Elon Musk has turned X into a political weapon.

In mid-March, a far-right Dutch member of parliament named Thierry Baudet tweeted "WE WILL NOT EAT THE BUGS" accompanied by a photo of himself holding a microphone in one hand and pouring golden mealworms out of a bag in the other.

A recent study explores the psychology behind labeling ideas as conspiracy theories. The findings, published in the British Journal of Psychology, suggest that labeling a statement as a conspiracy theory does not make it less believable.

A quarter of Canadians believe in online conspiracy theories, an expert on radicalization and terrorism told a parliamentary committee Thursday. David Morin, a professor at the Université de Sherbrooke, said a poll conducted for an upcoming report he is preparing for the Quebec government found that 9 to 10 per cent of Canadians strongly believe in conspiracy theories, while another 15 per cent moderately believe them.

In November 2021, a video started circulating on social media that supposedly showed theoretical physicist Albert Einstein issuing a stark warning about the moon crashing into the Earth. This is not a genuine video of Einstein. This video is part of a viral marketing campaign for director Roland Emmerich’s upcoming movie, “Moonfall.”

Joyce Jones’ Facebook page is almost an archetype of what the social network is supposed to look like: Pictures of her kids, her kids’ friends, her sports teams, her kids’ friends’ sports teams. Videos of her husband’s sermons at New Mount Moriah Baptist Church. Memes celebrating achievement and solidarity, holiday greetings, public health messages. It’s what Mark Zuckerberg extols when he talks about how his company is all about “bringing people together.”

The spread of the QAnon conspiracy theory, which alleges that a secret cabal of satanic cannibalistic pedophiles rules the world and has long used its power and influence to freely murder and traffic children, has reached deep into the white evangelical community in recent years.

Religion, education, race and media consumption are strong predictors of conspiracy theory acceptance among Americans, according to a new survey from the Public Religion Research Institute. The survey of 5,149 adults living across the United States released on Thursday finds a strong correlation between consuming right-wing media sources and accepting conspiracy theories such as QAnon.

Internet memes are one of the latest evolutions of “leaflet” propaganda and an effective tool in the arsenal of digital persuasion. In the past such items were dropped from planes, now they find their way into social media across multiple platforms and their territory is global.

Extremist organizations are now bashing the safety and efficacy of coronavirus vaccines in an effort to try to undermine the government. Adherents of far-right groups who cluster online have turned repeatedly to one particular website in recent weeks — the federal database showing deaths and adverse reactions nationwide among people who have received Covid-19 vaccinations.

People will always be interested in conspiracy theories. They need a tool kit for discriminating among different fringe ideas.

Tens of millions of Americans believe QAnon's core -- and false -- theory that an evil cabal of Satan-worshipping elites commits atrocities against children and controls much of the world. Where does this movement stand and who has it impacted? Lesley Stahl reports.

In recent months, Stanley Kubrick’s daughter Vivian has tweeted anti-Semitic memes, joked about the murder of AOC, cheered on the Proud Boys, and promoted QAnon conspiracies.

Followers of the baseless conspiracy theory are split over failed inauguration day predictions.

A significant number of Americans believe misinformation about the origins of the coronavirus and the recent presidential election, as well as conspiracy theories like QAnon, according to a new NPR/Ipsos poll. Forty percent of respondents said they believe the coronavirus was made in a lab in China even though there is no evidence for this. Scientists say the virus was transmitted to humans from another species.

Conspiracy theories about 5G technology are growing in size and intensity-—and finding connections with the pandemic.

If you haven't heard of the far-right conspiracy theory QAnon by now, perhaps it's irresponsible of me to tell you about it. Essentially, a member of a sketchy Internet forum alleged that he is a high level government official with secret information about a satanic cult run by Democrat pedophiles and their sex-trafficking associates. It's the same old antisemitic dogwhistle all over again, but with a fun new twist: President Donald Trump has surreptitiously dedicated his career...

From a folkloristic perspective, QAnon may not be based in fact but is not necessarily baseless.

It was in March when yoga instructor Jennifer Davis-Flynn noticed her Instagram feed starting to change. She saw fellow yogis expressing doubts about the severity of COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, challenging government-mandated lockdowns and mask-wearing regulations, and positing whether natural medicine and meditation could best protect us from the viral threat.

Patreon is the latest tech company to take action on the QAnon conspiracy theory, announcing in a blog post Thursday morning that creators promoting the movement would be banned from the platform. Patreon, a membership platform that lets fans support creators and celebrities financially through subscriptions, previously hosted 14 QAnon influencers on the platform, according to a recent report from the progressive media watchdog Media Matters for America (MMFA).