Top Comment - AO3 and fears of the internet apocalypse
Download AO3 and fears of the internet apocalypse
When the internet’s biggest fanfiction site disappears, there’s one thing you can still count on: a network of fans. AO3 hosts more than 18 million works, including many sexually explicit stories, and writing inspired by popular IP, such as Harry Potter, Twilight and Heated Rivalry. And the fans have been sharing “fics” on drives to keep each other going while their online haven is down. The non-profit behind AO3, announced the site would be offline for two to four weeks, citing a “security incident”. In this episode, Marianna and Matt discuss why people are panicking and whether after other cyber security threats recently - including PHP - the internet is becoming more fragile.
Plus - Marianna has done an experiment to test how AI chatbots might be influencing how people vote and how it could mean for future elections.
Top Comment is hosted by Marianna Spring and Matt Shea. Made by Emma Close and Sophie Milward. The technical producer was Jonny Hall. The editor is Justine Lang. The senior news editor is Sam Bonham. If you want to get in touch about something that's popped up on your feed, our email address is topcomment@bbc.co.uk or you can send us a WhatsApp on +44 330 123 9480.
Published on Friday, 6th November 2026.
Available Podcasts from Top Comment
We are not the BBC, we only list available podcasts. To find out more about the programme including episodes available on BBC iPlayer, go to the Top Comment webpage.