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.
Laughter benefits heart health significantly
Researchers presented new findings at the European Society of Cardiology meeting showing that laughter therapy can improve some measures of heart health in people with coronary artery disease. In the study, patients took part in guided laughter sessions while researchers measured inflammation markers and cardiovascular performance before and after. The reported results included lower inflammation and improved indicators of heart function after the laughter interventions.
Naps Reflect Young Brain Development
During the 2020 lockdown, researchers at the University of East Anglia studied 463 infants aged about eight months to three years to examine nap habits and learning. They tested vocabulary and other cognitive measures and tracked how often and how long children slept. The study found that some children consolidated information during sleep and therefore napped less often, while others who had smaller vocabularies napped more frequently and for longer periods.
Fitbit App Redesigned for Fall
Google plans to release a redesigned Fitbit app this fall that reorganizes the interface into three main tabs: "Today," "Coach," and "You." The refreshed app will display daily health statistics, offer motivational and coaching content, and present goal overviews and trends. Google says the update will improve how fitness data is presented and protected, and it appears visually aligned with leaked looks of the upcoming Pixel Watch 2 and possibly the Pixel 8 phones.
Google Search Update: UI Revamp
Google is expanding a tool called "Results about you," first introduced last year to help people remove personal information from Search results. The new version will actively scan the public web for instances of a user’s personal data and send alerts so they can request removal. Google says the feature is currently available in the United States in English and will be rolled out to more regions over time.