There Are No Girls on the Internet - Sabrina Prater TikTok "conspiracy" reveals who gets to feel safe and seen online

Episode Date: November 30, 2021

Thousands of wannabe internet detectives accused TikToker SabrinaPrater625 of being a serial killer for no real reason. SabrinaPrater625's saga reveals some sad truths about who gets to feel safe online. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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There are times when the mind becomes a difficult place to live. This is David Eagleman with the Inner Cosmos podcast. and for Mental Health Awareness Month, we'll talk with singer-songwriter Jewel about anxiety. I started living in my car, and then my car got stolen. I was having panic attacks. I was agoraphobic. This is a month of deeply personal and honest conversations

about what happens when the brain goes off course. Listen to Intercosmos on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. There are no girls on the internet as a production of IHeart Radio and UnBossed Creative. I'm Bridget Todd, And this is there are no girls on the internet. We've talked a lot on this show about social media amateur detectives and how dangerous they can be.

And if you're on TikTok, you might have seen a good example of what I mean play out in real time on TikTok this week. On TikTok, Sabrina Prater's bio reads, I'm a 34-year-old male who has been dressing up since I was little, working on coming out. Sabrina likes to film videos dancing in high-heeled boots, tight jeans, flashy blouses, and sometimes a ponytail shoulder-length wig. in what looks like a visibly old deteriorating home. There's ladders and buckets in the background and stains on the floor. And in a few of the videos of Sabrina dancing, there's a monitor in the background

with grainy images on them. Now, maybe these videos look a little bit weird, especially if you've never been inside a really old building before. And at first, people on TikTok were using Sabrina's videos to make jokes about being in sad-looking locations. Things like, a night out at your hometown bar the night before Thanksgiving.

But increasingly, people on TikTok started accusing Sabrina of being up to something more sinister than just dancing. TikTok's algorithm surfaced videos on my 4U page, some of which had tens of thousands of views, accusing Sabrina of being a serial killer. The evidence? Amateur sluice on TikTok said those stains on the floor were actually blood stains. Though it was difficult to see grainy images on the monitors behind Sabrina? Well, they said that those were video feeds so Sabrina could. keep tabs on captive victims. One video even said that Sabrina's flashy heels and outfits

were the clothing belonging to women being held captive in the old home. Before it was shut down, I scrolled a Facebook page full of hundreds of wannabe detectives making baseless claims and accusations about Sabrina and Sabrina's family. Well, those people finally got to the bottom of this conspiracy theory. And get ready to have your mind blown. It turns out, Sabrina works in the same. construction and purchases old homes to renovate. And Sabrina likes filming dancing TikToks while

taking breaks from work, just like so many other people trying to have fun on the platform. Now Sabrina made a video on TikTok trying to put these conspiracy theories to rest while sobbing, saying, I didn't do anything wrong and I'm sick of being hurt by this. I'm just like anyone else. I just want to be loved and accepted and I'm not. I'm getting treated worse than anyone coming out like me. I would have posted Sabrina's audio here, but honestly, it's really hard to listen to because it's just so sad.

And I think it shows that there is a baseline assumption around who the internet is for and who it isn't for. And who could expect to feel safe and seen there? People compared Sabrina to Buffalo Bill, the serial killer from Silence of the Lambs, just because Sabrina wears flashy blouses on high heels. It should go without saying

that that does not mean someone is a serial killer, and that comparison, alone is so cruel. It also comes off as really classist. Just because Sabrina is spending time in a dilapidated home, that does not mean that someone must be being held against their will there. And while some users have taken down their videos from TikTok, making these kinds of accusations about Sabrina, as of me recording this, there are still plenty of videos on that platform, racking up views, who still maintain that something unseemly is going on in Sabrina's home. even after Sabrina tearfully spoke out.

So where does it end? Now, I get why engaging in a conspiracy theory online can seem fun. Who doesn't like the feeling of figuring out a puzzle? But when thousands of people are using someone's actual life for this kind of cruel entertainment, it's not just harmless fun. And I get that thinking that you're putting together the clues to bring down a serial killer from your phone, it's probably a lot more exciting to believe than the reality

that there are people out there that are living very different lives for our own. and that that doesn't make them any less human. Or mean they deserve to be cruelly harassed just for making videos on the internet. Got a story about an interesting thing in tech or just want to say hi? You can reach us at hello at tangoati.com. You can also find transcripts for today's episode

at tangooty.com. There are no girls on the internet was created by me, Bridget Todd. It's a production of IHeartRadio and unbossed creative. Jonathan Strickland is our executive producer. Tari Harrison is our producer and sound engineer. Michael Amato is our contributing producer. I'm your host, Bridget Dodd. If you want to help us grow, rate and review us on Apple Podcasts.

For more podcasts from Iheart Radio, check out the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Another podcast from some SNL, late-night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smigel and Friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer, Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Is your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter.

Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and friends on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. What's up, fam? It's Isaiah Thomas. And I'm C.J. Toledano. It's our favorite time of the year on our podcast point game, the playoffs. We're digging into the biggest surprises of the season. And I'm looking back on some of my greatest playoff moments. If we didn't talk ever again, I was harmed.

You just understood. That's how personal it got. Wow. Then after that game seven, Marquis come until he's like, you know, I love you, dog. You know, it's all love. This was just playoffs. This was just basketball. So listen to Point Game on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

There are times when the mind becomes a difficult place to live. This is David Eagleman with the Inner Cosmos podcast. And for Mental Health Awareness Month, we'll talk with singer-songwriter Jewel about anxiety. I started living in my car and then my car got stolen. I was having panic attacks. I was agoraphobic. This is a month of deeply personal and honest conversations about what happens when the brain goes off course.

Listen to Inner Cosmos on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, it's Ashanti Plummer from Fud Around and Find Out. This week, AZ Fud and I sat down with Step and Curry. Step talks pressure, confidence, and what it really takes to stay great. There's different categories, I guess, so I'm like conditioning, shooting drills

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