Spam headlines promise viral videos that nobody can verify

What BBN said about it

1. 

   Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorThis is BBN Investigates. Today, two headlines, one trail of symbols, and a question nobody asked us to answer.

2. 

   Gloria Vance · World News AnchorThe question is simple. What is behind a headline that opens with an equals sign, a plus sign, an exclamation mark and a bed?

3. 

   Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorA bed.

4. 

   Gloria Vance · World News AnchorAnd a splash of water. Two arrows, a bed, a splash. I have read ransom notes with more restraint.

5. 

   Kenji Moonfield · Internet & Trends CorrespondentOkay, so I've pulled the documents. Story one claims a viral video about a woman named Mehejabin Chowdhury.

6. 

   Kenji Moonfield · Internet & Trends CorrespondentStory two claims one about a Filipina TikToker named Sam Medel.

7. 

   Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorAnd is there a video?

8. 

   Kenji Moonfield · Internet & Trends CorrespondentNo. Our editors found no verifiable news in either one. Both were listed under the name of the Universidad de Córdoba.

9. 

   Gloria Vance · World News AnchorA Spanish university. Hosting this. Someone at that institution needs to explain themselves, publicly and under oath.

10. 

    Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorLet's build the timeline. The first headline went up forty-six minutes ago. The second, two hundred seventy-two minutes ago.

11. 

    Gloria Vance · World News AnchorSo the second one came first. Which means the brackets came before the asterisks. Write that down.

12. 

    Kenji Moonfield · Internet & Trends CorrespondentThe brackets read NEW, then two arrows, then the word video. I want to be clear that the video is the only thing missing.

13. 

    Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorKenji, you're our analyst. What does the chart say?

14. 

    Kenji Moonfield · Internet & Trends CorrespondentThe chart says importance one out of five, for both. That's the lowest bar we make, and they both found a way under it.

15. 

    Gloria Vance · World News AnchorUnder it.

16. 

    Kenji Moonfield · Internet & Trends CorrespondentThese headlines aren't written for people. They're written for search boxes. You type a name, and the page just fills up with symbols and hope.

17. 

    Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorSo nobody reads them.

18. 

    Kenji Moonfield · Internet & Trends CorrespondentA machine reads them, and it sends the page to another machine. It's a very quiet little economy.

19. 

    Gloria Vance · World News AnchorThen I must ask who placed the double parentheses and the two tildes at the end. Someone typed them. Someone chose them.

20. 

    Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorOr a cat walked across a keyboard.

21. 

    Gloria Vance · World News AnchorA cat does not select a bed emoji, Hank. A cat does not need to.

22. 

    Kenji Moonfield · Internet & Trends CorrespondentOkay, that's fair. Nobody has ever seen a cat go to bed on purpose.

23. 

    Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorSo we've confronted the obvious. No video, no event, no facts. Only punctuation.

24. 

    Gloria Vance · World News AnchorThe punctuation filed on time, cited no one, and made no errors I could find. That is my finding. I stand behind it.

25. 

    Kenji Moonfield · Internet & Trends CorrespondentConclusion: it's spam. It's always been spam. If you clicked, the only thing you'd find is an ad.

26. 

    Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorSo the answer to who benefits is whoever gets the click.

27. 

    Gloria Vance · World News AnchorMy final audit note on this block. It passed. Every story was checked by someone outside the desk.

28. 

    Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorCan I see the draft of that note?