conspiracy theories

A Texas man who was charged for threatening to blow up an Amazon data center in Virginia was apolitical until he lost his job and had plenty of time to research nefarious political conspiracies, federal authorities said.

Psychology experts offer several suggestions for talking to friends and family who believe conspiracy theories about COVID-19

QAnon seems to be everywhere: its conspiracy theories are spreading on social media, its supporters are visible at Trump rallies, and, increasingly, its talking points are even getting repeated by politicians and people in government. Joan Donovan of the Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy explains how QAnon draws people into its web.

Studies suggest tens of millions of Americans now believe QAnon conspiracies, including unfounded claims about satanic, cannibalistic, child-exploiting cabals. And it’s creating dangerous situations for first responders and victims of actual crime. But Noah Pransky explains why logic isn’t the right strategy for talking to someone who starts believing irrational conspiracies.

As QAnon and other conspiracy theories spread online, more people are losing friends and family to these cult-like networks of misinformation. NBCLX storyteller Cody Broadway talked to people who have lost loved ones to conspiracies, and to experts like Mick West, author of “Escaping the Rabbit Hole” about how people get caught in this web — and whether it’s possible...

The bizarre theories of the fringe conspiracy group QAnon have become so pervasive on social media that they’ve reached many of our neighbors, friends and family members. Stuart Thompson, a reporter and editor for The New York Times, spent three weeks inside a QAnon chat room to learn more about what draws people into its web. He joined LX News...

Major social platforms have been cracking down on the spread of misinformation and conspiracy theories in the wake of the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol

Cordie Williams, a chiropractor from Carlsbad, isn’t shy about posting his views on social media.

Radical conservative activists and allies of President Donald Trump quickly began to spread disinformation about the Capitol riots Wednesday, claiming with no evidence that pro-Trump protesters photographed breaking into congressional chambers were anti-fascist activists

Conspiracy theorists in Congress? It’s all but certain in 2020, and that has sparked concern among federal law enforcement. At least two dozen candidates who’ve embraced QAnon made the ballot in Congressional races from New York to Florida, Georgia, and California, according to the liberal watchdog group Media Matters. The candidate who’s gotten the most attention in that regard...

Some of the same people who pushed a false conspiracy theory about Hillary Clinton that first emerged in 2016 are now targeting Hunter Biden, Joe Biden’s son, with similar falsehoods, NBC News reports. The rumors, which emerged from the fringes of the internet and can be traced to associates of former White House aide Steve Bannon, echo specific plot points…

QAnon followers believe they’ve been enlightened and it’s their job to enlighten you, much like a religious cult.

Claims of widespread vote-by-mail fraud have been tweeted and retweeted by President Trump. However there is little to no evidence to back them up. NBCLX’s Chase Cain takes measures into his own hands to uncover the truth about mail-in ballots as part of his new series about election myths and conspiracy theories.

With so much information about face masks being thrown at us every single day, it’s easy to see why some would be confused about whether they really work. In this edition of “Send This Video To,” our new series debunking viral myths and conspiracy theories, NBCLX’s Fernando Hurtado unmasks the truth about face masks. After you’re done watching it, send...

Abby Ohlheiser, senior editor at MIT Technology Review, breaks down how QAnon and other far-right conspiracy theories detailing a supposed secret plot by an alleged deep state against Donald Trump and his supporters are spreading online. Twitter and Facebook are working to take action. But is it too late?

After Tesla and SpaceX founder Elon Musk tweeted last week that the pyramids were built by aliens, Egypt’s former minister of antiquities and leading Egyptologist confirmed that they were in fact built by Egyptians.

Self-proclaimed internet sleuths are matching up names of Wayfair’s products to those of missing children as part of a bizarre, baseless conspiracy theory that claims the retail giant is using storage cabinets to traffic children.

A growing number of people on the far right are falsely claiming that liberal billionaire George Soros orchestrated the protests that have roiled the U.S. They allege without evidence that he’s paid demonstrators and even arranged for piles of bricks to be left near protests

The new Republican chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee is warning that foreign actors will seek to amplify American conspiracy theories about the virus and find new ways to interfere in the 2020 presidential election