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.
The Dictionary People" Review: Word-Loving Nerds
Sarah Ogilvie’s The Dictionary People tells the story of the people who built the Oxford English Dictionary by collecting words, quotations, and regional usages. Ogilvie, a linguist, shows that the OED was not made by a single team in isolation but by thousands of volunteers who sent slips of paper and examples from newspapers, books, and everyday speech. The book explains how this wide network of contributors helped record English across time and place.
Scottish-Nordic similarity perceived by nationalists
Scottish nationalists argue that Scotland shares more in common with Nordic countries than with the rest of the United Kingdom. A YouGov poll found that between 52% and 61% of prospective SNP voters say Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway or Sweden are somewhat similar to Scotland, while only 31% of that group say England is similar. Those views are often cited to support calls for closer social and political alignment with Scandinavian models.
Exercise Prevents Heart Rhythm Disorder
Researchers studying more than 15,000 people report that higher physical fitness is linked to a lower chance of developing atrial fibrillation, an irregular heartbeat that raises the risk of stroke fivefold. The study, presented at the ESC Congress 2023, used treadmill exercise tests to estimate fitness in metabolic equivalents (METs) and followed participants over time to see who developed heart rhythm problems or strokes.
British doctor killed in Cape Town
A 40-year-old British doctor touring South Africa was shot and killed in Cape Town after turning into Ntlangano Crescent during violent street protests, authorities said. The incident occurred last Thursday when the general practitioner took a different route after leaving the airport. Multiple unidentified suspects confronted him and opened fire; he did not survive. South African police confirmed the death and said they were investigating the circumstances and seeking the attackers.