Modern Conspiracy Culture: How Real Scandals Fueled False Narratives (with Kathryn Olmsted)

About this episode

The episode explores how real scandals have contributed to the rise of conspiracy culture and the challenges it poses to democracy.

Real government secrecy, intelligence failures, and historic scandals created the conditions for today’s conspiracy culture. Pearl Harbor, The Red Scare, JFK, 9/11, QAnon - a small truth can explode into a dangerous paranoid belief in hidden power and control. Genuine conspiracies often make it harder—not easier—to separate fact from fiction. How do democracies survive when citizens no longer agree on what’s real? Watch Mission Implausible on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@MissionImplausiblePod

People in this episode

Guest: Kathryn Olmsted

Topics covered

• conspiracy culture
• government secrecy
• intelligence failures
• historic scandals
• democracy
• fact vs fiction

Keywords

• conspiracy culture
• government secrecy
• JFK
• 9/11
• QAnon
• historic scandals
• democracy

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