The Guardian – conspiracy resource

Misinformation about health, nutrition and food are rampant on social media. For people prone to eating disorders, this can lead down a dangerous path

Weeks after giving birth to my son in early 2022, I found a lump in my breast. After an ultrasound, it was deemed suspicious and required a biopsy. The two-week wait for results was terrifying, not least because I have a family history of breast cancer. The chronic eczema I have always suffered from flared up, thanks to stress, sleep deprivation and the upheaval of early parenthood.

The lump turned out to be benign, but the experience brought my mortality into sharp relief and my anxiety levels to new highs. After treating my skin with round after round of prescription medication, to little avail, I became committed to “naturally” curing the eczema, staving off disease and perfecting my already cautious diet.

Conspiracy

December 14, 2024 marjorie taylor greene, qanon, rfk jr

Sold-out farm shops, smuggled deliveries and safety warnings: US battle over raw milk grows

Unpasteurised milk, seen as both anti-government and anti-corporate, soars in popularity among conspiracy theorists and new agers

It’s 8am, and Redmond, an 11-year-old Brown Swiss dairy cow and designated matriarch of the Churchtown Dairy herd, has been milked in her designated stall. She is concentrating on munching hay; her seventh calf is hovering nearby.

The herd’s production of milk, sold unpasteurised in half-gallon and quart glass bottles in an adjacent farm store, sells out each week. It has become so popular that the store has had to limit sales.

JFK Assassination

December 12, 2024

Revisited: Did the assassination of JFK kickstart the conspiracy theory movement?

Jonathan Freedland speaks to Prof Kathryn Olmsted, author of Real Enemies: Conspiracy Theories and American Democracy, World War I to 9/11 about why the assassination of JFK spawned dozens of conspiracy theories that have persisted for decades?

Because of industrial action taking place by members of the National Union of Journalists at the Guardian and Observer this week, we are re-running an episode from the archive.

This episode originally ran on Friday, November 24th, 2023.

President John F Kennedy was shot dead 61 years ago, as he travelled in the back of a car through the streets of Dallas, Texas. From the moment the news broke, people had their theories about what happened.

UFOs

December 12, 2024

Many New Jersey ‘drones’ are manned aircraft being flown lawfully, White House says

National security spokesperson says there’s ‘no evidence that reported drone sightings pose a public safety threat’

A review of the large mysterious drones reported flying over parts of New Jersey in recent weeks has shown many are actually manned aircraft being flown lawfully, a White House official said on Thursday.

John Kirby, the White House national security spokesman, said there were no reported sightings in any restricted airspace. He added that the US Coast Guard had not uncovered any foreign involvement from coastal vessels.

“We have no evidence at this time that the reported drone sightings pose a national security or a public safety threat, or have a foreign nexus,” Kirby said, echoing statements from the Pentagon and New Jersey’s governor, Phil Murphy.

Conspiracy

December 10, 2024 alex jones

US judge halts Onion takeover of Infowars in Alex Jones bankruptcy

Court rejects far-right shock jock’s claim of ‘collusion’ but finds that trustee should have got more money from parody site or Jones-affiliated bidder

A US bankruptcy judge stopped parody news site the Onion from buying conspiracy theorist Alex Jones’s Infowars website, ruling that a bankruptcy auction did not result in the best possible bids.

However, the judge, Christopher Lopez, on Tuesday rejected Jones’s claims that the auction was plagued by “collusion”.

Conspiracy

December 7, 2024 alex jones

Connecticut court upholds $965m verdict against Infowars’ Alex Jones

Family members of the victims of the 2012 Sandy Hook mass shooting were awarded the damages by a jury

The Connecticut state appellate court on Friday affirmed a $965m verdict from 2022 against far-right conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, determining there is “sufficient evidence” to support the damages awarded to relatives of the Sandy Hook elementary school massacre victims and an FBI agent.

In its unanimous opinion, the court cited the “traumatic threats and harassment” the families endured “stemming from the lies, as propagated by the defendants, that the Sandy Hook massacre was a hoax”.

Ukraine

December 4, 2024 russia

Conspiracy theories and cosying up to dictators: why intelligence experts are spooked by Tulsi Gabbard

Trump’s pick for director of national intelligence has long been regarded as dangerous for her Syria contacts and stance on Ukraine

In 2018, a Syrian dissident codenamed Caesar was set to testify before the House foreign affairs committee about the torture and summary executions that had become a signature of Bashar al-Assad’s brutal crackdown on opposition during Syria’s civil war.

It was not Caesar’s first time in Washington: the ex-military photographer had smuggled out 55,000 photographs and other evidence of life in Assad’s brutal detention facilities years earlier, and had campaigned anonymously to convince US lawmakers to pass tough sanctions on Assad’s network as punishment for his reign of terror.

Conspiracy

November 28, 2024

Trump Pentagon pick Pete Hegseth’s books foreground anti-Muslim rhetoric

Hegseth’s conspiracy theory- and falsehood-laden book American Crusade depicts Islam as historic enemy of west

Donald Trump’s defense secretary pick Pete Hegseth, who has the crusader motto “deus vult” tattooed on his arm, has put bigoted anti-Muslim rhetoric at the center of several of his published books, according to a Guardian review of the materials.

Hegseth, especially in 2020’s American Crusade, depicts Islam as a natural, historic enemy of the west; presents distorted versions of Muslim doctrine in “great replacement”-style racist conspiracy theories; treats leftists and Muslims as bound together in their efforts to subvert the US; and idolises medieval crusaders.

Conspiracy

November 16, 2024

What is Bluesky and why are so many people suddenly leaving X for the platform?

Users turn to the heavily moderated network after warnings about misinformation on Elon Musk’s X

The great X-odus is under way. More than 1 million new users have joined the social media platform Bluesky since the US election.

Many are seeking to escape Elon Musk’s X amid warnings from anti-hate speech campaign groups and the EU about misinformation and extremism on the platform.

Conspiracy

November 2, 2024

My friend has embraced conspiracy theories and I’m fed up with it | Ask Philippa

Think of him like a car in a skid, you want to take the steering wheel and switch direction, but the car has too much momentum and it will carry on the same path

The question I’ve had a good friend for more than 30 years, but since Covid he has become a conspiracy theorist. He only sources “alternative news” from the internet. He quotes hard right, conspiracy narratives. He supports Trump and Putin. He claims he is an anarchist and won’t vote. He becomes arrogant and insulting because I disagree with him. He doesn’t read books, but I do, so if I bring up a book on the subject, he just dismisses it. I’m beyond tired of his rhetoric and have increasingly become angrier that he just wants to shove his crap down my throat and gives me no credit for anything I have to say, he just wants me to agree with him. I’m saddened that it has come to this, but I feel that if he can no longer respect my views and needs to insult and degrade my opinions, then I’m better off without him. Is there any hope?

Philippa’s answer The Covid-19 pandemic not only brought health concerns but social isolation, economic instability and a sense that the world is changing in unpredictable ways. During such turbulent times, many individuals feel lost and fearful. It’s a natural response to crave solid ground in an effort to gain a sense of clarity amid the chaos.

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How I escaped the wild west of #cleaneating Instagram and TikTok

Sold-out farm shops, smuggled deliveries and safety warnings: US battle over raw milk grows

Revisited: Did the assassination of JFK kickstart the conspiracy theory movement?

Many New Jersey ‘drones’ are manned aircraft being flown lawfully, White House says

US judge halts Onion takeover of Infowars in Alex Jones bankruptcy

Connecticut court upholds $965m verdict against Infowars’ Alex Jones

Conspiracy theories and cosying up to dictators: why intelligence experts are spooked by Tulsi Gabbard

Trump Pentagon pick Pete Hegseth’s books foreground anti-Muslim rhetoric

What is Bluesky and why are so many people suddenly leaving X for the platform?

My friend has embraced conspiracy theories and I’m fed up with it | Ask Philippa

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