Kendall Jenner inspired Meta chatbot lures a man to his death; AI TikToks distort DC; VTubers Sell Out Stadiums; Kayfabe is Everywhere; Tea App Update – NEWS ROUNDUP w/ Dexter Thomas

There Are No Girls on the Internet

iHeartPodcasts

Society & Culture, Technology

4.4 • 820 Ratings

🗓️ 23 August 2025

⏱️ 88 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Bridget is joined in this week's news roundup by tech journalist Dexter Thomas, prolific writer, videographer, and host of the excellent podcast "Kill Switch".

Dex recently wrote a piece in Wired about anime girl VTubers selling out concerts, and how the question of whether they're "real" depends on kayfabe and who you ask: https://www.wired.com/story/anime-girl-vtubers-are-selling-out-concerts-but-are-they-real-depends-on-who-you-ask/ In addition to listening to Kill Sitch, you can follow him on YouTube and social media at "D E X D I G I".

DC Disinfo. Real Footage Combined With AI Slop About DC Is Creating a Disinformation Mess on TikTok: https://www.404media.co/real-footage-combined-with-a-ai-slop-about-dc-is-creating-a-disinformation-mess-on-tiktok/

The Tea App story gets worse. Turns out that weren't just sloppy, they were actively undermining other efforts to keep women safe. https://www.404media.co/how-teas-founder-convinced-millions-of-women-to-spill-their-secrets-then-exposed-them-to-the-world/

Meta’s flirty AI chatbot invited a vulnerable retiree to New York. He never came back. https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/meta-ai-chatbot-death/

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! Many vids each week || instagram.com/bridgetmarieindc/ || tiktok.com/@bridgetmarieindc || youtube.com/@ThereAreNoGirlsOnTheInternet

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Transcript

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0:00.0	This is an IHeart podcast.
0:08.3	There are No Girls on the Internet as a production of IHeart Radio and Unbossed Creative.
0:16.4	I'm Bridget Todd, and this is There Are No Girls on the Internet.
0:22.1	This is There Are No Girls on the Internet, where we explore the intersection of technology,
0:25.8	culture, social media, and identity.
0:28.1	And this is our weekly news roundup, where we dive into stories that you might have missed
0:31.7	online.
0:32.7	I am kind of fan-girling because of this, our guest co-host today.
0:37.4	Dexter Thomas hosted the Kill Switch podcast on this very network.
0:41.4	You're one of my kind of favorite humans in the tech media space.
0:45.6	I'm so thrilled that you're here.
0:47.6	No.
0:48.1	Okay.
0:48.6	That is too good of an intro.
0:49.9	Thank you.
0:50.4	I'm happy to be here.
0:51.6	Thank you so much.
0:53.0	So when you're not busy making the Kill Switch podcast, you also write all around the internet about sort of the intersection of tech and media. How would you describe your sort of beat?
1:03.5	Oh, my gosh. So I say that I do culture.
1:08.7	Culture. Yeah, I say that I do culture.
1:17.3	And culture for me is whatever you sit down on the couch and keeps you sitting down on the couch or whatever makes you want to get up off the couch and do something about it.
1:21.9	So that's a very roundabout way of saying I'm interested in everything.
	...

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