The tyranny of story
Story was once a tool for understanding the world and for improving it. The hero or heroine always defeated the monsters.
Today, sto...
16
Mar
Tag Archives: Conspiracy theories
17
Feb
The spread of QAnon beyond the United States
The name crops up all over the place, but many people have no real understanding of what QAnon is, or why an estimated 22 per cent o...
02
Nov
How Hitler conspiracies and other Holocaust disinformation undermine democratic institutions
Godwin’s Law posits that any online argument, if it continues long enough, will inevitably invoke a comparison to Hitler.
Per...
28
Aug
Misinformation: The common thread between pandemics
Since health officials confirmed the first COVID-19 cases, misinformation has spread just as quickly as the virus. Social med...
01
Aug
The American scream
Editor’s note: If you would like to submit a letter for possible publication, please email it to editor@rationalist.com.au. See our ...
14
Jul
Why conspiracy theories are exciting – and dangerous
Conspiracy theories have been around for centuries, from witch trials and antisemitic campaigns to beliefs that Freemasons we...
31
May
Why are we so vulnerable to bad information?
There are two fundamental reasons why misinformation is a bigger problem than ever before.
The first is tied to the rise of the inte...
29
Apr
Has Covid destroyed our trust in experts?
It started with a tweet. On 14 January 2020, as the world waited anxiously for news about the emerging virus in Wuhan, the World Health...
20
Mar
Why we trust experts – even when they admit they don’t know the answer
We constantly make decisions about who to trust.
Much of the time we’re bombarded with massive amounts of information on all sorts o...
05
Dec
Are conspiracy theories just part of our evolutionary history?
Conspiracy theories and medical misinformation about the coronavirus started to spread through social media sites almost immediately af...