Top Comment

BBC

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!

Listen in PodNod RSS feed Show website

91 episodes
Updated Thursday

Episodes91

Newest first

Oct 30, 2022 · 15 min
Disaster Trolls: 9. What They Don’t Tell You About Terror
Are terror survivors taken seriously when they seek help against abusive trolling?
Oct 30, 2022 · 14 min
Disaster Trolls: 8. I Was a Conspiracy Theorist... Get Me Out of Here!
Brent disavows the toxic conspiracy theories he helped create, but can Paul forgive him?
Oct 30, 2022 · 15 min
Disaster Trolls: 7. I Helped Bring Down Alex Jones
The Infowars employee whose testimony helped Sandy Hook parents win huge damages.
Oct 30, 2022 · 14 min
Disaster Trolls: 6. The Visitor
He said he was a customer, but the visitor to Lisa’s boatyard hid his real intentions.
Oct 30, 2022 · 15 min
Disaster Trolls: 5. Who Believes This Stuff?
How widespread is the belief that major terror attacks in the UK are faked?
Oct 30, 2022 · 13 min
Disaster Trolls: 4. Hall’s Stall
Marianna Spring finally meets the conspiracy theorist at the heart of her investigation.
Oct 30, 2022 · 15 min
Disaster Trolls: 3. The Insider
An unexpected source provides an insight into a leading conspiracy theorist.
Oct 30, 2022 · 14 min
Disaster Trolls: 2. Sharpening the Spike
The conspiracy show host who tried to prove a teenage bomb victim wasn’t injured.
Oct 30, 2022 · 15 min
Disaster Trolls: 1. Darkness in the Glade of Light
Daren can’t forget that night at the Manchester Arena. So who claims it never happened?
Oct 24, 2022 · 2 min
Disaster Trolls: Introducing... Disaster Trolls
What happens when tragedy makes you a target?
Apr 29, 2022 · 16 min
War on Truth: 9. Roddy: 'We don’t trust the media, so we became it'
How self-styled citizen journalists are covering the war in Ukraine.
Apr 22, 2022 · 15 min
War on Truth: 8. Tetyana: ‘My son is the Snake Island hero’
How a story of sweary heroism wasn't quite what it seemed.
Apr 14, 2022 · 21 min
War on Truth: 7. Sergei: ‘It’s my duty to keep telling Russians the truth’
The Russian journalist who refused to stay silent after the Kremlin took him off air.
Apr 8, 2022 · 18 min
War on Truth: 6. The View from the Other Side
Russia spun a web of lies around her photo, but now she’s resurfaced to tell her story.
Apr 1, 2022 · 17 min
War on Truth: 5. Rob: ‘Covid was a hoax, and so is the war’
They didn’t believe Covid was real - and now they think the war in Ukraine is staged.
Mar 24, 2022 · 19 min
War on Truth: 4. One Baby, Three Photos, and a Web of Lies
A pregnant woman injured in the bombing of a maternity hospital was attacked again online.
Mar 18, 2022 · 15 min
War on Truth: 3. Masha: The Influencer Who is a Secret Weapon
How a Eurovision host and other stars are helping Ukraine fight an information war.
Mar 14, 2022 · 14 min
War on Truth: 2. Maxim: Homeless and Trolled
Maxim's home was destroyed, but he never expected to be called a liar.
Mar 14, 2022 · 16 min
War on Truth: 1. Kristina: ‘My cousin thinks we’re bombing ourselves’
What do you do when your relative refuses to believe her country is attacking yours?
Mar 11, 2022 · 1 min
War on Truth: Introducing... War on Truth
What’s fake, what’s real? Stories from the information war over Ukraine.

Top Comment

Disaster Trolls: 9. What They Don’t Tell You About Terror

Disaster Trolls: 8. I Was a Conspiracy Theorist... Get Me Out of Here!

Disaster Trolls: 7. I Helped Bring Down Alex Jones

Disaster Trolls: 6. The Visitor

Disaster Trolls: 5. Who Believes This Stuff?

Disaster Trolls: 4. Hall’s Stall

Disaster Trolls: 3. The Insider

Disaster Trolls: 2. Sharpening the Spike

Disaster Trolls: 1. Darkness in the Glade of Light

Disaster Trolls: Introducing... Disaster Trolls

War on Truth: 9. Roddy: 'We don’t trust the media, so we became it'

War on Truth: 8. Tetyana: ‘My son is the Snake Island hero’

War on Truth: 7. Sergei: ‘It’s my duty to keep telling Russians the truth’

War on Truth: 6. The View from the Other Side

War on Truth: 5. Rob: ‘Covid was a hoax, and so is the war’

War on Truth: 4. One Baby, Three Photos, and a Web of Lies

War on Truth: 3. Masha: The Influencer Who is a Secret Weapon

War on Truth: 2. Maxim: Homeless and Trolled

War on Truth: 1. Kristina: ‘My cousin thinks we’re bombing ourselves’

War on Truth: Introducing... War on Truth