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PODCAST

Top Comment

The story behind your social media feed, from BBC correspondent Marianna Spring and investigative journalist Matt Shea. Top Comment investigates what"s blowing up online. From global events that go viral across social media, to bizarre moments that spill into real life, Marianna and Matt unpack the trends, theories and digital chaos shaping our world.You can also hear Marianna"s previous series for the BBC in this feed, including Marianna in Conspiracyland, Why Do You Hate Me?, Disaster Trolls,

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All Episodes

29:32

2. Conspiracyland at home

Top Comment ·

2025/06/23

Could the answer lie in the past? The BBC’s social media investigations correspondent, Marianna Spring, continues investigating what happened to Paloma Shemirani. She speaks to Paloma’s brothers to see if the answers could lie in the house they grew up in. Who is Paloma’s mum - prominent British conspiracy theorist influencer Kate Shemirani - and how did her beliefs evolve and impact Paloma and her siblings? Could her mum’s conspiracy theory views have influenced Paloma’s decision to reject

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32:45

1. The Dove and the Pigeon

Top Comment ·

2025/06/23

What happened to Paloma? Aged 22, Paloma Shemirani has her whole life ahead of her. She’s recently graduated, moved into a flat and found a job. But just days before Christmas in 2023 she receives bad news, she has cancer - an aggressive but treatable form of Lymphoma. Despite a good prognosis, Paloma decides - at least initially - to reject chemotherapy. The BBC’s social media investigations correspondent Marianna Spring investigates what happened and what this tells us about the mainstreaming of

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26:48

Introducing... Diddy on Trial

Top Comment ·

2025/01/30

From starting Bad Boy Records in 1993 and signing the Notorious BIG, to becoming a billionaire business mogul, through to the recent federal charges. Anoushka Mutanda-Dougherty traces Diddy’s history with Rolling Stone Senior Investigative Reporter Cheyenne Roundtree. Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs is currently behind bars in a notorious New York jail, awaiting trial on three federal charges, which he denies. Diddy on Trial is here to investigate the rumours, confront the theories, and give you the answers

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28:34

Americast: Why Trump Won (and Why Harris Lost)

Top Comment ·

2024/11/08

In this bonus episode, the Americast team gets together for an election inquest to examine what went right and wrong. Is Joe Biden to blame for Harris’ loss? Or did something else cause the VP to underperform with the voters she needed to win? Was Trump’s straight-forward messaging a winning strategy? Or has there been a fundamental shift among American voters that goes beyond politics?

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28:44

5. Fandom Frenzies: Who’s afraid of little old us?

Top Comment ·

2024/10/20

In Why Do You Hate Me? USA, BBC disinformation and social media correspondent Marianna Spring is investigating how what’s happening online can shape the 2024 presidential election. In this episode, Marianna goes deep inside the world of a particular kind of social media tribe: the fandom. These groups revolve around the love for celebrities from pop stars like Taylor Swift to billionaire Elon Musk. And now political activists are operating a bit like fandoms to boost the chances of their favourite

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28:44

4. Doxxed and Blocked: ‘We’re distressed about war in...

Top Comment ·

2024/10/14

Few topics have caused as much division online as the deepening war in the Middle East. In this episode, Marianna is in New York investigating the experiences of students targeted on social media. They have been affected by doxxing – where their personal information is shared online triggering racist and misogynistic hate – by people wanting to make a wider political argument. The abuse that they have received has impacted each of their views in different but significant ways and potentially

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28:28

3. The Fable of the Pikesville Clip: ‘I’ve been burnt...

Top Comment ·

2024/10/04

A headteacher at a school in small American suburb of Baltimore was a prominent member of the local community. But many in the neighbourhood turned on Principal Eric Eiswert, after an audio clip emerged of him appearing to make racist and antisemitic remarks. Except, what no one knew then was that another bombshell would transform what they thought of the headteacher – and of themselves. In this episode of Why Do You Hate Me? USA, Marianna investigates the network of posts and people that can

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28:20

2. Counting The Threats: 'I just work in IT – why am...

Top Comment ·

2024/09/22

What are the real-world consequences of the belief that almost anything and everything can be staged or rigged – from assassination attempts to elections? In Why Do You Hate Me? USA, BBC disinformation and social media correspondent Marianna Spring is investigating how what’s happening online can shape the 2024 presidential election. In this episode, Marianna continues her journey through Colorado to hear about what happens when some people no longer trust systems and institutions – and then

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28:27

1. Wild Thoughts: 'I hate Trump, she likes him – we...

Top Comment ·

2024/09/22

Meet Camille and ‘Wild Mother’. Both women love nature, animals, and the outdoors. Both women also believe the assassination attempts on Donald Trump were staged – but have very different political views. Why do people believe the things they do? And what role do social media sites – and their algorithms – play? In this series, BBC disinformation and social media correspondent Marianna Spring travels to the United States to investigate the social media backdrop to the 2024 presidential election

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3:41

Introducing... Why Do You Hate Me? USA

Top Comment ·

2024/09/14

For the second series of BBC Radio 4’s Why Do You Hate Me, disinformation and social media correspondent Marianna Spring heads to the USA. She investigates the social media backdrop to the presidential election, interrogating different online phenomena and cases of hate – looking at how they could potentially influence the way people vote.Marianna travels from Colorado to Baltimore and New York, tracking down both those harmed and causing harm on social media. She investigates everything from

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2:04

Welcome to Conspiracyland

Top Comment ·

2024/09/12

This is the new home of Marianna Spring's social media and disinformation investigations for BBC Radio 4. Listen back to Death by Conspiracy, War on Truth, Disaster Trolls, Conspiracyland and Why Do You Hate Me? Plus, hear the new series, Why Do You Hate Me? USA, coming soon.

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28:40

Why Do You Hate Me? Episode 1

Top Comment ·

2024/02/07

When Julia Wandelt posted on social media that she believed she was Madeleine McCann, she became a lightning rod for online anger. In the first of a new series exploring extraordinary cases of online hate and the possibility of forgiveness, Marianna Spring, the BBC's Disinformation and social media correspondent, speaks to Julia about her motives and regrets.Listen to more episodes of Why Do You Hate Me on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts. For this series, Marianna Spring (one of the

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2:37

Introducing... Why Do You Hate Me?

Top Comment ·

2024/01/16

The online world can be a breeding ground for hate. But why do some people behave the way they do on social media? In each episode, the BBC's Disinformation and social media correspondent Marianna Spring - one of the most trolled BBC journalists - dives into her inbox and investigates a different extraordinary case of online hate to find out. She meets the people at the heart of these conflicts, and in some cases brings them together, to see if understanding - even forgiveness - is ever possible

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18:57

Bonus Episode: Irish Conspiracyland

Top Comment ·

2023/08/06

Marianna travels to Dublin to investigate a court case unfolding against the Irish Light conspiracy theory newspaper. Edel Campbell and her lawyer have been targeted by an extreme campaign of abuse after suing The Light which falsely claimed Edel’s son Diego died from a Covid vaccine, when in reality he had died by suicide. Conspiracy theorists worldwide have used dozens of tragic deaths to spread vaccine misinformation. This case is thought to be the first where a relative has sued. And what is the

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40:11

Frontlines of Conspiracyland

Top Comment ·

2023/07/04

In this bonus episode, the BBC’S International Editor Jeremy Bowen and Disinformation and Social Media Correspondent Marianna Spring talk about their respective new podcasts: Frontlines of Journalism and Marianna in Conspiracyland. They reflect on the obstacles that stand between journalists and the truth and the conspiracy theory movement that seems to have boomed in the UK after Covid. Exploring the similarities and differences of their journalistic specialisms, they discuss techniques to hold

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13:50

10. A Risk That’s Impossible to Ignore

Top Comment ·

2023/06/30

What will happen next in Conspiracyland? In the final episode, Marianna is back where she started, in the Devon town of Totnes. With the help of locals, she makes sense of the legacy left by the conspiracy theory newspaper and the wider movement all over the UK. Host: Marianna Spring Producers: Philip Marzouk and Olivia Lace-Evans Producer for BBC Radio 4 podcasts: Nathan Jones Technical Producer: Alex Portfelix Series producer: Emma Close Senior news editor: Sam Bonham Commissioner: Rhian

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14:10

9. People Like Us

Top Comment ·

2023/06/30

Do you know someone who’s fallen down the rabbit hole? During the investigation, Marianna’s inbox has been filled with messages from people sharing their stories about those they know and love who’ve been sucked into conspiracy theories. With the help of social psychologist Karen Douglas, Marianna explores how people find themselves in Conspiracyland, why they stay, and how some managed to escape.Host: Marianna Spring Producers: Philip Marzouk, Olivia Lace-Evans Producer for BBC Radio 4 podcasts:

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13:31

8. The Science Of Conspiracy

Top Comment ·

2023/06/28

Could people in the UK conspiracy theory movement ever become violent? Returning to the UK, BBC disinformation and social media correspondent Marianna Spring meets possibly the only person outside of the movement who has read as much of the Light as her: political scientist at King’s College London Dr Rod Dacombe. What insights will he have for Marianna from his years studying The Light and the conspiracy theory movement in the UK? Host: Marianna Spring Producers: Philip Marzouk and Olivia

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14:53

7. After An Attempted Coup

Top Comment ·

2023/06/26

What can the UK learn from Germany? In Berlin, BBC disinformation and social media correspondent Marianna Spring meets a whistleblower who stopped writing for a conspiracy theory newspaper in his country because he feared it was becoming more radical. Marianna uncovers more about the connections between the German paper and a failed coup attempt, and unpicks what it can tell us about our own conspiracy theory movement in the UK.Host: Marianna Spring Producers: Philip Marzouk, Olivia

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12:23

6. German Conspiracyland

Top Comment ·

2023/06/23

Why are journalists being attacked in Germany? Marianna travels to Berlin to meet a journalist called Jorg who’s been covering the conspiracy theory movement in his country. He’s been attacked several times trying to do his job, and he’s not the only one. Jorg says he’s heard from other journalists who’ve experienced something similar. And the latest figures from Germany show attacks against journalists have risen sharply since the pandemic. Host: Marianna Spring Producers: Philip Marzouk and Olivia

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