288: Fake or Nah?! Ft. Lisa Gilroy
Two Hot Takes
Hosts Morgan and guest Lisa Gilroy dive into various Reddit stories to determine if they are authentic or fabricated 'fake' tales. They inve
Key takeaways
- A 25-year-old man uses the Spider-Man theme song to help regulate emotions and maintain maturity during arguments with his girlfriend.
- The Reddit user 'BigBlackDarius' is scrutinized for potential karma farming and use of AI-generated imagery in his profile photos.
Main topics
- Reddit story verification
- Social media authenticity
Notable quotes
I'm the Benoit Blanc of AI images.
Conclusion
A lighthearted investigation into digital truth and the ways users cur
Transcript preview
Speaker 2 (0:01) Are you ready? I'm ready. Let's do this. Let's do this. I'm so excited. I have wanted to get you on for, it feels like years. Like genuinely, it feels like years. You've been like on my list of like, who's your dream guest? No. Lisa Gilroy. Speaker 2 (0:22) Air horns and everything? Everything. You have those? I need to get a real one because at this point... Speaker 3 (0:28) No, you don't because actually the sound you made with your mouth was just as good as an air horn. Speaker 2 (0:31) Thank you. Thank you. Can you do clown horn? Speaker 3 (0:35) No. Can you? I want to try it all of a sudden. Someone I know can do it really well, but it's like that... That was good. But someone I know can do it amazing. I Speaker 1 (0:45) feel like you're the queen of voices. Oh my God, thank you. And by the way, I'm sorry I wore a hat on your podcast Speaker 3 (0:49) because I feel a little bit like I'm trying to... act like Leonardo DiCaprio right now, but my power was out. So I couldn't straighten or do anything to the top of my head. Speaker 1 (0:57) Your power Speaker 2 (0:57) was out? Yeah. And everything in Speaker 3 (1:00) my fridge is going rotten. Rotten. Speaker 2 (1:03) Is that how you say that word? Speaker 3 (1:04) Yeah, rotten. It's R-O-D-D-E-N. It's like what happens to milk if it's out of the fridge for too long. How Speaker 2 (1:10) do you pronounce R-U-I-N? Ruin? Do you struggle with that one as well? Ruin? I'm a victim of the word ruin. Oh, you say ruin. R-O-O-N. But wait, because Speaker 3 (1:21) I would Speaker 2 (1:21) say it two different ways Speaker 3 (1:22) for two different types. Like I might be like, you ruined my day, but I'd be like, look at these ancient runes. Do you see? Do you see the historical flair? I'm like Speaker 2 (1:32) the total wrong person to ask this because I'd be like, yeah, that's correct. Speaker 3 (1:36) You heard Rune both times. Speaker 2 (1:38) Yeah. Would you ever try Ruin? Ruin. Speaker 3 (1:42) Ruin. Rubin. Ruin. I'm not Speaker 2 (1:45) going to get Speaker 3 (1:46) that Speaker 2 (1:46) beautiful Speaker 3 (1:46) role. I don't know where. Could be a beautiful name for a baby girl. I Speaker 2 (1:51) have been like looking at baby names lately. Some of them are insane. Have you been on the r slash tragedy sub? Reddit? No, Trageday. It's like, literally the name is pronounced tragedy, but it's pronounced like Trageday, like D-E-I-G-H at the end. It's like basically people turning normal names into the most horrific, weird spelling or worst names they've ever heard of. Do you watch Married at First Sight? No. Because one of the Speaker 3 (2:16) mothers of the bride, and I posted this to my Instagram story because I could just not stop thinking about it. It's like, and it was just casual wedding day. They're like, they're getting ready in the bridal suite and they show the mom. And, you know, they put the little chyron underneath to say everyone's names, like blank mother of the bride. And it's like over at the groom's and it's like Beverly, mother of the groom. And then it goes over to the bride's side and the mom's like, are you almost ready? And it goes to the mom and it's like, Violent, mother Speaker 2 (2:39) of the bride. Her name is Violent. Some people try too hard on baby names. It's so close Speaker 3 (2:43) to the word Violet, but someone just snuck a... Maybe Speaker 2 (2:46) they spelled it wrong. Extra letter Speaker 3 (2:47) in there. Yeah, maybe. They Speaker 2 (2:48) probably just spelled it wrong. No, no, Speaker 3 (2:49) no. I thought on the show, maybe typo, but then it kept occurring throughout the season. Speaker 2 (2:53) Someone messed up her birth certificate and parents just rolled with it. Trying to be trendy. Trying to be on it. I'm so excited for you. I'm so cozy. As you should be. Comfort is key. I don't know why people try and just do anything but being comfortable on a podcast. Should we sleep here? We could. Yeah, I have taken a nap here. Speaker 3 (3:11) I don't believe you. This is the comfiest I've ever been. Speaker 2 (3:14) I planked. Put the two chairs together and planked. Oh, smart. One of the shows I first saw you on, though, was Jury Duty. where it's this whole concept of this person, Ronald, going in, and he's the only one that doesn't know his whole experience on jury duty is a bit. It's a lie. It's a lie. Yeah. And you come in and you're this, like, social media entrepreneur influencer, and you were just so good. I don't know how you also went back for season two. Like, how are people not recognizing you Speaker 1 (3:44) at this point? Speaker 2 (3:44) I Speaker 1 (3:44) wore Speaker 2 (3:44) glasses in Speaker 3 (3:44) season two. That's all it takes, honey. Okay, Superman. Speaker 2 (3:47) Yeah. Take it easy over there. Thank you. But it's so good. And it's this whole concept of fake or nah. Fake or nah. Fake or nah. Like, are you kidding me? Like, is that real? That's too crazy. It can't be real. It's got to be fake. And that's something we come across week after week with these Reddit stories of like, that's fake. It's on Reddit. Yeah. Or is it? Is it real? Speaker 3 (4:12) Yeah, right. Speaker 2 (4:13) We, my producer Bailey and I have. gone through these posts. Some of these people have over 400 posts on Reddit and we've gone through them to gather the evidence and help you. You did investigative journalism? Help you decide are they fake or not? They're real. Speaker 3 (4:29) This is so exciting. Suddenly this is also like a crime solving podcast. It Speaker 2 (4:33) is! It's like a detective show all in one. Because I never thought Speaker 3 (4:37) you could do, of course you can look into someone's history and be like, are you consistently asking these same type of questions? Speaker 2 (4:43) Or is their persona changing? Right, right, right, right. Do they go from like 20-year-old female to all of a sudden they're 50-year-old male? Speaker 3 (4:51) Are they doing that? We're going to find out. But woman who's never heard of telling a lie on the internet before? Like you can do that? Yeah. I thought you get electrocuted if you type something false into the keys. That should be a thing. Can Speaker 2 (5:05) you imagine if like there was a keyboard for trolls and it shocked you every time you were mean? I Speaker 3 (5:10) think there should be like a thing that's like... if you type like a curse word or something mean, it immediately like screenshots your face and it adds it to the comment. Speaker 2 (5:22) Okay, let's get into these stories. Yay. Let's dive in. Speaker 2 (6:02) Okay, up first for us here. You have a new show out, Golden Axe. Yes. Yeah, you're the voice of like a superhero. Speaker 3 (6:10) I'm a voice of like an Amazon warrior who has like thick legs. Tyrus. Tyrus, that's right. Tyrus Speaker 2 (6:16) Flair. Speaker 3 (6:16) That's right. Speaker 2 (6:17) So this first one, this, you'll see why we picked this for you. So it's coming from Am I Overreacting? Titled... Am I overreacting to my boyfriend needing a heroic theme playing every time we argue? Speaker 2 (6:33) Okay. Me and my boyfriend, both 25, have a good relationship for the last year. He's really funny, smart, and kind. We rarely get into fights, but when we do, he requested that we play the Spider-Man theme song from the 2000s movies, so he feels compelled to do the right thing. To be fair, he does become somewhat more mature during these arguments and does a good job handling them, but he refuses to talk about it. anything pressing without the theme music in the background. It was okay at first, but now it pisses me off and distracts me sometimes from the point that I'm trying to make. I told him he needs to grow up and try to do it himself without the music, but he says he can't or he will say things out of emotion and he just needs to calm down. It feels so childish. Am I overreacting? Speaker 3 (7:27) I'm obsessed with this. Speaker 2 (7:30) Do you think Speaker 3 (7:30) this is real? I think this is 100 % real. You Speaker 2 (7:32) do? Speaker 3 (7:33) Okay. Are you shocked by that? Tell me why. Because I have so much to say about this. I'm so excited because I think like there's so much to discover in this lifetime in relationships. Don't you think? Absolutely. Learning something new every day. They are our most valuable teachers. And we can learn all sorts of tips and tricks in order to like connect with each other. And so this is what makes me think this is real because I saw online this woman was saying her and her husband when they get in a fight or, you know, when like you you're with someone and you're like, are you mad at me? And they're like, no, I'm fine. I get something wrong. No, literally, it's we're all good. Oh, that's hell on earth, right? Oh, Speaker 2 (8:15) I feel those eggshells underfoot. It happens Speaker 3 (8:17) all the time. So then they were like, if we ever find ourselves, somebody's acting like that. The other person goes, OK, well, if you're really OK, then make a silly face and a silly noise. And then the other person has to go like. And then if they can do that, that proves they're actually fine. And now both people are laughing. But if they simply cannot muster, there's a conversation to be had. So I actually love things like this in relationships that can diffuse the tension in a super harmless way. Yeah. I think it's beautiful. But I do think he could afford to throw on some headphones if he needs the music and she really doesn't like it because that's also part of the compromise. But I think it is like if you can't fight or some people say fight naked. You never heard that? I love these little tips and tricks because it like adds another layer so you don't get like... That Speaker 2 (9:01) is a nightmare. You Speaker 3 (9:02) still remember to not like take it too seriously. You're still talking to someone that you love. Speaker 2 (9:05) I need everyone to immediately in the comments give me fight hacks. And just like post a quick picture of you fighting naked with your spouse. Speaker 3 (9:16) If you want. Do it. Do it, Relisa. Just Speaker 2 (9:19) to, like, Speaker 3 (9:19) prove Speaker 2 (9:20) that you did it. Oh, my gosh. It's funny that you mention putting on headphones, though, because one of the top comments is, that is hilarious. Get the guy one earbud. Yes, one earbud. He Speaker 1 (9:29) can play Speaker 2 (9:29) the song in his ear while listening to you in the other. Speaker 3 (9:32) Because if it's distracting for you, I get it. Yeah, you can't force both people to be spider heads. Speaker 2 (9:37) Yeah, but at the same time, like, I feel like for her, it's probably just annoying because she's like, you're not taking me seriously. Right. But also, I don't know, like, maybe there's a compromise for, hey, the more serious fights, we really got to, like, lock in. I want to feel heard. Yeah. Speaker 3 (9:51) And if Speaker 2 (9:52) it's like, oh, you didn't take the trash out. Yes, exactly. Spider-Man can be played. That's Speaker 3 (9:56) the perfect level of fight. Or like, you know, when you could feel yourself ramping up to an argument where you're like, wait, this is getting out of control for what the actual issue is. That's perfect time for the music. Spider Speaker 2 (10:04) -Man. Yeah. Yeah, a lot of people actually love this. They think it's a hack. They say, I'm neurodivergent and struggle with transitions. And a musical cue that we are in discussion mode and also that we are trying to do the right thing and work together sounds like a great idea. I could absolutely use the Bohemia theme for this in my life. It hits me in the feels every time. I have not heard that song. Speaker 3 (10:28) It's really interesting that it's like intense music. I guess that makes it feel like cinematic. And also, in a way, do you... Go to therapy? Speaker 3 (10:40) You're like, I'm therapized. Not yet. I need Speaker 2 (10:43) to be. Speaker 3 (10:44) Okay. Because therapists always like talk about how our thoughts about our lives and everything are like stories. You're like, oh, that's a story that you're telling yourself. Because it's true. Like we don't really know what the objective truth is. So everybody just like has a story about what's going on. Yeah. Like maybe my story is like, oh, that girl's mad at me or she hates me. She's never liked me. It's like, I don't actually know that. So that's just a story I'm telling myself. So it's like maybe the music helps both people be like, this is a story. It's a movie because it's not. True. It's just like our interpretation of what the fight is. It's Speaker 2 (11:12) a Speaker 3 (11:12) script. Speaker 2 (11:13) I think it's just it's helping set the scene to imagine a movie without scoring. Horrible. Can't imagine. Horrible. Someone does, you know, have the question here, though. How do you argue with someone so much that playing a theme song during arguments becomes an issue? Speaker 3 (11:30) Like Speaker 2 (11:30) you're fighting now, but about the fights. That's the question. It's Speaker 3 (11:34) a Speaker 2 (11:34) little inception-y. Speaking of Leo DiCaprio. So, here's our evidence for it being fake, okay? It's fake! We do not know. Okay, so we're doing like ladies and gentlemen of the jury. You can't conclusively say, yeah, I should have gotten you a gavel. What the hell was I doing? Okay, but can I ask Speaker 3 (11:52) you for a favor? Sure. When you present it, can you kind of pretend like I'm the judge and you're going to be like the defense attorney and the plaintiff's attorney as well? Speaker 2 (12:01) Okay. Your Honor. The user is incredibly active. Speaker 3 (12:06) I'm also going to be the other attorney. So if I ever say like, objection, your honor, that's like if you're going to say something I disagree with, I might, you know. Speaker 2 (12:13) Okay, sustained. So I'll be the Speaker 3 (12:14) judge and also the other attorney. Speaker 2 (12:16) Okay, okay. User is incredibly active and their age, gender, marital status change every time they post. Objection, Speaker 3 (12:24) your honor. Relevance. Speaker 2 (12:26) In this post, they're 25 with a boyfriend. In another post, they're a 22-year-old man dating a 21-year-old woman. And in another, they're a 27-year-old man with a 28-year-old wife. Speaker 2 (12:41) Post history. Caught him. Speaker 3 (12:43) Because at first I was going to be like, maybe sometimes she's posting as if she is her boyfriend to try to get that side of it. Speaker 2 (12:50) Well, on the other hand, some of their posts do appear to be real, like asking for help landing a role as a junior engineer. So just trying to get job advice, not, you know, on a big subreddit, potentially karma farming. Is that what people do? Sometimes. I'm Speaker 3 (13:07) embarrassed by how little I know about this world. But you can't. Speaker 2 (13:09) So like if you post on Reddit and you post something really good and it blows up, people will upvote it. And then that all, every time you post, every time you get upvotes on your account, you have a karma counter. So the more karma you get, the cooler you look. Do you know, Morgan, I posted on Reddit once and I got banned. Speaker 3 (13:24) That's all that's ever happened Speaker 2 (13:25) to me. Speaker 3 (13:26) What did you post? I still don't understand why this happened to me. I posted on, it was like 10 years ago. What'd you post? And I like joined Reddit and I, and it was on like r slash funny. Cause I was like, oh, I don't want to be, I wanted to like just post. I think I posted a picture of a dog in a stroller wearing sunglasses that I saw on the street. Speaker 1 (13:43) And I got banned. My ass got banned Speaker 3 (13:46) for that. Did you? They were like, oh, sorry, ma'am, are you aware this is r slash funny? It's not r slash fucking stupid. Can I say fuck? Sorry. Speaker 3 (13:55) Wait, what? Yeah, and I just like never understood. That was such Speaker 1 (13:57) a Speaker 3 (13:57) good Speaker 2 (13:57) contribution. Thank you for saying that. If Speaker 3 (13:59) I Speaker 2 (13:59) was that moderator, I never would have banned you. Why do you think I got banned? I'm wondering if that subreddit had specific rules where you needed to like, they all have their own rules and it's like for your first post to prove you're real, add dinosaur in the body of the post and you just didn't read the rules, so immediate ban. Speaker 2 (14:19) There's Speaker 3 (14:19) tricky things on Reddit, you know? It's like a goblin's riddle house. Like, you have to cross the bridge into Reddit by doing all of the special riddles. Speaker 2 (14:26) Yeah. And I didn't do it. Speaker 3 (14:28) No. And now I owe Rumpelstiltskin my baby. Speaker 2 (14:31) Yeah. I will say, though, there is something to be said, as you mentioned, about changing age to maybe be from the boyfriend's point of view. Like, there's some people who will. Like I know personally friends and family that have posted on Reddit and have changed ages and like small details to not be identified. So, you know, that's not necessarily an end all be all to say fake. I agree. So what do you where do you fall on this one? I Speaker 3 (14:55) do think that this person is probably an engineer, though, because can you imagine trying to lie about that? And for what reason? It's not really a joke. And then you have to also make up stuff about engineering. No. Ask me the hardest engineering question you can think of. And I don't know anything, but I'll try to make it sound like I do. Speaker 2 (15:10) I don't know. How do you code an RSS feed? So the Speaker 3 (15:14) RSS feed is really complicated because it has all sorts of different signals. Obviously, that if you code it incorrectly, it'll trigger something else incorrect. But you can definitely use any language of your choosing depending on what's compatible. So C++ or... Speaker 2 (15:29) You Speaker 3 (15:30) must Speaker 2 (15:30) have been hired on the spot for any job interview you ever did. I don't even know what you said. Did you say SSRIs? Speaker 2 (15:39) I don't even know what I said. I'm like the only techie Speaker 3 (15:41) thing. Speaker 2 (15:41) You Speaker 3 (15:41) said, Speaker 2 (15:41) how do you code an SS? An RSS feed. It's what podcasts are hosted on. That's the only like techie thing I Speaker 3 (15:46) know. Speaker 2 (15:46) Did anything Speaker 3 (15:47) I say seem right? Sound off in the comments and post a nude. Speaker 2 (15:52) Okay. If you want to talk nudes. And I do, baby. I will show you some nudes. Not mine. Speaker 1 (15:59) But Speaker 2 (16:00) this guy. Perfect. This next story. Speaker 2 (16:04) This has sent me... Wait, sorry, Morgan. Spiraling. Was there any Speaker 3 (16:08) evidence for it being real, the last one? That was just it. We saw lots of different changing things and we never could get to the bottom of it. That's Speaker 2 (16:14) all we got. Can we ever send a message to this person and go... Are you real? Yeah. Do people do that? I send them messages all the time. You do? Yeah. Do they respond to Speaker 3 (16:23) you? Speaker 2 (16:23) Yeah, like there was one story where this kid, like his parents went by him a birthday cake. So I was like, can I buy you a cake? Like I just messaged people all the Speaker 3 (16:29) time. Speaker 2 (16:29) And did he get back to you? Like three months later. And I was like, I'll still buy you the cake. And? And then he never responded again. Speaker 3 (16:36) Did you say like, but I'm a famous woman with a famous podcast? Speaker 2 (16:39) No, I just sent him messages. Then how's Speaker 3 (16:42) he Speaker 2 (16:42) supposed to know you're real? Speaker 3 (16:43) You don't put dinosaur in the comments. Speaker 1 (16:45) God. It's like Speaker 2 (16:46) so crazy. God, okay. There's Speaker 1 (16:47) so Speaker 2 (16:47) much advice for me. What Speaker 3 (16:48) do you Speaker 2 (16:48) want to say to him? Like, what do you feel would be proof that this person is real if they responded back? Besides with a nude. I Speaker 3 (16:55) guess you're right. There's no, it's like that riddle. One sister always lies and one sister always tells the truth. How are you going to, do you know what I'm talking about? Speaker 2 (17:01) No, but it feels like I've gone through that before. Yeah. With people, friends. Exactly. You just like, what could you possibly Speaker 3 (17:08) do? Speaker 2 (17:08) Who's actually on it here? Yeah. Speaker 3 (17:10) Okay. So you're right. There's nothing we can do. Speaker 2 (17:12) Okay. Go on. Next one. I'm excited. I'm excited. Okay. This next one, please, please buckle up wherever you are. So this is coming. from a few places. This was originally posted on r slash am I overreacting? And then they came and posted it on our own subreddit, Too Hot Takes. We have our own sub now. Speaker 3 (17:34) Okay. Yeah. This is already sending up my alarm bells. Okay. Speaker 2 (17:38) Posting in multiple places. Speaker 3 (17:39) And also posting here to be like, isn't this so crazy? I hope you guys don't put it on the podcast. Speaker 2 (17:45) So it's titled, Am I Overreacting? During my book club this weekend, one of the husbands asked me to stop coming because of what we read. I said no. Also, username is bestpirate5073. Speaker 1 (18:00) Nice. Speaker 2 (18:01) I'm a part of a neighborhood book club that's been meeting for about a year. It's mostly women in their late 20s to early 40s, and I'm the only guy. We rotate houses every week, and honestly, it's been one of the better ways I've met people since moving here. The club recently got into dark romance. It wasn't my suggestion, but everyone voted on it, and that's just where the group ended up. We spend most of the meetings talking about character development, plot, whether the MMC is actually redeemable, etc. No big deal, right? I'm friendly with everyone, but I don't hang out with any of them outside a book club. I know a few of their husbands from saying hello if they're around before or after meetings, but that's about it. After our meeting a few days ago, I was loading a folding chair into my car when one of the husbands came outside and asked if he could talk to me. He told me he would appreciate it if I stopped coming to book club. I asked, why? And he said his wife has become, quote, way too excited about book club ever since they started reading Dark Romance and that it was weird having the only guy there discussing those books with a group of married women. Speaker 2 (19:10) I laughed at first because I genuinely thought he was just joking because sometimes guys can be funny like that, but it turns out... Sometimes Speaker 3 (19:17) guys can be funny like that. Speaker 2 (19:18) He wasn't joking, lol. He said he wasn't accusing me of doing anything inappropriate, but that the whole situation made him uncomfortable and that it would, quote, solve a lot of problems if I just found a different hobby. I told him I wasn't there to flirt with anyone. I'm there because I like reading. Everyone in the group voted on the books. and I enjoy the discussions. I also said if he has concerns about his wife's interests in fictional morally questionable men, that's probably something that they should talk about together. He got annoyed and said I was intentionally missing the point. I eventually just told him, quote, I'm not quitting a book club because you're insecure about fictional men. If it's that big of a deal, just join. Now I'm wondering if I should have handled it differently. I don't want to create tension in the neighborhood, but I also don't think it's reasonable to ask me to leave a group I've been a part of for a year because he's uncomfortable. Am I overreacting? Speaker 3 (20:17) I love this. This is so juicy. Speaker 2 (20:20) T. And Speaker 3 (20:21) like, is the other husband upset about a fictional character or is he upset about a real, real life man? Speaker 2 (20:25) I would say that. The lighter. Yeah. To me, I read this and I'm like, I could see it happening. When we start digging, it gets a little dicey. If you were going to give advice, though, assuming that this person is real, what would your advice be to them? I mean, it feels real to me. I'm like so Speaker 3 (20:43) divided on it. I have two hot takes wrestling in my mind together. And it's like, on one hand, I'm like, yeah, of course, he should be able to join a book club. It's his neighborhood. He's trying to connect with people he loves to read. Like, we can't stop anyone from, this is wonderful. This is community. So I love it. And on the other hand, I'm like. If I was the only man in a female space, I would already kind of be like, question mark, question mark. Is this okay? I would already be like, Speaker 1 (21:10) do Speaker 3 (21:10) the girls want to just hang? Like, Speaker 2 (21:12) I would be a little Speaker 3 (21:13) aware of that. Speaker 2 (21:14) Okay. It does seem like it started as just a general book club. And then it's kind of turned into now we're getting into maybe the dark romance. We're crossing into smut territory. Things like that. Yeah, that's true. But, you know, he's Speaker 3 (21:27) already Speaker 2 (21:27) made friends. Or Speaker 3 (21:28) then the perfect maybe third. take of the hot and cold meeting, which means it's perfectly room temperature, is that other husband should just join the group. That would be the most, that would be the best, most lovely ending of all. Speaker 2 (21:40) And maybe he'd learn a thing or two from those books. Yeah. And wouldn't that be so cute Speaker 3 (21:45) to have a husband and wife reading a horny smut book together in a book club? I have like, I think that's so tender. I'm Speaker 2 (21:50) going to be honest. I don't think I could talk about my thoughts honestly if my husband was in my book club. Oh. Like, have you read? Fourth wing, ACOTAR, have you ever like fallen down? I've Speaker 3 (22:01) read Speaker 2 (22:01) some of Speaker 3 (22:01) ACOTAR. Speaker 2 (22:01) Okay. Speaker 3 (22:02) Which completely rotted my brain. Which, by the way, I say rotten, I say rotten, like regular style. You do say it. I was just joking before about Speaker 1 (22:09) saying rotten. Speaker 3 (22:10) I Speaker 1 (22:11) thought that was like kind of funny, but I don't Speaker 3 (22:12) want anyone to sound off in the comments and go, she doesn't know the difference between T's and D's. And I don't mean tits Speaker 1 (22:17) and dicks. Speaker 3 (22:21) But yes, I've read some of ACOTAR and I