Prompt Cast
The Dark Side of the Internet: How Powerful People are Designing it to be Bad
TLDR After being sexually assaulted and realizing the extent of surveillance, reporter Andrea Noel discovers that the internet is intentionally designed to be harmful by powerful individuals. She uncovers a conspiracy involving the Mexican government's manipulation of news online and plans to expose it before the upcoming election.
Timestamped Summary
00:00
A reporter named Andrea Noel discovers that the internet is bad not because of the people on it, but because powerful people are designing it to be that way, after she is sexually assaulted and realizes there are cameras everywhere.
03:26
Andrea Noel posts a video of her assault online, leading to an outpouring of support from women in Mexico who share their own stories of violence, and within 48 hours, a suspect is identified.
07:02
Andoni and his crew deny responsibility for the pranks, but use the negative attention to promote their new TV show, leading to a culture war between Andoni, the chauvinist, and Andrea, the feminist writer, resulting in the cancellation of the TV show and ongoing fighting, with Andrea receiving death threats from individuals associated with drug cartels.
10:44
Andrea becomes the target of an organized group of trolls who send death threats and rape threats, forcing her to give up her apartment, leave the country, and ultimately feel unsafe everywhere except her own house.
14:39
Andrea discovers the identity of one of her trolls, a man named Jose Felipe, also known as Pasta Profit, who reveals that she was a pawn in a larger conspiracy theory involving the Mexican government's manipulation of news on the internet.
19:07
Employees of the PRI were given meticulous plans for how to fill the internet with white noise and create smoke screens to divert attention from negative news about the party, including making up events and spreading false information.
22:32
The PRI used offensive hashtags and online fights to divert attention and prevent real conversation from taking place, but when Pena Nieto actually won the election, the employees at the blog center were stunned because they didn't want him to win but were working for him.
26:19
Andrea has spent the last year learning about the system in Mexico where politicians create a toxic internet to distract the public, and she plans to publish documents exposing everything she has learned, just in time for the upcoming election.
30:21
Andrea Noel finds it incredibly satisfying to have reached an understanding of something she did not understand, comparing it to becoming an expert thereminist.
Categories:
Technology
Society & Culture
