Intro

Sam Stein is joined by Drew Harwell of The Washington Post to talk about his reporting on one of the most disturbing viral stories of the year. Ben Palmer, a Nashville comedian, set up a fake ICE deportation tip line and watched as Americans flooded it with calls. The callers weren’t trolls. They were neighbors, coworkers, even a kindergarten teacher, calmly trying to get families deported. What began as a prank by Palmer turned into a horrifying window into people's worst instincts.

Read more from Drew's reporting: https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2026/02/20/fake-ice-tip-line-viral/