Influencers Usher In A New Era For #MeToo

Eric Swalwell suspended his campaign for governor of California following multiple allegations of sexual harassment and assault. On this week’s On the Media, how two social media stars worked to make these allegations public. Plus, what it will take for Hungary to rebuild a robust independent press after years of crackdowns under Orban. [01:00] Brooke speaks with Melanie Mason , POLITICO’s California Bureau Chief, to trace the “whisper network,” involving an education policy influencer with over 1.4 million followers, that exposed California Rep. Eric Swalwell’s history of sexual assault and resulted in his resignation from Congress and exit from the California gubernatorial race. Plus, what this reckoning reveals about the legacy of . [18:33] Host Brooke Gladstone sat down with Ivan Nagy , a political journalist and Delacorte Fellow at the Columbia Journalism Review from Hungary, days before the Hungarian election to discuss covering the lead-up, and the lasting damage inflicted on the press by Viktor Orban that will inevitably carry over into the next administration. [34:50] Brooke calls up Ivan Nagy again after Hungary’s election last weekend to discuss what it was like on the ground in the aftermath of Peter Magyar’s historic win over Viktor Orban, and what the new Prime Minister could mean for the media. Further reading / watching: “‘ If Someone Lit Up a Match, the Place Would Explode ,’” by Ivan L. Nagy “ The whisper network that caught up to Eric Swalwell ,” by Melanie Mason and Jeremy White On the Media is supported by listeners like you. Support OTM by donating today ( ). Follow our show on Instagram , Bluesky , TikTok and Facebook @onthemedia, and share your thoughts with us by emailing onthemedia@wnyc.org.

You can listen to Influencers Usher In A New Era For #MeToo online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

Influencers Usher In A New Era For #MeToo is an episode from On the Media by WNYC Studios.

This episode is 00:50:22 long.

This episode was published on Apr 18, 2026.

Yes. Use the heart button on the episode page to add it to your favorite episodes list.

Yes. This page shows related episodes from On the Media when more episodes are available from the podcast feed.