Top Comment Podcast
The story behind your social media feed.
The story behind your social media feed, from BBC correspondent Marianna Spring and investigative journalist Matt Shea.
Top Comment investigates what's blowing up online. From global events that go viral across social media, to bizarre moments that spill into real life, Marianna and Matt unpack the trends, theories and digital chaos shaping our world.
You can also hear Marianna's previous series for the BBC in this feed, including Marianna in Conspiracyland, Why Do You Hate Me?, Disaster Trolls, Death by Conspiracy? and War on Truth.
Episodes to download
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6. German Conspiracyland—Marianna in Conspiracyland 1
Mon 12 Jun 2023
6/12 Why are journalists being attacked in Germany?
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5. Follow The Money—Marianna in Conspiracyland 1
Mon 12 Jun 2023
5/12 Who is funding this conspiracy theory newspaper?
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4. The Conspiracy Theory Newspaper—Marianna in Conspiracyland 1
Mon 12 Jun 2023
4/12 Who is the man behind The Light?
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3. Trestle Tables for Truth—Marianna in Conspiracyland 1
Mon 12 Jun 2023
3/12 Where does all the anger come from?
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2. Down The Rabbit Hole—Marianna in Conspiracyland 1
Mon 12 Jun 2023
2/12 What do those in the movement believe? And why?
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1. Entering Conspiracyland—Marianna in Conspiracyland 1
Mon 12 Jun 2023
1/12 What’s happening in the Devon town of Totnes?
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Introducing... Marianna in Conspiracyland—Marianna in Conspiracyland 1
Mon 5 Jun 2023
1/12 What happened to the people who fell down the rabbit hole?
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Bonus: Remember My Name—Disaster Trolls
Sun 5 Mar 2023
Marianna Spring revisits her investigation into conspiracy theories about terror attacks.
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10. The Billion Dollar Question—Disaster Trolls
Mon 31 Oct 2022
A landmark US court ruling gives hope to victims of conspiracy theories in the UK.
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9. What They Don’t Tell You About Terror—Disaster Trolls
Mon 31 Oct 2022
Are terror survivors taken seriously when they seek help against abusive trolling?
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8. I Was a Conspiracy Theorist... Get Me Out of Here!—Disaster Trolls
Mon 31 Oct 2022
Brent disavows the toxic conspiracy theories he helped create, but can Paul forgive him?
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7. I Helped Bring Down Alex Jones—Disaster Trolls
Mon 31 Oct 2022
The Infowars employee whose testimony helped Sandy Hook parents win huge damages.
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6. The Visitor—Disaster Trolls
Mon 31 Oct 2022
He said he was a customer, but the visitor to Lisa’s boatyard hid his real intentions.
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5. Who Believes This Stuff?—Disaster Trolls
Mon 31 Oct 2022
How widespread is the belief that major terror attacks in the UK are faked?
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4. Hall’s Stall—Disaster Trolls
Mon 31 Oct 2022
Marianna Spring finally meets the conspiracy theorist at the heart of her investigation.
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3. The Insider—Disaster Trolls
Mon 31 Oct 2022
An unexpected source provides an insight into a leading conspiracy theorist.
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2. Sharpening the Spike—Disaster Trolls
Mon 31 Oct 2022
The conspiracy show host who tried to prove a teenage bomb victim wasn’t injured.
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1. Darkness in the Glade of Light—Disaster Trolls
Mon 31 Oct 2022
Daren can’t forget that night at the Manchester Arena. So who claims it never happened?
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Introducing... Disaster Trolls—Disaster Trolls
Mon 24 Oct 2022
What happens when tragedy makes you a target?
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10. Marianna: 'I get hate from all sides'—War on Truth
Mon 25 Apr 2022
How an Instagram influencer survived a bombing - and got caught in the information war.
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9. Roddy: 'We don’t trust the media, so we became it'—War on Truth
Mon 18 Apr 2022
How self-styled citizen journalists are covering the war in Ukraine.
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8. Tetyana: ‘My son is the Snake Island hero’—War on Truth
Mon 18 Apr 2022
How a story of sweary heroism wasn't quite what it seemed.
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7. Sergei: ‘It’s my duty to keep telling Russians the truth’—War on Truth
Wed 13 Apr 2022
The Russian journalist who refused to stay silent after the Kremlin took him off air.
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6. The View from the Other Side—War on Truth
Tue 5 Apr 2022
Russia spun a web of lies around her photo, but now she’s resurfaced to tell her story.
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5. Rob: ‘Covid was a hoax, and so is the war’—War on Truth
Tue 29 Mar 2022
They didn’t believe Covid was real - and now they think the war in Ukraine is staged.
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4. One Baby, Three Photos, and a Web of Lies—War on Truth
Thu 24 Mar 2022
A pregnant woman injured in the bombing of a maternity hospital was attacked again online.
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3. Masha: The Influencer Who is a Secret Weapon—War on Truth
Fri 18 Mar 2022
How a Eurovision host and other stars are helping Ukraine fight an information war.
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2. Maxim: Homeless and Trolled—War on Truth
Mon 14 Mar 2022
Maxim's home was destroyed, but he never expected to be called a liar.
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1. Kristina: ‘My cousin thinks we’re bombing ourselves’—War on Truth
Mon 14 Mar 2022
What do you do when your relative refuses to believe her country is attacking yours?
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Introducing... War on Truth—War on Truth
Fri 11 Mar 2022
What’s fake, what’s real? Stories from the information war over Ukraine.
