In this week's News Roundup, Bridget and Producer Mike cover the tech news stories you might have missed.

Amazon’s Ring, a creepy surveillance product, ran a creepy surveillance ad during the Superbowl that triggered a massive public backlash: https://www.cnbc.com/2026/02/12/amazons-ring-cancels-flock-partnership-amid-super-bowl-ad-backlash.html

Electronic Frontier Foundation explanation of why Ring is a surveillance nightmare: https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2026/02/no-one-including-our-furry-friends-will-be-safer-rings-surveillance-nightmare-0

An online community built around fitness/dance app Supernatural is purchased and destroyed by Meta [GIFT LINK]: https://www.theverge.com/tech/871250/supernatural-meta-vr-fitness-community?view_token=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJpZCI6InFuZzlFUmd2VGsiLCJwIjoiL3RlY2gvODcxMjUwL3N1cGVybmF0dXJhbC1tZXRhLXZyLWZpdG5lc3MtY29tbXVuaXR5IiwiZXhwIjoxNzcwNDY2NTMzLCJpYXQiOjE3NzAwMzQ1MzN9.A67DLWY3HpNyI1PzxCMq4Mf96DELfg2belp-siH7vww&utm_medium=gift-link

Marc Benioff 'Jokes' with his employees that ICE is watching them: https://www.404media.co/marc-benioff-jokes-ice-is-watching-salesforce-employees-who-traveled-to-the-u-s/

Salesforce Workers Circulate Open Letter Urging CEO to Denounce ICE: https://www.wired.com/story/letter-salesforce-employees-sent-after-marc-benioffs-ice-comments/

Body camera footage is being used to humiliate young women on YouTube: https://nymag.com/intelligencer/article/body-cam-youtube-foia-abuse.html

Let us know what you think by emailing hello@tangoti.com or leaving a comment on Spotify.

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When graduate instructor Mel Curth gave a student a failing grade for work that didn't answer the assignment, she couldn't have predicted what would happen next. Within days, the student, backed by Turning Point USA and right-wing media, had launched a national campaign. The university removed Mel from teaching. The grade was thrown out. And the student became a conservative media celebrity.

Mel’s attorney Brittany Stewart, has defended LGBTQ rights in Oklahoma for decades, breaks down what really happened at the University of Oklahoma, and what it reveals about the coordinated effort to push trans people out of academia and public life.

Listen to our full episode breaking down the situation (and yes, we read Samantha’s full essay!): https://omny.fm/shows/there-are-no-girls-on-the-internet/this-univ-of-oklahoma-essay-is-so-bad-it-launched-a-culture-war-career

Listen to Brittany’s great podcast The Thunder Gals (OKC’s ONLY female-led Thunder media!!) https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-thunder-gals/id1555886306

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Should you trust MAHA's wellness doctors? Dr. Peter Attia's gross emails with Jeffrey Epstein just exposed how mainstream institutions keep platforming these guys—and why they're always caught off guard. We're re-releasing our deep dive into Dr. Andrew Huberman, also a CBS contributor, and why the business model behind 'bro science' takes off online.

CBS pulls Peter Attia segment after Epstein fallout, but Bari Weiss is sticking by him – for now: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/cbs-peter-attia-bari-weiss-epstein-60-minutes-b2913369.html

Andrew Huberman is having a rough one after New York Mag published a long read looking into his personal and professional life: https://nymag.com/intelligencer/article/andrew-huberman-podcast-stanford-joe-rogan.html

Andrew Huberman Has Supplements on the Brain: https://www.mcgill.ca/oss/article/critical-thinking-health-and-nutrition/andrew-huberman-has-bad-case-supplement-brain

So, Should You Trust Andrew Huberman? https://slate.com/technology/2024/03/andrew-huberman-huberman-lab-health-advice-podcast-debunk.html

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Is WhatsApp reading your private encrypted messages? That's what was claimed in a bombshell 2025 lawsuit, which cited whistleblowers from Australia, Brazil, India, Mexico and South Africa.

Meanwhile, the Trump administration is using every tool they have to force tech companies to turn over people's personal communications. Just this morning, the Washington Post published an exclusive investigative report about DHS using subpoenas to quietly surveil and silence their political enemies.

Protecting our digital privacy has never been more important. In this conversation with Anney and Samantha from Stuff Mom Never Told You, Bridget covers the many reasons you shouldn't trust WhatsApp and Zuckerberg with your personal messages, and suggests a safer alternative.

Link to today's Washington Post piece: https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/2026/02/03/homeland-security-administrative-subpoena/

Let us know what you think by emailing hello@tangoti.com or leaving a comment on Spotify.

Follow Bridget and TANGOTI on social media! || instagram.com/bridgetmarieindc/ || tiktok.com/@bridgetmarieindc || youtube.com/@ThereAreNoGirlsOnTheInternet || bsky.app/profile/tangoti.bsky.social

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The tech conference Devternity was canceled (not fake canceled, literally canceled) after allegations that the founder has been inventing fake women and catfishing on Instagram for years.

Bridget does a deep dive to get to the bottom of it, and what it says about default, dismissive attitudes about marginalized people in tech. There were real women the whole time! Why not invite one of them?!

A Tech Conference Listed Fake Speakers for Years: I Accidentally Noticed: https://blog.pragmaticengineer.com/devternity-fake-speakers/

Male Tech Conference Founder Is Behind Popular Woman Coding Influencer Account: https://www.404media.co/coding-unicorn-instagram-julia-kirsina-devternity/

Tech Conference Collapses After Organizer Admits to Making Fake ‘Auto-Generated’ Female Speaker: https://www.404media.co/devternity-fake-speakers-eduard-sizovs/

Eduards Sizovs’s full response thread: https://twitter.com/eduardsi/status/1728422017417032140

Here’s a collection of Julia through the years: https://docs.google.com/document/d/10Fds4DgzU_Yem577sfGykauuNkltIq3ykZdZUd1EAUE/edit?usp=sharing

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After years in limbo, TikTok is now officially operating under American ownership for users in the United States, purchased by a group of investors backed by the Trump administration.

And that shift is happening at a moment when a lot of people are already feeling scared, angry, and on edge — including in the wake of yet another killing involving ICE in Minnesota.

There’s been no shortage of warnings, rumors, and worst-case scenarios about what this new era of TikTok might look like for democracy, privacy, and organizing in marginalized communities. To help us all separate fact from fear, Bridget talks with Jessica Maddox, associate professor of Media Studies at the University of Georgia.

Follow Jess on social media to keep up with what's happening:

- Instagram and Threads: jessmaddox21

- Substack: bythewaysocial.substack.com

- Bluesky: jessmaddox.bsky.social

Let us know what you think about this episode by emailing hello@tangoti.com or leaving a comment on Spotify.

Follow Bridget and TANGOTI on social media! || instagram.com/bridgetmarieindc/ || tiktok.com/@bridgetmarieindc || youtube.com/@ThereAreNoGirlsOnTheInternet || bsky.app/profile/tangoti.bsky.social

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In this week's News Roundup, Bridget and Producer Mike cover the tech & culture news stories you might have missed.

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Oscar nominations are out, and Bridget has opinions!

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The Internet is consumed with controversy over two straight hockey podcasters' embrace of the hot and heavy queer series Heated Rivalry after text messages shared with Alex Reimer at Queerty suggest it's all an act. This is the low stakes, high drama Internet conflict we live for. https://www.queerty.com/do-hockey-bros-actually-like-heated-rivalry-or-are-they-just-performing-for-views-20260121/

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The White House social media team posted an altered photo that used AI to darken a protester and civil rights icon's skin and make it look like she was crying, hours after they had posted the unaltered photo that showed her looking badass and defiant. When faced with a choice between "despicable" or "incompetent," this administration once again grabs for both. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jan/22/white-house-ice-protest-arrest-altered-image

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Florida man, manosphere podcaster, and Republican gubernatorial candidate James Fishback is running on a platform of attacking Only Fans models, but less interested in talking about dodging lawsuits from his former employer or his alleged affair with a girl who worked for him when she was 17.

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Soledad O’Brien on the now Oscar Nominated documentary Perfect Neighbor: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/soledad-obrien-explores-stand-your-ground-in-netflix/id1520715907?i=1000738453445

Gloria Richardson’s iconic side eye: https://www.grunge.com/465629/the-untold-story-of-gloria-richardson/

We Watched Amazon Prime’s War of the Worlds So You Don't Have To: https://omny.fm/shows/there-are-no-girls-on-the-internet/we-watched-amazon-prime-s-war-of-the-worlds-so-you-dont-have-to

Let us know what you think by emailing hello@tangoti.com or leaving a comment on Spotify.

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Right-wing influencer Ashley St. Clair has a long history of transphobic behavior, including authoring a children’s book promoting those views. When she recently expressed regret for that past behavior, Elon Musk threatened to petition for sole custody of the child they share.

Parker Molloy — writer and editor of the popular newsletter The Present Age — joins me to grapple with St. Clair’s apology, what accountability can look like in the public eye, and what happens when someone attempts to step off the outrage machine that once rewarded them.

Read Parker’s piece: A Conservative Influencer Apologized for Her Anti-Trans Past. Elon Musk Is Trying to Take Her Kid
https://www.readtpa.com/p/a-conservative-influencer-apologized

Parker previously worked at Media Matters. You can listen to our deep dive into Elon Musk’s legal attacks on the organization here:
https://omny.fm/shows/there-are-no-girls-on-the-internet/elon-musk-boosts-antisemitic-tweet-and-advertisers

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