Police Data: N.J. Drone Sightings Concentrated Along Airport Flight Paths
Are New Jerseyans mistaking normal airplanes for mysterious drones?
Conspiracy Theories
No, an Iranian 'Mothership' Isn't Attacking New Jersey With UFOs
The wave of drone sightings is sparking sci-fi speculation mixed with war fever.
Kash Patel's QAnon Dalliances Reflect an Outlook That Pits Trump Against Evil Conspirators
The president-elect's pick for FBI director says he rejects some of the right-wing sect's bizarre beliefs but agrees with "a lot of what the movement says."
Why Socialists Are Cheering the Death of an Insurance CEO
Plus: A listener asks the editors if libertarians are more prone to believing in conspiracy theories.
Starlink Election Fraud Claims Show Dems Are Not Immune to Conspiracy Theories
The spread of conspiracy theories in response to a bruising electoral loss is not only found on the political right.
Trump Is Not Thoughtful Enough To Be a Fascist
The Republican presidential candidate’s views do not reflect any unifying principle other than self-interest.
Thierry Malleret: Is the Great Reset Underway?
Great Reset co-author Thierry Malleret discusses stakeholder capitalism, libertarianism, and his new book satirizing the World Economic Forum on Just Asking Questions.
The 'Day of Jihad' That Never Came
One year ago, political figures spread a false terrorism panic that made everyone less free—and incited violence against a child.
War Game Documents an All-Star Political Live-Action Role-Playing Game
What happened when some officials role-played a bigger, noisier rerun of January 6, 2021
J.D. Vance Promoted Rumors of Pet-Eating Immigrants Even After Learning They Were 'Baseless'
To justify his misinformation, the Republican vice presidential candidate cited a report from a woman whose lost cat turned up, very much alive, in her own basement.
Who Wanted To Kill Henry Kissinger?
Newly released FBI files show a lot of strange threats against the former secretary of state’s safety—and say a lot about 1970s America.
J.D. Vance Says It Does Not Matter Whether 'Rumors' of Pet-Eating Migrants Are True
Donald Trump's running mate says he is willing to "create stories" if they help call attention to the costs of lax immigration policies.
Review: A Fun, Chaotic Moon Landing Conspiracy
Scarlett Johansson and Channing Tatum star in a movie about government incompetence.
Trump Rambles About Immigrants Eating Pets, Forgets To Challenge Kamala Harris
At their first presidential debate, Trump repeatedly got so bogged down in bizarre claims that he failed to effectively combat a weak Harris performance.
The Fantastical Scenarios of Yuval Noah Harari: From the Roman Past to the AI Future
In his haste to cram complex events into crisp little episodes, the historian passes over inconvenient details.
Hanlon's Razor Is Getting Rusty in the 2024 Election
Don't attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity.
'Project Rescue Children' Exposed as Latest in Series of Human-Trafficking Hoaxes
The group reportedly faked rescue stories—including one involving a baby saved from traffickers—and lied about where funds were going.
GOP VP Nominee J. D. Vance is an Enemy of Free Markets
The Ohio Senator is one of the Party's leading advocates of protectionism, economic planning, and immigration restrictions.
The Media Is Back to Deriding the Lab Leak as a 'Conspiracy Theory'
Even if EcoHealth's "basic research" in Wuhan didn't cause the pandemic, it certainly failed in its mission to stop it.
RealPage Conspiracy Theories
The media, state attorneys general, and the Biden administration are blaming rent-recommendation software for rising rents. Normal stories of supply and demand are the more reasonable explanation.
A Real-Life Psyop: How the U.S. Military Spread Anti-Vax Conspiracy Theories
Washington keeps getting caught pushing the kind of disinformation it claims to oppose.
Review: Charles Fort's Underrated Influence
The eccentric writer cast a long shadow, leaving a mark not only on the world of Bigfoot hunters and UFO buffs but in literature and radical politics.
Pregnant Women Database?
Plus: Isaac Asimov's predictions, protests in Tbilisi, California's AI regulations, and more...
If Ronna McDaniel Is Beyond the Pale, NBC May Have Trouble Presenting 'Diverse Viewpoints'
The former RNC chair's concession that Biden won "fair and square" did not save her from internal outrage at her support for Trump's stolen-election fantasy.
The Truth About 'Rural Rage'
Our research was cited in a new book on “white rural rage.” But the authors got the research wrong.
Jen Psaki and Nancy Pelosi Push a Conspiracy Theory About Trump and Putin
Where are the fact-checkers and misinformation cops?
A Bad Week for Team Kraken in Court
The Supreme Court snubbed Sidney Powell and a court orders Mike Lindell to pay up.
Taylor Swift and Political Ignorance
A recent poll finding that 18 percent of all Americans and 32 percent of Republicans believe Taylor Swift is part of a covert conspiracy effort to help Biden win reelection. This is just one example of the broader problem of political ignorance and bias.
Why We Went Crazy During COVID Lockdowns
The Things Fell Apart host Jon Ronson explains how a 1988 quack medical concept inspired George Floyd's death in 2020 and how Plandemic is basically a rewrite of Star Wars.
Trump's Supreme Court Brief Rebuts the Claim That He 'Engaged in Insurrection'
He is asking the justices to reject the Colorado Supreme Court's conclusion that he is disqualified from running for president.
D.C. Circuit Seems Skeptical of Trump's Alarmingly Broad Presidential Immunity Claim
As one appeals court judge pointed out, Trump's defense could literally let a president get away with murder.
Vivek Ramaswamy Really, Really Wants You To Know He Thinks January 6 Was an 'Inside Job'
The fourth-place GOP presidential candidate asserts the existence of "clear evidence" of "entrapment," without providing any.
'I Relied on Others,' 'Documents Were Filed in the Wrong Place,' and Other Memorable Excuses
The year's highlights in blame shifting.
The D.C. Circuit Mulls Trump's Alarmingly Broad Claim of Presidential Immunity From Prosecution
His lawyers say no jury can ever consider charges based on his "official acts" as president, which include his efforts to reverse Joe Biden's election.
Was the Capitol Riot an 'Insurrection,' and Did Trump 'Engage in' It?
The Colorado Supreme Court's reasoning in deciding that Trump is constitutionally disqualified from running for president seems iffy.
Giuliani Never Puts Up, but He Never Shuts Up Either
The former Trump lawyer could have avoided a massive defamation verdict by presenting his "definitively clear" evidence of election fraud.
'Everything I Said About Them Is True,' Giuliani Insisted Days Before a Jury Debated His Defamation Debt
The former Trump campaign lawyer re-upped his false claims about two Georgia election workers in the middle of a trial aimed at determining the damages he owes them.
DeSantis Gets Sex Trafficking Wrong at GOP Debate
"We're going to build a wall...I am not going to sit there and let sex trafficking go unabated," DeSantis said.
Rachel Maddow's Prequel Is a Deceptively Framed History of the Radical Right
The book blames foreign subversives for ideas long rooted in American life.
Why Is Trump Worried About What Mark Meadows Might Say in the Election Interference Cases?
The former White House chief of staff is one of several former Trump advisers who are cooperating with prosecutors.
'America Funded It': Rand Paul Blasts Fauci and the Media for Suppressing the Lab Leak Theory
The notion that COVID-19 came from a lab was once touted as misinformation. But now the FBI, the Energy Department, and others agree with Paul.
How Sidney Powell's Plea Deal Could Hurt Trump in the Georgia Racketeering Case
The election conspiracy theorist struck a deal that allows her to avoid prison by testifying for the prosecution.
Review: They Cloned Tyrone Draws on Old CIA Conspiracy Theories
The political commentary in Netflix's sci-fi comedy isn't exactly subtle.
Joint Trial of Sidney Powell and Kenneth Chesebro Illustrates the Fuzziness of Georgia's RICO Law
The two alleged racketeers complain that irrelevant evidence concerning distinct, uncoordinated conduct aimed at keeping Donald Trump in office will impair their defense.
How Rudy Giuliani's Drinking Habits Could Hurt Trump's Defense
Special Counsel Jack Smith reportedly is keenly interested in whether the former New York mayor gave Trump legal advice while intoxicated.
The Washington Post Says Democracy Demands Less Freedom of Speech
The paper worries that "social media companies are receding from their role as watchdogs against political misinformation."
Tucker Carlson's Sycophantic Interview With Trump Illustrates the Advantages of Skipping the Debates
It's no mystery why the former president preferred a forum in which his record and positions would face no serious challenge.
Trump's Georgia Indictment Raises Familiar Questions of Knowledge and Intent
The defendants will claim their alleged "racketeering activity" was a sincere effort to rectify election fraud.
