Conspiracy theories are a defining feature of 21st century life. You are only ever a quick Google search away from a documentary linking Israel to 9/11, or articles claiming that Covid was created in a military lab in the US.
But in recent years, discussions that were once confined to the dark corners of internet chatrooms have exploded into the political mainstream. Leaders on the far right speak of a shadowy “deep state” controlling global affairs, while as many as 16 per cent of Americans subscribe to the QAnon theory that Donald Trump is leading a war against a cabal of Satan-worshipping paedophiles.
