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.
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.
Footballer stole Munch's Scream painting
In 1994 Pål Enger, a former Norwegian footballer, carried out a high-profile theft of Edvard Munch's famous painting The Scream from the National Gallery in Oslo. Enger entered the museum and removed the canvas in a theft that quickly made international headlines. The painting is one of Munch's best-known works, and its disappearance drew intense media and police attention because of its cultural significance and the bold manner in which it was taken.
AI aids early heart failure detection
Scientists presented results from the OPERA study showing artificial intelligence can analyze heart ultrasound scans in about one minute, compared with roughly 30 minutes for trained human experts. The project, led by the University of Glasgow in partnership with AstraZeneca and NHS trusts including Greater Glasgow & Clyde and the Golden Jubilee, demonstrated the AI’s ability to interpret echocardiograms quickly and consistently during a presentation at the European Society of Cardiology conference in Amsterdam.
India launching Sun-bound spacecraft.
India’s space agency ISRO plans to launch Aditya-L1, a satellite designed to observe the Sun, on 2 September. The spacecraft will travel to the Sun–Earth Lagrange Point 1, about 1.5 million kilometres from Earth, where it can keep the Sun continuously in view. The mission follows India’s successful Chandrayaan-3 Moon landing and represents a major step in the country’s expanding space programme, aimed at improving understanding of solar activity.