The thing about social media when it was created was that it was public. Ideas shared were debated for all to see. Today much of that is happening behind closed doors—in group chats.
Ben Smith, editor-in-chief of the media outlet Semafor and co-host of the podcast Mixed Signals, speaks with Endless Thread about the elite group chats on Signal and WhatsApp that are shaping American politics.
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Credits: This episode was produced by Dean Russell. Mix and sound design by Emily Jankowski. The co-hosts are Ben Brock Johnson and Amory Sivertson.
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26:42
The bots are taking over
The bots are here to stay, and they're everywhere. The trouble is, learning how to spot them.
On this week's episode of Endless Thread, Ben and Amory discuss two stories from Reddit about undercover bots. First — is there such a thing as an easy tell for identifying bots? Second, what happens when internet users accept bots as fellow humans, only to discover the truth later?
Show Notes:
‘The Worst Internet-Research Ethics Violation I Have Ever Seen’ (The Atlantic)
OpenAI used this subreddit to test AI persuasion (Tech Crunch)
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25:39
Encore: The internet's fight over dinosaur emoji
A few years ago, we brought you the story of how dinosaur emoji had entered the debate about trans rights.
We were reminded of this episode recently when a White House memorandum lambasted NPR for spreading "radical, woke propaganda" and linked to our story as an example. After the memo, President Trump signed an executive order to stop federal funding to NPR and PBS.
We stand by our reporting. And so we decided to bring you the episode again.
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We love making Endless Thread, and we want to be able to keep making it far into the future. If you want that too, we would deeply appreciate your contribution to our work in any amount. Click here for the donation page. Thank you!
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This episode was written and produced by Dean Russell. Mix and sound design by Matt Reed. The co-hosts are Ben Brock Johnson and Amory Sivertson. Special thanks for Dane Grey for the artwork.
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28:49
Boy do we have a rant for you
It's rant season. Or is it? When is it *not* rant season? In this week's episode of Endless Thread, Ben and Amory discuss two very different, very viral, rants from Reddit. One is about how the current design trends in our public and private spaces are hard on the ears. Another discusses how escape room adventures can bring out the worst in people. Perhaps there's some humor and some lessons to glean from rants, too?
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21:50
Find Our Friends
At any given time, 110 people can tell you exactly where James Tatter is.
Every single iPhone user has the Find My app on their phone, which allows them to share their location with friends and family. Increasingly, for young people like James, it's becoming also a form of social media.
Endless Thread producer (and James's sister) Grace Tatter wanted to know how something that seems creepy to some people became so commonplace to others — and how it's affecting our relationships off the screen.
Show notes:
On the Grid: Surveillance as a Love Language (The Drift)
Dodgeball Shuttered By Google, Its Co-Creator Promises To Clone It (Business Insider)
Thinking Critically about Social Media (American Sociology Association)
Talking Tech with Apple's Senior Vice President of Services, Eddy Cue (SuperSaf)
The Impact of Location-Tracking Apps on Relationships (Psychology Today)
Credits: This episode was written, reported and produced by Grace Tatter. It was edited by Meg Cramer. Co-hosted by Grace Tatter, Amory Sivertson, and Ben Brock Johnson. Mix and sound design by Emily Jankowski.
Hosts Ben Brock Johnson and Amory Sivertson dig into the internet's vast and curious ecosystem of online communities to find untold histories, unsolved mysteries, and other jaw-dropping stories online and IRL.
Netherlands