Podcast Summary: "There Are No Girls on the Internet"

Host: Bridget Todd
Episode: Chris Pratt Is Hawking an Anti-Abortion Prayer App; Elon’s Grok Is Doxxing Women; DOGE Bros Let ChatGPT Do Their Job; Trump’s Big DEI Loss – NEWS ROUNDUP
Date: February 20, 2026

Episode Overview

In this wide-ranging news roundup, Bridget Todd and guest Mike dissect major recent developments at the intersection of internet culture, platform abuse, celebrity tech collaborations, and DEI policies under the Trump administration.
Drawing from their signature mix of humor, sharp analysis, and personal stories, they tackle:

• How celebrity-driven "prayer apps" are monetizing faith and spreading anti-abortion messaging.
• Dangerous privacy invasions via Elon Musk's Grok AI and facial recognition services targeting women—especially sex workers—in public and private spheres.
• Comically inept yet deeply consequential right-wing attacks on humanities funding, hastily executed via AI by unqualified political appointees.
• How the Trump administration's culture war is reshaping workplace discrimination policies—and the surprising wins for DEI advocates.

1. The Hallow App: Monetizing Faith & Targeting Women

[03:13–14:41]

Key Points

• Celebrities on the Hallow App:
  Chris Pratt, Mark Wahlberg, and Gwen Stefani are among the celebrities endorsing Hallow, a subscription-based Catholic prayer app. Mark Wahlberg is a "major investor and partner," often using prominent Ash Wednesday appearances to showcase his faith and promote the app.
• Monetization of Religion:
  The app charges $70 per year, raising skepticism even among the Catholic community. Skeptics, including users of Catholic subreddits, criticize it as "turning people's legitimate faith into a cash grab" ([07:41]).
• Right-wing Backing:
  Notably, Hallow's investors include Peter Thiel and JD Vance. CEO Alex Jones (not the infamous conspiracy theorist) has openly courted celebrity partnerships to attract "fallen away Catholics" and less religious users via familiar faces ([08:00]).
• Anti-Abortion Messaging:
  The app features not just general prayers but specific "mean prayers" targeting women who've had abortions, including readings by anti-abortion activist Lila Rose. As Bridget notes:

  "These prayers are read by people like anti-abortion activist Lila Rose...prayers specifically for women who are pregnant from acts of rape or incest—that they should realize the 'gift' of their child's life." ([11:06])

• Data Privacy and EU Ban:
  The app was banned in EU markets over concerns about using sensitive religious data for targeted advertising, in violation of the EU Digital Services Act ([21:56–22:30]).

  "Just like Jesus intended, for your deepest, most intimate religious thoughts to be used to sell you more crap." – Bridget Todd ([22:26])

Notable Quotes

• "Oh, Jesus notably loved a pay wall. You know, that was like one of his famous sayings in the Bible: that'll be $11 a month, please."
  — Bridget Todd ([09:55])
• "It just seems like a bit of a red flag to me, putting up a paywall between people and the divine."
  — Mike ([09:29])
• "Fun fact. Funded by Trump-supporting evil gay billionaire Peter Thiel and also JD Vance are backers of this app."
  — Bridget Todd ([07:03])

2. Grok AI & Massive Privacy Breaches Against Women

[25:44–37:26]

Key Points

• Grok Doxxing Sex Workers:
  404 Media reports that Elon Musk's Grok chatbot doxxed porn performer Siri Dahl by giving out her full legal name and birthday in response to a simple user query—information she spent years trying to conceal ([25:44]).
• Escalating Harassment:
  The public was not just curious for a stage name but got private data. Afterward, harassers opened fake accounts and posted her content under her legal name.

  "The reason why she is trying to guard her legal name is to protect her family...Now she has to warn her family and put all of these defensive plans in place, thanks to X's chatbot volunteering this information." ([27:11])

• Lack of Accountability:
  The incident violates X's own anti-doxxing terms, but federal authorities in the US have done nothing. Other countries are more proactive, but in the US, federal action is nonexistent.
• Cam Girl Finder – Industrial-Scale Unmasking:
  Another 404 Media investigation revealed a facial recognition tool ("Cam Girl Finder") that lets anyone upload a social media photo to search a database of over 2 billion images—effectively connecting women’s private and professional sex work personas for as little as $1 per match ([31:51]).
  Harms are long-lasting, as years-old streaming work remains searchable; the tool’s creator dismisses privacy concerns.
• Culture of Exploitation:
  Bridget ties both stories together to illustrate:

  "We have a tech infrastructure that treats people's safety and privacy as a public resource to be dismantled—not a right to be protected." ([34:47])

Notable Quotes

• "So much of the internet is about exploiting and consuming women." – Bridget Todd ([35:33])
• "If privacy is a concern, this kind of job is not for you." — Creator of Cam Girl Finder (as reported by Bridget, [37:19])
• "The burden is going to continue falling on women... I’m just really sick of that." — Bridget Todd ([37:26])

3. International Approaches to Online Abuse & Deepfakes

[37:26–43:51]

Key Points

• UK Legislation:
  In contrast to US inaction, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer proposes new legislation classifying non-consensual intimate images (including AI-generated) as a national emergency.
  • Companies would have 48 hours to remove flagged content or face huge fines or site blocks.
  • OFCOM would coordinate removals across platforms.
  • Creation/distribution of such content becomes a "priority offense" like child abuse or terrorism ([39:17]).
• Detection Technology:
  Ideas include hash-matching and digital watermarking, though these can be evaded through small edits.
• AI-Driven Harm Escalation:
  The abuse enabled by Grok and similar tools is escalating not because of new social ills, but because "AI allows these pre-existing structural harms to happen so much faster and on such a wider scale" ([43:33]).

Notable Quotes

• "The burden of tackling abuse must no longer fall on victims, it must fall on perpetrators and on the companies that enable harm."
  — PM Keir Starmer, as quoted by Bridget ([38:50])
• "This is what that looks like when you have a climate where platforms are not being held accountable... The people who are harmed are women and young people, and the people who get to just do whatever they want are billionaires like Elon Musk."
  — Bridget Todd ([43:39])

4. DOGE’s ChatGPT Attack on Humanities Grants

[47:39–55:45]

Key Points

• DEI Grant Purge by AI:
  Political operatives in the Trump-aligned Department of Education (DOGE), with no relevant credentials, axed already-approved National Endowment for the Humanities grants by running project descriptions through ChatGPT, looking for "DEI" keywords ([47:39–54:30]).
  • Only 120 characters of each grant were reviewed; they searched for terms like "LGBTQ," "tribal," "bipoc" (but not "white" or "heterosexual").
  • Experts were explicitly prevented from providing context or pushback.
  • Termination notices came from a private server; the acting NEH head later admitted ignorance as to which grants were cut and why.
• Consequences:
  Grants killed included those researching the Colfax massacre, Holocaust labor, Native American history, and trailblazing women pilots—all erased by two "DOGE bros" letting ChatGPT "guess" what was DEI.

Memorable Exchange

• "I have two bones to pick with this methodology, which is so stupid, but it's, like, extra extra stupid for two reasons..."
  — Mike ([50:59])
• "The stupidity is the point. They probably put their stupidest on it on purpose."
  — Bridget Todd ([52:30])
• "Just like two guys with absolutely no humanities experience and just a culture war key list that somebody cooked up, asking ChatGPT to make funding decisions that actual experts had spent months reviewing."
  — Bridget Todd ([53:17])

5. The Trump Administration, DEI, and Weaponized Grievance

[55:45–76:36]

Key Points

• EEOC Lawsuit Against Coca Cola:
  The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)—historically focused on redressing systemic worker discrimination—filed a lawsuit against Coca Cola for hosting a women-only networking event.
  • The episode draws a sharp contrast with past cases targeting wage theft, pregnancy discrimination, or systemic racism ([57:06–61:51]).
  • This is framed as a test case for how far the Trump administration will go to frame DEI efforts as discriminatory against white men and to chill such initiatives in corporate America.
• Dismantling DEI in the Private Sector:
  Trump-aligned agencies target law firms, demand DEI policy disclosures, and investigate companies like Nike and Northwestern Mutual for supposed discrimination against white workers.
• Structural Inequality vs. Manufactured Grievance:
  Stats are cited: women still occupy only 10% of Fortune 500 CEO positions; the wage gap and glass ceiling remain real.

  "White men are not a systematically excluded group. Individual discomfort is not structural discrimination."
  — Attorney Daphne Delvo (quoted by Bridget Todd, [63:44])

• Backfiring Lawsuits:
  White men suing employers for "reverse discrimination" find, as women and minoritized groups always have, that such lawsuits can irreparably harm career prospects ([65:32–69:53]).
• Weaponizing Grievance as Policy:
  The hosts argue that Trump's administration is actively codifying white male grievance—eroding DEI and promoting "grievance as legitimate public policy."

  "They want to play the part of being a marginalized, oppressed class without actually having realized that, oh, being marginalized comes with real economic disadvantages."
  — Bridget Todd ([68:17])

6. Good News: Win for DEI in Public Schools

[73:25–76:36]

Key Points

• DEI Ban Dropped:
  The Trump administration drops its ban on DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) initiatives in public schools after lawsuits from teachers’ unions and civil rights groups.

  • Schools risked losing federal funding for teaching on racism or discrimination; now they are protected ([73:25]).
  • Similar cases in Maryland have reached the same result.

• Message:
  The importance of celebrating real wins, even as the fight continues:

  "Let's learn to take a W when we get a W, huh?...I'm taking my wins when I get them." — Bridget Todd ([76:22])

Memorable Quotes & Moments

• "It's very much about control to me—and profit."
  — Bridget Todd, on the exploitation of women's privacy through facial recognition and AI ([35:45])
• "The burden is going to continue falling on women... I'm just really sick of that."
  — Bridget Todd ([37:26])
• "The stupidity is the point."
  — Bridget Todd, on the ChatGPT grant-culling method ([52:30])
• "Individual discomfort is not structural discrimination."
  — Daphne Delvo, as cited by Bridget ([63:44])

Timestamps for Important Segments

• Hallow App/Chris Pratt Endorsement & Critique – [03:13–21:56]
• Grok AI Doxxing and Online Privacy – [25:44–37:26]
• International Responses to Deepfakes/Online Abuse – [37:26–43:51]
• DOGE Bros & ChatGPT Purging DEI Grants – [47:39–55:45]
• EEOC/Trump Admin Weaponizing Grievance Lawsuits – [55:45–73:25]
• DEI Ban in Schools Overturned / Win for Equity – [73:25–76:36]

Language & Tone

Episode maintains Bridget Todd's signature blend of:

• Wry, irreverent humor: "Jesus notably loved a pay wall..." ([09:55])
• Careful, personal confession: "I used to write [Mark Wahlberg] letters...this is when I was a child, by the way." ([05:24])
• Impassioned critique: "I genuinely cannot believe that not more is being done in the United States federally. Nothing is being done. Zero." ([28:55])
• Critical optimism: "Let's learn to take a W when we get a W, huh? ...I'm taking my wins when I get them." ([76:22])

Conclusion

The episode is a sharp, nuanced, and often darkly funny tour through the latest battles over privacy, platform abuse, systemic misogyny, and the weaponization of grievance in US policy. It calls out the hypocrisy of Big Tech and culture-war politicians, surfaces under-covered harms against marginalized people online, and ends on a note of cautious hope—reminding listeners that resistance, persistence, and even the smallest wins are worth celebrating.