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.
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.
Defining Western Feminism in 2023
New YouGov research across Western Europe and the United States finds a gap between people’s agreement with gender-equality principles and their willingness to call themselves 'feminists.' Respondents were randomly assigned one of three question formats: the word 'feminist' alone, a definition of feminist principles, or both. When asked the word alone, only 15–48% claimed the label; when given the definition, 74–91% endorsed equal rights, while the combined definition+word question produced 45–77% support.
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.
CPAC Europe embraces right-wing authoritarians
CPAC Hungary, the Budapest edition of the Conservative Political Action Conference, gathered American and European conservative activists, politicians, and commentators to discuss what organizers called the decline of Western civilization. Sessions focused on immigration, resistance to progressive social policies, and critiques of liberal democracy. Hungary’s prime minister Viktor Orbán was a prominent speaker, and some remarks echoed the “great replacement” language while emphasizing national sovereignty and cultural preservation.