Episode 1: Something's Not Right
Believable: The Coco Berthmann Story
Dear Media
4.4 • 989 Ratings
🗓️ 13 July 2023
⏱️ 36 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Coco Berthmann’s star is rising. She's young and pretty. And her eagerness to talk about the abuse she endured makes her a rarity in the anti-child sex trafficking space. For a while, it seems like Coco is everywhere, sharing her story of survival at international conferences, on podcasts and to her tens of thousands of social media followers. But in January of 2022, Coco shares some distressing news: She’s been diagnosed with a rare cancer. Her odds of survival are not good.
Just weeks later, Coco is arrested and charged with communications fraud. And people start asking – was anything Coco said actually true?
If you or a loved one is struggling, help is available:
Suicide & Crisis Lifeline: Dial 988
National Human Trafficking Hotline: 888-373-7888
RAINN (Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network): 855-897-5910
National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA) Resources
Mental Health Hotline: 866-903-3787
A word from our sponsor:
- Stop throwing your money away. Cancel unwanted subscriptions and manage your expenses the easy way – by going to RocketMoney.com/believable.
Produced by Dear Media.
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | A warning. This episode includes mentions of sexual violence against children and of suicide. |
| 0:09.1 | Listen with care. And a note before we get started. We're using AI to alter the voices of people who don't want to be identified and also to bring social media posts and online communications to life. But while the voices are sometimes computer generated, |
| 0:25.3 | the words are 100% real. |
| 0:28.0 | For example, the voice you're about to hear, |
| 0:30.8 | I've been debating if I want to post this, has been generated by AI, if I even want anyone to know. |
| 0:38.5 | In late January of 2022, a woman named Coco Birthman made an announcement to her more than 60,000 followers on |
| 0:46.2 | Instagram. |
| 0:47.2 | To most of you, this will come surprisingly, especially my close friends, that I only told a handful. |
| 0:53.3 | She shared this post along with a black and white close up of her face with her blonde hair |
| 0:58.8 | falling over her right eye and her left eye staring directly into the camera. |
| 1:04.0 | Over the last few weeks, my blood work came back concerning. |
| 1:07.0 | My white blood cells are elevated. |
| 1:09.0 | She looked strong and defiant. |
| 1:11.0 | There is no specific diagnosis yet. Cancer is in the room. It is scary. It is |
| 1:17.1 | worrisome. It is making me angry. Immediately, Coco's internet community rallied around her. |
| 1:23.5 | Money started pouring into a Go Fund Me account. |
| 1:26.5 | It was set up to help her pay for alternative treatments |
| 1:30.0 | that she thought were her best shot at staying alive. And soon, she was back on |
| 1:35.0 | was back on Instagram with another post. |
| 1:37.2 | I just wanted to say thank you to all of you out there. |
| 1:41.1 | I am getting messages from all over the world. Remember when you hear |
| 1:44.6 | Coco reading that's actually the AI clone of her voice. India, Australia, |
... |
Transcript will be available on the free plan in -582 days. Upgrade to see the full transcript now.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Dear Media, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of Dear Media and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2025.