Charlie Kirk Was Shot a Year Ago. Experts say conspiracy theorizing about the identity and motive of Charlie Kirk's killer will likely continue for a long time to come. In the days after the assassination of conservative activist and Turning Point cofounder Charlie Kirk, the online reaction was a mess. Graphic videos of the shooting were everywhere within minutes of his death, far-right figures called for violence and vengeance, and right-wing lawmakers and influencers called for the cancellation --and worse--of anyone celebrating. Then, the conspiracy theories began .

Trump has touted a recent Census report. WIRED found grave flaws in its analysis and the process behind it, and confirmed the identity of several of its authors--among them a one-time DOGE affiliate. A report published by the US Census Bureau last month purported to uncover evidence backing up President Donald Trump's baseless claims that noncitizens voting cost him the 2020 election . It was the latest salvo in Trump's broader assault on the safety of US elections. "I WON THE ELECTION," Trump quickly declared on Truth Social after the publication of the report.

Influential right-wing conspiracy theorists and MAGA-aligned pundits are falsely claiming that the Covid vaccine killed Dolly Parton, the vaccination advocate and philanthropist. Conspiracy theories surrounding singer and philanthropist Dolly Parton's recent death have flooded the internet, referencing everything from satanic rituals to cloning . But one conspiracy theory has dominated all the others: the claim that Parton's death was caused by "turbo cancer" brought on by the Covid vaccine. There is no evidence to support the claim that Parton's death had anything to do with the vaccine. Parton, 80, died after "a short battle with cancer," her family said in a statement.

Waffle House Teleporter Gregg Phillips Is Still on the Trump Administration's Payroll In June, a FEMA official infamous for claiming to have teleported to a Waffle House was reportedly ousted. He's still employed by the government, though--and meeting with a Trump fixer. Gregg Phillips, an election denier who once claimed he teleported to a Waffle House, says he is still working in the Trump administration, after he was reportedly removed from his influential role overseeing the Federal Emergency Management Agency's emergency response efforts in June. While it remains unclear what Phillips has been working on in the administration since stepping away as head of the Office of Response and Recovery, on Sunday he wrote on Truth Social, "I have been in the admin since last year. I'll be leaving soon to rejoin the fight."

Politics Public Health Advocates Are So Desperate for Help Against Conspiracies They've Turned to the Place You'd Least Expect Enter your email to receive alerts for this author. You can manage your newsletter subscriptions at any time. You're already subscribed to the aa_Molly_Olmstead newsletter. You can manage your newsletter subscriptions at any time. We encountered an issue signing you up.

Tina Peters was convicted of seven counts related to election interference in 2024. Now, she's fielding an offer from a county that's become a hotbed of voting-related conspiracy theories. Last week, Clint Curtis, the top election official in Shasta County, California, publicly accused members of his own staff of bypassing security, which he later claimed was an attempt "to sabotage a federal election." Days later, Curtis announced plans to hire a new deputy: Tina Peters, the election denial superstar who was convicted of seven counts related to election interference in 2024 and sentenced to nine years in prison. Peters, the former clerk of Mesa County, Colorado, has yet to publicly comment on the offer, but her lawyer Peter Ticktin tells WIRED she "is giving consideration to helping in the efforts in Shasta County, as there most definitely has been monkey business in the way the election was handled."

Plus: AI has designed new viruses from scratch for the first time. The theory claimed that, under the guise of combating disinformation, a sprawling constellation of government agencies, academics, civil society groups, and Big Tech platforms was suppressing conservative and populist speech online. What began as a relatively niche conspiracy theory from the far right was able to--and continues to--influence a wide range of actions by the second Trump administration. In myriad ways, the idea of the censorship-industrial complex, or CIC, explains the logic behind how the administration operates both at home and internationally. Over the past nine months, and Type Investigations have traced how the theory came to influence the country's most powerful individuals. We found that it took off in 2023, driven by a handful of individuals, with support from a close-knit group of right-wing organizations and media outlets--and an internet activist named Mike Benz at its center.

"Mike Benz just revealed everything," the user wrote, including "how'democracy' was redefined to silence you." This marked the first time Musk, newly installed at DOGE, had posted specifically about USAID. But Benz and Musk were already acquainted. The two had exchanged tweets and threads about censorship and other conspiracy theories for years. Only a few weeks after Benz's Rogan appearance, Musk was using the "censorship-industrial complex" language directly--and USAID was on life support.

The world's oldest lightbulb has been shining for 125 years Conspiracy theorists say the Centennial Bulb proves a longtime utility cover-up. The answer is more complicated. More information Adding us as a Preferred Source in Google by using this link indicates that you would like to see more of our content in Google News results. The Centennial Bulb was made by Ohio's Shelby Electric Company in 1901. Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent six days a week.

The Centers for Research in Emerging Infectious Diseases were launched during the Covid-19 pandemic. The group lost its funding under Trump in part due to conspiracy theories. As the world struggles to contain the rapidly growing Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo's Ituri province, a vital network of research centers has been unable to help on the ground. The reason: The Trump administration slashed its funding last year, in part due to conspiracy theories about the origins of Covid-19. Established in 2020 by the National Institutes of Health, the Centers for Research in Emerging Infectious Diseases (CREID) Network was conducting research into viruses that emerge from wildlife and spill over to people, including the family of viruses that Ebola belongs to.