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J.D. Vance Embraces Conspiracy Theories

September 22, 2024 at 4:29 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“J.D. Vance not long ago described conspiracy theories as the feverish imaginings produced by ‘fringe lunatics writing about all manner of idiocy,’” the AP reports.

“That was before he became a rising star in Republican politics.”

“The Ohio senator and GOP’s vice presidential nominee has in recent years declared that the federal government deliberately allowed fentanyl into the United States to kill conservative and rural voters. He has praised Alex Jones, a well-known conspiracy theorist who claimed the deaths of 20 young children in the 2012 Sandy Hook school shooting was a hoax.”

Filed Under: 2024 Campaign, Conspiracy Theories

Republicans Fuel Conspiracy Theories

September 16, 2024 at 7:19 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Washington Post: “Led by Trump, Republicans have increasingly embraced groundless allegations that were once relegated to the political fringes, ensuring they are part of the party’s message to voters in the final, critical months of this year’s election.”

“Their approach has been on vivid display lately, from the debate stage in Philadelphia to other high-profile public appearances to social media — where false information has spread quickly and Trump has been posting a stream of artificial intelligence-generated images of himself with pets supposedly under threat. In the process, they have perpetuated pernicious stereotypes about immigrants and others that critics have called dangerous.”

Filed Under: 2024 Campaign, Conspiracy Theories

How a Claim of Eating Pets Made It to the Debate Stage

September 13, 2024 at 9:31 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“In just days, a bizarre and baseless claim accusing Haitian migrants of eating pet cats in Springfield, Ohio, went from an obscure Facebook post in a private group to a talking point by Republican Donald Trump during Tuesday night’s presidential debate,” Newsguard reports.

“The journey of the viral claim from vague, third hand gossip among Ohio neighbors to the presidential debate stage — where it was broadcast to 67 million people — is as stunning as the claim itself, according to those who started it all…”

“The interviews reveal just how flimsy and unsubstantiated the rumor was from the beginning — based entirely on third hand hearsay. Yet it quickly gained traction and, remarkably, found its way to Trump’s lips on a national stage.”

NBC News: How a fringe online claim about immigrants eating pets made its way to the debate stage.

Filed Under: 2024 Campaign, Conspiracy Theories


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Anatomy of a Trump Conspiracy Theory

September 12, 2024 at 7:32 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Axios: “It should come as no surprise that Trump, the country’s chief election denier and a champion of the anti-Obama ‘birther’ movement, is susceptible to conspiracy theories.”

“But as Trump has gotten older, the rabbit holes have grown deeper and more radical — a backdrop to his distrust of the media and refusal to accept that he lost the 2020 election.”

“The result — on display as he falsely claimed immigrants are eating people’s pets in Springfield, Ohio — is a candidate who’s become a walking liability for his own campaign.”

CNN: Trump is drowning in the misinformation swamp he helped create.

Filed Under: 2024 Campaign, Conspiracy Theories

Conspiracy Theorist Joins Trump for 9/11 Ceremony

September 11, 2024 at 5:43 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Laura Loomer, a right-wing activist who posted last year that 9/11 was an ‘inside job,’ joined Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump in New York and Pennsylvania on Wednesday as he commemorated the anniversary of the attacks,” the AP reports.

Filed Under: 2024 Campaign, Conspiracy Theories

‘BlueAnon’ Conspiracy Theories Flood Social Media

July 15, 2024 at 8:41 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Washington Post: “The shooting threw into overdrive a phenomenon dubbed ‘BlueAnon’ — a play on the right-wing conspiracy theory QAnon — that refers to liberal conspiracy theories online.”

“As more Americans lose trust in mainstream institutions and turn to partisan commentators and influencers for information, experts say they are seeing a big uptick in the manufacture and spread of BlueAnon conspiracy theories, a sign that the communal warping of reality is spreading well beyond the right.”

Filed Under: Conspiracy Theories

Alex Jones Ordered to Liquidate His Personal Assets

June 14, 2024 at 1:06 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“A federal judge on Friday ordered the liquidation of conspiracy theorist Alex Jones ′ personal assets but was still deciding on his company’s separate bankruptcy case, leaving the future of his Infowars media platform uncertain as he owes $1.5 billion for his false claims that the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting was a hoax,” the AP reports.

Filed Under: Conspiracy Theories

Most Republicans Believe Another Trump Conspiracy

June 10, 2024 at 11:42 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

A new CBS News/YouGov poll finds 80% of Republicans believe that the criminal charges brought by the Manhattan district attorney were because of “directions that came from the Biden administration,” rather than merely by “prosecutors in New York.”

A clear majority of Americans, 57%, don’t believe this. But the idea has taken hold in Trump’s base.

Filed Under: Conspiracy Theories

Alex Jones Cries

June 9, 2024 at 11:05 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones cried after announcing he is liquidating his assets to pay Sandy Hook families that he defamed, CNN reports.

Filed Under: Conspiracy Theories

Alex Jones Agrees to Liquidate His Assets

June 6, 2024 at 11:48 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Right-wing conspiracy theorist Alex Jones on Thursday moved to liquidate his personal assets, agreeing to demands from the families of Sandy Hook victims whom he owes more than $1.5 billion in damages over his lies about the 2012 school massacre,” CNN reports.

“The seismic move paves the way for a future in which Jones no longer owns Infowars, the influential conspiracy empire he founded in the late 1990s. Over the years, Jones has not only used the media company to poison the public discourse with vile lies and conspiracy theories, but also to enrich himself to the tune of millions of dollars.”

Filed Under: Conspiracy Theories

Trump Spreads QAnon Posts Once Again

May 23, 2024 at 12:01 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“As Donald Trump heads toward a November rematch election against President Joe Biden, his online posts are reinvigorating a key element of his support from years past: the conspiracy theory known as QAnon,” USA Today reports.

“While QAnon largely faded from the spotlight after Trump left office, he has newly amplified the ideas on his social media platform, Truth Social.”

Filed Under: Conspiracy Theories

Roseanne Barr Goes Full Q-Anon

April 5, 2024 at 5:00 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Jimmy Kimmel shared a video of Roseanne Barr imploring people to drop out of college “‘cause it isn’t nothing but devil-worshipping, baby blood-drinking Democrat donors,” the Daily Beast reports.

Filed Under: Celebrities, Conspiracy Theories

Macron Dismisses Rumors His Wife Was Born a Man

March 9, 2024 at 4:31 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

French President Emmanuel Macron addressed transphobic rumors circulating about his wife Brigitte, dismissing conspiracies that she was assigned male at birth, the Daily Mail reports.

Said Macron: “The worst thing is the false information and fabricated scenarios. People eventually believe them and disturb you, even in your intimacy.”

Filed Under: Conspiracy Theories

Bonus Quote of the Day

March 6, 2024 at 9:59 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Why don’t you fuck off?”

— Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), when asked by Emily Maitlis about pushing conspiracy theories like “Jewish space lasers.”

Filed Under: Conspiracy Theories

Alabama Chief Justice Appeared on QAnon Show

February 23, 2024 at 9:07 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Alabama Chief Justice Tom Parker, who wrote the concurring opinion in last week’s explosive Alabama Supreme Court ruling that frozen embryos have the same rights as living children, recently appeared on a show hosted by self-anointed ‘prophet’ and QAnon conspiracy theorist,” the HuffPost reports.

“Over the course of an 11-minute interview, Parker articulated a theocratic worldview at odds with a functioning, pluralistic society.”

“God created government,” he declared, adding that it’s “heartbreaking” that “we have let it go into the possession of others.”

Filed Under: Conspiracy Theories

Mike Lindell Must Pay $5 Million to Election Data Debunker

February 22, 2024 at 6:35 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“My Pillow owner and right-wing conspiracy theorist Mike Lindell will have to pay $5 million because of a contest he initiated at one of his ‘cyber symposium’ events after the 2020 election, a federal judge confirmed Wednesday,” CNN reports.

Filed Under: Conspiracy Theories

One in Five Believe Taylor Swift Conspiracy

February 14, 2024 at 11:57 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

A new Monmouth poll finds that 18% of Americans believe that Taylor Swift is part of a covert effort to help President Biden win the 2024 election.

Fully 71% of those who believe this identify with or lean toward the Republican Party and 83% indicate they are likely to support Donald Trump in the fall.

Also, 73% of those who believe the Swift conspiracy also believe the 2020 election outcome was fraudulent.

On a less sinister note, 68% of the American public approves of Swift encouraging her fans to vote in the upcoming election.

Filed Under: 2024 Campaign, Celebrities, Conspiracy Theories

Quote of the Day

February 11, 2024 at 11:26 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Just like we drew it up.”

— President Biden, mocking the GOP conspiracy theories that he had rigged the Super Bowl for the Kansas City Chiefs.

Filed Under: Conspiracy Theories

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About Political Wire

goddard-bw-snapshotTaegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.

Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.

Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.

Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.

Goddard is the owner of Goddard Media LLC.

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