—Mike Rothschild is a journalist and an professional on the expansion and impression of conspiracy theories and disinformation.
It’s one thing of a well-known cycle by now: Tragedy hits; rampant misinformation and conspiracy theories comply with. It’s usually much more acute within the case of a pure catastrophe, when conspiracy theories about what “actually” brought on the calamity run proper into culture-war-driven local weather change denialism. Put collectively, these theories obscure actual causes whereas elevating faux ones.
I’ve studied these concepts extensively, having spent the final 10 years writing about conspiracy theories and disinformation as a journalist and researcher. I’ve lined all the things from the rise of QAnon as to if Donald Trump faked his assassination try. I’ve written three books, testified to Congress, and even written a report for the January sixth Committee.
Nonetheless, I’d by no means lived it. Not till my home in Altadena, California, burned down. Learn the complete story.
This story is a part of MIT Know-how Assessment’s collection “The New Conspiracy Age,” on how the current growth in conspiracy theories is reshaping science and know-how. Try the remainder of the collection right here. It’s additionally featured on this week’s MIT Know-how Assessment Narrated podcast, which we publish every week on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
If you happen to’d like to listen to extra from Mike, he’ll be becoming a member of our options editor Amanda Silverman and government editor Niall Firth for a subscriber-exclusive Roundtable dialog exploring how we will survive within the age of conspiracies. It’s at 1pm ET on Thursday November 20—register now to affix us!
This startup thinks slime mildew may also help us design higher cities
It’s a yellow blob with no mind, but some researchers consider a curious organism often known as slime mildew might assist us construct extra resilient cities.
People have been constructing cities for six,000 years, however slime mildew has been round for 600 million. The crew behind a brand new startup known as Mireta desires to translate the organism’s organic superpowers into algorithms that may assist enhance transit occasions, alleviate congestion, and reduce climate-related disruptions in cities worldwide. Learn the complete story.
—Elissaveta M. Brandon