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These days, however, conspiracy theories and those who believe them seem to be playing an outsize role in politics and culture. On the left, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has exploited conspiracy theories about vaccines to wage his own campaign for the presidency this year. The Associated Press has examined the history of conspiracy theories in the United States. “I was suicidal before I got into conspiracy theories,” said Antonio Perez, a Hawaii man who became obsessed with Sept. 11 conspiracy theories and QAnon until he decided that they were interfering with his life. Russia, China, Iran and other U.S. adversaries have worked to amplify conspiracy theories as a way to destabilize democracy further.

Persons: Robert F, Kennedy Jr, ”, John Llewellyn, Melissa Sell, Antonio Perez, “, I’ve, they've, —, Nash, peddlers, Trump, Timothy Caulfield Organizations: Associated Press, Illuminati, Wake Forest University, AP, Sandy, Elementary, Capitol, Business, U.S, University of Alberta Locations: United States, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Hawaii, U.S, Russia, China, Iran

☆ Vatican Confirms Ban on Catholics Becoming Freemasons
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-15 | by ( Nov. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - The Vatican has confirmed a ban on Catholics becoming Freemasons, a centuries-old secretive society that the Catholic Church has long viewed with hostility and has an estimated global membership of up to six million. "Active membership in Freemasonry by a member of the faithful is prohibited, because of the irreconcilability between Catholic doctrine and Freemasonry," the Vatican's doctrinal office said in a letter published by Vatican media on Wednesday. The same office said last week that transgender people can be baptized, serve as godparents and act as witnesses at Catholic weddings. The letter on Freemasons cited a 1983 declaration, signed by the late Pope Benedict XVI, at the time the Vatican's doctrine chief, stating that Catholics "in Masonic associations are in a state of grave sin and may not receive Holy Communion". The group says it has 180,000 male members, with two parallel female lodges in England having another 5,000 members, and estimates global Freemasonry membership at around six million.

Persons: Pope Francis, Pope Benedict XVI, Queen Elizabeth's, Prince Philip, Winston Churchill, Peter Sellers, Alf Ramsey, Rudyard Kipling, Arthur Conan Doyle, Alvise Armellini, Nick Macfie Organizations: VATICAN CITY, Vatican, Freemasons, Catholic Church, United, Lodge of Locations: Philippines, Lodge of England, England

☆ Vatican confirms ban on Catholics becoming Freemasons
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Pope Francis gestures as he leaves after the weekly general audience, in Saint Peter's Square at the Vatican, November 15, 2023. REUTERS/Remo Casilli Acquire Licensing RightsVATICAN CITY, Nov 15 (Reuters) - The Vatican has confirmed a ban on Catholics becoming Freemasons, a centuries-old secretive society that the Catholic Church has long viewed with hostility and has an estimated global membership of up to six million. "Active membership in Freemasonry by a member of the faithful is prohibited, because of the irreconcilability between Catholic doctrine and Freemasonry," the Vatican's doctrinal office said in a letter published by Vatican media on Wednesday. The letter on Freemasons cited a 1983 declaration, signed by the late Pope Benedict XVI, at the time the Vatican's doctrine chief, stating that Catholics "in Masonic associations are in a state of grave sin and may not receive Holy Communion". The group says it has 180,000 male members, with two parallel female lodges in England having another 5,000 members, and estimates global Freemasonry membership at around six million.

Persons: Pope Francis, Remo Casilli, Pope Benedict XVI, Queen Elizabeth's, Prince Philip, Winston Churchill, Peter Sellers, Alf Ramsey, Rudyard Kipling, Arthur Conan Doyle, Alvise Armellini, Nick Macfie Organizations: Vatican, REUTERS, CITY, Freemasons, Catholic Church, United, Lodge of, Thomson Locations: Saint Peter's, Philippines, Lodge of England, England

☆ Fact Check-Georgia mason-run missing kids program does not involve microchipping minors
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-19 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

An initiative by freemasons called the Georgia Child Identification Program states it helps parents collect basic information about their children in an identification kit in case they were to go missing. There is no evidence the program, also known as GACHIP, involves inserting microchips in minors, contrary to social media posts. Similar masonic initiatives in Missouri and Ontario, in Canada, clarify their programs do not involve microchipping children (mochip.org/faq/), (www.masonichip.ca/newsList.php). (here)The Grand Lodge of Georgia and the GACHIP did not respond to a request for comment. A Georgia masons’ program called the Georgia Child Identification Program (GACHIP) helps parents put together an identification kit with basic information about their children.

Persons: Kit ”, Read Organizations: freemasons, Reuters, National Center for, of Locations: Georgia, Missouri, Ontario, Canada, of Georgia

☆ Suspecting Clandestine Plots Behind Every Door
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-11 | by ( Elizabeth Williamson | More About Elizabeth Williamson | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

UNDER THE EYE OF POWER: How Fear of Secret Societies Shapes American Democracy, by Colin DickeyThe Memorial Day pancake breakfast in Blue Hill, Maine, is hosted by the Oddfellows, an 18th-century craftsmen’s guild turned community service organization, related to the Freemasons. While there this spring, I pondered the elderly members pouring coffee and selling raffle tickets to fund college scholarships. How bizarre, even funny, that this group was once perceived as a threat to America. History bristles with examples of citizens and their elected leaders hijacking public discourse by tarring — sometimes literally — perceived enemies of the American project. Unfortunately, we have willfully forgotten most of this warped history, rendering us constantly surprised by the next imagined peril.

Persons: Colin Dickey The, ” Colin Dickey, Ben Franklin, —, ” Dickey, tarring —, McCarthy, zealotry Organizations: American, Freemasons Locations: Blue Hill , Maine, America

☆ From George Washington to Donald Trump, America’s obsession with secret societies is a mainstay of our democracy — and it resurfaces whenever there’s a renewed push for civil rights, author of new boo
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-01 | by ( Katherine Tangalakis-Lippert | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

Multiple presidents, from George Washington to Donald Trump, have endorsed conspiracy theories. George Washington and Abraham Lincoln both openly espoused conspiracy theories of various kinds. It was important for me early on to make a distinction between actual conspiracies and conspiracy theories. And those tend to be a specific cover-up around specific things, there's an identifiable group of actors and once you start doing basic journalism, these things tend to unravel pretty quickly. So I think that's, unfortunately, where we're heading.

Persons: Colin Dickey's, George Washington, Donald Trump, —, Colin Dickey, Dickey, Trump, Abraham Lincoln, Hillary Clinton, Jeffrey Epstein Organizations: Freemasons, Service, American, United, Civil Rights Movement, People Locations: United States, —, America, Iran, Salem

☆ How technology has changed the public sphere
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-18 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailHow technology has changed the public sphereNutanix Chief Information Officer Wendy Pfeiffer asks historian and Hoover Institution Senior Fellow Niall Ferguson where technology fits in his theory of hierarchies and networks, as presented in his book "The Square and the Tower: Networks and Power, from the Freemasons to Facebook."

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