1 00:00:04,160 --> 00:00:05,880 Speaker 1: There Are No Girls on the Internet. As a production 2 00:00:05,920 --> 00:00:13,000 Speaker 1: of My Heart Radio and Unboss Creative. I'm Bridget Todd, 3 00:00:13,200 --> 00:00:14,880 Speaker 1: and this is There Are No Girls on the Internet. 4 00:00:17,600 --> 00:00:20,680 Speaker 1: I talk a lot about disinformation and media manipulation on 5 00:00:20,720 --> 00:00:24,120 Speaker 1: this show. Sometimes it's social media boats being driven by 6 00:00:24,160 --> 00:00:26,680 Speaker 1: foreign bad actors, But what do you do in the 7 00:00:26,720 --> 00:00:30,920 Speaker 1: media manipulation isn't coming from overseas bad actors, but instead 8 00:00:31,160 --> 00:00:35,400 Speaker 1: from a mainstream, widely read media outlet. I've been monitoring 9 00:00:35,440 --> 00:00:38,559 Speaker 1: the increasing attacks on Vice President Kamala Harris since she 10 00:00:38,600 --> 00:00:41,519 Speaker 1: became Vice president. Now, I already knew that she was 11 00:00:41,560 --> 00:00:44,600 Speaker 1: going to face racist, sexist attacks because she's a black 12 00:00:44,600 --> 00:00:47,360 Speaker 1: woman in a visible position, and that's just kind of 13 00:00:47,360 --> 00:00:49,760 Speaker 1: what happens. And it might be kind of hard to 14 00:00:49,760 --> 00:00:52,440 Speaker 1: see if you're not primed to see massage noir the 15 00:00:52,520 --> 00:00:55,600 Speaker 1: combination of racism and sexism that we face as black women. 16 00:00:55,960 --> 00:00:57,720 Speaker 1: But just look at some of the recent media narratives 17 00:00:57,760 --> 00:01:01,680 Speaker 1: out there about Vice President Harris. They're all really racially 18 00:01:01,720 --> 00:01:05,200 Speaker 1: coded and gendered. Recent stories painted out to be a pushing, 19 00:01:05,280 --> 00:01:08,640 Speaker 1: domineering black woman or uppity, which is basically just a 20 00:01:08,720 --> 00:01:11,160 Speaker 1: racist framing for black women who don't know their plays 21 00:01:11,360 --> 00:01:14,800 Speaker 1: or acting above their station. A recent story about Harris's 22 00:01:14,840 --> 00:01:18,479 Speaker 1: senior aide stepping down was framed as disarray in Harris's office. 23 00:01:19,240 --> 00:01:23,280 Speaker 1: Or take this recent Fox News headline, Kamala Harris reportedly 24 00:01:23,319 --> 00:01:26,360 Speaker 1: spends over five hundred dollars on cookware and a Parisian 25 00:01:26,360 --> 00:01:31,000 Speaker 1: shop amid us economic uncertainty? How is Harris spending her 26 00:01:31,040 --> 00:01:34,160 Speaker 1: own money on fancy pans even a news story? And 27 00:01:34,200 --> 00:01:37,360 Speaker 1: we're not just seeing this from hyperpartisan outlets like Fox News. 28 00:01:37,920 --> 00:01:41,560 Speaker 1: Last night, Politico published one of the most ridiculous pieces 29 00:01:41,600 --> 00:01:44,360 Speaker 1: I have ever seen, and that is really saying something. 30 00:01:45,120 --> 00:01:48,960 Speaker 1: The piece, called Kamala Harris is a Bluetooth phobic, is 31 00:01:48,960 --> 00:01:52,320 Speaker 1: about how Vice President Harris uses wired headphones instead of 32 00:01:52,320 --> 00:01:55,760 Speaker 1: the wireless Bluetooth kind, and the article's framing like basically 33 00:01:55,760 --> 00:01:58,520 Speaker 1: calls her a crazy person because of it. Former aids 34 00:01:58,560 --> 00:02:01,240 Speaker 1: say the Vice President has long and careful about security 35 00:02:01,240 --> 00:02:04,680 Speaker 1: and technology, with some describing it as prudent and others 36 00:02:04,680 --> 00:02:07,480 Speaker 1: suggesting it's a bit paranoid. The piece also goes on 37 00:02:07,520 --> 00:02:09,639 Speaker 1: to say that when people visited Harris's office back when 38 00:02:09,639 --> 00:02:12,640 Speaker 1: she was California as Attorney General, she would instruct aids 39 00:02:12,720 --> 00:02:15,040 Speaker 1: not to let them wait in her office alone, as 40 00:02:15,080 --> 00:02:18,440 Speaker 1: if that's not a totally normal thing for people to do. 41 00:02:19,040 --> 00:02:20,760 Speaker 1: The piece goes on to say that her office did 42 00:02:20,800 --> 00:02:23,680 Speaker 1: not respond when Politico asked if there was a fun 43 00:02:23,720 --> 00:02:27,960 Speaker 1: origin story to Harris's bluetoothwariness or for any background on 44 00:02:28,000 --> 00:02:33,240 Speaker 1: the particular security risks Harris believes bluetooth technology represents. But 45 00:02:33,280 --> 00:02:35,280 Speaker 1: you know what the journalists who wrote this story could 46 00:02:35,280 --> 00:02:37,280 Speaker 1: have done to get background on the security risk of 47 00:02:37,280 --> 00:02:42,840 Speaker 1: bluetooth headphones literally just fucking google it, Because bluetooth headphones 48 00:02:42,840 --> 00:02:46,639 Speaker 1: are actually an extremely well documented security risk. And this 49 00:02:46,720 --> 00:02:49,760 Speaker 1: is not some obscure thing that only techy's know. It's 50 00:02:49,760 --> 00:02:52,400 Speaker 1: a pretty commonly known thing literally first page of Google. 51 00:02:53,080 --> 00:02:56,160 Speaker 1: Bluetooth's known security risks are also part of the government's 52 00:02:56,200 --> 00:02:59,320 Speaker 1: official security protocols. For instance, did you know that White 53 00:02:59,360 --> 00:03:02,600 Speaker 1: House computers have Bluetooth disabled as a default setting for 54 00:03:02,680 --> 00:03:06,919 Speaker 1: precisely this reason. Last year, the government's National Security Agency 55 00:03:07,040 --> 00:03:11,519 Speaker 1: Defensive Cybersecurity Branch recommended users disabled Bluetooth altogether to avoid 56 00:03:11,560 --> 00:03:15,160 Speaker 1: having their conversations compromised. And according to The Daily Beast, 57 00:03:15,160 --> 00:03:18,639 Speaker 1: who just published a fantastic breakdown of the different security risks, 58 00:03:18,680 --> 00:03:22,680 Speaker 1: involving Bluetooth. Members of the current Slate Estate Department nominees 59 00:03:22,840 --> 00:03:26,000 Speaker 1: ranging from would be assistant secretaries to potential ambassadors, have 60 00:03:26,120 --> 00:03:28,359 Speaker 1: also been warned by the n s A about Bluetooth's 61 00:03:28,400 --> 00:03:32,040 Speaker 1: potential failability from a security perspective, and briefing is done 62 00:03:32,040 --> 00:03:34,680 Speaker 1: by security engineering officers with the U S Foreign Service. 63 00:03:34,880 --> 00:03:37,400 Speaker 1: Nominees are told that an open Bluetooth connection can be 64 00:03:37,440 --> 00:03:40,880 Speaker 1: a quote cracked window allowing bad actors access to their 65 00:03:40,920 --> 00:03:44,320 Speaker 1: devices and data. It can also allow attackers to physically 66 00:03:44,400 --> 00:03:47,960 Speaker 1: track you and create logs of your physical movements, habits, 67 00:03:47,960 --> 00:03:51,000 Speaker 1: and behavior in ways that can help predict your future movements. 68 00:03:51,520 --> 00:03:53,560 Speaker 1: The n s A warn nominees that Bluetooth can be 69 00:03:53,640 --> 00:03:57,000 Speaker 1: used to track your locations using equipment called sniffers, even 70 00:03:57,040 --> 00:04:00,920 Speaker 1: if your phone cellular service is turned off. And here's 71 00:04:00,920 --> 00:04:04,839 Speaker 1: the scary case. Cybersecurity researchers found that Bluetooth allowed bad 72 00:04:04,880 --> 00:04:08,640 Speaker 1: actors to steal targets, contacts, call logs, and messages, and 73 00:04:09,160 --> 00:04:12,720 Speaker 1: let them send fake messages from their targets phones. Not 74 00:04:12,840 --> 00:04:15,640 Speaker 1: to be clear, most regular people really do not need 75 00:04:15,640 --> 00:04:17,640 Speaker 1: to worry about this kind of thing. I know, I 76 00:04:17,680 --> 00:04:21,240 Speaker 1: personally don't use Bluetooth headphones, not for security reasons, but 77 00:04:21,320 --> 00:04:23,719 Speaker 1: mostly because I find Bluetooth technology to be kind of 78 00:04:23,800 --> 00:04:26,599 Speaker 1: stanky and like slow to connect, and honestly, I just 79 00:04:26,640 --> 00:04:28,200 Speaker 1: don't want to have to worry about losing one of 80 00:04:28,240 --> 00:04:31,040 Speaker 1: my two air pods on a train. And I also 81 00:04:31,080 --> 00:04:32,960 Speaker 1: think that the wire can be a really good signal 82 00:04:33,000 --> 00:04:35,400 Speaker 1: to the world that I am obviously wearing headphones. Those 83 00:04:35,440 --> 00:04:37,520 Speaker 1: little earbuds can get lost behind my hair, and then 84 00:04:37,560 --> 00:04:39,400 Speaker 1: people try to talk to you while you're wearing headphones 85 00:04:39,400 --> 00:04:42,279 Speaker 1: and it's just very awkward. But even though normal people 86 00:04:42,360 --> 00:04:44,920 Speaker 1: don't really have to worry about this, it's still something 87 00:04:44,920 --> 00:04:46,800 Speaker 1: that we should all know. And if you're the Vice 88 00:04:46,839 --> 00:04:49,640 Speaker 1: President of the United States, obviously you need to have 89 00:04:49,680 --> 00:04:52,640 Speaker 1: this level of awareness about digital security. The Daily Beast 90 00:04:52,680 --> 00:04:55,600 Speaker 1: talk to a former n Essay threat intelligence analyst who 91 00:04:55,600 --> 00:04:58,359 Speaker 1: said it's a fine protocol for almost everyone eaven with 92 00:04:58,400 --> 00:05:01,520 Speaker 1: the vulnerabilities that Blue to present, because these kinds of 93 00:05:01,560 --> 00:05:05,080 Speaker 1: attacks require reasonably close access to exploit it, along with 94 00:05:05,120 --> 00:05:07,279 Speaker 1: an actor who has both the capability and the intent 95 00:05:07,360 --> 00:05:10,039 Speaker 1: to do so. This means only a few thousand people 96 00:05:10,080 --> 00:05:12,200 Speaker 1: out of the billions on Earth need to worry about 97 00:05:12,200 --> 00:05:14,440 Speaker 1: this problem. And the Vice President of the United States 98 00:05:14,480 --> 00:05:17,400 Speaker 1: is one of them. So did political mention any of 99 00:05:17,440 --> 00:05:21,200 Speaker 1: these widely known and easily verifiable facts about bluetooth technology 100 00:05:21,200 --> 00:05:24,080 Speaker 1: in their piece about how crazy and paranoid harrisses for 101 00:05:24,160 --> 00:05:28,080 Speaker 1: not having conversations over bluetooth. Uh? No, of course they didn't. 102 00:05:28,440 --> 00:05:31,480 Speaker 1: And this is what really makes me so angry. What 103 00:05:31,640 --> 00:05:34,320 Speaker 1: a missed opportunity to educate and inform the public on 104 00:05:34,360 --> 00:05:38,360 Speaker 1: the security realities of technology many of us use every day. 105 00:05:39,000 --> 00:05:40,800 Speaker 1: What is even the point of a piece like this 106 00:05:40,920 --> 00:05:43,640 Speaker 1: if it's not meant to inform the public And framing 107 00:05:43,680 --> 00:05:46,679 Speaker 1: Harris is a paranoid, crazy person for following pretty clear 108 00:05:46,680 --> 00:05:50,680 Speaker 1: digital security guidance isn't just lazy, which it is, I 109 00:05:50,720 --> 00:05:53,839 Speaker 1: think it's also actively harmful because it obscures the facts. 110 00:05:54,720 --> 00:05:57,920 Speaker 1: It actively contributes to the public being less informed about 111 00:05:57,920 --> 00:06:00,200 Speaker 1: the role of technology. But why would a journey let's 112 00:06:00,240 --> 00:06:03,040 Speaker 1: do something like inform the public when they can settle 113 00:06:03,080 --> 00:06:05,520 Speaker 1: for cheap attacks on a black woman in politics to 114 00:06:05,640 --> 00:06:09,080 Speaker 1: frame her as a domineering crazy person. And here's the thing, 115 00:06:09,320 --> 00:06:11,440 Speaker 1: there are plenty of real reasons to be critical of 116 00:06:11,520 --> 00:06:14,640 Speaker 1: Vice President Harris. I'm not saying that everybody should or 117 00:06:14,680 --> 00:06:16,880 Speaker 1: has to agree with her policies or even like her, 118 00:06:17,320 --> 00:06:19,000 Speaker 1: but that doesn't mean it's okay for her to be 119 00:06:19,040 --> 00:06:23,120 Speaker 1: attacked with unfair shallow smear jobs either as a black woman. 120 00:06:23,320 --> 00:06:26,680 Speaker 1: Sometimes it feels like we cannot win. Harris is criticized 121 00:06:26,680 --> 00:06:29,159 Speaker 1: for buying expensive cookwear and then criticized for using the 122 00:06:29,240 --> 00:06:32,599 Speaker 1: cheap oh wired headphones that come with your iPhone instead 123 00:06:32,640 --> 00:06:35,640 Speaker 1: of spending hundreds of dollars for the wireless ones. And 124 00:06:35,680 --> 00:06:38,440 Speaker 1: even when we do the correct thing, we're still criticized 125 00:06:38,480 --> 00:06:42,239 Speaker 1: for it. It is exhausting, and what's worse, it doesn't 126 00:06:42,279 --> 00:06:45,720 Speaker 1: leave room for actual conversations about substance. And I think 127 00:06:45,760 --> 00:06:48,280 Speaker 1: that's kind of a point. If Harris and black women 128 00:06:48,320 --> 00:06:52,560 Speaker 1: are associated with controversies, yes even made up b as controversies, 129 00:06:53,000 --> 00:06:55,720 Speaker 1: it'll create a media ecosystem where black women and women 130 00:06:55,760 --> 00:06:59,120 Speaker 1: of color can't fairly compete and are being judged by absurd, 131 00:06:59,240 --> 00:07:02,600 Speaker 1: unfair standard instead of being judged by our policies, words, records, 132 00:07:02,600 --> 00:07:06,320 Speaker 1: and actions. And media outlets like political need to decide 133 00:07:06,360 --> 00:07:14,520 Speaker 1: what kind of ecosystem they want to contribute to. Got 134 00:07:14,520 --> 00:07:16,480 Speaker 1: a story about an interesting thing in tech, or just 135 00:07:16,520 --> 00:07:18,520 Speaker 1: want to say hi, you can reach us at Hello 136 00:07:18,560 --> 00:07:21,080 Speaker 1: at tangodi dot com. You can also find transcripts for 137 00:07:21,080 --> 00:07:23,800 Speaker 1: today's episode at tangdi dot com. There Are No Girls 138 00:07:23,800 --> 00:07:26,160 Speaker 1: on the Internet was created by me Bridget Tod. It's 139 00:07:26,160 --> 00:07:29,440 Speaker 1: a production of iHeart Radio and Unboss creative Jonathan Strickland 140 00:07:29,440 --> 00:07:32,160 Speaker 1: as our executive producer. Terry Harrison is our producer and 141 00:07:32,240 --> 00:07:35,960 Speaker 1: sound engineer. Michael Amato is our contributing producer. I'm your host, 142 00:07:36,000 --> 00:07:38,800 Speaker 1: Bridget Todd. If you want to help us grow, rate 143 00:07:38,840 --> 00:07:41,960 Speaker 1: and review us on Apple Podcasts. For more podcasts from 144 00:07:41,960 --> 00:07:44,600 Speaker 1: iHeart Radio, check out the iHeart Radio app, Apple podcast, 145 00:07:44,680 --> 00:07:45,960 Speaker 1: or wherever you get your podcasts.