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.
LHC Conspiracy Theories and Fears
In 2009 the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), a giant particle accelerator near Geneva run by CERN, was preparing to restart after upgrades. Scientists said the machine would smash protons together at very high energies to study fundamental particles and forces, potentially revealing phenomena such as the Higgs boson or signs of new physics. However, some members of the public expressed fear that the machine could produce catastrophic effects, including miniature black holes or other unknown dangers.
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.
Cat bite leads to new bacterial infection
A 48-year-old man in the UK was bitten by a stray cat and developed a serious soft tissue infection. Doctors and microbiologists investigated the wound and identified a previously undescribed species of the bacterium Globicatella as the cause. The finding is reported in the journal Emerging Infectious Diseases, which describes how the organism was isolated and linked to the bite after routine laboratory testing and genetic analyses.
Irregular sleep linked to gut bacteria
Researchers at King’s College London have reported links between irregular sleep patterns and changes in the gut microbiome. The study focused on “social jet lag,” where people shift their sleep timing between workdays and free days. Even a 90‑minute difference in the midpoint of sleep was associated with a microbiome profile that other studies have connected to poorer health, and the team also found associations with diet quality, eating habits and inflammation.