Bot Campaigns Turned Taylor Swift Into a Nazi and Cracker Barrel Into a Culture War

December 17, 2025

AI Summary

5 min read

🎙️ The Voices & The Context

The Format: This investigative interview dissects manufactured online outrage through expert analysis of bot-driven controversies, blending data-driven insights with real-world examples like restaurant logos and pop star scandals to reveal the hidden mechanics of internet discourse.
The Format: A host-led interview with two data experts unpacking bot campaigns.
The Key Players:
- Bridget Todd (Host): Journalist probing internet manipulation with sharp instincts and personal anecdotes from her "internet vibe checker" guests.
- Molly Dwyer (Director of Insights, Peak Metrics): Ex-Russia analyst turned bot detective, famous for her Cracker Barrel bot report; brings decade of open-source intel experience and "spidey sense" for inauthentic trends.
- Keith Presley (Gadea): "Storm tracker" for online narratives, whose Taylor Swift bot report sparked backlash; explains coordinated networks using AI graph analysis.

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What you'll learn

1 (02:47) **Episode Intro: Bot-Amplified Controversies**
2 (04:01) **🎙️ Introduction: Molly Dwyer, Director of Insights at PeakMetrics**
3 (04:53) **Molly's Background in Information Operations**
4 (06:41) **Detecting "Spidey Senses" for Inauthentic Conversations**
5 (09:12) **Evolution of Bot Networks**
6 (13:36) **Cracker Barrel Logo Controversy Breakdown**
7 (17:23) **Bots' Role: Amplifiers, Not Originators**

+ Full timestamped outline available in the app

Show Notes

If you’ve ever looked at your timeline and thought “there’s no way this is real,” you’re probably right.

In this episode, Bridget and Mike speak to two data professionals about two recent reports from their companies that shed light on how bot networks attempt to hijack our online discourse: the Taylor Swift Nazi narrative after the release of Swift’s album Life of a Showgirl and the Cracker Barrel logo change backlash. Through the lens of these two seemingly unrelated campaigns, we unpack how bot-driven narratives spread, why it works, how online culture wars get engineered for clicks, chaos, and control, and what it means for the rest of us humans trying to engage in actual discourse online.

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