There Are No Girls on the Internet
Episode: Sydney Sweeney's jeans; Jet2 Holiday meme hijacked by DHS; Tea app hack lawsuit; Substack promotes Nazis – NEWS ROUNDUP w/ Abbie Richards
Release Date: August 1, 2025
Host: Bridget Todd
Guest: Abbie Richards

Episode Overview

This week’s episode is a rapid-fire news roundup, co-hosted by Bridget Todd and misinformation researcher/content creator Abbie Richards. The pair unpack key stories at the intersection of technology, politics, and identity, including the co-option of viral memes by government agencies, data privacy disasters, content moderation failings at top tech platforms, and how internet discourse often distracts from deeper issues. The tone is sardonic, critical, and deeply invested in the wellbeing and safety of marginalized communities.

Main Topics & Key Insights

1. Chris Smalls, Gaza Activism & Intersectionality in Tech

• [03:14 – 07:48]
  • Chris Smalls, Amazon Labor Union co-founder, was recently detained and reportedly targeted by the IDF as part of the Freedom Flotilla coalition bringing aid to Gaza.
  • Discussion explores the intersection of labor, race, tech, and international justice, tying Chris’s activism in the U.S. with global human rights struggles.
  • Bridget Todd: “The same kind of forces of injustice that are at play with big tech companies like Amazon are certainly at play here.” (06:22)
  • Abbie Richards: “There’s like the technological colonialism of it all, but there’s also… the social media activism of it – like how he even got there was from a place of like knowing how to utilize social media to get eyes on Gaza.” (06:42)

2. TikTok Footnotes/Community Notes Feature

• [07:56 – 16:29]
  • TikTok is testing a new feature for select creators to add context/footnotes to videos, aiming to tackle misinformation without ditching in-house fact-checkers (unlike X/Twitter and Meta).
  • The hosts praise the approach for adding context but critique “community notes” as a sole solution—it’s slow, partisan, and not effective at scale.
  • Abbie Richards: “I am a TikTok enjoyer. There are things I really enjoy about that app, but also there are things that infuriate me… And I think we can hold space for two things to exist at the same time.” (08:53)
  • Notable case: the viral “bunnies on trampolines” TikTok, which millions believed due to AI-manipulated footage.

3. White House Hijacking Jet2 Holiday Meme for Deportation Propaganda

• [19:09 – 28:44]
  • The Trump administration used the popular “Jet2 Holiday” meme to post a video celebrating deportations—complete with the upbeat tune, “Hold My Hand,” horrifying both the artists and the public.
  • Bridget Todd: “You have to be a depraved sicko to want to see this kind of thing… It reminds me of our country’s history with things like lynchings – big public displays… made out of the suffering of others.” (21:00)
  • Abbie Richards: “The cruelty is the point… I think it’s also about desensitization. The more your eye sockets are assaulted with abhorrent content, you just get used to it.” (21:42)
  • Both hosts critique the government’s misunderstanding of meme culture (“they used the meme wrong”) and the insidiousness of stealing joyful symbols and perverting them for state cruelty.

4. Substack Again Promotes Nazi Content

• [31:06 – 39:27]
  • Despite promises to remove Nazi content, Substack’s push notifications recently promoted a self-identified Nazi publication featuring a swastika.
  • Critics note Substack’s tepid apology lacks transparency and accountability.
  • Extremists view Substack as “a legitimizing tool for sharing content,” benefiting from the proximity to reputable journalists.
  • Bridget Todd: “It’s not just that Substack is hosting this kind of content… It’s also that the people who make this content rightly understand that being on Substack legitimizes whatever it is I have to say.” (35:10)
  • Dilemma for legitimate creators: migrate now or later “in shame,” at the cost of audience and income, due to Substack’s failure to act on hate.

5. The Dystopian State of TikTok and Internet Discourse

• [39:41 – 48:16]
  • Algorithmic manipulation, sponsored content, and performative discourse are leaving platforms feeling “dystopian.”
  • Abbie Richards: “I would lose half a million followers [if TikTok were banned], which is brutal, but on the other hand, my TikTok reach right now is terrible… I barely can reach a tenth of those followers.” (39:41)
  • Tangents on viral advertising, manufactured controversies (Sydney Sweeney/American Eagle jeans), and how algorithms commodify all engagement—even controversy.
  • Quote from Charlie Warzel, read aloud by Abbie: “The only thing that matters is that the machine keeps running, the wheel keeps turning, leaving everybody feeling like they’ve won and lost at the same time.” (46:01)

6. LinkedIn Weakens Protections for Marginalized Groups

• [53:08 – 59:52]
  • LinkedIn has quietly removed explicit protections for trans and non-white users from their English hate speech policies, part of a growing platform trend.
  • Bridget traces this rollback to Elon Musk’s earlier example at Twitter (removing anti-deadnaming policies), and how industry “group think” enables such changes.
  • Abbie Richards: “There’s group think… they don’t want to moderate. The less moderation, the more cost effective it is for them… I don’t understand why you would just not care if your platform becomes a toxic wasteland.” (55:03)

7. The T App Data Breach & Lawsuit

• [59:39 – 69:14]
  • Touted as a “safe” whisper network for women to privately flag men who are dangerous or abusive, the T app had atrocious security.
  • Data (driver’s licenses, selfies, DMs) was left publicly accessible—not even “hacked”—and quickly leaked to 4chan.
  • Lawsuits allege negligence and breach of contract, with real safety risks for survivors who used the app for protection.
  • Bridget Todd: “You can’t even really call it a hack. That’s crazy. It was the level to which… Imagine if your doctor told you your private health information was private, but actually they stored it in an open crate in the alley behind the clinic.” (61:34)
  • Broader conversation about the perils of digital “whisper networks,” the fragility of online privacy, and what happens when platforms fail those they claim to protect.

8. Age Verification and the Future of Online Privacy

• [69:14 – 75:43]
  • The T App hack underscores the growing danger of platforms requiring sensitive ID data for age-gating or verification, with Spotify and YouTube both now adopting (often unreliable) AI systems and government ID checks to restrict underage access.
  • Hosts are skeptical of genuine safety motivation, linking these shifts to misplaced anxiety about porn and an exploitative, anti-child culture.
  • Abbie Richards: “Truly the thing that drives all of this is porn… We’re so much more interested, like, in being uncomfortable, so we shut [kids’ access] down… and just be like: no, no, nothing sexual, but also the second you turn 18, you can be in that porn.” (72:37, 75:50)

Notable Quotes

• “You have to be a depraved sicko to want to see this kind of thing…It reminds me of our country’s history with things like lynchings, right? Like big public displays… made out of the suffering of others.”
  – Bridget Todd (21:00)

• “I am a TikTok enjoyer … and also I have been lied to prolifically. So yeah, I think that the Community Notes function … I’m actually pretty in favor of it as long as it’s not also replacing other fact checking.”
  – Abbie Richards (08:53)

• “It’s not just that Substack is hosting this kind of content… it’s also that the people who make this kind of content rightly understand that me being on Substack next to all of these important creators legitimizes whatever it is, I have to say.”
  – Bridget Todd (35:10)

• “What we’re consuming isn’t discourse – it’s algorithmic grist for the mills that power the platforms we’ve uploaded our conversations onto. The grist is made of all our very real political and cultural anxieties, ground down until they start to feel meaningless.”
  – (Reading) Charlie Warzel, via Abbie Richards (46:01)

• “At a certain point, people might have to decide: I don’t want to be on a platform like this. And won’t it be embarrassing to have to do that in shame after you’ve been like, ‘Oh, they’re gonna fix the problem’?”
  – Bridget Todd (36:09)

Memorable Moments

• The viral “bunnies on trampolines” TikTok
  Bridget and Abbie both fell for it, noting how emotional desire can override our skepticism, especially with AI-manipulated video plus the power of context notes.
  (10:10–11:56)

• Abbie’s anecdote about being paid to post negative content about JoJo Siwa
  “The moment that broke me was one time I had an influencer tell me they were paid by JoJo Siwa’s team to talk about her negatively.” (43:42)

• Breakdown of the Sydney Sweeney/American Eagle ad ‘discourse’ Exhaustion with the shallowness of viral controversies that distract from real problems:
  “It feels like when you eat a bunch of junk food… you didn’t get any nourishment… the discourse is not nourishing me.” – Bridget Todd (48:16)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Chris Smalls, Gaza Activism – 03:14–07:48
• TikTok Footnotes/Community Notes – 07:56–16:29
• Jet2 Holiday Meme & Deportation Propaganda – 19:09–28:44
• Substack Nazi Content Scandal – 31:06–39:27
• Dystopian TikTok/Internet Discourse – 39:41–48:16
• LinkedIn Removes Protections – 53:08–59:52
• T App Data Breach & Lawsuits – 59:39–69:14
• Age Verification & Privacy – 69:14–75:43
• Sign-offs/Plugs – 76:00–77:43

Final Thoughts

The episode is a whirlwind survey of how technology, big platforms, and online culture intersect with deeply human needs for safety, equity, and meaning. Bridget and Abbie’s rapport, insider knowledge, and refusal to let go of structural critiques make this a valuable, thought-provoking listen for anyone grappling with today’s digital dilemmas.

Guests:
Abbie Richards – TikTok misinformation researcher and analyst (@Topology, Media Matters)
Bridget Todd – Host, writer, and digital activist

Listen for:
Smart, critical analysis, dark humor, and deep concern for digital rights—especially for marginalized voices shaping the internet.

“It’s about real anxieties, real issues, but then we’re not actually having a substantive conversation – it just feels like a hamster wheel.” – Bridget Todd (48:16)