Conspiracy theories appear to be on the rise. A survey by New Science magazine found that the percentage of people believing in one or more conspiracies had risen from 15% twenty years ago to 35% percent last year. They are starting to become so much more than the obsession of fringe individuals. They are now shaping politics, media, the way we view life itself. Under the unprecedented global uncertainty of the pandemic, these theories have thrived as people seek to explain the often unexplainable. In The Conspiracy Tourist I want to find out where these ideas come from, learn about the people who create and believe them, and consider what harm they might do to our increasingly uncertain future.
We've all encountered conspiracy theories at some point in our lives, usually online - the new Wild West. My social media pages are often boiling cesspits of anger and insanity, but trolls exist in a hinterland where they are emboldened to voice their crazy views. M
