Conspiracy Generator

Build a conspiracy theory from scratch.

The best way to learn to spot a conspiracy theory is to make one yourself.

Pick a real news story. On the next step you'll choose who's behind it and why. Then walk through the four moves real conspiracists use, with a debunk on every step.

Move 01

Hunt anomalies

Turn coincidence into evidence of a secret plot.

Move 02

Fabricate connections

Draw lines between unrelated dots until they look meaningful.

Move 03

Dismiss counter-evidence

If a fact disagrees, make the fact part of the cover-up.

Move 04

Discredit the critics

Dismiss people who point out flaws in your theory.

Step 1 — Pick a real news story

↻ Refresh

Wealthy Nations Urged to Contribute

A new international nature fund set up under the Global Environment Facility aims to help developing countries meet the biodiversity targets agreed at the COP15 summit in Montreal. The fund’s creation was one of the most-contentious issues at those talks, prompting walkouts and repeated negotiations between wealthy and poorer nations. So far, only Canada and the United Kingdom have pledged money, leaving roughly $40 million still needed to capitalise the fund ahead of COP16 next year.

theguardian.comChoose this story →

Film's production plagued by misfortune

William Friedkin’s 1977 film Sorcerer is a tense thriller about four desperate men hired to transport highly unstable explosives across dangerous, remote roads. Inspired by Georges Arnaud’s novel and echoing the earlier French film The Wages of Fear, Sorcerer aimed for a raw, realistic tone. Friedkin, fresh from the success of The Exorcist, pushed for authentic locations and intense performances to heighten the film’s unrelenting atmosphere.

telegraph.co.ukChoose this story →

Tools Reveal Hidden Website History

Online tools now let anyone view past versions of websites, exposing changes that site owners may have made over time. The Wayback Machine at archive.org stores snapshots of millions of pages, while archive.today preserves copies that sometimes survive when other archives don’t. The Memento Project links these services and helps users search by URL and date, making it easier to see how pages, policies, and content evolved.

foxnews.comChoose this story →

Accessory has no sleep benefits

Researchers reviewing clinical trials have found little evidence that blue‑light filtering glasses provide the sleep or short‑term eye‑comfort benefits often claimed by makers and some retailers. The review pooled data from 17 randomized trials and reported no consistent short‑term reduction in visual fatigue from computer use, and it could not show clear benefits for sleep quality, vision performance, or long‑term retinal health.

independent.co.ukChoose this story →
Conspiracy Generator — the recipe, written out