1 00:00:04,120 --> 00:00:05,840 Speaker 1: There Are No Girls on the Internet, as a production 2 00:00:05,880 --> 00:00:13,400 Speaker 1: of iHeartRadio and Unbossed Creative. I'm Bridget Todd and this 3 00:00:13,480 --> 00:00:18,200 Speaker 1: is There Are No Girls on the Internet. This week, 4 00:00:18,239 --> 00:00:20,880 Speaker 1: we're doing something a little bit different instead of our 5 00:00:20,960 --> 00:00:23,880 Speaker 1: normal news roundup. I'm so excited to share an episode 6 00:00:23,920 --> 00:00:28,440 Speaker 1: of the Peabody Award nominated podcast Long Shadow Breaking the Internet. 7 00:00:29,040 --> 00:00:31,360 Speaker 1: This is the first episode of their new season, which 8 00:00:31,440 --> 00:00:34,080 Speaker 1: dives into the history of the Internet. Is hosted by 9 00:00:34,120 --> 00:00:38,000 Speaker 1: Pulitzer Prize finalist and historian Garrett Graff and charts the 10 00:00:38,040 --> 00:00:40,640 Speaker 1: evolution of the Internet from the optimistic days of the 11 00:00:40,680 --> 00:00:43,960 Speaker 1: dot com boom to our present moment. It's an ambitious 12 00:00:44,000 --> 00:00:47,519 Speaker 1: project produced by Long Lead and distributed by PRX, a 13 00:00:47,560 --> 00:00:50,919 Speaker 1: seven part series exploring how choices made by tech companies 14 00:00:50,920 --> 00:00:53,600 Speaker 1: and others in those early days shape the Internet into 15 00:00:53,600 --> 00:00:56,840 Speaker 1: what it is today. In this specific episode, the first 16 00:00:56,840 --> 00:00:59,440 Speaker 1: in a seven part series, you'll travel back in time 17 00:00:59,480 --> 00:01:03,000 Speaker 1: to ninety three. Gas is just over a dollar gallon, 18 00:01:03,280 --> 00:01:05,919 Speaker 1: the minimum wage is for twenty five an hour. Mass 19 00:01:05,959 --> 00:01:08,959 Speaker 1: media is hitting its apex, and American culture seems to 20 00:01:08,959 --> 00:01:12,240 Speaker 1: be getting ever more homogeneous, and somewhere in the background 21 00:01:12,240 --> 00:01:14,880 Speaker 1: of all of that, this new thing called the World 22 00:01:14,880 --> 00:01:18,600 Speaker 1: Wide Web just became available to the general public. Then 23 00:01:19,080 --> 00:01:21,440 Speaker 1: y two K threatened to shut it all down forever. 24 00:01:22,080 --> 00:01:24,679 Speaker 1: If you liked this episode, be sure to follow Long 25 00:01:24,760 --> 00:01:28,600 Speaker 1: Shadow on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. 26 00:01:29,040 --> 00:01:30,600 Speaker 1: Now here's the full episode. 27 00:01:33,720 --> 00:01:36,920 Speaker 2: When was the last time you felt good about the Internet? 28 00:01:37,640 --> 00:01:41,680 Speaker 2: The online landscape today is a harrowing one. People screaming 29 00:01:41,720 --> 00:01:48,600 Speaker 2: at each other on social media, violent videos going viral, cyberbullying, racism, misogyny. 30 00:01:49,280 --> 00:01:51,680 Speaker 2: It's hard to say for sure where the Web started 31 00:01:51,720 --> 00:01:55,360 Speaker 2: to turn sour, but a case can be made that 32 00:01:55,440 --> 00:01:58,760 Speaker 2: the last good day of the Internet was February twenty sixth, 33 00:01:58,920 --> 00:01:59,720 Speaker 2: twenty fifteen. 34 00:02:00,720 --> 00:02:03,440 Speaker 3: How could we not start with this video to lamas 35 00:02:03,520 --> 00:02:06,920 Speaker 3: on the run in Sun City for hours today? 36 00:02:07,000 --> 00:02:09,640 Speaker 2: It goes by that morning people around the country were 37 00:02:09,720 --> 00:02:13,360 Speaker 2: huddling around their monitors. A news event was unfolding that 38 00:02:13,480 --> 00:02:15,240 Speaker 2: was holding the Internet in a trance. 39 00:02:15,560 --> 00:02:18,959 Speaker 4: The mussy video of the day Llamas on the Lucy 40 00:02:19,040 --> 00:02:19,760 Speaker 4: in the Valley. 41 00:02:19,800 --> 00:02:21,960 Speaker 2: They were at an event. A pair of lamas had 42 00:02:22,080 --> 00:02:25,799 Speaker 2: escaped from a visit to a nursing home in Sun City, Arizona. 43 00:02:25,840 --> 00:02:27,880 Speaker 5: A man let go of his robe and before we 44 00:02:27,960 --> 00:02:30,720 Speaker 5: knew it, it was Lama's Day out here in sun. 45 00:02:30,560 --> 00:02:34,040 Speaker 6: City, so we're double choppering the two Lamas for the day. 46 00:02:34,120 --> 00:02:37,320 Speaker 2: We've learned some helicopter crews documented the chase as the 47 00:02:37,400 --> 00:02:40,079 Speaker 2: Lama's dodged handlers. 48 00:02:39,200 --> 00:02:42,720 Speaker 4: Oh Lama, Lama's head button that is not good. 49 00:02:42,560 --> 00:02:45,080 Speaker 2: And wove in and out of oncoming traffic. 50 00:02:45,360 --> 00:02:46,200 Speaker 6: This is crazy. 51 00:02:46,440 --> 00:02:49,200 Speaker 7: It would be really neat to be in those cars 52 00:02:49,200 --> 00:02:50,639 Speaker 7: on the streets with the Lamas. 53 00:02:50,840 --> 00:02:57,120 Speaker 2: Online, the incident was going viral under the hashtag Lama drama. 54 00:02:57,160 --> 00:03:00,800 Speaker 7: The entire Internet, my office included, was just obsessed with 55 00:03:00,880 --> 00:03:04,160 Speaker 7: these escaping Lamas in Arizona. 56 00:03:04,360 --> 00:03:07,320 Speaker 2: Kate's Holderness and her colleagues at BuzzFeed were watching the 57 00:03:07,360 --> 00:03:10,639 Speaker 2: Lama drama from their office in New York and. 58 00:03:10,639 --> 00:03:14,000 Speaker 7: There was like helicopter footage and news coverage and it 59 00:03:14,080 --> 00:03:16,560 Speaker 7: was just hours of everyone being like, Oh, are they 60 00:03:16,560 --> 00:03:17,639 Speaker 7: going to catch the Lamas. 61 00:03:18,360 --> 00:03:20,840 Speaker 8: They do have a couple of guys with lasses around there, 62 00:03:20,840 --> 00:03:22,119 Speaker 8: but they've tried to throw these things. 63 00:03:22,240 --> 00:03:24,200 Speaker 6: Oh yeah, they got it with one. 64 00:03:25,080 --> 00:03:29,080 Speaker 5: The Lama's finally caught and headed back to their trailers. 65 00:03:29,440 --> 00:03:30,880 Speaker 7: They finally didn't catch the lamas. 66 00:03:37,400 --> 00:03:39,880 Speaker 2: Believe it or not watching Lama videos was a big 67 00:03:39,920 --> 00:03:43,200 Speaker 2: part of Holderness's job at BuzzFeed, trying to predict what 68 00:03:43,240 --> 00:03:46,800 Speaker 2: would go viral and how to capitalize on it. At 69 00:03:46,800 --> 00:03:50,120 Speaker 2: the time, BuzzFeed was the king of viral content, with 70 00:03:50,240 --> 00:03:52,120 Speaker 2: two hundred million visitors a month. 71 00:03:52,840 --> 00:03:56,120 Speaker 7: We had the attitude of if a piece of content 72 00:03:56,200 --> 00:03:58,720 Speaker 7: makes you feel something, you should post it. 73 00:03:59,240 --> 00:04:01,480 Speaker 2: And towards the end of that day, as the Lama 74 00:04:01,560 --> 00:04:05,320 Speaker 2: drama was dying down, Holderness got a message on BuzzFeed's 75 00:04:05,360 --> 00:04:06,600 Speaker 2: Tumblr account. 76 00:04:08,320 --> 00:04:10,560 Speaker 7: Hey, Buzzby, can you look at this thing that I posted? 77 00:04:11,200 --> 00:04:13,440 Speaker 7: My friends and I are losing it. We're freaking out, 78 00:04:13,880 --> 00:04:15,640 Speaker 7: and I was just like, I don't see what the 79 00:04:15,640 --> 00:04:19,839 Speaker 7: big deal is. It's a blue and black dress. I 80 00:04:19,960 --> 00:04:21,839 Speaker 7: leaned over to two of my colleagues who were sitting 81 00:04:21,880 --> 00:04:23,919 Speaker 7: beside me, and I was just like, hey, guys, what 82 00:04:24,080 --> 00:04:28,240 Speaker 7: color is this? And at the exact same time, one 83 00:04:28,240 --> 00:04:29,880 Speaker 7: of them said white and gold and one of them 84 00:04:29,920 --> 00:04:30,800 Speaker 7: said blue and black. 85 00:04:32,040 --> 00:04:34,160 Speaker 2: Her colleagues were looking at the same picture of a 86 00:04:34,240 --> 00:04:37,400 Speaker 2: dress and seeing completely different colors. 87 00:04:38,720 --> 00:04:41,400 Speaker 7: They immediately started debating with each other. 88 00:04:42,000 --> 00:04:45,000 Speaker 2: Their argument drew people in from the rest of the office. 89 00:04:45,320 --> 00:04:48,560 Speaker 7: Within ten minutes, there were twenty people standing behind my 90 00:04:48,640 --> 00:04:54,679 Speaker 7: desk just screaming at each other. Just couldn't believe people 91 00:04:54,680 --> 00:04:57,640 Speaker 7: were seeing a different colors. I was like, if we're 92 00:04:57,680 --> 00:05:00,360 Speaker 7: fighting about it, maybe the rest of the inner will 93 00:05:00,360 --> 00:05:02,839 Speaker 7: fight about it. So I threw it up into a 94 00:05:02,839 --> 00:05:08,039 Speaker 7: BuzzFeed post, hit publish, and then left work. Didn't really 95 00:05:08,080 --> 00:05:10,919 Speaker 7: think much about it until I got off of the subway. 96 00:05:15,040 --> 00:05:19,719 Speaker 7: My phone kept crashing. I couldn't load Twitter, and I 97 00:05:19,960 --> 00:05:24,000 Speaker 7: had dozens of text messages from friends and colleagues and 98 00:05:24,040 --> 00:05:27,160 Speaker 7: family members saying, you're ruining our lives, Like, what did 99 00:05:27,200 --> 00:05:30,919 Speaker 7: you do? I looked on Twitter at that point, I 100 00:05:31,000 --> 00:05:35,560 Speaker 7: had like several thousand notifications and everyone was freaking out, 101 00:05:36,279 --> 00:05:39,640 Speaker 7: just like the entire Internet was freaking out. It started 102 00:05:39,640 --> 00:05:41,640 Speaker 7: making the rounds through New York media. 103 00:05:41,720 --> 00:05:44,600 Speaker 5: Well it's black and blue or gold and white, and 104 00:05:44,720 --> 00:05:46,520 Speaker 5: has us debating all over. 105 00:05:46,480 --> 00:05:50,400 Speaker 6: It's golden white, blue and black, yellow and white for sure. 106 00:05:50,400 --> 00:05:52,119 Speaker 9: Well, my wife says it's blue and white. 107 00:05:53,320 --> 00:05:58,039 Speaker 7: And then it just spiraled from there. Taylor Swift is 108 00:05:58,040 --> 00:06:01,280 Speaker 7: tweeting about it now, Kim Kardashian tweeting about it. It 109 00:06:01,320 --> 00:06:06,120 Speaker 7: was just it was absolutely surreal. Most of the people 110 00:06:06,120 --> 00:06:09,440 Speaker 7: who voted in the poll voted white and gold, which 111 00:06:09,680 --> 00:06:12,480 Speaker 7: just as bonkers to me because I've never been able 112 00:06:12,520 --> 00:06:13,400 Speaker 7: to see a white and gold. 113 00:06:14,320 --> 00:06:16,080 Speaker 2: The dress would go on to become one of the 114 00:06:16,080 --> 00:06:19,479 Speaker 2: most viral means to ever break the Internet. It drew 115 00:06:19,520 --> 00:06:22,840 Speaker 2: everyone in from the sidelines in a mostly fun battle 116 00:06:23,080 --> 00:06:25,440 Speaker 2: over the very nature of our shared reality. 117 00:06:26,040 --> 00:06:29,279 Speaker 7: I think it went viral because people just love fighting 118 00:06:29,320 --> 00:06:34,160 Speaker 7: over low stakes things. 119 00:06:35,720 --> 00:06:38,360 Speaker 2: At the time, it wasn't clear why the dress became 120 00:06:38,440 --> 00:06:41,640 Speaker 2: such a viral phenomenon. We didn't know it, but the 121 00:06:41,640 --> 00:06:45,360 Speaker 2: Internet landscape was shifting beneath our feet. It wasn't about 122 00:06:45,440 --> 00:06:48,360 Speaker 2: keeping up with what your friends and family were doing anymore. 123 00:06:49,120 --> 00:06:51,359 Speaker 2: It was about feeding you content you would click on, 124 00:06:52,000 --> 00:06:55,159 Speaker 2: and social media companies knew that what people really engaged 125 00:06:55,200 --> 00:06:59,920 Speaker 2: with was content that was controversial, content that was device, 126 00:07:01,480 --> 00:07:03,880 Speaker 2: even things that were supposed to be fun, like the 127 00:07:03,960 --> 00:07:08,640 Speaker 2: dress or sparking heated arguments, and as a result, the 128 00:07:08,720 --> 00:07:10,360 Speaker 2: Internet was getting angrier. 129 00:07:12,640 --> 00:07:16,080 Speaker 7: The number of posts that I saw of people like 130 00:07:16,600 --> 00:07:20,120 Speaker 7: using wildly aggressive language, you know, not only towards me, 131 00:07:20,200 --> 00:07:23,640 Speaker 7: but it's awards other people calling people just the worst 132 00:07:23,840 --> 00:07:28,520 Speaker 7: names and the worst slurs. I should not have gotten 133 00:07:28,640 --> 00:07:31,800 Speaker 7: death threats and rape threats for posting. 134 00:07:31,480 --> 00:07:32,400 Speaker 6: A picture of a dress. 135 00:07:33,840 --> 00:07:37,160 Speaker 7: It's like, really, guys, it's a picture of a dress. 136 00:07:38,000 --> 00:07:39,000 Speaker 7: It's not that deep. 137 00:07:40,800 --> 00:07:43,600 Speaker 2: The dress was right there on the crest of a 138 00:07:43,640 --> 00:07:47,280 Speaker 2: powerful wave. It was both a symbol of harmless Internet 139 00:07:47,320 --> 00:07:51,239 Speaker 2: fun and also a sign of division to come. 140 00:07:52,080 --> 00:07:56,600 Speaker 7: It's a metaphor for the fact that people can approach 141 00:07:56,640 --> 00:08:01,280 Speaker 7: an objective fact and be so f are divided in 142 00:08:01,360 --> 00:08:03,400 Speaker 7: how they view and interpret that fact. 143 00:08:05,400 --> 00:08:08,040 Speaker 2: It's been ten years since the dress, and today the 144 00:08:08,120 --> 00:08:11,520 Speaker 2: Internet is in a state of turmoil. The line between 145 00:08:11,560 --> 00:08:15,679 Speaker 2: online and off is increasingly blurred. Fights over the nature 146 00:08:15,680 --> 00:08:19,600 Speaker 2: of our realities seem to rage every day, but now 147 00:08:19,880 --> 00:08:23,000 Speaker 2: the stakes of those fights are higher than ever, and 148 00:08:23,040 --> 00:08:25,200 Speaker 2: we're left to wonder what went wrong. 149 00:08:26,720 --> 00:08:29,120 Speaker 7: I think a lot went wrong. I think a whole 150 00:08:29,120 --> 00:08:33,320 Speaker 7: lot went wrong. The Internet we have in twenty twenty 151 00:08:33,360 --> 00:08:34,839 Speaker 7: five is fractured. 152 00:08:38,400 --> 00:08:40,640 Speaker 2: How did we get here to the moment we're in 153 00:08:40,800 --> 00:08:44,439 Speaker 2: right now? With the Internet, a tool designed to give 154 00:08:44,480 --> 00:08:47,679 Speaker 2: everyone access to all the world's information, has become a 155 00:08:47,720 --> 00:08:51,280 Speaker 2: fire hose of lies, hoaxes, and conspiracies. 156 00:08:51,800 --> 00:08:54,959 Speaker 10: The anti vaccination movement is growing due to a new 157 00:08:55,000 --> 00:08:58,120 Speaker 10: wave of conspiracy theories chared through social media. 158 00:08:58,440 --> 00:09:00,559 Speaker 6: The force vaccinating or children. 159 00:09:01,080 --> 00:09:04,760 Speaker 2: Websites that brought friends together have also become rallying points 160 00:09:04,760 --> 00:09:07,400 Speaker 2: for hate groups and hotbeds of extremism. 161 00:09:07,640 --> 00:09:09,640 Speaker 7: The in cells are part of a larger online group 162 00:09:09,679 --> 00:09:11,480 Speaker 7: that's been called the Mana Sphere. 163 00:09:11,640 --> 00:09:15,640 Speaker 6: Their frustration festering online can turn violent. 164 00:09:15,720 --> 00:09:19,000 Speaker 2: But it wasn't always like this. The Internet also gave 165 00:09:19,080 --> 00:09:22,439 Speaker 2: power to the people, and it helped to topple autocracies. 166 00:09:23,160 --> 00:09:26,200 Speaker 11: Opposition activists organize them off on Facebook. 167 00:09:26,480 --> 00:09:30,280 Speaker 3: That online energy could actually be converted into on the 168 00:09:30,280 --> 00:09:30,920 Speaker 3: street action. 169 00:09:32,559 --> 00:09:35,000 Speaker 2: In this season of Long Shadow, we're going to chart 170 00:09:35,040 --> 00:09:38,040 Speaker 2: the evolution of the Internet from the optimistic days of 171 00:09:38,080 --> 00:09:41,080 Speaker 2: the dot com boom to our present moment, a time 172 00:09:41,120 --> 00:09:43,600 Speaker 2: when the Internet is at the heart of so many 173 00:09:43,800 --> 00:09:47,560 Speaker 2: of our problems. The story of the Internet is also 174 00:09:47,679 --> 00:09:52,040 Speaker 2: a story of greed. The world's richest companies used algorithms 175 00:09:52,040 --> 00:09:56,839 Speaker 2: to monetize attention and maximize profit, algorithms that have changed 176 00:09:56,880 --> 00:09:59,640 Speaker 2: the way that we interact with each other online and 177 00:09:59,720 --> 00:10:00,599 Speaker 2: offa flying. 178 00:10:00,960 --> 00:10:04,600 Speaker 6: The short term dopamine driven feedback loops that we have 179 00:10:04,720 --> 00:10:08,360 Speaker 6: created are destroying how society works. 180 00:10:09,160 --> 00:10:12,480 Speaker 2: Along the way, we became the product and the target, 181 00:10:12,960 --> 00:10:15,880 Speaker 2: and we learned that the Internet could be turned against us. 182 00:10:16,240 --> 00:10:18,160 Speaker 6: It's the protesters. He've gone on trial. 183 00:10:18,679 --> 00:10:21,800 Speaker 7: People were being imprisoned and held indefinitely because what they 184 00:10:21,840 --> 00:10:23,280 Speaker 7: posted on social media. 185 00:10:23,520 --> 00:10:27,320 Speaker 2: And used by adversaries abroad to try to destroy America 186 00:10:27,480 --> 00:10:28,000 Speaker 2: from within. 187 00:10:28,440 --> 00:10:31,640 Speaker 12: The Russian conspirators want to promote discord in the United 188 00:10:31,640 --> 00:10:35,600 Speaker 12: States undermine public confidence and democracy. 189 00:10:37,320 --> 00:10:40,640 Speaker 2: How did a tool offering so much knowledge drive us 190 00:10:40,720 --> 00:10:43,640 Speaker 2: into an existential debate over our shared reality. 191 00:10:43,880 --> 00:10:47,240 Speaker 3: We're living in a post fact world with fake news, 192 00:10:47,240 --> 00:10:50,000 Speaker 3: echo chambers and deep distrust of media. 193 00:10:50,760 --> 00:10:53,040 Speaker 2: How did a tool with the potential to lift all 194 00:10:53,160 --> 00:10:56,640 Speaker 2: voices end up amplifying the very worst of them. 195 00:10:56,760 --> 00:11:00,680 Speaker 3: The result is a system that amplifies division, extremism, and polarization. 196 00:11:01,520 --> 00:11:04,439 Speaker 2: How did a tool with the ability to fuel democracy 197 00:11:04,960 --> 00:11:07,600 Speaker 2: become a weapon aimed at the very heart of it. 198 00:11:08,120 --> 00:11:13,559 Speaker 11: There is an alignment of interests that runs through Silicon 199 00:11:13,679 --> 00:11:17,479 Speaker 11: Valley to what is now a coming autocracy. 200 00:11:18,360 --> 00:11:19,520 Speaker 6: It's a coupe. 201 00:11:21,000 --> 00:11:24,880 Speaker 2: This is the story of mankind's greatest invention. It's also 202 00:11:24,960 --> 00:11:30,080 Speaker 2: the story of the biggest crisis facing society today. My 203 00:11:30,200 --> 00:11:33,679 Speaker 2: name is Garrett Graff from Long Lead and pr X. 204 00:11:34,280 --> 00:11:42,600 Speaker 2: This is Long Shadow Breaking the Internet. Episode one the 205 00:11:42,760 --> 00:11:44,520 Speaker 2: end of the world as we know it. 206 00:11:46,280 --> 00:11:49,800 Speaker 13: Imagine a world where every word ever written, every picture 207 00:11:49,840 --> 00:11:52,599 Speaker 13: of a painted, and every film ever shot could be 208 00:11:52,679 --> 00:11:56,760 Speaker 13: viewed instantly in your home. It sounds pretty grand, but 209 00:11:56,920 --> 00:12:00,240 Speaker 13: in fact that's already happening on something called the Internet. 210 00:12:02,000 --> 00:12:05,560 Speaker 2: The year is nineteen ninety three, gas is just over 211 00:12:05,640 --> 00:12:08,680 Speaker 2: a dollar a gallon, minimum wage is four twenty five 212 00:12:08,720 --> 00:12:12,520 Speaker 2: an hour. Mass media is hitting its apex, and American 213 00:12:12,559 --> 00:12:16,319 Speaker 2: culture is about as homogeneous as it's ever been. Everyone 214 00:12:16,400 --> 00:12:19,439 Speaker 2: is listening to the new Whitney Houston song on their walkman. 215 00:12:21,200 --> 00:12:24,079 Speaker 2: Ninety million people are tuning in to watch OPRAH interview 216 00:12:24,120 --> 00:12:24,920 Speaker 2: Michael Jackson. 217 00:12:25,240 --> 00:12:26,360 Speaker 13: What did the he he thinks? 218 00:12:29,440 --> 00:12:32,160 Speaker 2: And there's one movie everyone has to see. 219 00:12:31,960 --> 00:12:35,840 Speaker 6: In theaters, Jurassic Park. Hold on your books. 220 00:12:40,080 --> 00:12:42,560 Speaker 2: But somewhere in the background of all that, this new 221 00:12:42,600 --> 00:12:45,440 Speaker 2: thing called the World Wide Web just became available to 222 00:12:45,480 --> 00:12:49,199 Speaker 2: the general public. For decades, up until now, the Internet 223 00:12:49,240 --> 00:12:52,480 Speaker 2: has been a thing used by computer nerds, scientists, and 224 00:12:52,559 --> 00:12:55,240 Speaker 2: the military. But the World Wide Web is meant to 225 00:12:55,280 --> 00:12:57,640 Speaker 2: be used by anyone and everyone. 226 00:12:58,520 --> 00:13:00,480 Speaker 13: You can do more and just send messages on the Internet. 227 00:13:00,559 --> 00:13:05,360 Speaker 13: There's loads of useful information in here. You can get news, recipes. 228 00:13:04,840 --> 00:13:08,000 Speaker 2: And the world Wide Web is better looking. It even 229 00:13:08,120 --> 00:13:09,600 Speaker 2: has pictures on it, and. 230 00:13:09,559 --> 00:13:11,920 Speaker 6: I found this satellite weather map in there. 231 00:13:12,640 --> 00:13:15,320 Speaker 2: The web is still brand new, and only a select 232 00:13:15,360 --> 00:13:18,120 Speaker 2: few seem to understand what it's good for. What about 233 00:13:18,120 --> 00:13:20,680 Speaker 2: this Internet thing? You do you know anything about that? Sure? 234 00:13:21,480 --> 00:13:22,320 Speaker 6: What the hell is that? 235 00:13:22,440 --> 00:13:22,880 Speaker 2: Exactly? 236 00:13:23,480 --> 00:13:23,600 Speaker 10: Well? 237 00:13:23,720 --> 00:13:24,520 Speaker 6: What do you write to it? 238 00:13:24,600 --> 00:13:25,000 Speaker 2: Like mail? 239 00:13:25,360 --> 00:13:25,800 Speaker 10: Alison? 240 00:13:26,120 --> 00:13:27,560 Speaker 14: Can you explain what internet is? 241 00:13:28,000 --> 00:13:29,320 Speaker 6: That's wild? What's going on? 242 00:13:29,400 --> 00:13:31,360 Speaker 3: You can send electronic mail to people. 243 00:13:31,880 --> 00:13:33,120 Speaker 6: It is the big new thing. 244 00:13:38,720 --> 00:13:41,360 Speaker 9: I mean when I heard about it, I definitely wanted 245 00:13:41,400 --> 00:13:42,559 Speaker 9: to try it out. 246 00:13:42,840 --> 00:13:43,000 Speaker 15: You know. 247 00:13:43,000 --> 00:13:45,720 Speaker 9: I had this dial up line and we used it 248 00:13:45,840 --> 00:13:47,720 Speaker 9: to download the Worldwide Web. 249 00:13:49,960 --> 00:13:52,720 Speaker 2: This is Stephen Levy. He's been writing about the Internet 250 00:13:52,760 --> 00:13:56,640 Speaker 2: for publications like Wired for four decades, but his interest 251 00:13:56,679 --> 00:13:59,080 Speaker 2: in the subject really took off when the World Wide 252 00:13:59,080 --> 00:14:01,880 Speaker 2: Web came out nineteen ninety three. 253 00:14:02,080 --> 00:14:04,680 Speaker 9: It was pretty easy to use. It was incredibly slow, 254 00:14:05,120 --> 00:14:07,760 Speaker 9: and I would spend hours and hours sitting in my 255 00:14:07,840 --> 00:14:11,920 Speaker 9: little office waiting for the pages to load. There were 256 00:14:11,960 --> 00:14:16,280 Speaker 9: so few websites that every day you would learn which 257 00:14:16,520 --> 00:14:19,840 Speaker 9: websites came on. There will only be a handful. Here's 258 00:14:19,840 --> 00:14:22,920 Speaker 9: a website about Elvis here's a website about the grateful dead. 259 00:14:22,960 --> 00:14:26,960 Speaker 9: Here's a website about medicine or politics or whatever. 260 00:14:27,720 --> 00:14:30,880 Speaker 2: Even in its quirky infancy, the World Wide Web was 261 00:14:30,920 --> 00:14:35,960 Speaker 2: tearing down the barriers of communication. Suddenly, through email, instant 262 00:14:36,040 --> 00:14:39,360 Speaker 2: message and chat rooms, people all over the world could 263 00:14:39,360 --> 00:14:43,160 Speaker 2: communicate in one big, open forum. And the crazy part 264 00:14:43,320 --> 00:14:46,520 Speaker 2: is that back then online conversations were pretty civil. 265 00:14:46,800 --> 00:14:50,560 Speaker 16: There's an interesting kind of restraint that you find. I mean, 266 00:14:50,600 --> 00:14:53,720 Speaker 16: there's not a lot of cursing or swearing. One would 267 00:14:53,760 --> 00:14:56,480 Speaker 16: think if you're anonymous, you do anything you want. But 268 00:14:56,520 --> 00:14:59,200 Speaker 16: people have their own sense of community and what we 269 00:14:59,240 --> 00:14:59,640 Speaker 16: can do. 270 00:15:00,320 --> 00:15:02,800 Speaker 2: And the content was pretty tame too. 271 00:15:03,040 --> 00:15:07,400 Speaker 9: There was this one site in Cambridge, England. The people 272 00:15:07,680 --> 00:15:11,640 Speaker 9: in their computer department had a coffee room and they 273 00:15:11,840 --> 00:15:15,440 Speaker 9: put a camera on the coffee pot and they put 274 00:15:15,440 --> 00:15:17,040 Speaker 9: it on the web and people all over the world 275 00:15:17,160 --> 00:15:19,280 Speaker 9: could check the status of the coffee pot and I 276 00:15:19,320 --> 00:15:21,800 Speaker 9: would check in like three or four times a day. 277 00:15:22,640 --> 00:15:25,560 Speaker 2: It's hard to explain now how being able to connect 278 00:15:25,560 --> 00:15:27,680 Speaker 2: to a live stream of a coffee pot in another 279 00:15:27,760 --> 00:15:31,560 Speaker 2: country felt revolutionary, But people like Levy knew that if 280 00:15:31,560 --> 00:15:34,280 Speaker 2: you could access that from the comfort of your own home, 281 00:15:34,680 --> 00:15:37,440 Speaker 2: one day you were going to be able to access everything. 282 00:15:42,200 --> 00:15:45,640 Speaker 9: A lot of the people who were the philosophers of 283 00:15:45,680 --> 00:15:49,880 Speaker 9: the Internet preached an idea that information should flow as 284 00:15:49,920 --> 00:15:54,720 Speaker 9: freely as possible. This is something that's going to democratize everything. 285 00:15:54,840 --> 00:15:58,400 Speaker 9: It's going to level the playing field, and big institutions 286 00:15:58,640 --> 00:16:02,560 Speaker 9: will have to face competition from the little guy everywhere. 287 00:16:02,880 --> 00:16:06,200 Speaker 9: Citizen journalists could spring up and come up with their 288 00:16:06,240 --> 00:16:12,200 Speaker 9: own publications. Governments would lose power as people could share 289 00:16:12,360 --> 00:16:15,640 Speaker 9: information and spread it. People thought it was going to 290 00:16:15,640 --> 00:16:20,760 Speaker 9: topple authocracies, so it was an exuberant time where people 291 00:16:21,280 --> 00:16:24,880 Speaker 9: celebrated the potential of the Internet. I definitely felt that 292 00:16:25,040 --> 00:16:27,680 Speaker 9: it was going to be a democratizing force. 293 00:16:30,800 --> 00:16:33,080 Speaker 2: The Internet was going to change the game. But in 294 00:16:33,160 --> 00:16:36,480 Speaker 2: nineteen ninety three it only had about fourteen million users. 295 00:16:36,920 --> 00:16:40,560 Speaker 2: By nineteen ninety four, twenty five million people had locked on, 296 00:16:41,080 --> 00:16:44,800 Speaker 2: many of them through services like compu Serve, Prodigy, and 297 00:16:44,880 --> 00:16:48,760 Speaker 2: America Online. The Web was still so small all of 298 00:16:48,800 --> 00:16:51,560 Speaker 2: its sites could fit in a book called The Atlas 299 00:16:51,600 --> 00:16:54,160 Speaker 2: to the World Wide Web, but it was starting to 300 00:16:54,200 --> 00:16:55,600 Speaker 2: become a household name. 301 00:16:56,760 --> 00:17:01,200 Speaker 7: Internet is that assa computer network, the one that's becoming 302 00:17:01,240 --> 00:17:03,200 Speaker 7: really big now. 303 00:17:03,320 --> 00:17:06,960 Speaker 2: The Internet's founders believed in its democratic power, but its 304 00:17:07,000 --> 00:17:11,159 Speaker 2: real potential was in commerce. In nineteen ninety four, Pizza 305 00:17:11,200 --> 00:17:14,200 Speaker 2: Hut became one of the first companies to sell something online, 306 00:17:14,840 --> 00:17:17,960 Speaker 2: a large pepperoni and mushroom with extra cheese. 307 00:17:18,119 --> 00:17:19,720 Speaker 6: Anyone warned some pizza. 308 00:17:22,560 --> 00:17:25,320 Speaker 2: It didn't take long for big companies to see the appeal. 309 00:17:26,200 --> 00:17:29,119 Speaker 2: By nineteen ninety six, there were forty million people surfing 310 00:17:29,160 --> 00:17:32,000 Speaker 2: the Internet, spending more than half a billion dollars a 311 00:17:32,080 --> 00:17:36,000 Speaker 2: year on online shopping. Who are you? I'm Jeff Bezos. 312 00:17:36,160 --> 00:17:37,120 Speaker 2: What is your claim to say? 313 00:17:37,760 --> 00:17:40,080 Speaker 6: I'm the founder of Amazon dot com. 314 00:17:40,280 --> 00:17:46,040 Speaker 9: When Amazon appeared unbelievable, the bookstore with a catalog with everything. 315 00:17:46,720 --> 00:17:49,960 Speaker 2: As the revenues of companies like Amazon sword and people 316 00:17:50,040 --> 00:17:52,760 Speaker 2: logged onto the Internet by the millions, it sparked a 317 00:17:52,760 --> 00:17:55,600 Speaker 2: feeding frenzy of investors willing to buy into dot com 318 00:17:55,640 --> 00:17:59,359 Speaker 2: companies at any price. They dumped obscene amounts of money 319 00:17:59,400 --> 00:18:02,760 Speaker 2: into Webster. You either don't remember or have never heard of. 320 00:18:03,240 --> 00:18:06,760 Speaker 17: Oh they've got it, you fro What crazy dot com like? 321 00:18:06,840 --> 00:18:09,720 Speaker 2: Pets dot Com, a pet supply company with a dog 322 00:18:09,920 --> 00:18:11,600 Speaker 2: sock puppet as a spokesman. 323 00:18:11,880 --> 00:18:14,560 Speaker 17: Squeaky toys or new collars leeches. 324 00:18:15,359 --> 00:18:19,280 Speaker 2: Even that company was valued at almost three hundred million dollars. 325 00:18:21,640 --> 00:18:23,920 Speaker 2: The Wall Street training floor was a mosh pit as 326 00:18:23,960 --> 00:18:26,520 Speaker 2: a stock market balloon to record highs on the back 327 00:18:26,560 --> 00:18:34,280 Speaker 2: of all that dot com speculation. It was perfect. The 328 00:18:34,359 --> 00:18:37,000 Speaker 2: Internet was a cash count, but it was also good 329 00:18:37,080 --> 00:18:40,640 Speaker 2: for society. It was going to change everything about how 330 00:18:40,640 --> 00:18:45,600 Speaker 2: we lived, communicated, shopped, and shared. And in nineteen ninety nine, 331 00:18:45,800 --> 00:18:48,760 Speaker 2: with two hundred and eighty million users in growing, there 332 00:18:48,800 --> 00:18:49,600 Speaker 2: was nowhere to go. 333 00:18:50,000 --> 00:18:50,359 Speaker 18: But I. 334 00:18:51,840 --> 00:18:54,119 Speaker 19: Can't believe how easy it is to serve the net. 335 00:18:54,359 --> 00:18:56,639 Speaker 19: It's so easy to learn and so much fun to 336 00:18:56,640 --> 00:18:59,280 Speaker 19: play on serfs up see you on the Net. 337 00:19:03,920 --> 00:19:07,280 Speaker 2: From the beginning, the Internet was just a tool. It 338 00:19:07,320 --> 00:19:11,000 Speaker 2: reflected the people who were using it. In the early nineties, 339 00:19:11,160 --> 00:19:14,600 Speaker 2: those people were mostly polite nerds, but it's more and 340 00:19:14,640 --> 00:19:17,720 Speaker 2: more people piled in. Some of the problems we now 341 00:19:17,760 --> 00:19:21,120 Speaker 2: recognize as part of a free and open Internet started 342 00:19:21,119 --> 00:19:22,560 Speaker 2: to emerge. 343 00:19:22,760 --> 00:19:25,560 Speaker 15: Two years ago, Elliott pulled the plug when she found 344 00:19:25,640 --> 00:19:28,240 Speaker 15: her teenage sons downloading pornography. 345 00:19:28,600 --> 00:19:32,040 Speaker 7: We found sado masochism on our computer, available at the 346 00:19:32,040 --> 00:19:32,760 Speaker 7: flick of a button. 347 00:19:33,920 --> 00:19:36,520 Speaker 9: Pornography was something that there was like a big panic 348 00:19:36,520 --> 00:19:38,920 Speaker 9: about the idea is that in loving year old kid 349 00:19:38,960 --> 00:19:42,159 Speaker 9: is going to see more pornography than a person like 350 00:19:42,240 --> 00:19:44,280 Speaker 9: me saw in his entire lifetime. 351 00:19:44,760 --> 00:19:48,600 Speaker 10: Children sometimes are exposed to images parents don't want them 352 00:19:48,640 --> 00:19:50,480 Speaker 10: to see because they shouldn't. 353 00:19:51,160 --> 00:19:55,199 Speaker 2: In nineteen ninety six, President Bill Clinton signed the Communications 354 00:19:55,240 --> 00:19:56,520 Speaker 2: Decency Act into law. 355 00:19:56,880 --> 00:20:00,240 Speaker 15: The law makes it a crime to display indecent are 356 00:20:00,280 --> 00:20:04,639 Speaker 15: patently offensive words or images on the Internet, but opponents 357 00:20:04,640 --> 00:20:07,919 Speaker 15: say the law is patently unconstitutional. 358 00:20:08,600 --> 00:20:10,920 Speaker 2: Parts of the law were struck down the following year 359 00:20:11,040 --> 00:20:14,399 Speaker 2: for violating the First Amendment right to free speech, but 360 00:20:14,480 --> 00:20:18,919 Speaker 2: a debate started that still reaches today. How would we 361 00:20:19,000 --> 00:20:22,359 Speaker 2: deliver on the democratic promise of the Internet that speech 362 00:20:22,440 --> 00:20:27,280 Speaker 2: and information should be free while also keeping it safe. 363 00:20:27,440 --> 00:20:29,760 Speaker 2: The upside of the Internet was that it allowed for 364 00:20:29,880 --> 00:20:33,840 Speaker 2: unfettered access to information, but people were starting to learn 365 00:20:33,960 --> 00:20:37,639 Speaker 2: that that was also its downside. This man asked to 366 00:20:37,640 --> 00:20:38,720 Speaker 2: remain anonymous. 367 00:20:39,160 --> 00:20:42,200 Speaker 3: His fourteen year old son, paid nine dollars and got 368 00:20:42,240 --> 00:20:45,080 Speaker 3: the recipe for this pipe bomb from the Internet on 369 00:20:45,160 --> 00:20:46,000 Speaker 3: his home computer. 370 00:20:47,119 --> 00:20:51,600 Speaker 2: What would happen if volatile information got into the wrong hands. 371 00:20:51,520 --> 00:20:55,800 Speaker 3: By using those computerized directions? This is the results We. 372 00:20:55,800 --> 00:20:58,760 Speaker 4: Have enough problems in America without our kids learning how 373 00:20:58,760 --> 00:21:00,000 Speaker 4: to become junior terrorists. 374 00:21:01,080 --> 00:21:04,520 Speaker 2: But perhaps the Internet's most obvious and glaring problem was 375 00:21:04,640 --> 00:21:06,159 Speaker 2: just starting to dawn on people. 376 00:21:06,520 --> 00:21:09,560 Speaker 6: The Internet, as wonderful as it is, has become the 377 00:21:09,560 --> 00:21:13,760 Speaker 6: world's largest rumor mill, chock full of hoaxes, scams, and 378 00:21:13,880 --> 00:21:17,439 Speaker 6: conspiracy theories. What if I just wanted to vent my 379 00:21:17,600 --> 00:21:21,040 Speaker 6: rage at whatever? Can I just get out there, piece 380 00:21:21,080 --> 00:21:23,720 Speaker 6: of cake? I can go out there and say anything 381 00:21:24,080 --> 00:21:25,920 Speaker 6: I want. To take me about ten seconds to make 382 00:21:25,920 --> 00:21:26,600 Speaker 6: this live. 383 00:21:26,400 --> 00:21:29,399 Speaker 2: On the Internet. You heard that right. People on the 384 00:21:29,400 --> 00:21:33,199 Speaker 2: Internet could say anything, whether it was truthful or not. 385 00:21:33,960 --> 00:21:36,280 Speaker 2: The good side of this is that everyone can become 386 00:21:36,320 --> 00:21:39,080 Speaker 2: a source. The bad side is that everyone can become 387 00:21:39,080 --> 00:21:42,280 Speaker 2: a source. The double edged nature of a free Internet 388 00:21:42,400 --> 00:21:46,600 Speaker 2: was clear. The world's information would be at everyone's fingertips. 389 00:21:47,320 --> 00:21:51,880 Speaker 2: That included its porn, its bomb instructions, and its outright lies. 390 00:21:52,760 --> 00:21:55,159 Speaker 2: But at the end of the day, what you consumed 391 00:21:55,359 --> 00:21:59,479 Speaker 2: would still be up to you, at least for now. 392 00:22:03,080 --> 00:22:06,080 Speaker 2: By the late nineties, it was obvious just how dependent 393 00:22:06,160 --> 00:22:09,320 Speaker 2: we were going to be on the Internet. In a decade, 394 00:22:09,440 --> 00:22:13,760 Speaker 2: it had infiltrated almost every aspect of American life. Kids 395 00:22:13,840 --> 00:22:17,520 Speaker 2: used it in classrooms, businesses used it for commerce, and 396 00:22:17,640 --> 00:22:21,040 Speaker 2: governments used it to run their systems. But as the 397 00:22:21,080 --> 00:22:24,240 Speaker 2: twentieth century drew to a close and a new millennium 398 00:22:24,280 --> 00:22:26,800 Speaker 2: was on the horizon, the world was going to learn 399 00:22:27,080 --> 00:22:29,960 Speaker 2: just how quickly technology could turn against us. 400 00:22:30,440 --> 00:22:32,359 Speaker 20: If you want to, there are plenty of things to 401 00:22:32,400 --> 00:22:35,360 Speaker 20: worry about as we approached the end of the twentieth century, 402 00:22:35,520 --> 00:22:40,439 Speaker 20: global warming, biological warfare, meteors from outer space, and now 403 00:22:40,720 --> 00:22:43,320 Speaker 20: y two K. Y two K is the year two 404 00:22:43,400 --> 00:22:50,159 Speaker 20: thousand computer glitch that threatens to crash the world's computer networks. 405 00:22:58,280 --> 00:23:00,919 Speaker 6: One night, I was in my kitchen, I don't know, 406 00:23:01,000 --> 00:23:07,080 Speaker 6: straightening something up. I get a phone call. Some random 407 00:23:07,080 --> 00:23:11,840 Speaker 6: got kind of high pitched, hysterical, and the first thing 408 00:23:11,920 --> 00:23:15,439 Speaker 6: this guy said, stop being listed. People should not know 409 00:23:15,560 --> 00:23:19,280 Speaker 6: your name. You're going to be in danger. You know. 410 00:23:19,320 --> 00:23:23,479 Speaker 6: I was thinking, this guy's a nutcase. This was the 411 00:23:23,560 --> 00:23:27,000 Speaker 6: first call that I got warning me about the end 412 00:23:27,080 --> 00:23:27,600 Speaker 6: of the world. 413 00:23:30,320 --> 00:23:33,600 Speaker 2: In nineteen ninety nine, Ellen Olman was a computer programmer 414 00:23:33,640 --> 00:23:37,080 Speaker 2: who had published a book about the tech revolution. She 415 00:23:37,160 --> 00:23:39,639 Speaker 2: says she was used to getting cold calls from random 416 00:23:39,680 --> 00:23:42,840 Speaker 2: men trying to date her but one night she got 417 00:23:42,920 --> 00:23:45,080 Speaker 2: a call from a man who was trying to warn 418 00:23:45,160 --> 00:23:48,720 Speaker 2: her about a computer glitch that had become known as 419 00:23:48,720 --> 00:23:49,840 Speaker 2: the Y two K bug. 420 00:23:50,880 --> 00:23:53,720 Speaker 6: He said, society's going to crack up. It's going to 421 00:23:53,760 --> 00:23:57,720 Speaker 6: be wild out there. Everyone's going to be roaming around, 422 00:23:57,920 --> 00:24:02,320 Speaker 6: you know, trying to steal other people's stuf. Nothing will work, 423 00:24:02,400 --> 00:24:10,160 Speaker 6: no electricity and water won't run. Water Okay, okay, all right. 424 00:24:11,119 --> 00:24:15,840 Speaker 6: He was in terror. He said, you have to fix it. 425 00:24:15,880 --> 00:24:18,159 Speaker 6: You have to hell everyone to fix it. The world's 426 00:24:18,200 --> 00:24:22,720 Speaker 6: got to come to an end. I went on to 427 00:24:22,760 --> 00:24:26,040 Speaker 6: tell people, but a different story from the one he 428 00:24:26,080 --> 00:24:26,880 Speaker 6: wanted me to tell. 429 00:24:28,920 --> 00:24:32,000 Speaker 2: By the time Olman received that call in nineteen ninety nine, 430 00:24:32,320 --> 00:24:35,240 Speaker 2: the Internet age was facing its biggest crisis yet. 431 00:24:35,800 --> 00:24:39,240 Speaker 5: A Senate panel describes Y two K the Year two 432 00:24:39,320 --> 00:24:43,760 Speaker 5: thousand computer bug, as a worldwide crisis and one of 433 00:24:43,800 --> 00:24:47,080 Speaker 5: the most serious and potentially devastating events this nation has 434 00:24:47,119 --> 00:24:48,040 Speaker 5: ever encountered. 435 00:24:48,600 --> 00:24:51,120 Speaker 2: The Y two K or Year two thousand bug, had 436 00:24:51,119 --> 00:24:54,879 Speaker 2: been in the offing for years. Back in the nineteen sixties, 437 00:24:55,160 --> 00:24:59,840 Speaker 2: computer memory was really limited, precious and expensive to se. 438 00:25:00,800 --> 00:25:04,440 Speaker 2: Programmers decided that years in computer code would be represented 439 00:25:04,520 --> 00:25:08,440 Speaker 2: with only two numbers instead of four, nineteen sixty five 440 00:25:08,640 --> 00:25:12,399 Speaker 2: would just be sixty five. The choice saved millions in 441 00:25:12,480 --> 00:25:17,000 Speaker 2: memory costs, but as the millennium approached, it presented a 442 00:25:17,119 --> 00:25:21,840 Speaker 2: massive crisis. By nineteen ninety nine, there were hundreds of 443 00:25:21,920 --> 00:25:25,000 Speaker 2: millions of computers, but many of them were not able 444 00:25:25,040 --> 00:25:28,399 Speaker 2: to recognize the year two thousand. It was thought that 445 00:25:28,440 --> 00:25:31,520 Speaker 2: as the world rolled over into the new millennium, critical 446 00:25:31,560 --> 00:25:33,600 Speaker 2: systems would malfunction. 447 00:25:33,320 --> 00:25:39,680 Speaker 7: Disastrous shutdowns of telephone systems, the food industry, power and 448 00:25:39,760 --> 00:25:41,000 Speaker 7: water banking. 449 00:25:41,359 --> 00:25:44,680 Speaker 2: Even nuclear bombs going off on their own could all 450 00:25:44,720 --> 00:25:45,600 Speaker 2: plague the world. 451 00:25:45,640 --> 00:25:48,000 Speaker 6: On January first, power. 452 00:25:47,720 --> 00:25:51,400 Speaker 2: Grids might be completely knocked out. Planes could fall out 453 00:25:51,400 --> 00:25:54,080 Speaker 2: of the sky. I don't want to be anywhere remotely 454 00:25:54,080 --> 00:25:58,040 Speaker 2: closed to an airport midnight on Semmer thirty firs. But 455 00:25:58,080 --> 00:26:00,760 Speaker 2: the biggest concern was that a new clear weapon might 456 00:26:00,840 --> 00:26:05,040 Speaker 2: launch accidentally, or that a radar system might think one 457 00:26:05,080 --> 00:26:05,880 Speaker 2: had been launched. 458 00:26:06,400 --> 00:26:10,560 Speaker 12: Russia, like the United States, still keeps thousands of strategic 459 00:26:10,600 --> 00:26:15,240 Speaker 12: weapons on hair trigger alert. That's the equivalent of about 460 00:26:15,400 --> 00:26:18,960 Speaker 12: one hundred thousand EROSIUMA bombs that could be lobbed around 461 00:26:19,000 --> 00:26:20,520 Speaker 12: the planet in under an hour. 462 00:26:22,480 --> 00:26:25,040 Speaker 2: The fix for the y two K bug seemed impossible. 463 00:26:25,640 --> 00:26:28,520 Speaker 2: Programmers would have to work around the clock on every 464 00:26:28,560 --> 00:26:31,720 Speaker 2: system in the world, scanning billions of lines of code 465 00:26:31,760 --> 00:26:33,840 Speaker 2: and updating year dates manually. 466 00:26:34,160 --> 00:26:37,080 Speaker 6: It's an enormous task. More I thought about it, the 467 00:26:37,119 --> 00:26:40,680 Speaker 6: more I thought got how is this going to work? 468 00:26:40,880 --> 00:26:42,280 Speaker 6: How in the world you're going to do this. 469 00:26:43,240 --> 00:26:46,639 Speaker 10: If we act properly, we won't look back on this 470 00:26:46,720 --> 00:26:49,119 Speaker 10: as a headache, sort of the last failed challenge of 471 00:26:49,119 --> 00:26:52,639 Speaker 10: the twentieth century. It will be the first challenge of 472 00:26:52,680 --> 00:26:56,960 Speaker 10: the twenty first century. Successfully met and together, we can 473 00:26:56,960 --> 00:26:57,320 Speaker 10: do it. 474 00:27:06,119 --> 00:27:07,560 Speaker 6: I think a lot of people thought it was a 475 00:27:07,600 --> 00:27:11,080 Speaker 6: hoax and nothing would happen. They were just scaring us. 476 00:27:11,880 --> 00:27:14,480 Speaker 6: I got scared for a minute. There was one night 477 00:27:14,520 --> 00:27:19,000 Speaker 6: I'm sitting alone and I just felt, what's over my shoulder? 478 00:27:19,080 --> 00:27:20,760 Speaker 6: Something darkness over my shoulder. 479 00:27:21,480 --> 00:27:23,679 Speaker 2: Olmand decided to do what the crazy man on the 480 00:27:23,680 --> 00:27:26,680 Speaker 2: phone had told her to do, find out how people 481 00:27:26,720 --> 00:27:29,880 Speaker 2: were tackling the Y two K problem and write about it. 482 00:27:30,440 --> 00:27:33,399 Speaker 6: Companies were desperate to find people who knew what this 483 00:27:33,520 --> 00:27:36,040 Speaker 6: code was about, and they were calling back all these 484 00:27:36,080 --> 00:27:38,040 Speaker 6: old veterans to come in and help them. 485 00:27:38,480 --> 00:27:38,640 Speaker 14: Well. 486 00:27:38,640 --> 00:27:41,600 Speaker 6: I talked to a few programmers. They said, I'm fixing 487 00:27:41,640 --> 00:27:43,720 Speaker 6: code I wrote thirty years ago. I didn't think I'd 488 00:27:43,720 --> 00:27:46,280 Speaker 6: ever see this code again. They just got to work. 489 00:27:48,400 --> 00:27:50,639 Speaker 2: Fixing the Y two K problem would take a massive 490 00:27:50,640 --> 00:27:54,760 Speaker 2: effort of coordination and cooperation, an effort that was now 491 00:27:54,840 --> 00:27:59,680 Speaker 2: possible because of the Web. Programmers around the world connected online, 492 00:28:00,080 --> 00:28:04,400 Speaker 2: sharing software, updates and patches. The rapid sharing of information 493 00:28:04,560 --> 00:28:07,719 Speaker 2: allowed companies big and small to prepare their systems for 494 00:28:07,760 --> 00:28:08,400 Speaker 2: the new year. 495 00:28:09,160 --> 00:28:13,160 Speaker 20: The process of fixing a single computer program is tedious 496 00:28:13,280 --> 00:28:15,840 Speaker 20: and time consuming, and you have to go through them 497 00:28:16,040 --> 00:28:17,399 Speaker 20: line by line. 498 00:28:17,600 --> 00:28:19,520 Speaker 12: The year two thousand is approaching at the rate of 499 00:28:19,520 --> 00:28:21,520 Speaker 12: three thousand, six hundred seconds per hour. 500 00:28:21,760 --> 00:28:24,760 Speaker 2: While running out of time. With the clock ticking, the 501 00:28:24,800 --> 00:28:28,280 Speaker 2: Internet was bringing nations together around the world to collaborate 502 00:28:28,320 --> 00:28:31,960 Speaker 2: on the problem. Even the American and Russian governments were 503 00:28:32,000 --> 00:28:33,440 Speaker 2: working side by side. 504 00:28:33,640 --> 00:28:36,520 Speaker 17: The Pentagon has spent three and a half billion dollars 505 00:28:36,560 --> 00:28:39,479 Speaker 17: fighting the Battle of LY two K, including setting up 506 00:28:39,480 --> 00:28:41,960 Speaker 17: a joint missile warning center with the Russians to make 507 00:28:42,000 --> 00:28:45,200 Speaker 17: sure a computer glitch doesn't set off false alarms of 508 00:28:45,280 --> 00:28:45,760 Speaker 17: an attack. 509 00:28:46,760 --> 00:28:50,240 Speaker 2: But as organizations tested their systems, there were signs that 510 00:28:50,320 --> 00:28:52,720 Speaker 2: catastrophe might strike anyway. 511 00:28:54,360 --> 00:28:58,440 Speaker 8: The Peach Bottom Nuclear Facility experienced a serious glitch when 512 00:28:58,480 --> 00:29:02,480 Speaker 8: operators tried to fix a why to a problem. Doomsday 513 00:29:02,560 --> 00:29:08,440 Speaker 8: sayers are predicting massive blackoutscome January one, two thousand, I. 514 00:29:08,360 --> 00:29:11,760 Speaker 6: Spoke with a programmer at the Federal Reserve. I asked him, 515 00:29:11,880 --> 00:29:15,000 Speaker 6: how's it going. Oh, it's fine. We have these techniques, 516 00:29:15,560 --> 00:29:17,239 Speaker 6: and I go, oh, that's good. And then he went 517 00:29:17,320 --> 00:29:20,840 Speaker 6: on to say, well, almost everyone I know is getting 518 00:29:20,840 --> 00:29:26,320 Speaker 6: off the grid. They're buying guns, they're buying camping equipment 519 00:29:26,800 --> 00:29:29,840 Speaker 6: because it's all going to be dangerous collapse out there. 520 00:29:30,800 --> 00:29:33,720 Speaker 6: I said, how did you get from everything's great to 521 00:29:34,080 --> 00:29:39,040 Speaker 6: everything's terrible? He said, well, I think we have everything 522 00:29:39,080 --> 00:29:43,000 Speaker 6: well in hand, but I don't know if other people 523 00:29:43,240 --> 00:29:46,959 Speaker 6: are in hand. That was the fear that they're in 524 00:29:47,000 --> 00:29:51,840 Speaker 6: the darkness, the darkness of the internet. Someone else would 525 00:29:51,840 --> 00:29:52,400 Speaker 6: bring it down. 526 00:29:56,880 --> 00:29:59,440 Speaker 2: Well, the internet sped up the Y two K overhaul, 527 00:30:00,240 --> 00:30:04,680 Speaker 2: also spreading rumors, fear, and misinformation about the crisis. 528 00:30:05,080 --> 00:30:09,160 Speaker 6: There were fear mongers out there scaring everybody. You're gonna 529 00:30:09,200 --> 00:30:10,360 Speaker 6: have water problems. 530 00:30:10,640 --> 00:30:14,240 Speaker 2: I'm seeing a rather dark forecast. You're gonna lose half 531 00:30:14,240 --> 00:30:15,360 Speaker 2: the population of the planet. 532 00:30:16,000 --> 00:30:17,960 Speaker 17: We're going to be in a world of hurt come January. 533 00:30:17,960 --> 00:30:19,200 Speaker 2: The first two thousand. 534 00:30:19,000 --> 00:30:23,040 Speaker 4: Ordered Millennium Fears fact or fiction video for only nineteen 535 00:30:23,200 --> 00:30:23,840 Speaker 4: ninety five. 536 00:30:26,600 --> 00:30:29,320 Speaker 2: In the last days of nineteen ninety nine, people all 537 00:30:29,320 --> 00:30:33,520 Speaker 2: over the world were preparing to varying degrees. Some were 538 00:30:33,560 --> 00:30:38,240 Speaker 2: hoarding food chicken noodle. They've stocked their shelves with soups. 539 00:30:37,920 --> 00:30:41,280 Speaker 8: Kick and noodle more than you'd find in some convenience stores. 540 00:30:41,440 --> 00:30:45,440 Speaker 2: Somebody really like chicken noodle. Some people were preparing for 541 00:30:45,480 --> 00:30:47,200 Speaker 2: a full societal collapse. 542 00:30:47,680 --> 00:30:51,720 Speaker 3: The biggest sellers are ammunition, gun safs, kerosee lefts, and 543 00:30:51,840 --> 00:30:52,520 Speaker 3: water jugs. 544 00:30:53,080 --> 00:30:56,360 Speaker 10: I think there are real risks of panic behavior which 545 00:30:56,360 --> 00:30:58,560 Speaker 10: could have a profound impact on our society. 546 00:30:59,080 --> 00:31:00,880 Speaker 3: People out there that are talked to it that said, 547 00:31:01,240 --> 00:31:02,320 Speaker 3: there's nothing going to happen. 548 00:31:02,840 --> 00:31:06,920 Speaker 2: What are you basing that on? Nobody knows no For others, 549 00:31:07,280 --> 00:31:09,880 Speaker 2: all this Y two K stuff was a warning the 550 00:31:09,960 --> 00:31:12,680 Speaker 2: technology was leading society astray. 551 00:31:13,000 --> 00:31:16,000 Speaker 19: It's almost become an idol, like the ten Hours, But 552 00:31:16,120 --> 00:31:19,840 Speaker 19: my son stays in front of the computer, so it's 553 00:31:19,920 --> 00:31:23,600 Speaker 19: maybe only chess that this idol comes crushing down. 554 00:31:26,360 --> 00:31:29,000 Speaker 2: For the end of nineteen ninety nine, the US government 555 00:31:29,080 --> 00:31:32,160 Speaker 2: reported that it had made tremendous progress in fixing the 556 00:31:32,280 --> 00:31:33,080 Speaker 2: Y two K bug. 557 00:31:33,560 --> 00:31:36,320 Speaker 18: We do not at the moment expect that this will 558 00:31:36,360 --> 00:31:41,440 Speaker 18: be as the websites are calling it, Tia towaki. That's 559 00:31:41,480 --> 00:31:44,400 Speaker 18: the acronym for the end of the world as we 560 00:31:44,480 --> 00:31:44,840 Speaker 18: know it. 561 00:31:50,600 --> 00:31:52,960 Speaker 5: I am standing at ground zero in case of any 562 00:31:53,000 --> 00:31:54,760 Speaker 5: accidental nuclear missile launch. 563 00:31:54,800 --> 00:31:57,120 Speaker 7: Behind me, you can see the tunnel entrance to the 564 00:31:57,200 --> 00:31:58,960 Speaker 7: command center for NORAD. 565 00:31:59,200 --> 00:32:03,360 Speaker 2: It's December third, nineteen ninety nine, outside the North American 566 00:32:03,440 --> 00:32:08,360 Speaker 2: Aerospace Defense Command in Colorado Springs. At nearby Peterson Air 567 00:32:08,400 --> 00:32:12,440 Speaker 2: Force Base. Russian and American officers are working together around 568 00:32:12,480 --> 00:32:12,880 Speaker 2: the clock. 569 00:32:13,080 --> 00:32:18,320 Speaker 6: You may think you're in Moscow, Yilia cruise. I'll give 570 00:32:18,400 --> 00:32:21,239 Speaker 6: you a long is a piece in it, Bud. 571 00:32:21,960 --> 00:32:24,560 Speaker 2: Are you confident that there will not be a launch? 572 00:32:24,880 --> 00:32:27,320 Speaker 8: We are very confident in the US forces there will 573 00:32:27,400 --> 00:32:29,360 Speaker 8: not be an accidental launch of a nuclear weapon. 574 00:32:29,480 --> 00:32:31,479 Speaker 6: And how confident are you of the Russian forces. 575 00:32:35,080 --> 00:32:37,400 Speaker 8: I'm very confident that the Russians will not have a 576 00:32:37,440 --> 00:32:38,080 Speaker 8: problem either. 577 00:32:42,440 --> 00:32:45,840 Speaker 6: New Year's Eve, Y two K. I gave a party 578 00:32:45,960 --> 00:32:48,240 Speaker 6: lives in a loft at the time, and one hundred 579 00:32:48,240 --> 00:32:51,760 Speaker 6: people showed up. We got dressed up like it was 580 00:32:51,840 --> 00:32:55,720 Speaker 6: nineteenth thirty three. We put on evening gowns. It was 581 00:32:55,840 --> 00:33:00,640 Speaker 6: so much fun at this party. I kept the TV on. 582 00:33:03,480 --> 00:33:08,280 Speaker 6: I was watching. One place after another entered the year 583 00:33:08,360 --> 00:33:08,920 Speaker 6: two thousand. 584 00:33:11,360 --> 00:33:14,640 Speaker 2: The world's eyes turned to New Zealand, the first major 585 00:33:14,720 --> 00:33:23,680 Speaker 2: country to ran the new millennium. The orchestra blaired and 586 00:33:23,760 --> 00:33:24,840 Speaker 2: the lights stayed. 587 00:33:24,560 --> 00:33:29,960 Speaker 10: On here in New Zealand, not one single major or 588 00:33:30,040 --> 00:33:32,320 Speaker 10: for that matter, that we know, a minor white to 589 00:33:32,480 --> 00:33:33,120 Speaker 10: k problem. 590 00:33:36,160 --> 00:33:40,400 Speaker 2: Back at Norad in Colorado, military officials watched closely as 591 00:33:40,520 --> 00:33:42,920 Speaker 2: Moscow prepared to enter the twenty first century. 592 00:33:43,720 --> 00:33:45,480 Speaker 6: It is a dramatic time in Moscow. 593 00:33:45,520 --> 00:33:48,680 Speaker 5: You see red Square celebrating this moment in the less 594 00:33:48,840 --> 00:33:50,680 Speaker 5: than twenty seconds now to midnight. 595 00:33:50,880 --> 00:33:55,200 Speaker 2: Earlier that day, Russian President Boris Yeltson stepped down, appointing 596 00:33:55,280 --> 00:33:56,600 Speaker 2: and acting president. 597 00:33:56,640 --> 00:34:01,520 Speaker 14: Vladimir Putin was Bjeltsin's hand selected prime in and now success. 598 00:34:02,720 --> 00:34:06,280 Speaker 2: As the clock struck midnight in Moscow, in intense reliefs 599 00:34:06,320 --> 00:34:10,080 Speaker 2: spread across the room at Norat, But that relief was 600 00:34:10,160 --> 00:34:10,760 Speaker 2: short lived. 601 00:34:13,640 --> 00:34:15,800 Speaker 6: We learn from Russia looks like the city of possession. 602 00:34:16,440 --> 00:34:19,840 Speaker 2: Radar showed three scud missiles had been launched in southern Russia. 603 00:34:20,520 --> 00:34:23,440 Speaker 2: The officers rushed to figure out what had happened and 604 00:34:23,600 --> 00:34:27,320 Speaker 2: learned that the Russian military was firing at extremists in Chechnya. 605 00:34:28,080 --> 00:34:31,640 Speaker 2: An American general reportedly called Russia and said, this is 606 00:34:31,800 --> 00:34:37,720 Speaker 2: not a good time to be launching missiles. People around 607 00:34:37,800 --> 00:34:40,799 Speaker 2: the world were reporting in on the internet. There were 608 00:34:40,920 --> 00:34:43,240 Speaker 2: no major Y two K issues. 609 00:34:43,400 --> 00:34:47,640 Speaker 17: Four three two one, happy two. 610 00:34:49,880 --> 00:34:54,240 Speaker 6: Every city they go to, all around the globe, nothing happens, 611 00:34:55,080 --> 00:34:58,840 Speaker 6: as one time zone after another was still operating. I 612 00:34:58,920 --> 00:35:03,160 Speaker 6: got relieve, but I wondered, what's the next one is 613 00:35:03,239 --> 00:35:05,800 Speaker 6: that going to go down? And eventually it rolled around 614 00:35:05,840 --> 00:35:11,239 Speaker 6: to us in San Francisco and it was over and 615 00:35:11,360 --> 00:35:15,960 Speaker 6: nothing happened. We all yelled yay and Happy New Year 616 00:35:16,120 --> 00:35:20,080 Speaker 6: and lifted our glasses of champagne, and there was a 617 00:35:20,200 --> 00:35:23,880 Speaker 6: sense of relief. It was just like a sense I 618 00:35:24,000 --> 00:35:34,200 Speaker 6: think of disappointment. Somehow, no one really wanted to go 619 00:35:34,400 --> 00:35:37,840 Speaker 6: home yet, so we went and munched the fireworks on 620 00:35:37,920 --> 00:35:44,560 Speaker 6: the roof. A lot of people were crowded up there 621 00:35:44,600 --> 00:35:47,759 Speaker 6: and drinking heavily, and was the end of the world. 622 00:35:47,800 --> 00:35:50,440 Speaker 6: I'm going to go down drunk. I saw all those 623 00:35:50,440 --> 00:35:54,320 Speaker 6: people celebrating it really happy. There was a sense that 624 00:35:54,719 --> 00:35:57,240 Speaker 6: we were all in this, The whole world was involved 625 00:35:57,280 --> 00:36:01,719 Speaker 6: in this. I thought, good, thank you programmers, thank you, 626 00:36:01,840 --> 00:36:08,160 Speaker 6: thank you. Now everyone's happy. At the end of the party, 627 00:36:08,680 --> 00:36:12,160 Speaker 6: I was putting away some things that call from that 628 00:36:12,320 --> 00:36:15,880 Speaker 6: strange god came to me out of the bloom. We 629 00:36:15,960 --> 00:36:20,399 Speaker 6: said that everything's going to collapse and water won't run. 630 00:36:20,719 --> 00:36:24,560 Speaker 6: Water turned on the faucet, washed my hands. 631 00:36:25,000 --> 00:36:25,160 Speaker 12: There. 632 00:36:25,200 --> 00:36:29,919 Speaker 6: It was all the water, like all the code it runs. 633 00:36:38,520 --> 00:36:42,680 Speaker 2: Disaster had been averted. The billions of dollars and millions 634 00:36:42,719 --> 00:36:46,080 Speaker 2: of man hours spent on addressing the crisis had paid off. 635 00:36:46,680 --> 00:36:49,360 Speaker 2: But of course there were those who thought that the 636 00:36:49,440 --> 00:36:51,280 Speaker 2: whole thing had been a big hoax. 637 00:36:52,160 --> 00:36:55,200 Speaker 14: Some people are questioning now whether all of this was overkill, 638 00:36:55,239 --> 00:36:57,840 Speaker 14: whether the problems were that large to begin with. I 639 00:36:58,040 --> 00:36:59,799 Speaker 14: just would like to know when you're going to come 640 00:36:59,840 --> 00:37:01,719 Speaker 14: by to pick up all that bottled water and beef 641 00:37:01,840 --> 00:37:03,040 Speaker 14: jerky that you made me buy. 642 00:37:03,560 --> 00:37:05,800 Speaker 6: I do remember. I just want to say flatly that 643 00:37:05,960 --> 00:37:10,920 Speaker 6: it wasn't a hoax. We didn't have a collapse because 644 00:37:10,960 --> 00:37:14,719 Speaker 6: there were armies of dedicated programmers. The job they did 645 00:37:14,880 --> 00:37:15,880 Speaker 6: was astounding to me. 646 00:37:16,880 --> 00:37:19,600 Speaker 2: Why t K is remembered today as a joke, a 647 00:37:19,719 --> 00:37:24,160 Speaker 2: punchline for government fear mongering, an overreaction, rather than a 648 00:37:24,280 --> 00:37:27,600 Speaker 2: rare moment when people came together to solve a problem. 649 00:37:28,360 --> 00:37:30,800 Speaker 2: It's worth imagining if the same thing would even be 650 00:37:30,960 --> 00:37:35,080 Speaker 2: possible today, that we could agree on anything, much less 651 00:37:35,200 --> 00:37:38,439 Speaker 2: unite in a common cause. But this was a time 652 00:37:38,600 --> 00:37:42,279 Speaker 2: before the Internet went sour, and as the sun rose 653 00:37:42,360 --> 00:37:45,719 Speaker 2: on a new millennium, the world felt more connected than 654 00:37:45,760 --> 00:37:46,320 Speaker 2: ever before. 655 00:37:48,760 --> 00:37:51,919 Speaker 10: Good morning, and happy New Year, or we should say 656 00:37:52,120 --> 00:37:53,080 Speaker 10: Happy New Millennium. 657 00:37:53,480 --> 00:37:56,080 Speaker 2: President Bill Clinton gave a New Year's Day address. 658 00:37:56,760 --> 00:38:00,680 Speaker 10: What is perhaps most remarkable about last night's celebration is 659 00:38:00,719 --> 00:38:03,480 Speaker 10: the way it was shared all around the world. The 660 00:38:03,600 --> 00:38:06,680 Speaker 10: people all over the planet could experience the same events 661 00:38:06,760 --> 00:38:09,800 Speaker 10: at the same time would have been impossible for anyone 662 00:38:09,880 --> 00:38:14,000 Speaker 10: to imagine a thousand years ago, even one hundred. Yet, 663 00:38:14,040 --> 00:38:17,960 Speaker 10: the growing interconnectedness of the world today thanks to technologies 664 00:38:18,080 --> 00:38:20,840 Speaker 10: like the Internet, is more than just a mark of 665 00:38:20,920 --> 00:38:24,759 Speaker 10: how far we've come. It's the key to understanding where 666 00:38:24,920 --> 00:38:30,239 Speaker 10: we're going in this new interconnected world. America clearly must 667 00:38:30,360 --> 00:38:33,920 Speaker 10: remain engaged. We must help the shape events and not 668 00:38:34,120 --> 00:38:37,520 Speaker 10: be shaped by them. We can make this new century 669 00:38:38,080 --> 00:38:42,359 Speaker 10: a time of unprecedented peace, freedom, and prosperity for our 670 00:38:42,480 --> 00:38:44,640 Speaker 10: people and for all the citizens. 671 00:38:44,200 --> 00:38:44,640 Speaker 12: Of the world. 672 00:38:45,560 --> 00:38:48,880 Speaker 10: Thank you, Happy New Year, and God bless America. 673 00:38:54,239 --> 00:38:56,960 Speaker 2: At that moment in time, the Internet was a blank canvas. 674 00:38:57,719 --> 00:38:59,920 Speaker 2: It would take the shape of us, the people who 675 00:39:00,200 --> 00:39:02,800 Speaker 2: used it, for better and for worse. 676 00:39:03,840 --> 00:39:07,200 Speaker 21: It's supposed to be a very transparent medium between the 677 00:39:07,320 --> 00:39:10,759 Speaker 21: author and the reader. So if you find that life 678 00:39:10,880 --> 00:39:13,120 Speaker 21: is complex on the web, you are reading a complicated 679 00:39:13,160 --> 00:39:13,520 Speaker 21: part of it. 680 00:39:14,200 --> 00:39:16,680 Speaker 2: This is Tim berners Lee, the man who invented the 681 00:39:16,719 --> 00:39:20,759 Speaker 2: World Wide Web, speaking in an interview in nineteen ninety seven. 682 00:39:21,360 --> 00:39:23,919 Speaker 21: Analogy is with paper. Can you imagine trying to invent 683 00:39:23,960 --> 00:39:26,360 Speaker 21: a sort of paper which can't be used for writing 684 00:39:26,480 --> 00:39:29,200 Speaker 21: untruths or can't be used for moral purposes. 685 00:39:29,320 --> 00:39:31,600 Speaker 11: Actually, it's only as good as the world it serves. Yes, 686 00:39:32,080 --> 00:39:33,319 Speaker 11: in many parts, that's not very. 687 00:39:33,239 --> 00:39:38,200 Speaker 2: Good, is it. In this interview, it's like berners Lee 688 00:39:38,320 --> 00:39:41,440 Speaker 2: is staring through a monitor at the future, at our 689 00:39:41,520 --> 00:39:44,200 Speaker 2: present day world, where the web has the power to 690 00:39:44,280 --> 00:39:47,680 Speaker 2: push us into echo chambers and disrupt our shared sense 691 00:39:48,320 --> 00:39:52,040 Speaker 2: of reality. With the web, you can. 692 00:39:52,000 --> 00:39:55,120 Speaker 21: Find a myriad of different websites something really matches your 693 00:39:55,200 --> 00:39:56,879 Speaker 21: particular weird view point in life. 694 00:39:57,640 --> 00:40:02,400 Speaker 9: World government, implannable, Mike, crowd chaps, Satanism, it is out. 695 00:40:02,280 --> 00:40:03,720 Speaker 2: Of the open Bible. 696 00:40:04,680 --> 00:40:06,319 Speaker 21: And then you can filter your emails that you only 697 00:40:06,360 --> 00:40:09,560 Speaker 21: communicate with people who also share that weird view that 698 00:40:09,640 --> 00:40:10,920 Speaker 21: you can get into a sort of cult. 699 00:40:11,480 --> 00:40:14,400 Speaker 1: These are the same people that are trafficking children. I 700 00:40:14,520 --> 00:40:16,520 Speaker 1: did my own research and I found out. 701 00:40:16,440 --> 00:40:19,279 Speaker 21: With this truly looking you can get into a sort 702 00:40:19,280 --> 00:40:22,759 Speaker 21: of cultural pothole with a few crazy fanatics. 703 00:40:23,360 --> 00:40:24,400 Speaker 2: They can't climb out of it. 704 00:40:24,480 --> 00:40:26,520 Speaker 21: They can't understand anybody who's not in it, and they 705 00:40:26,600 --> 00:40:29,719 Speaker 21: bump into somebody else on the street. The only form 706 00:40:29,719 --> 00:40:31,120 Speaker 21: of communication that is left to shooting. 707 00:40:31,160 --> 00:40:34,680 Speaker 4: The Welsh fired at least one round into the restaurant 708 00:40:34,719 --> 00:40:38,279 Speaker 4: floor with an AR fifteen rifle. Welch read online that 709 00:40:38,400 --> 00:40:41,440 Speaker 4: the comat restaurant was harboring child sex slaves. 710 00:40:44,160 --> 00:40:46,480 Speaker 11: Do you think in some ways that it's the creation 711 00:40:46,600 --> 00:40:50,160 Speaker 11: of a monster. It's a profound revolution, isn't it in 712 00:40:50,320 --> 00:40:53,720 Speaker 11: terms of technology around the world, and revolutions is sometimes painful. 713 00:40:54,120 --> 00:40:59,239 Speaker 21: They yes, I suppose that there will be aspects of 714 00:40:59,280 --> 00:41:00,720 Speaker 21: any change which you're painful. 715 00:41:03,080 --> 00:41:08,080 Speaker 9: Hope in the faith a difficult thing, the audacity of hope. 716 00:41:09,360 --> 00:41:13,760 Speaker 6: In Egypt, Facebook, Twitter, and Google mobilized crowds and sparked 717 00:41:13,760 --> 00:41:14,360 Speaker 6: a revolution. 718 00:41:19,120 --> 00:41:22,759 Speaker 5: I believe Facebook's product stoke division and weaken our democracy. 719 00:41:24,600 --> 00:41:29,160 Speaker 17: Trump supporters helped the Russian Internet trolls spreading Russian made messages. 720 00:41:31,120 --> 00:41:35,840 Speaker 5: Misinformation and conspiracy theories are rapidly spreading online. 721 00:41:40,600 --> 00:41:43,400 Speaker 6: QAnon's presence and the mob was unmistakable. 722 00:41:43,560 --> 00:41:46,520 Speaker 2: It all started as an online conspiracy more than four 723 00:41:46,640 --> 00:41:47,120 Speaker 2: years ago. 724 00:41:48,719 --> 00:41:52,600 Speaker 17: Google and Twitter and Facebook, they're really treading on very, 725 00:41:52,719 --> 00:41:55,320 Speaker 17: very troubled territory. They better be careful. 726 00:41:55,640 --> 00:41:57,239 Speaker 2: This is something that we've never seen before. 727 00:41:57,280 --> 00:41:59,920 Speaker 4: The CEOs of some of the most powerful and wealthy tech, 728 00:42:00,000 --> 00:42:02,840 Speaker 4: analogy and media companies in the world seated on the 729 00:42:02,920 --> 00:42:05,560 Speaker 4: platform for the inauguration of an American president. 730 00:42:05,760 --> 00:42:09,239 Speaker 6: It's a type of power that the world has never 731 00:42:09,400 --> 00:42:10,040 Speaker 6: seen before. 732 00:42:10,560 --> 00:42:14,240 Speaker 2: You're watching the unraveling of our democracy. It's not about 733 00:42:14,320 --> 00:42:22,320 Speaker 2: to happen. It is happening right now. That's all coming 734 00:42:22,400 --> 00:42:25,840 Speaker 2: up on this season of Long Shadow Breaking the Internet. 735 00:42:30,120 --> 00:42:33,920 Speaker 2: Long Shadow is a production of Long Lead distributed by PRX. 736 00:42:34,440 --> 00:42:37,240 Speaker 2: The show is produced and co written by Ryan Schwiker. 737 00:42:37,760 --> 00:42:41,080 Speaker 2: John Patrick Pullan is Our story editor and executive producer. 738 00:42:41,520 --> 00:42:45,680 Speaker 2: Emily Barone is. Long Leads Managing editor. Kevin Sheppard and 739 00:42:45,840 --> 00:42:50,680 Speaker 2: Ulla Culpa served as associate producers. Additional editorial support by 740 00:42:50,800 --> 00:42:56,160 Speaker 2: Ula Culpa, Audience development by Jensen Rubinstein, fact checking by 741 00:42:56,239 --> 00:43:00,200 Speaker 2: Will Degravia. Claire Mullen did the mix. Sound design by 742 00:43:00,239 --> 00:43:04,320 Speaker 2: Claire Mullen and Ryan Swikert. John Singh handles publicity for 743 00:43:04,440 --> 00:43:09,160 Speaker 2: Long Lead. The Ponglomerate provides publicity, marketing, and promotional support 744 00:43:09,239 --> 00:43:13,719 Speaker 2: for the show. Music by Epidemic Sound and Marmoset. Cover 745 00:43:13,920 --> 00:43:18,040 Speaker 2: art by Long Leads Creative director Sarah Rogers. Learn more 746 00:43:18,160 --> 00:43:21,040 Speaker 2: about Long Lead and subscribe to our newsletter at long 747 00:43:21,120 --> 00:43:25,120 Speaker 2: lead dot com. Episode transcripts and more are available at 748 00:43:25,160 --> 00:43:29,239 Speaker 2: long Shadow podcast dot com. If you're enjoying the show, 749 00:43:29,560 --> 00:43:32,879 Speaker 2: spread the word and leave us a review on Apple Podcasts. 750 00:43:33,400 --> 00:43:37,600 Speaker 2: It helps others find the show. I'm Garrett Graf, and 751 00:43:37,760 --> 00:43:38,520 Speaker 2: thanks for listening. 752 00:43:43,640 --> 00:43:46,160 Speaker 1: If you enjoyed this episode, I'm happy to report there 753 00:43:46,239 --> 00:43:49,280 Speaker 1: is plenty more where that came from, including their recent 754 00:43:49,400 --> 00:43:53,799 Speaker 1: episode Enragement Equals Engagement. I really like that one. They 755 00:43:53,880 --> 00:43:56,920 Speaker 1: talked to a new momo about her experiences confronting vaccine 756 00:43:56,960 --> 00:44:01,200 Speaker 1: misinformation and connect it with Facebook's relentless pursuit of engagement 757 00:44:01,280 --> 00:44:03,920 Speaker 1: and profit. Be sure to follow long Shadow and Apple 758 00:44:03,960 --> 00:44:11,479 Speaker 1: podcasts Spotify, or wherever you're listening Now. Got a story 759 00:44:11,480 --> 00:44:13,400 Speaker 1: about an interesting thing in tech, or just want to 760 00:44:13,400 --> 00:44:15,760 Speaker 1: say hi, You can reach us at Hello at tangody 761 00:44:15,800 --> 00:44:18,360 Speaker 1: dot com. You can also find transcripts for today's episode 762 00:44:18,400 --> 00:44:20,560 Speaker 1: at tengody dot com. There Are No Girls on the 763 00:44:20,600 --> 00:44:23,200 Speaker 1: Internet was created by me bridget Tod. It's a production 764 00:44:23,280 --> 00:44:27,040 Speaker 1: of iHeartRadio and Unbossed creative Jonathan Stricklands our executive producer. 765 00:44:27,400 --> 00:44:30,640 Speaker 1: Tari Harrison is our producer and sound engineer. Michael Almado 766 00:44:30,719 --> 00:44:34,239 Speaker 1: is our contributing producer. I'm your host, bridget Tod. If 767 00:44:34,280 --> 00:44:36,000 Speaker 1: you want to help us grow, rate and review us 768 00:44:36,000 --> 00:44:39,640 Speaker 1: on Apple Podcasts. For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, check out 769 00:44:39,640 --> 00:44:42,560 Speaker 1: the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcast or wherever you get your podcasts.