Followers of the QAnon movement, shown here at a 2018 rally in Pennsylvania for President Donald Trump, use social platforms to spread conspiracy theories. False information from the QAnon community about the coronavirus pandemic is a public health hazard.
(AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
QAnon refers to the online community that believes in conspiracy theories about Donald Trump and the so-called deep state, and is spreading harmful misinformation about COVID-19.
Thumbnails from “Alt-Right” YouTube channels.
Digital Methods Initiative, 2017
Researchers have been able to track how radical communities on the fringes of the web essentially manufacture conspiracy theories.
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As if attacks on health workers weren’t upsetting enough, reports indicate broadband engineers are now also being abused - as conspiracy theorists link 5G technology with to COVID-19’s spread.
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PODCAST: How the internet has and hasn’t changed the game for the spread of conspiracy theories.
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Like conspiracy theories, pandemics are about an invisible and powerful enemy hiding among us.
How a conspiracy theory about the origins of the French Revolution became steeped in antisemitism.
Nine émigrés executed by guillotine, from La Guillotine in 1793 by H. Fleischmann/Wikimedia
The dangerous legacy of a letter received by Augustin Barruel, a French Catholic priest and famous conspiracy theorist, in the early 1800s.
By Nosyrevy / Shutterstock
We explore the birth of modern-day conspiracy theories.
FOX News host Sean Hannity (pictured here in 2018) gave credibility to a tweet he read out lout on his popular syndicated radio show, which called COVID-19 a fraud “to spread panic in the populace, manipulate the economy and suppress dissent.”
AP/Julie Jacobson
Why have conspiracy theories so easily circulated during the COVID-19 pandemic? What do these theories tell us about societies and what challenges do they present?
Pride parade in London 2017.
Peter O'Connor aka anemoneprojectors/Flickr
One in three Polish people believe in a ‘gender conspiracy’, according to new reserach.
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We find out what psychological factors influence whether you believe in conspiracy theories or not.
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John F Kennedy’s assassination was a turning point in how conspiracy theorists became viewed.
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PODCAST: Part one of the Expert guide to conspiracy theories from The Conversation’s Anthill podcast.
Some conspiracy theorists believe contrails are chemicals being sprayed for nefarious purposes.
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Conspiracy theorists are traders in illusion – here’s how not to fall for their tricks.
The Conversation
PODCAST: A six-part series from The Conversation’s Anthill podcast exploring the world of conspiracy theories.
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Conspiracy theories bloom in times of uncertainty and foster distrust of medical authorities.
The slogan that accompanied Donald Trump’s victory as president of the United States in 2016.
Saul Loeb/AFP
Deciphering the political and historical basis of climate denial in America, of which Trump is the worthy heir.
Donald Trump has repeated a discredited conspiracy theory about Ukraine.
Tracie Van Auken/EPA
How conspiracy theories, such as the Crowdstrike theory that Ukraine was behind the attack of the Democratic Party’s server, draw from storytelling techniques.
The flat Earth conspiracy is becoming increasingly popular.
Elena Schweitzer
Being accepted by others matters more to us than being factually correct – and this is the key to tackling our post-truth society.
Some are convinced that details from the past are being warped.
Periscope Entertainment
Real-life adherents to the Mandela Effect veer into conspiratorial thinking. But they do hit on an important truth: Our understanding of history is malleable.
The term illuminati has been used since the late 15th century, and applied to various groups since then. It’s often discussed by conspiracy theorists, and is heavily referenced in pop-culture.
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We analysed eight years of Reddit posts from conspiracy theorists. Our findings have helped debunk some common myths about this somewhat alienated group of people.