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.
Ultra-processed foods increase health risks
Two new studies presented at the European Society of Cardiology’s annual meeting found links between consuming ultra-processed foods and higher risks of heart disease, including heart attacks and strokes. Ultra-processed foods are widely available consumer items such as fizzy drinks, many breakfast cereals, packaged snacks and ready-made meals. One analysis reported that a 10 percent increase in daily ultra-processed food intake was associated with about a 6 percent rise in risk of cardiovascular disease.
Cooking's chemical reaction aided life's origin
The Maillard reaction is the chemical process that browns food and creates complex flavors when we cook. New research led by Professor Caroline Peacock at the University of Leeds reports that a similar reaction can occur in the deep ocean. There, it converts small organic carbon molecules into larger, stable polymers. The study, published in Nature, estimates this process locks away roughly four million tonnes of organic carbon each year.
Oldest zoo adds endangered bats
Schoenbrunn Zoo in Vienna, widely regarded as the world’s oldest zoological garden, has announced the birth of three endangered megabats. The newborns—large flying foxes—were filmed clinging to and cuddling with their mother and beginning to explore a newly opened rainforest-style enclosure. Zoo staff released video of the youngsters playing and climbing while keepers monitor their health and development as part of routine postnatal care.
Airline to weigh passengers pre-flight.
South Korea's flag carrier Korean Air will begin weighing passengers and their carry-on luggage at Gimpo and Incheon airports. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transportation has required the checks to collect actual passenger weights for aircraft weight-and-balance calculations. Airline officials say measuring passengers helps crews calculate load distribution, takeoff performance, and fuel needs more accurately than relying on assumed average weights. Officials emphasize it is about technical calculations, not personal data collection.