5 h. ago The Guardian view on the BBC World Service: a boon to the UK, as well as audiences elsewhere | Editorial

Britain would benefit from pledging more sustained and committed support in this age of disinformation and global turmoilTwo years ago, BBC Arabic radio left the airwaves after decades. Soon afterwards, Russia’s Sputnik service began broadcasting on the frequency left vacant in Lebanon. That detail illuminates a larger picture. China, Russia and others see global-facing media as central to their global ambitions and are investing accordingly – pumping out propaganda to muddle or drown out objective, independently minded journalism. These outlets are state-controlled as well as state-owned.Meanwhile, conspiracy theories and disinformation proliferate online, attacks on press freedom intensify and the Trump administration is dismantling media organisations including Voice of America and Radio Free Asia (RFA), which have been essential sources of information for audiences under repressive regimes. Official Chinese media were gleeful at what RFA’s president, Bay Fang, cal...

Events

64 h. ago Maga Catholics are on a collision course with Leo XIV. They have good reason to fear him | Julian Coman

They have been quick to brand the new pope an ‘anti-Trump’ ‘total Marxist’. In return, he is already critiquing their worldviewIn the outer reaches of the Magasphere, it would be fair to say the advent of the first pope from the US has not been greeted with unbridled enthusiasm. Take Laura Loomer, the thirtysomething influencer and conspiracy theorist, whose verdict on Leo XIV was as instant as it was theologically uninformed: “Anti-Trump, anti-Maga, pro-open Borders, and a total Marxist like Pope Francis.” Also doing the rounds on X was a short summary of Leo’s supposed transgressions before ascending to St Peter’s chair: “Trashed Trump, trashed Vance, trashed border enforcement, endorsed DREAMer-style illegal immigration, repeatedly praised and honored George Floyd, and endorsed a Democrat senator’s call for more gun control.”So far, so tedious. The comic-book casting of the new pope as a globalist villain in the US culture wars is traceable back to his predecessor’s impact on lib...

Politics

65 h. ago Top doctor weighs in on MAGA's Joe Biden cancer conspiracy theory as 'no one knew'

EXCLUSIVE: Kind words from members of Donald Trump's inner circle towards the Joe Biden only lasted a day or two before the conspiracy theories started to fly – Now a doctor tackles the key question head on

Politics

65 h. ago Top doctor weighs in on MAGA's Joe Biden cancer conspiracy theory as a 'wakeup call'

EXCLUSIVE: Kind words from members of Donald Trump's inner circle towards the Joe Biden only lasted a day or two before the conspiracy theories started to fly – Now a doctor tackles the key question head on

Politics

4 d. ago Don Jr leads MAGA world in spreading conspiracy theories about ‘coverup’ of Biden’s cancer diagnosis

Donald Trump Jr. referred to a non-existent stage five cancer diagnosis in his comments about Joe Biden

Politics

4 d. ago Biden conspiracy theorists leap on video of him saying he has cancer in 2022

A resurfaced 2022 video of Joe Biden saying 'I have cancer' is reigniting fierce speculation after his real diagnosis was finally confirmed. The remark is now being scrutinized closer than ever.

Politics

4 d. ago FBI deputy director Dan Bongino drops Jeffrey Epstein bombshell that sends MAGA conspiracy theorists wild

FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino stunned MAGA conspiracy theorists on Sunday as he gave his verdict on pedophile Jeffrey Epstein 's 2019 death.

Events

6 d. ago Oklahoma high schools to teach 2020 election conspiracy theories as fact

State superintendent Ryan Walters tapped chief of Heritage Foundation, key player behind Project 2025, for curriculum As part of the latest Republican push in red states to promote ideologies sympathetic to Donald Trump, Oklahoma’s new social studies curriculum will ask high school students to identify “discrepancies” in the 2020 election results.The previous standard for studying the 2020 election merely said: “Examine issues related to the election of 2020 and its outcome.” The new version is more expansive: “Identify discrepancies in 2020 elections results by looking at graphs and other information, including the sudden halting of ballot-counting in select cities in key battleground states, the security risks of mail-in balloting, sudden batch dumps, an unforeseen record number of voters, and the unprecedented contradiction of ‘bellwether county’ trends.” Continue reading...

Politics

6 d. ago Trump to talk to Putin on Monday about Ukraine ceasefire proposal and trade

In social media posts, president also slammed Walmart for price increases and spread anti-Clinton conspiracy theoriesDonald Trump has said that he will speak to both Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelenskyy in an effort to stop what he called the “bloodbath” war in Ukraine, in a barrage of new social media posts that included baseless conspiracy theories and a demand that Walmart not raise prices for customers because of tariffs he has imposed.Trump, posting on his Truth Social account on Saturday, wrote that he will speak to Putin on Monday morning. “THE SUBJECTS OF THE CALL WILL BE, STOPPING THE ‘BLOODBATH’ THAT IS KILLING, ON AVERAGE, MORE THAN 5000 RUSSIAN AND UKRAINIAN SOLDIERS A WEEK, AND TRADE,” Trump wrote, in his customary all-capitalized prose. Continue reading...

Politics

6 d. ago Emma Stone says she was ‘scared’ by parts of her preparation for new film Eddington

Actor went into a rabbit hole of conspiracy theories for her role as the wife of Joaquin Phoenix’s sheriff

Politics

6 d. ago Curse of the crypto millionaires from tycoon found dismembered in a suitcase to shocking kidnap torture ordeal and 'paranoid' CEO who drowned after mysterious FBI tweet

A chilling pattern has emerged in the high-stakes world of cryptocurrency. A string of crypto tycoons have suffered in circumstances so bizarre that conspiracy theories write themselves.

Events

1 week ago The Mavs’ Cooper Flagg lottery miracle fuels conspiracy theories – and hope

Trading away Luka Dončić made Nico Harrison a reviled figure among Dallas fans. Now he has an unexpected chance to redeem himself Dallas is ground zero for one of America’s most historic conspiracy theories. Just half a mile from the grassy knoll where John F Kennedy was assassinated on 22 November 1963, sits the American Airlines Center – the newest site of Dallas conspiracy lore.While this year’s NBA draft lottery took place in Chicago on Monday night, the heart of the drama haunts Dallas. Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison’s career lives to see another day after his team improbably beat 1.8% odds to land the No 1 pick in this year’s draft – which they will almost certainly use to pick Duke phenom Cooper Flagg, one of the most talented college players in years. The 6ft 9in wing will presumably usher in the first full season of Dallas’s post-Luka Dončić era. Mavs fans almost have to laugh, or maybe raise a very suspicious eyebrow. With the NBA’s four worst teams (Washington Wi...

Politics

1 week ago How a 1.8% shot saw the Dallas Mavericks hit the lottery to change the NBA landscape again

The Mavs had moved Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers in a seismic trade earlier this year, only to miss the playoffs and fall into the lottery, but after succeeding with a 1.8 percent chance, Dallas could select the highly-rated Cooper Flagg with the first pick next month

Events

1 week ago Mavs win draft lottery and chance to pick Cooper Flagg No 1 after Dončić saga

Dallas had 1.8% chance of landing No 1 overall pickTeam were rocked by departure of Dončić to LakersThe ping-pong balls have spoken: Cooper Flagg may be headed to Dallas to start his NBA career. And a fanbase that lost Luka Dončić this season may have a new star to cheer for.The Mavericks won the NBA draft lottery on Monday night, giving them the No 1 pick in next month’s draft – and the first chance to take Flagg, the consensus player of the year who led Duke to the Final Four in his lone college season. Continue reading...

Politics

1 week ago Macron 'cocaine' video debunked as bizarre conspiracy claims he hid white powder

French officials blasted conspiracy theorists for sharing disinformation and for going "so far as to make a simple tissue look like drugs" after posts went viral on X/Twitter

Politics

2 w. ago Wild MAGA Pope theory resurfaces days before first US pontiff Leo XIV selected

Pope Leo XIV became the first-ever American to lead the Catholic Church but conspiracy theories abound over the sway that ultra-conservatives may have had on the election

Politics

2 w. ago Trump picks conspiracy theorist ‘wellness influencer’ Casey Means with no medical license to replace Fox contributor as Surgeon General

Previous nominee was withdrawn amid claims she had misrepresented her medical education

Science

2 w. ago Trump picks conspiracy theorist with no medical license to replace Fox News contributor as Surgeon General

Previous nominee was withdrawn amid claims she had misrepresented her medical education

Politics

2 w. ago Maga media mob: meet the new rightwing faces in the White House briefing room

A banjo player and a Black Maga influencer, among others, now attend Trump administration press briefingsA disgraced ultra-conservative banjo player ousted from his Grammy-winning band; a far-right conspiracy theorist with alleged ties to Russia; a TikTok creator known as “Maga Malfoy” for his resemblance to the Harry Potter character; and an extremist social media “influencer” once banned from Twitter for posting a video depicting sexual abuse of a child.These are just some of the “new media” personalities courted by the White House to take part in a series of alternative briefings championed by Donald Trump’s press secretary, Karoline Leavitt. Continue reading...

Events

2 w. ago Commercial pilot who narrowly escaped UFO mothership had his story buried by the CIA for 30 years

A pilot's chilling encounter with ' alien mothership' has resurfaced, with conspiracy theorists calling it one of the greatest cover-ups in US history.

Politics