But somewhere along the way, conspiracy spaces on the internet had become “a haven” for the “lunatic fringe” of the right wing, which in turn spilled back into the real world. Jonathan Vankin, a journalist who wrote about the conspiracy scene of the 1990s, said watching the emergence of QAnon had been disillusioning. Mr. Vankin never considered himself a conspiracy theorist, but as a journalist he felt an appreciation for them. ***Have conspiracy theories and conspiracy theorists gotten nastier? What does seem clear is that conspiracy theories have become less of a specialist interest and more of an unavoidable phenomenon that affects us all, whether in the form of anti-vaccination sentiments or election denialism.

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Persons: Joseph E, “ there’s, Mr, Green, Jonathan Vankin, QAnon, Vankin, “, isn’t, John Birch, it’s, Timothy McVeigh, Robert F, Kennedy Jr, Donald Trump, Michael Barkun, Barkun, ” Organizations: John, John Birch Society Locations: Oklahoma City, Waco