About this episode

The episode explores the authenticity of viral World Cup moments and the role of AI in creating exaggerated stories.

On today’s episode, host Kate Lindsay is joined by Will Oremus, tech writer at The Atlantic and author of “ The Feel-Good Story of the World Cup Is Too Good to Be True .” While our social media feeds have been flooded with thousands of viral and wholesome moments from the World Cup, Will discovered that a number of accounts behind some of the biggest posts aren’t what they seem. Some are using AI to write exaggerated stories, and others have become so mysteriously popular so mysteriously quickly that users are becoming suspicious. Is a Japanese tourist really writing odes to chips and salsa on X? And who is Freddy ? Please say Merlin the duck is really a duck! This podcast is produced by Vic Whitley-Berry, Daisy Rosario, and Kate Lindsay. Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

People in this episode

Host: Kate Lindsay

Guest: Will Oremus

Topics covered

• World Cup
• social media
• AI
• viral moments
• storytelling

Keywords

• World Cup
• viral moments
• AI
• social media
• exaggerated stories

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: The Atlantic

Books & works: The Feel-Good Story of the World Cup Is Too Good to Be True

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