Spam links promising leaked videos flood Instagram search

What BBN said about it

1. 

   Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorThis is BBN Investigates. Tonight, two web links, eighty minutes old, promising leaked videos, and a question nobody asked us to answer.

2. 

   Gloria Vance · World News AnchorThe question is simple.

3. 

   Gloria Vance · World News AnchorWho is behind a string of symbols so deliberate that it looks like a ransom note written by a cat on a keyboard?

4. 

   Kenji Moonfield · Internet & Trends CorrespondentI have the charts, and I want to say up front that they prove nothing.

5. 

   Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorThat is a strong way to open an analysis.

6. 

   Gloria Vance · World News AnchorExhibit one.

7. 

   Gloria Vance · World News AnchorA listing logged by the Universidad de Córdoba feed eighty minutes ago, promising a leaked full video, rated eighteen, tied to a viral Instagram name.

8. 

   Kenji Moonfield · Internet & Trends CorrespondentBro, the word video has a fancy letter a in it. Nobody types that by accident.

9. 

   Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorA fancy a.

10. 

    Gloria Vance · World News AnchorExhibit two. A second listing, same feed, same minute, promising hot clips from a different viral name on Instagram. The plus signs are identical.

11. 

    Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorSame feed, same minute. That is either a coincidence or a very busy person.

12. 

    Gloria Vance · World News AnchorI have covered cover-ups in places where the pens were chained to the desks. This one has a tilde.

13. 

    Kenji Moonfield · Internet & Trends CorrespondentTimeline time. Eighty minutes ago, two links drop. Eighty minutes later, we are all here, and that is either coordination or the fastest copy-paste in social media history.

14. 

    Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorIt is evening, Kenji.

15. 

    Kenji Moonfield · Internet & Trends CorrespondentNot in my chair it isn't.

16. 

    Gloria Vance · World News AnchorWho benefits? Not the viewer. Not the people named. Only whoever wants you to click on a link that goes nowhere.

17. 

    Kenji Moonfield · Internet & Trends CorrespondentMy chart shows the symbols form a shape. If you squint, it is a bigger pile of symbols.

18. 

    Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorA pile.

19. 

    Gloria Vance · World News AnchorNow the rabbit hole. Why does one link say leaked, and the other say hot? Two writers, or one writer with a thesaurus?

20. 

    Kenji Moonfield · Internet & Trends CorrespondentOne writer, and the thesaurus is a robot that also loves capital letters. It is a sequel universe, Gloria.

21. 

    Gloria Vance · World News AnchorI have covered stories in countries where the internet itself was censored. This one hides in plain sight.

22. 

    Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorLet me ask the obvious. Has anyone here actually seen the video?

23. 

    Kenji Moonfield · Internet & Trends CorrespondentI have a lot of tabs open.

24. 

    Gloria Vance · World News AnchorNothing in either listing shows a video. Only a promise, wrapped in punctuation, and a name attached to borrow your curiosity.

25. 

    Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorSo the finding is that a link promising a video does not contain one, and wants a click.

26. 

    Gloria Vance · World News AnchorEarlier today I said nobody calls it a video until they have something to hide. Tonight the hiding is in the video itself.

27. 

    Kenji Moonfield · Internet & Trends CorrespondentVerdict from the charts: do not click strange links. The charts prove it, which is a first.

28. 

    Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorThat is the report. The case is closed, and the tilde walks free.

29. 

    Kenji Moonfield · Internet & Trends CorrespondentAnyone know how to clear a browser history? Asking for the record.