Conspiracy Quagmire

<p>Join hosts Stuart &#39;The Wildman&#39; Mabbutt and William Mankelow, as they dive into a mind-bending discussion with guest Suzi Darrington, an Oxford University Crankstart student, who takes a seat in the listener&#39;s chair for this intriguing episode. The trio delve deep into the surreal world of conspiracy theories, triggered by a thought-provoking question from listener Molly in Oxford, England, who’s question is as follows:</p> <p>“Do you think the fashion for conspiracy theories is getting out of hand and what drives that? I see there is a conspiracy campaign stating that the Manchester Arena bombings were staged. With no-one killed and all the injured actually acting. I see one guy who was paralysed in the attack is being targeted on Twitter, with someone even filming him to try and prove it&#39;s all make believe. This led to victims being targeted by trolls and stalkers who buy into the conspiracy bollocks, and it could easily escalate with peoples lives being threatened. </p> <p>Maybe this whole existence thing is a scam though, maybe Twitter is all an illusion, maybe this podcast is a figment of our imagination, maybe the world is flat and we are being ruled by Aliens, and maybe those idiots who believe in conspiracy theories are just computer generated players in a childish computer game being played by aliens who live at the centre of the Sun? Sorry, feeling sarcastic!!! </p> <p>People have access to alternative media now and want something away from the mainstream. Does that open the vulnerable up to weird conspiracy suggestions, even if they think they are strong minded. I think this conspiracy fashion reveals that biologically humanity hasn’t evolved much at all for thousands of years. We might be evolving technology wise, but intellectually I despair”.</p> <p>In this episode, the hosts examine the ever-growing influence of conspiracy theories in today&#39;s world. Suzi kicks things off by noting how these theories are finding a foothold in mainstream discourse. She explores the correlation