New Age wellness fairs function as hub venues where conspiracy theories circulate

Evidence

Besides being a great place to purchase a geode, the conference is also, more quietly, a surprisingly bustling hub for conspiracy theories. Anti-vaccine folks and CIA-mind-control experts and even a flat earther or two wander its halls, trading some of the most ferociously out-there claims over samosas and cups of very good coffee laced with vegan coconut creamer. There is maybe no more welcoming place to think about conspiracy theories in America and their freshly prominent place in our politics. — Anna Merlan, Republic of Lies, 42

Categorization

• CANDY: The image of flat earthers and CIA-mind-control experts trading claims over vegan-coconut-creamer lattes at a crystal-selling expo is a vivid, tweetable snapshot.
• XREF: connects to: The pandemic’s lockdowns drove wellness influencers toward conspiracy narratives — Naomi Klein, Doppelganger: A Trip into the Mirror…, 594; Conspiracy millenarians draw on a shared reservoir spanning religion, aliens, and strange races — Michael Barkun, A Culture of Conspiracy: Apocalyptic…, 159

Broader Connections

• The pandemic’s lockdowns drove wellness influencers toward conspiracy narratives #expands (0.75) — Naomi Klein, Doppelganger, 594