The 9 Strangest Newest Conspiracy Theories Thriving Online
Over 2000 years ago, Aristotle wrote that it's "evident" the Earth is round. One generation later, Greek mathematician & geographer Eratosthenes achieved a solid ballpark estimate of the Earth's circumference. Again, that was over 2000 years ago. So how are we now in a world where many people believe our world is flat? What if those Flat Earth People do believe in climate change, in a hilarious way? And is there any chance this is all the Internet's fault?
On this episode of The Cracked Podcast, Alex Schmidt sits down with Dana Gould ('The Simpsons', 'Stan Against Evil', incredible stand-up comedy, so much more) for a deep dive into the world's strangest newest conspiracy theories. They'll look at how YouTube, social media, and bizarre message boards give us rabbit holes like never before. And they'll examine how you can move forward in a world where all data gets bent out of shape by people helping each other do it.
Footnotes:
5 Conspiracy Theories That Have Insanely Dumb Obvious Flaws (Cracked)
6 Conspiracy Theories That Are Unintentionally Hilarious (Cracked)
5 Bizarre Conspiracy Theories Around Recent News Events (Cracked)
The Black Hole Picture Spawned The Saddest Conspiracy Theory (Cracked)
YouTube is tweaking its algorithms to stop recommending conspiracy theories (Los Angeles Times)
4chan is turning 15 -- and remains the Internet's teenager (Wired)
Case Closed: Lee Harvey Oswald and the Assassination of JFK by Gerald Posner
QAnon Is Just the Standard Trump Train Now (New York Magazine)
The Conspiracy Theory That Says Trump Is A Genius (The New York Times)
Quisp vs. Quake: The "breakfast feud" between cereals from outer and inner space (Night Flight)
'Pizzagate' video was posted to YouTube account of alleged arsonist's parents before fire (NBC News)
The saga of 'Pizzagate': The fake story that shows how conspiracy theories spread (BBC News)
LBJ Was Obsessed With His Dick (Gawker)
Conan O'Brien Needs A Friend podcast -- guest Robert Caro (Earwolf)
Art Bell Dies: Paranormal Radio Show Host Of 'Coast To Coast AM' Was 72 (Deadline)
Illuminating Shadow People (Science Mag)
We have known that Earth is round for over 2,000 years (BBC)
Can You Believe YouTube Caused the Rise in Flat-Earthers? (New York Magazine)
Kyrie Irving apologizes for saying Earth is flat: 'Didn't realize the effect' (ESPN)
Case study on the Ginsburg conspiracy theories in action (SCOTUS Blog)
Conspiracy Theories Never Die: RBG Edition (Patheos)
Congressional testimony of "Umbrella Man" Louis Steven Witt (History Matters Archive)
What Is Known (and Not Known) About Area 51 (Encyclopedia Britannica)
Constipation killed Elvis - here's how to avoid his fate (The Guardian)
Almost Everything in "Dr. Strangelove" Was True (The New Yorker)
