—Mike Rothschild is a journalist and an professional on the expansion and impression of conspiracy theories and disinformation.
It’s one thing of a well-known cycle by now: Tragedy hits; rampant misinformation and conspiracy theories observe. It’s typically much more acute within the case of a pure catastrophe, when conspiracy theories about what “actually” induced the calamity run proper into culture-war-driven local weather change denialism. Put collectively, these theories obscure actual causes whereas elevating pretend ones.
I’ve studied these concepts extensively, having spent the final 10 years writing about conspiracy theories and disinformation as a journalist and researcher. I’ve coated every little thing from the rise of QAnon as to if Donald Trump faked his assassination try. I’ve written three books, testified to Congress, and even written a report for the January sixth Committee.
Nonetheless, I’d by no means lived it. Not till my home in Altadena, California, burned down. Learn the complete story.
This story is a part of MIT Know-how Overview’s sequence “The New Conspiracy Age,” on how the current increase in conspiracy theories is reshaping science and know-how. Take a look at the remainder of the sequence right here. It’s additionally featured on this week’s MIT Know-how Overview Narrated podcast, which we publish every week on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
In the event you’d like to listen to extra from Mike, he’ll be becoming a member of our options editor Amanda Silverman and govt editor Niall Firth for a subscriber-exclusive Roundtable dialog exploring how we are able to survive within the age of conspiracies. It’s at 1pm ET on Thursday November 20—register now to affix us!
This startup thinks slime mould may also help us design higher cities
It’s a yellow blob with no mind, but some researchers imagine a curious organism often known as slime mould may assist us construct extra resilient cities.
People have been constructing cities for six,000 years, however slime mould has been round for 600 million. The crew behind a brand new startup known as Mireta desires to translate the organism’s organic superpowers into algorithms which may assist enhance transit occasions, alleviate congestion, and decrease climate-related disruptions in cities worldwide. Learn the complete story.
—Elissaveta M. Brandon