From 4chan to international politics, a bug-eating conspiracy theory goes mainstream

The conspiracy theory alleges that a shadowy global elite conspires to control the world's population, in part by forcing them to eat insects. It's being cited by politicians in several countries. (Kyle Ellingson for NPR)

In mid-March, a far-right Dutch member of parliament named Thierry Baudet tweeted "WE WILL NOT EAT THE BUGS" accompanied by a photo of himself holding a microphone in one hand and pouring golden mealworms out of a bag in the other.

Earlier in the month, Poland's ruling nationalist party Law and Justice falsely alleged that the opposition Civic Platform was trying to push citizens into eating worms, prompting the opposition to hit back with a similar accusation.