoritarian regime. Catalysed by social media, the protests would reverberate around the world, spark the Arab Spring and lead to significant democratic reforms in the country. More recently, Tunisia’s democracy has reached a turning...
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The new fight for land rights
In Malaysian Borneo, indigenous people have struggled for land rights against companies and the state. Using new mapping technology, communities in Borneo’s rainforests are racing to prove their claims. In this episode of Trending we’ll be exploring how technology and social media are being used...
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Fear and conspiracies in Las Vegas
Marianna Spring talks to a survivor of the mass shooting in Las Vegas in 2017 about how posts on a social media account made him question an event he’d witnessed with his own eyes. Presenter: Marianna Spring Producers: Ben Carter and Emma Close Editor: Flora Carmichael Sound Engineer: Tom Brignell
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The disinformation war in the Middle East
"A flood of disinformation has erupted across social media in the online propaganda battle that’s being waged alongside the physical conflict between Israel and Hamas. Everything from video game clips falsely presented as genuine combat footage, to the outright denial of civilian deaths, have…
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The Mexican mayor and a deepfake scandal
When an audio recording alleged to be from the Mayor of one of the world's largest cities started circulating online, reality was called into question. Mexico City's mayor, claimed the clip- which sounded like he was discussing a campaign against a political candidate- was AI generated. Others…
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Crude fakes in Uganda
A BBC investigation has uncovered a network of fake social media accounts seemingly working together to promote the Ugandan government and the East African Crude Oil Pipeline. Online, an information battle appears to be going on – one being waged by hundreds of social media accounts set on…
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Serbia’s real life ‘bots’
Over the summer, a mysterious Twitter persona published details of over 14,500 social media accounts - all of them controlled by real-life Serbian citizens, it's claimed. They stand accused of posting… whatever the President’s party tells them to. It’s long been rumoured that Serbia’s ruling SNS...
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Exposing people smugglers
People smugglers are selling illegal routes out of Pakistan to Europe on social media. We’ve gone undercover with BBC Newsnight and BBC Urdu to expose how smugglers are luring potential migrants into taking dangerous voyages. They advertise online… in plain sight. Promising people safe passage to...
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The Voice: conspiracies and Australia's referendum
Earlier in October, Australia took to the polls in a referendum and rejected the establishment of an indigenous advisory body in the constitution - the Voice. Beyond the typical controversies, social media became flooded with false information. In this episode of Trending, we’ll delve into how...
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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…
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Inside America’s political battleground
Mike Wendling and Maxine Hughes explore how extreme conspiracies and right wing rhetoric went mainstream in America. From the Proud Boys' Enrique Tarrio, to far right militias and Antifa, we hear from individuals on the extremes of American politics about what they believe and why, and explore…
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India's latest 'love trap'
Videos taken across India are going viral on social media. They show hordes of men harassing and even attacking young couples in the street. The clips are accompanied by a hashtag #BhagwaLoveTrap - and have been inspired by an inflammatory narrative. The theory suggests Hindu men are trying to...
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TikTok frenzies
TikTok started as an app for posting lip syncs and dance videos, but quickly developed into a platform where users can follow along world events, criminal investigations and social unrest in real time. From frenzied speculation over true crime to vandalism and protests at schools, TikTok seems to...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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…
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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.…
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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…
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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...
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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…
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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...
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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…
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Elon Musk's Twitter storm
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...
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How humanitarian crises are exploited online
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…
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Cash for conspiracy theories
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...
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Akon’s Wakanda and a crumbling crypto dream
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...
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Med beds: Miracle cure or misinformation?
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
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SafeMoon and the chaotic world of crypto
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...
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India’s anti-MLM movement
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…
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The influencer and the insider: Chinmark's demise
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…
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The 'Alan MacMasters’ toaster hoax
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...
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Roe v Wade: The next battle
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...
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Political influencers for hire – in Kenya
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...
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Can MrBeast help fix climate change?
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”.…
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The strange story of QAnon in Japan
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...
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The misrule of Canada’s QAnon queen
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...
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Russian QAnon and the Ukraine dilemma
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…
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Has QAnon fuelled South Africa’s divisions?
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...
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QAnon at the ballot box
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…
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India’s alt-right 'trads'
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...
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The online boom in climate doom
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...
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Gaming Brazil's election
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…
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
In-depth reporting on the world of social media.
HOSTED BY
BBC World Service
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How many episodes does Trending have?
Trending currently has 190 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Trending about?
In-depth reporting on the world of social media.
How often does Trending release new episodes?
Trending publishes regularly with 190 episodes available. Check the episode list for the typical release schedule.
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Trending is created and hosted by BBC World Service.
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