New York Times: “Meteorologists’ role of delivering lifesaving weather forecasts and explaining climate science sometimes makes them targets for harassment, and this kind of abuse has been happening for years, weather experts said.”

“But amid the conspiracy theories and falsehoods that have spiraled online after Hurricanes Helene and Milton, they say the attacks and threats directed at them have reached new heights.”

“Politicians and right-wing influencers have spread conspiracy theories online suggesting that Hurricane Milton has been geoengineered by nefarious forces, with the end goal of preventing Republicans from voting in the presidential election,” Wired reports.

“The ‘weather weapon’ theory and others began proliferating when Hurricane Helene made landfall nearly two weeks ago, leaving at least 230 dead. And now, some of these wild narratives are not only reverberating on fringe corners of the internet but also are being spread by major accounts—chief among them, GOP congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia.”

“Representative Eli Crane, a first-term Republican from Arizona, has been everywhere that will have him, promoting conspiracy theories about the assassination attempts against Mr. Trump, despite all evidence that such theories are false,” the New York Times reports.

“And far from sidelining or attempting to silence him, Republican leaders have given him a prominent platform to air his outlandish claims at the highest levels, lending credence to the conspiracy theories spread by him and others on the far right.”

“Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones ‘ Infowars media platform and its assets will be sold off piece by piece in auctions this fall to help pay the more than $1 billion he owes relatives of victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, under an order expected to be approved by a federal judge,” the AP reports.

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.”

“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.

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.

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

“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.”

“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.”

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.”