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Seen, Heard, Read...
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Stay informed with our curated collection of noteworthy updates and insights from the world of conspiracy theories. Uncover the latest trends, explore intriguing perspectives, and broaden your understanding. Delve into our recommended content that keeps you in the know.
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KAMALA HARRIS. Donald Trump is engaging in a new form of “birtherism” after many years targeting Barack Obama with false claims he was not born in the United States. In a chaotic and combative interview at the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) convention, Trump falsely claimed that Democratic candidate for President Harris "happened to turn Black" after years of promoting her Indian heritage. "So I don't know, is she Indian or is she Black?" Trump asked of the vice president, to audible gasps from the audience. "I respect either one, but she obviously doesn't, because she was Indian all the way, and then all of a sudden she made a turn and she went — she became a Black person." Trump concluded, as he often does, with a conspiratorial flourish: "I think somebody should look into that too." Like millions of mixed-race Americans, who represent one of the fastest-growing demographics in the country, the vice president identifies with both of her cultures (Source: Axios, August 1st, 2024).
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Trump during an exchange with ABC's Rachel Scott at NABJ (screenshot CNN, 07/31/2024)
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UNITED KINGDOM RIOTS. Far right anti-immigrant politician Nigel Farage has been accused of stirring up online conspiracy theories and was called "Tommy Robinson in a suit" over comments he made about the stabbing murders of three young girls in Southport. Robinson is an extreme right anti-Muslim figure and former leader of the English Defence League. Farage posted a video on X on Tuesday afternoon - before riots in front of a local mosque broke out - questioning the accuracy of the police assessment that Monday's knife attack was not terror related. A false name - attributed to the 17-year-old accused of killing three little girls as well as injuring eight other children and two adults - spread like wildfire across X, formerly known as Twitter. The girls had been participating in a Taylor Swift-themed holiday dance and yoga event when they were killed in the attack north of Liverpool. A community-organised vigil for the victims was hijacked by far-right rioting, mobilised through anti-Muslim and anti-migrant narratives with no factual basis. Self-described ‘news’ accounts had rapidly spread falsehoods around the perpetrator. One viral narrative falsely named him as “Ali al-Shakati”, a Muslim migrant new to the UK. This was later debunked by the police. Nonetheless, false claims surrounding the attack quickly garnered millions of views online, galvanised by anti-Muslim and anti-migrant activists and promoted by platforms’ recommender systems. Far-right networks – a mix of formal groups and a broader ecosystem of individual actors – used this spike in activity to mobilise online, organising anti-Muslim protests outside the local mosque which later turned violent (Sources: Institute for Strategic Dialogue, July 31, 2024; Sky News, July 31, 2024; BBC News, July 31, 2024).
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NAZTOK. Self-identified Nazis are openly promoting hate speech and real-world recruitment on TikTok. Not only is the platform failing to remove these videos and accounts, but its algorithm is amplifying their reach. TikTok hosts hundreds of accounts which openly support Nazism and use the video app to promote their ideology and propaganda, as identified in a new report from the Institute for Strategic Dialogue. Pro-Nazi content is receiving tens of millions of views on TikTok. This includes videos featuring Holocaust denial; glorification of Hitler, Nazi-era Germany, and Nazism as a solution to contemporary issues; support for white supremacist mass shooters, and livestreamed footage or recreations of these massacres (Source: Institute for Strategic Dialogue, July 29, 2024).
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SOVEREIGN CITIZENS. Common Law Netherlands Earth (in Dutch Common Law Nederland Earth) is a sovereign citizen group that rejects the democratic rule of law in the Netherlands, believing that they are not subject to government authority. In July 2024, the first court hearing involving a member of the Dutch group, who attempted to illegally acquire firearms and his arms dealer, began. The sovereign citizens argue they are only by their interpretation of natural law and selective historical legal principles. The Public Prosecutor asserts that the group attempted to illegally acquire firearms to instigate a revolution. This case is indicative of a possible trend of sovereign citizens and anti-government extremists who not only espouse anti-democratic ideas but are also attempting to seize the means to realise their ideations (Source: ICCT, July 2024).
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ELON MUSK. Tesla founder and X owner Elon Musk reposted a manipulated Kamala Harris campaign video in which a voiceover mimicking her calls President Joe Biden senile, and declares that she does not "know the first thing about running the country," adding that as a woman and a person of color, she is the "ultimate diversity hire." The video was originally posted by an X account linked to the conservative podcaster Chris Kohls and labeled a "parody." But Musk's repost made no such disclosure, stating only: "This is amazing," along with a laughing emoji. With nearly 192 million followers, Musk is a highly influential voice on the platform which he purchased in 2022 in a $44 billion deal. Earlier this month, Musk endorsed Donald Trump in a post on X shortly after the Republican narrowly escaped an assassination attempt during a campaign rally in Pennsylvania. Gavin Newsom, the Democratic governor of California, posted on X that the manipulated Harris video "should be illegal" and that he would soon sign a bill banning such media (Source: France24, July 29, 2024).
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