Latest Conspiracy theories News

Fighting conspiracy theories with comedy? That's what the Onion hopes after its purchase of Infowars

Nov. 14, 2024 19:30 PM EST

Headlines from the satirical website the Onion on Thursday: “New Dating Site Suggests People You Already Know But Thought You Were Too Good For.” “Trump Boys Have Slap Fight Over Who Gets to Run Foreign Policy Meetings.” “Here's Why I Decided to Buy Infowars.” Only one...

Who will buy Infowars? Both supporters and opponents of Alex Jones interested in bankruptcy auction

Nov. 08, 2024 14:24 PM EST

Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones' Infowars broadcasts could end next week as he faces a court-ordered auction of his company's assets to help pay the more than $1 billion defamation judgment he owes families of victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. Or maybe not. ...

Controversial Australian Olympic breaker Rachael Gunn retires from competition

Nov. 06, 2024 21:00 PM EST

SYDNEY (AP) — Australian breaker Rachael Gunn has told a Sydney radio station that she plans to retire from competition just three months after her unconventional routine at the Paris Olympics led to her being ridiculed and spawned conspiracy theories about how she qualified for the Games. ...

Ballot drop box fires highlight concerns that election conspiracy theories are making them a target

Oct. 29, 2024 10:38 AM EDT

ATLANTA (AP) — Two ballot drop boxes in the Pacific Northwest were damaged in a suspected arson attack just over a week before Election Day, destroying hundreds of ballots at one location in Vancouver, Washington. At the other, in neighboring Portland, Oregon, it appears a fire...

Election threats persist four years after far-right extremists stormed the US Capitol

Oct. 29, 2024 00:10 AM EDT

WASHINGTON (AP) — After the 2020 presidential election, thousands of Donald Trump’s most fervent supporters heeded his call to join a “wild” protest of his defeat. Following Trump's lies about a stolen election, hundreds of them stormed the U.S. Capitol under the banners of the Proud Boys,...

The 'Black Insurrectionist' was actually white. The deception did not stop there

Oct. 25, 2024 18:34 PM EDT

WASHINGTON (AP) — “Black Insurrectionist,” the anonymous social media persona behind some of the most widely circulated conspiracy theories about the 2024 election, can be traced to a man from upstate New York. He's also white. With a profile photo of a Black...

Election officials are fighting a tsunami of voting conspiracy theories

Oct. 23, 2024 14:39 PM EDT

ATLANTA (AP) — Voting machines reversing votes. More voters registered than people eligible. Large numbers of noncitizens voting. With less than two weeks before Election Day, a resurgence in conspiracy theories and misinformation about voting is forcing state and local election...

Montana businessman gets 2 years in prison for role in Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the US Capitol

Oct. 11, 2024 14:51 PM EDT

HELENA, Mont. (AP) — A Montana business owner and supporter of former President Donald Trump has been sentenced to two years in federal prison for his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol that interrupted certification of the 2020 Electoral College vote. Henry...

Voting systems are targets of conspiracy theories, but get tested for accuracy and security

Oct. 09, 2024 11:28 AM EDT

ATLANTA (AP) — Voting machines have been at the center of a web of conspiracy theories after the 2020 election, with false claims that they were manipulated to steal the presidency from Donald Trump. There was no evidence of widespread fraud or rigged voting machines in the...

US disaster relief chief blasts false claims about Helene response as a 'truly dangerous narrative'

Oct. 06, 2024 15:37 PM EDT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. government’s top disaster relief official said Sunday that false claims and conspiracy theories about the federal response to Hurricane Helene — spread most prominently by Donald Trump — are “demoralizing” aid workers and creating fear in people who need...