There Are No Girls on the Internet

THIS WEEK ON THERE ARE NO GIRLS ON THE INTERNET
Hi — if you found us through Instagram, you're in the right place.
There Are No Girls on the Internet is a weekly podcast hosted by Bridget Todd. Every Friday we drop our news roundup — the tech and internet stories that don't get enough attention, the ones about AI, power, gender, race, and who actually gets hurt when systems fail.
This week: A racist streamer livestreams from a stretcher. A grief post lands a mother in prison. And AI keeps making everything worse.
Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. New roundup every Friday.
📰 Here's what we were watching this week:
Black Google employees said the company called them "not Googly enough" — Google just paid $50M to settle the lawsuit. A 2022 class action alleged Google hired Black employees into lower-paying roles, hazed them in interviews, and retaliated when they spoke up. The $50M payout comes with promises of pay equity audits and limits on forced arbitration. 🔗 AP News
A woman posted about her stillbirth on Facebook. Police showed up and sent her to prison for 2 years. A broke single mom in Nevada was charged with manslaughter after an online grief post tipped off a deputy. Her conviction was eventually vacated — but the deputy who investigated her went to the funeral home, took her baby's ashes, and brought them to her own home in Texas. The mother still doesn't have her son's remains. At least 412 women have faced criminal charges related to pregnancy loss since Roe was overturned, even in states where abortion is legal. 🔗 CNN
A female Twitch streamer's fan tried to break into her room. She broadcast the whole thing live. Streamer Jinny was cycling through Poland when a man she'd briefly met in her hotel lobby showed up at her door that night trying to get in. She barricaded herself with a chair, cried quietly on stream, and called emergency services while her chat contacted police on her behalf. He fled before they arrived — and was never caught. 🔗 Dexerto
Elon Musk bragged about feeding USAID "into the woodchipper." Scientists now say 9 million people could die because of it. USAID was the world's largest humanitarian aid agency before DOGE shut it down in 2025. A study published in the journal Science found the cuts triggered an immediate spike in violent conflict across Africa — in the places that needed the aid most. Scientists say even if USAID were restarted tomorrow, the trust is gone for good. 🔗 The Independent
George Floyd's 11-year-old daughter is being bullied at school by classmates repeating right-wing talking points about her father — as MAGA figures push to pardon his killer. Gianna Floyd is being mocked at her middle school by kids repeating false claims about her father's death. Right-wing commentator Ben Shapiro is leading an online campaign to pardon the police officer who killed George Floyd — falsely claiming Floyd died of a drug overdose despite the medical examiner ruling his death a homicide. A pardon would free the man currently serving 22½ years for his murder. 🔗 BET
Peter Thiel used his billionaire money to destroy Gawker. Now he's backing a startup that gives anyone that same power for $2,000. A new billionaire-backed startup called Objection lets anyone pay $2,000 to have a panel of AI models rule on whether a news story about them was fair. The journalist doesn't have to participate — a verdict gets published either way. Critics are calling it a censorship tool disguised as accountability. 🔗 TechCrunch
A commencement speaker told arts and humanities graduates that AI is "the next industrial revolution." They booed her off the stage. When a real estate executive told the University of Central Florida's graduating class of film, animation, and media students that AI would transform their world, the crowd erupted. One graduate summed it up: "A lot of us are worried that companies are using this technology to replace artists rather than work alongside them." The revolution is not being applauded. 🔗 NYT
People are using AI to plan their plastic surgery. Doctors say the results are cartoons. Patients are using ChatGPT to visualize their post-surgery look — then expecting doctors to match it. AI consistently generates cartoonish results with waistlines too narrow for internal organs and nose tips that would block breathing. Doctors are calling it the new "Snapchat dysmorphia." 🔗 Business Insider
YouTube will now scan its entire platform for deepfakes of your face — if you ask it to. YouTube is expanding its AI likeness detection tool to all adults with an account. You submit a selfie-style scan, and YouTube hunts for videos using your face without your consent. If it finds a match, you can request removal. The stakes for regular people are very real. 🔗 The Verge
A racist streamer shot a Black disabled veteran and was shot himself in the altercation. He livestreamed from the stretcher. Dalton Eatherly, known online as "Chud the Builder," films himself hurling racial slurs at Black people in public. Last week he was arrested for refusing to pay a $370 restaurant bill after being kicked out for livestreaming racist content. Days later, he shot a Black disabled veteran outside a courthouse, was shot himself, and livestreamed from the stretcher. He's been arrested three times in six months. 🔗 CNN
Real Housewives of Potomac's Gizelle got caught by the same AI drop shipping scam we covered last week. On the Reasonably Shady podcast, Robyn Dixon talked about how Gizelle fell for the racialized AI drop shipping scams we covered in our last episode. If it's happening to Real Housewives, it's happening everywhere. 🔗 Reasonably Shady
Meet the "Sad Wives of AI" — women running their households while their husbands chase the AI hype. A Wired longform by Alessandra Ram profiles the women left holding everything together while their partners spiral into AI obsession. It's a portrait of a certain kind of tech marriage in 2026. 🔗 Wired
Dating apps are in decline — for the first time ever. The dating app market just recorded its first annual revenue decline. People are logging off and not coming back. 🔗 Business of Apps
Bumble just killed the swipe — and replaced it with AI dating agents. The app that built its brand on women making the first move is now letting AI make moves on your behalf. Whether that's progress or the end of something is a question worth sitting with. 🔗 NYT
Bridget's forthcoming audiobook with Simon & Schuster, Love At First Prompt, explores AI, sex, and intimate relationships. Pre-order at LoveAtFirstPrompt.ai
Follow Bridget: Instagram | TikTok | YouTube | Bluesky
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In 2026, Meta is racing into AI with all gas and no brakes — and it's giving us serious déjà vu. We invited Samantha and Anney from Stuff Mom Never Told You to revisit The Social Network and examine what the film got right, what it glossed over, and how its treatment of women tells you everything you need to know about tech culture then and now. Plus: the reported sequel centered on Frances Haugen's findings inside Facebook, and why that story might be the one that actually matters.

If you’re listening on Spotify, you can leave a comment there to let us know what you thought about these stories, or email us at [email protected]

Follow Bridget and TANGOTI on social media! || instagram.com/bridgetmarieindc/ || tiktok.com/@bridgetmarieindc || youtube.com/@ThereAreNoGirlsOnTheInternet

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

THIS WEEK ON THERE ARE NO GIRLS ON THE INTERNET
Hi — if you found us through Instagram, you're in the right place.
There Are No Girls on the Internet is a weekly podcast hosted by Bridget Todd. Every Friday we drop our news roundup — the tech and internet stories that don't get enough attention, the ones about AI, power, gender, race, and who actually gets hurt when systems fail.
This week: AI-enabled stalking lawsuits. Fake AI-generated identities. Labor protests outside billionaire-sponsored galas. Kids bypassing online safety systems with fake mustaches.
Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. New roundup every Friday.
🎧 Here's what we covered this week:
A porn site built a business out of videos of unconscious women being assaulted. It just got shut down. Gisèle Pelicot's husband drugged and assaulted her and invited dozens of men to do the same. Motherless.com built a business out of hosting thousands of videos exactly like it. In the wake of a viral CNN investigation, the site was temporarily taken offline. 🔗 CNN investigation
A book app used a fake AI Black woman to launch — and the app was supposed to be AI-free. Handbook App launched with an AI-generated image of a Black woman in Random House's offices and a false claim that the founder worked there. She has since apologized. The app was marketed as AI-free. The founder image was AI. 🔗 Viral breakdown | More context
Someone stole a Cambridge academic's face to promote a fetish site — and is lying about her to do it. Dr. Ally Louks went viral for her Cambridge PhD on the politics of smell. Now large accounts are using her likeness to falsely advertise a fetish marketplace, implying she's selling smelly used clothing. Her own research, weaponized against her. Platforms are doing nothing. "Being a woman on the internet is a special kind of hell," she says. 🔗 Vox | Dr. Louks' original post | Guardian / UN Women
The person giving you health advice online is probably trying to sell you something. A major new Pew study found only 17% of health influencers have real medical credentials. The rest are coaches, entrepreneurs and self-proclaimed experts — many earning a cut of every supplement bottle they sell. 🔗 Pew Research
A woman is suing OpenAI after ChatGPT helped her stalker terrorize her. Her ex used ChatGPT to fuel his delusions and generate fake psych reports he sent to her family, friends, and employer. She reported it to OpenAI. They never followed up — even though their own systems had flagged his account for mass casualty weapons activity. He was later arrested for assault with a deadly weapon and a bomb threat. She's suing to preserve his chat logs before he's released. 🔗 Futurism
AI writing tools are grading kids differently based on race and gender. A Stanford study found AI gives Black students more praise and less criticism than white students — while pushing white students to sharpen their arguments. As lead researcher Mei Tan put it: "Maybe a takeaway is that we shouldn't leave the pedagogy to the large language model." 🔗 Hechinger Report
Shark Tank's Kevin O'Leary wants to build a 40,000 acre data center in Utah — and locals are furious. After hundreds of Utahns showed up to protest, O'Leary claimed 90% were "bused in" and paid by "professional protesters." He provided zero evidence. A Salt Lake Tribune reporter at the meeting saw no buses. 🔗 Salt Lake Tribune
Hackers stole data from 9,000 schools and held it for ransom. A breach of Canvas — used by 41% of North American colleges — forced universities to cancel final exams. 275 million students and staff may be affected. One cybersecurity expert's advice: "Assume your name and email are now in criminal circulation." 🔗 Krebs on Security
Jeff Bezos bought his way into fashion's biggest night. He and Lauren spent $10 million to chair the Met Gala while Amazon workers staged their own fashion show outside. SEIU President April Verrett said: "Labor is art." 🔗 Democracy Now
Kids are beating age verification checks with drawn-on mustaches. Half of all kids surveyed said age checks were easy to bypass. Some drew facial hair on themselves with a makeup pencil — and it worked multiple times. Meanwhile Meta wants to use AI to analyze bone structure to guess if users are underage. 🔗 TechCrunch
Bridget's forthcoming audiobook with Simon & Schuster, Love At First Prompt, explores AI, sex, and intimate relationships. Pre-order at LoveAtFirstPrompt.ai
Follow Bridget: Instagram | TikTok | YouTube | Bluesky

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You saw the video. A DoorDash driver named Livie goes viral on TikTok after reporting that a customer answered the door naked and flashed her. The internet rallied behind her. And then — the story got complicated.
Bridget breaks down what actually happened, why the story became a breeding ground for misinformation and AI-generated fake videos, and what it tells us about where we're at when it comes to women speaking up online.
Plus the update nobody was expecting: Livie is now facing charges for posting the man naked without his consent.
Is this justice? A technicality? Or proof that the system was never built to protect women like her in the first place?

See Livie's video(s) for yourself: https://www.facebook.com/share/v/19jTtPWjZH/?mibextid=wwXIfr
MuURLS, a creator on TikTok was cloned by AI: https://www.tiktok.com/@muurlz/video/7563725293693783309?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc
NotKristen’s TikTok on AI clones: https://www.tiktok.com/@notkhristen/video/7563433687476358430?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc
Liberal feminist “triggered”: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Maxime-Dafaure/publication/343261281/figure/fig4/AS:918257242501121@1595940995904/Triggered-Feminist-Ficki-Fiona-MFW-My-Face-When-Someone-Tells-Me-There-Are-Only-Two.png
The real “triggered feminist” video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=byOlBCpNKeM

If you’re listening on Spotify, you can leave a comment there to let us know what you thought about these stories, or email us at [email protected]

Follow Bridget and TANGOTI on social media! || instagram.com/bridgetmarieindc/ || tiktok.com/@bridgetmarieindc || youtube.com/@ThereAreNoGirlsOnTheInternet

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There Are No Girls on the Internet is an independent media company covering tech, power, and who gets left out.
We produce a weekly podcast, viral social content, and in-depth reporting on the tech stories that matter — especially the ones that don't get enough attention.
Host Bridget Todd and her producer Mike have been covering these issues for over decade. Bridget's forthcoming audiobook with Simon & Schuster, Love At First Prompt, explores AI, sex, and intimate relationships. Pre-order it at LoveAtFirstPrompt.ai.
If you found us through our Instagram carousel, welcome!
Here's everything we covered this week with links to the original reporting:
🔗 A man sued his female JPMorgan boss for sexual coercion. It went viral, AI harassment videos followed, and the lawsuit has since been pulled from court records. AI-generated videos recreating the allegations spread on X before anyone verified a single fact. More on the AI component here.
🔗 Taylor Swift is trademarking her own voice because AI scams are out of control Scammers are using AI-generated versions of celebrities to steal people's personal information — and the platforms aren't stopping it.
🔗 Cops are using Flock surveillance cameras to stalk their exes A new Institute for Justice report found at least 14 cases of police abusing license plate readers to track romantic interests.
🔗 A university destroyed an Asian American scientist's career in a racist federal witch hunt that found nothing Jane Wu's family is speaking out one year after her death and has filed a lawsuit against Northwestern. NBC News coverage here.
🔗 Men built a business turning women's Instagram photos into AI porn — and taught other men how to do it Three Arizona men sold a course teaching subscribers how to scrape and sexualize women's photos. Three women are now suing.
🔗 A new UN report found AI is making online violence against women dramatically worse Nearly a quarter of female journalists surveyed have been diagnosed with anxiety or depression because of it.
🔗 The Oscars just banned AI actors and AI-written scripts from winning awards The Academy's strongest stance yet on AI in film.
🔗 Andrew Tate sued Meta for banning him and lost A federal judge threw out his $50 million lawsuit. The First Amendment doesn't apply to private companies.
🔗 New reporting reveals how close Peter Thiel and Jeffrey Epstein really were Private emails show Epstein was actively coaching Thiel on how to get embedded in Trump world.
🔗 A murder suspect allegedly used ChatGPT to research how to dispose of a body. OpenAI had no comment. Prosecutors allege he asked ChatGPT about disposing of a body three days before two doctoral students went missing.
New to the show? Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts and follow Bridget on Instagram | TikTok | YouTube | Bluesky
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.