Conspiracy Theories

By blaming an unseen "They" for all that's wrong, conspiracy theories block any genuine skepticism - and that's what makes them so dangerous

Since making headlines in 2018, many Flat Earth believers have become Covid deniers and QAnon followers. The signs were always there.

When their predictions don't come true, cults are faced with a choice: accept reality, or rationalise the failure. Which road will Qanon take?

The Qanon movement regurgiates old antisemitic tropes that echo back to the Illuminati conspiracy theories pushed by Nesta Helen Webster

Adrenochrome has become a central part of the Qanon theory, despite 'Q' never mentioning it; its history is long, and deeply anti-Semitic.

David Icke's 2018 tour sanitised some of his more outré claims and played to the free speech gallery, readying his return to the mainstream.

In the world of the virus deniers, not only is the novel coronavirus fake, but viruses themselves don't actually exist.

'Cheap talk' skepticism - coming at little cost to the doubter, but significant cost to others - is undermining genuine skeptical inquiry.