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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

Simonini’s letter: the 19th century text that influenced antisemitic conspiracy theories about the Illuminati

The dangerous legacy of a letter received by Augustin Barruel, a French Catholic priest and famous conspiracy theorist, in the early 1800s.
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. Lettuce./Flickr

Don’t (just) blame echo chambers. Conspiracy theorists actively seek out their online communities

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.

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