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.
Email from Russia
Garry Kasparov, the Russian-born former world chess champion, has publicly endorsed Anatoly Fomenko’s “New Chronology,” a radical revision of world history. Fomenko’s thesis argues that much of what we call ancient history is misdated or duplicated and that the actual historical timeline is far shorter than commonly believed. Kasparov says he finds the questions it raises important and plans to spend more time promoting these ideas as he moves away from professional chess.
Spanish town's streets turn tomato-red
Spain's annual Tomatina festival draws thousands each year to the town of Buñol, where participants playfully pelt one another with overripe tomatoes. This year about 15,000 people, many tourists, threw roughly 120 tonnes of fruit, turning streets and buildings into red pulp. The event lasts about an hour, and people commonly wear goggles and old clothes; there is a small participation fee of about €12 to help manage the crowd.
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.
World's priciest cheese record broken.
Spain’s cabrales blue cheese set a new world record when a 2.2kg wheel sold at auction for €30,000, making it officially the most expensive cheese ever sold. The wheel took the top prize at the Principality of Asturias’ annual cabrales competition, and the high bid surpassed the previous record. Reporters say the buyer was the same restaurant owner who paid the earlier record price in 2019.