All Videos July 12, 2021

Lil Miquela and the rise of the robot influencer

At first, Miquela looks like any other influencer. But she’s not – she’s a robot.

More from this series

In defence of stan culture

Why are young women screaming at a One Direction concert looked down on as hysterical, but grown men screaming at a game on TV is just seen as part of being a sports fan?

Why is the internet so obsessed with cats?

If you want to go viral, get yourself a cat – preferably one that looks grumpy or loves jumping into boxes. What is it with the internet and cat videos?

The fake world of Finstas

Everybody from “the teens” to Prince Harry has one these days. So what exactly is a Finsta and why do you need one?

A guide to echo chambers

Remember thinking there was no chance Donald Trump would win the 2016 US presidential election? You weren’t alone – everybody else in your echo chamber thought the same thing.

What is the dark web?

Did you know only 4% of the internet is discoverable through Google search? The rest is what’s know as the deep web, and beyond that there’s the dark web. What is it, why was it created and who uses it?

Are the influencers alright?

It might seem like a dream job, but what’s the real price you pay for being an influencer?

The evolution of the internet

From connecting via dial-up to send an email, to social networks, to the oncoming metaverse – the web has changed a lot in the last 25 years.

What are the rules of the internet?

Have you ever wondered why platforms don’t get shut down when they host extremist content, why Twitter doesn’t get sued every time someone spreads misinformation, or how sites like 4Chan can even exist? It’s because of Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act – or the 26 words that created the internet.

Did you just sign away your first born child?

One of the biggest lies on the internet has to be “I have read and agree to the terms and conditions.” And who can blame us when it would take an average of 76 working days to read all the privacy policies we come across on the internet each year?

The truth about bots

We’ve all seen them in the comments on social media, and some of us have probably even had an argument with one. So what’s the deal with bots?

How do I get out of this free trial?

These techniques are called ‘Dark Patterns’, and they’re designed to trick us into doing things we wouldn’t usually do.

Is your phone actually listening to you?

Are our phones really listening to us and serving us ads based on what we’re talking about? Turns out they don’t even need to.