Conspiracy Theories

With the US election days just away, officials in the most competitive battleground states are bracing for misinformation, conspiracy theories, threats and possible violence.

In the wake of the devastation of Hurricane Helene in the United States this week, a new storm emerged on social media - false rumours about how disaster funds have been used, and even claims that officials control the weather.

A prominent Canadian MP of Indian origin has criticised a petition seeking a fresh inquiry into the bombing of Air India Flight 182 of 1985 to determine the involvement of any "foreign intelligence", alleging that it promotes "conspiracy theories".

New research from MIT Sloan and Cornell University reveals that AI chatbots can reduce belief in conspiracy theories by around 20%. The study involved conversations with GPT-4 Turbo, which helped participants reassess their beliefs. The chatbots were tailored to counter specific conspiracy theories effectively. Despite a high rate of factual accura...

The researchers had instructed the LLM to try to persuade people to reconsider their beliefs. To their surprise, it was actually pretty effective.

The study suggests that AI could play a significant role in combating misinformation, though questions remain about how AI achieves this and whether it would be embraced in real-world settings.

Donald Trump has defended his ties with Laura Loomer, who has drawn fire from some of his Republican allies for embracing conspiracy theories and making racist comments, including against Kamala Harris.

Government buildings and an elementary school in Springfield, Ohio were evacuated Thursday after an emailed bomb threat, police said, rattling the small US city at the heart of an anti-migrant conspiracy theory amplified by Donald Trump.

Pakistan needs to abandon the policy of rewarding those who attack Baloch nationalists and stop promoting conspiracy theories that India, Iran, and Afghanistan are behind all the chaos in Balochistan.

A Dutch judge on Monday ordered a woman to stop spreading a false conspiracy theory that a ring of Satan-worshipping paedophiles had been operating in a small town, or face fines or prison.

Donald Trump ran through his checklist of conspiracy theories Monday in a rambling conversation with his uber-wealthy supporter Elon Musk that was initially derailed by what the tech titan said was a technical glitch.

The UK government said on Sunday schools in England could teach children how to spot extremist and online content spreading "putrid conspiracy theories", under planned changes to the national curriculum.

US President Joe Biden was seen in public for the first time since he dropped out of the Presidential race and tested positive for COVID-19. His absence sparked rumours on social media claiming the 81-year-old leader's health was deteriorating.

From fearmongering about a looming "World War III" to false narratives linking a cabal of global elite to a cyberattack, a torrent of online conspiracy theories took off Friday after a major IT crash.

Conspiracy theories about the assassination attempt on Donald Trump received tens of millions of views on X, researchers said Tuesday, highlighting the potential for extreme falsehoods to go viral on the Elon Musk-owned platform.

With the US election days just away, officials in the most competitive battleground states are bracing for misinformation, conspiracy theories, threats and possible violence.

In the wake of the devastation of Hurricane Helene in the United States this week, a new storm emerged on social media - false rumours about how disaster funds have been used, and even claims that officials control the weather.

A prominent Canadian MP of Indian origin has criticised a petition seeking a fresh inquiry into the bombing of Air India Flight 182 of 1985 to determine the involvement of any "foreign intelligence", alleging that it promotes "conspiracy theories".

New research from MIT Sloan and Cornell University reveals that AI chatbots can reduce belief in conspiracy theories by around 20%. The study involved conversations with GPT-4 Turbo, which helped participants reassess their beliefs. The chatbots were tailored to counter specific conspiracy theories effectively. Despite a high rate of factual accura...

The researchers had instructed the LLM to try to persuade people to reconsider their beliefs. To their surprise, it was actually pretty effective.

The study suggests that AI could play a significant role in combating misinformation, though questions remain about how AI achieves this and whether it would be embraced in real-world settings.

Donald Trump has defended his ties with Laura Loomer, who has drawn fire from some of his Republican allies for embracing conspiracy theories and making racist comments, including against Kamala Harris.

Government buildings and an elementary school in Springfield, Ohio were evacuated Thursday after an emailed bomb threat, police said, rattling the small US city at the heart of an anti-migrant conspiracy theory amplified by Donald Trump.

Pakistan needs to abandon the policy of rewarding those who attack Baloch nationalists and stop promoting conspiracy theories that India, Iran, and Afghanistan are behind all the chaos in Balochistan.

A Dutch judge on Monday ordered a woman to stop spreading a false conspiracy theory that a ring of Satan-worshipping paedophiles had been operating in a small town, or face fines or prison.

Donald Trump ran through his checklist of conspiracy theories Monday in a rambling conversation with his uber-wealthy supporter Elon Musk that was initially derailed by what the tech titan said was a technical glitch.

The UK government said on Sunday schools in England could teach children how to spot extremist and online content spreading "putrid conspiracy theories", under planned changes to the national curriculum.

US President Joe Biden was seen in public for the first time since he dropped out of the Presidential race and tested positive for COVID-19. His absence sparked rumours on social media claiming the 81-year-old leader's health was deteriorating.

From fearmongering about a looming "World War III" to false narratives linking a cabal of global elite to a cyberattack, a torrent of online conspiracy theories took off Friday after a major IT crash.

Conspiracy theories about the assassination attempt on Donald Trump received tens of millions of views on X, researchers said Tuesday, highlighting the potential for extreme falsehoods to go viral on the Elon Musk-owned platform.