Conspiracy megaphones like InfoWars transform forum rumor into mass broadcast.

Evidence

Four days after Campbell put up her post, it started to spread across the Internet. Douglas Hagmann, a self-proclaimed private investigator and the host of a conspiracy-leaning podcast, took up the story. Hagmann came on conspiracy’s biggest megaphone, InfoWars, to tell Alex Jones about the scandal. “The most disgusting aspect of this is the sexual angle,” Hagmann said. “I don’t want to be graphic or gross here.… Based on my source, Hillary did in fact participate on some of the junkets on the Lolita Express.” — Anna Merlan, Republic of Lies, 222

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Conspiracy beliefs spread through media- rich channels beyond folklorists’ favored oral forms. — Michael Barkun, A Culture of Conspiracy: Apocalyptic…, 114; Conspiracy promoters adopt postmodern relativism to license fabricating news. — Lee McIntyre, Post-Truth, 305; Conspiracy entrepreneurs track trending news to exploit cultural heat — Naomi Klein, Doppelganger: A Trip into the Mirror…, 338 (+6 more)

Broader Connections

• Conspiracy entrepreneurs track trending news to exploit cultural heat #expands (0.85) — Naomi Klein, Doppelganger, 338
• Fringe conspiracy broadcasts can drive believers to plan lethal violence #expands (0.85) — Michael Barkun, A Culture of Conspiracy, 62
• Disintermediated broadcasting displaced knowledge gatekeepers and enabled conspiracy entrepreneurs #expands (0.85) — Russell Muirhead and Nancy L. Rosenblum, A Lot of People Are Saying, 103
• Conspiracy promoters adopt postmodern relativism to license fabricating news. #complicates (0.80) — Lee McIntyre, Post-Truth, 305
• Once-fringe conspiracies can enter mainstream political discourse en masse #expands (0.80) — Anna Merlan, Republic of Lies, 44
• Urgent threatening messages, group pressure, and shallow assessment drive fake-news sharing. #expands (0.80) — Sander van der Linden, Foolproof, 325
• Conspiracy beliefs spread through media- rich channels beyond folklorists’ favored oral forms. #expands (0.75) — Michael Barkun, A Culture of Conspiracy, 114
• Conspiracy believers valorize distrust of mass media as proof of undeceived insight #expands (0.75) — Michael Barkun, A Culture of Conspiracy, 98
• Media exaggeration shapes public perception of events significantly. #expands (0.70) — Cohen, Stanley, Folk devils and moral panics, 185