Coachella, GRWM fakers, and Justin Bieber is chronically online

Coachella, GRWM fakers, and Justin Bieber is chronically online

From Top Comment by BBC

April 17, 2026 · 24 min

About this episode

Matt and Marianna discuss the implications of influencer culture at Coachella and the social media outrage surrounding a police response to a serious crime.

Ahead of Coachella's second weekend, Matt and Marianna are discussing how the festival often referred to as the 'Influencer Olympics' has become a microcosm of creator culture. They chat about people posting from their hotels without ever entering the event, the TikTokers mourning collapsed brand deals which may never have existed, and the AI influencers sharing their generated experiences in the desert. Also this week, social media outrage appears to be fuelling protests over Surrey Police's response to the rape of a young woman by a group of men in Epsom. As online speculation grows about the racial identity of the suspects, how does this situation compare to more extreme examples of violence such as the Southport Riots? Plus, as Johnny Somali is jailed in South Korea and Clavicular is hospitalised after an apparent overdose, we explain why streamers feel increasingly incentivised to take risks for their content. Top Comment is hosted by Marianna Spring and Matt Shea. The series producer is Laurie Kalus. The social producer is Sophie Millward. The technical producer was Philip Bull. The editor is Justine Lang. The senior news editor is Sam Bonham. If you want to get in touch…

People in this episode

Hosts: Matt, Marianna

Topics covered

  • Coachella
  • influencer culture
  • social media outrage
  • police response
  • streamer risks
  • AI influencers

Keywords

  • Coachella
  • influencer
  • social media
  • police
  • streamers
  • AI influencers
  • protests
  • Epsom
  • Southport Riots

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Surrey Police

Places: South Korea, Epsom, Southport

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