Moon Landing Denial Fired an Early Antiscience Conspiracy Theory Shot
Two astronauts placed an American flag on the Moon’s surface during a television broadcast of the event. Credit: NASAAdvertisement
Experts warn of radicalization pipeline as Sedona wellness communities, anti-government groups share space
PART IIThis story was originally published by the Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting. SEDONA—Natural light filtered through New Age tapestries covering skylights at the Ultimate Light Mission community center on the outskirts of Sedona, softening the afternoon sun as the woody fragrance of …
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Threads and TikTok struggle to block misinformation and conspiracies
The news: TikTok accidentally blocked searches for “WGA” and “WGA strike,” abbreviations for the Writers Guild of America, while attempting to filter out Qanon conspiracy theories, the company confirmed following a report from Media Matters. As part of its sweep, TikTok blocked the prominent Qanon …
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The History of Antisemitic Conspiracy Theories
Jewish families are gathering to mark Rosh Hashanah (Sep. 15-17), the start of the new year in the Jewish calendar, and fast for Yom Kippur (Sep. 24-25), a day of atonement. Yet the holiest days of the year for those who observe come during a record year for tracking antisemitic incidents, …
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AZGOP’s senator of the year: 9/11 ‘never added up’ and was an ‘inside job’
On the 22nd anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, Tucson Republican state Sen. Justine Wadsack shared a fake transcript from United Flight 93 and liked multiple posts on social media alluding to the events of the day being a “false flag” and an “inside job.” “It was an inside job, a false …
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Meta is blocking ‘potentially sensitive’ topics from Threads search
It turns out that Threads’ recently introduced keyword-searching abilities won’t work for all topics. The app is currently blocking searches for a number of “potentially sensitive” words, including “vaccines,” “covid,” and other variations of words that have previously been linked to misinformation …
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Why I Criticize 9/11 Conspiracies
Another year, another anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. I feel compelled once more to follow up on what I have previously argued on this subject, if nothing else in the hope that I will get through to some members of the so-called “9/11 Truth” movement and persuade them what a worthless …
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Understanding Why Christians Are Seduced by QAnon and Conspiracy Theories
QAnon, Chaos, and the Cross: Christianity and Conspiracy Theories is a collection of two dozen short essays that does not always focus on its main topic but offers some important insights on faith and conspiracies.Editors Michael W. Austin and Gregory L. Bock have two goals: dissecting the …
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QAnon conspiracies are rising from Maui’s ashes
In what may become a regular feature, it’s time to check in on the latest MAGA/Q nuttiness. And certainly, the Maui wildfires, specifically those in the town of Lahaina, have brought out the worst of them. This Facebook post, featured on the ParlerWatch subreddit, features a bunch of conspiracies …
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Culture, Community and Narratives: Key Elements of Violent Conspiracy Theories
By Elise Thomas 6th September 2023 In InsightsAcross this GNET Insights miniseries, ISD experts explore the complex intersection of conspiracy theories, violence and extremism. In the third article in the series, ISD Senior Analyst Elise Thomas outlines the key conspiratorial narratives …
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