conspiracy theories

September 29, 2022 - As election season gets underway, voters in communities across the South are finding in their mail unsolicited print copies of The Epoch Times, a pro-Trump news outlet that traffics in conspiracy theories and other disinformation. We look at who's behind the publication and what they're trying to accomplish.

May 19, 2022 - The racist and antisemitic conspiracy theory that claims elites are trying to replace the current electorate with immigrants has been tied to numerous domestic U.S. terror attacks, including the recent massacre of Black people inside a grocery store in Buffalo, New York. We look at some of the elected officials who promote the idea — and the corporate contributions flowing to their campaigns.

August 20, 2021 - A professor confronts the deadly role misinformation has played in the white evangelical Christian church amid a COVID-19 resurgence in his home state of Arkansas, and he shares a still-unfinished poem written by his wife — an emergency physician — about her experience confronting the wages of bearing false witness.

June 10, 2021 - As in the South of the 19th century, we have a massive group among us willing to throw democracy away in order to assure their ascendancy. With a dominant political party committed to autocracy, we're treading new ground — at least new ground in modern times.

January 29, 2021 - Following the riot at the U.S. Capitol, the president has ordered a threat assessment on domestic terrorism, and his defense secretary has promised to purge the military of extremists. Experts who monitor hate groups say it's also critical for political leaders across the ideological spectrum to speak out against colleagues who spread falsehoods.

January 15, 2021 - The Republican Attorneys General Association, currently led by Chairman Chris Carr of Georgia and Policy Chair Steve Marshall of Alabama, is under fire for its role in amplifying false claims of presidential election fraud. We look at the group's history and its corporate funders — some of whom are now reconsidering their support.

October 8, 2020 - Meet the state lawmakers up for reelection in Georgia, North Carolina, and Tennessee who champion the Lost Cause version of history that claims that the Civil War was not about slavery and the Klan were the good guys. Also meet who's funding their campaigns.