How claims start and spread
Ten cases, each traced back to a single first source: a sign, a post, a letter, a book, a paper or a broadcast. Every post includes an animated timeline of how the claim grew.
2017How Birds Aren't Real grew from one sign in MemphisHow Birds Aren't Real started: one sign at a 2017 Memphis march, years in character, a 2021 reveal, and what the follower numbers actually count.1994How the Bielefeld conspiracy grew from a 1994 Usenet postThe Bielefeld conspiracy began as a 1994 Usenet joke by Achim Held. How it spread, the city's €1 million offer in 2019, and the 2023 court ruling.2005How a letter to Kansas created the Flying Spaghetti MonsterThe Flying Spaghetti Monster origin: a 2005 satirical letter to the Kansas school board, how it spread online, and what the record shows about it today.2019Storm Area 51 went from 2 million RSVPs to 150 at the gatesStorm Area 51 began as a 2019 Facebook joke and drew about 2 million RSVPs. Here is who started it, how it spread and how many people actually showed up.2017How a 4chan hoax gave the OK hand sign a second meaningThe OK hand sign hoax began as a 2017 4chan trolling plan. See how it spread, why the ADL listed the gesture in 2019, and why context still decides.2017How QAnon grew from one anonymous 4chan postThe QAnon origin traces to one anonymous 4chan post on Oct. 28, 2017. How it spread, which dated predictions failed, and what the record shows about Q.1903How the Protocols of the Elders of Zion forgery spreadThe Protocols of the Elders of Zion forgery copied an 1864 French satire. See how it spread from a 1903 Russian paper to Ford, the Nazis and the internet.1998How the 1998 Lancet MMR paper started a vaccine scareThe 1998 MMR autism paper studied 12 children. Follow its spread from a press conference to falling vaccine rates, a full retraction and a fraud finding.1980Michelle Remembers and the first source of the Satanic PanicHow the satanic panic grew from a 1980 memoir, Michelle Remembers, into the McMartin trial and a decade of cases. What the record shows and how to trace it.1938The War of the Worlds panic that mostly never happenedThe 1938 War of the Worlds panic was largely a newspaper story. How the claim started, how it spread, what the ratings showed and how to trace claims like it.
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