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.
- Hunt anomalies — turn coincidence into evidence of a secret plot.
- Fabricate connections — draw lines between unrelated dots until they look meaningful.
- Dismiss counter-evidence — if a fact disagrees, make the fact part of the cover-up.
- Discredit the critics — dismiss people who point out flaws in your theory.
Pick the event.
Choose whichever real-feeling headline your imagination will run wildest with. Don't overthink it.
More work on domestic women's rights
A YouGov–Cambridge Globalism Project survey asked people in many Western countries whether more should be done to improve women’s rights at home. In several nations a clear majority or near-majority said yes. Italians topped the list at 62%, followed by Spaniards at 60%, Hungarians at 57% and Swedes at 56%. Other countries where roughly half of respondents expressed concern included Poland, France, Canada, Australia and Greece.
UK spy agencies seek AI data law changes
British intelligence services have asked lawmakers to change surveillance rules so they can use personal data to train artificial intelligence systems. The agencies say current safeguards and legal limits prevent them from applying modern AI tools to very large datasets, which they argue reduces their ability to detect threats and process communications quickly. They are proposing legal adjustments to allow broader automated analysis while keeping some privacy protections in place.
US campus unearths 142-year-old observatory
Workers installing hammock poles on Michigan State University's campus in August 2023 unexpectedly unearthed the buried stone foundation of an old observatory. Built in 1881 and demolished in the 1920s, the small structure had been covered over for decades. Archaeologists and university staff identified the masonry as part of that 19th-century building, making it a notable historical find on a modern college lawn.
Baby Al Capone" orchestrated crypto heist
Ellis Pinsky, who grew up in Irvington, New York, has been linked to a large cryptocurrency theft that investigators say happened when he was 15. Authorities allege he orchestrated the theft of about $23.8 million in digital assets. By May 2020, masked intruders were reportedly trying to access some of the stolen funds, but Pinsky apparently no longer had the money. The case attracted attention because of the amount and the age of the alleged organizer.