Top Comment Podcast
Discover what's behind the content flooding your feed.
Discover what's behind the content flooding your feed.
Top Comment is a brand new BBC podcast which sheds light on the darkest corners of the internet. Every week, Matt and Marianna unpack a range of viral topics from controversial influencers and the clipping economy, to murky crypto operations, prediction markets, and even information warfare. Follow us inside the algorithm as we expose the inner workings of the most popular platforms, and explain how tech giants are shaping the way we see the world.
LISTEN:
Listen to Top Comment every Thursday on BBC Sounds.
GET IN TOUCH:
- WhatsApp: +44 330 123 9480
- Email: topcomment@bbc.co.uk
- Or send us a DM!
Episodes to download
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Andrew Tate is blaming the Matrix again
Yesterday
The influencer and his brother could face extradition to the UK
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Erling Haaland, crypto billionaires, and the foxes incident
Last Thursday
Could blockchain replace the government?
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Solo-maxxing and the femosphere (live at Crossed Wires)
Thu 9 Jul 2026
Inside the lives of femcels, tradwives, and loneliness influencers
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Gabriel Shemirani on medical misinfo and rejecting Conspiracyland
Fri 3 Jul 2026
The dangers of unregulated health advice on social media
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Restore Britain, Merlin the duck, and FIFA's content farm
Thu 25 Jun 2026
We speak to the director behind the emerging party's social campaigns
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Agartha explained, and hot girls revolt on BookTok
Thu 18 Jun 2026
A controversial trademark has enraged literary influencers
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Belfast, Henry Nowak, and how Grok is supercharging misinfo
Thu 11 Jun 2026
Platforms are facing scrutiny over content inciting violence
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Is Hasan Piker NSFW now? And Tung Tung's generational run
Fri 5 Jun 2026
The Twitch streamer has been denied entry into the UK
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Sleuth wars, incels in STEM, and just want Harambe back
Fri 29 May 2026
The deaths of three sisters have led to rampant speculation online
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Why you're wrong about Palantir, and TL;DR Tolkien
Fri 22 May 2026
The mysterious tech giant sparking online backlash
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BONUS: Taylor Lorenz says "don't blame social media"
Tue 19 May 2026
Many western countries are pursuing stricter internet regulation
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Decline porn (part II), VPN patriotism, and Charli XCX's finsta drop
Fri 15 May 2026
How coordinated foreign accounts are amplifying anti-immigrant rhetoric
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Dare Market, hantavirus, and wtf is going on at JPMorgan?
Fri 8 May 2026
Meet the founder of the website being compared to Black Mirror
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Shooting conspiracies, breakup texts, and Dana White's cortisol spike
Fri 1 May 2026
Behind the false claims that recent assassination attempts were 'staged'
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Haley Beck explained, and the crypto operation hijacking the BBC
Fri 24 Apr 2026
The sister of an influencer is facing serious allegations
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Coachella, GRWM fakers, and Justin Bieber is chronically online
Fri 17 Apr 2026
Why the California festival is known as the 'Influencer Olympics'
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Iran, slopaganda, and the lego-inspired creator behind it all
Sat 11 Apr 2026
Explosive Media are accused of working for the Iranian government
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Misogyny, boomers, and China just got Krissed
Fri 3 Apr 2026
How AI is supercharging online abuse towards women
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Meta, YouTube, and a damning addiction verdict
Fri 27 Mar 2026
The companies were found liable in a landmark California case
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Whistleblowers, dolphin memes, and a million dollar toilet
Fri 20 Mar 2026
The algorithmic arms race driving the spread of harmful content
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Nancy Guthrie, TikTok sleuths, and Starmer's cringeposting era
Fri 13 Mar 2026
Influencers have descended on the Arizona home of the missing 84-year-old
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School wars, Dubai's crisis PR, and is Fabrizio cancelled?
Fri 6 Mar 2026
How phantom trends cause real-world hysteria
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Kalshi, Polymarket, and gamifying the future
Fri 27 Feb 2026
Prediction markets have exploded online but they're inviting scrutiny.
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Decline porn explained, and why Clavicular is misunderstood
Fri 20 Feb 2026
Episode 1 of Top Comment is here.
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Introducing... Top Comment
Thu 19 Feb 2026
We talk through the stories behind your social media feed.
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6. The Inquest—Marianna in Conspiracyland 2
Thu 2 Oct 2025
6/6 Can coroners' courts cope with conspiracy?
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5. A collective immune system—Marianna in Conspiracyland 2
Mon 28 Jul 2025
5/6 Can people fight back against medical misinformation?
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4. The Archaeologists—Marianna in Conspiracyland 2
Mon 21 Jul 2025
4/6 Are we equipped to deal with a rising tide of misinformation?
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3. Down the cancer conspiracy rabbit hole—Marianna in Conspiracyland 2
Mon 14 Jul 2025
3/6 What are patients seeing on social media?
