From witches to flat earthers: history of conspiracy

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Since when have conspiracy theories existed and who has promoted them throughout history? Which have been the most popular? What is behind some of them? How do they spread? Who believes in conspiracies and why do they succeed? What historical examples do we have of misinformation and hoaxes?

History, and the world, are full of conspiracies that existed and we know and others that have remained more in the shadows, and Puto Mikel returns to Carne Cruda to take a tour of its history and its context. Beyond flat earthers or reptilians, we investigate these plots in different historical periods, we go through some examples and tell how what 2000 years ago was a conspiracy theory, today is a hoax or a historical myth. We draw a diagram of conspiracy theories marking their closeness or distance from reality. From the anti-Spanish black legend, to the kingdom of the clouds called Magonia in the 9th century that was spread by Bishop Agobard of Lyon; the witch hunt, “the poison affair” that broke out at the court of Louis

You can see the full program on video here:

We talk about the history of conspiracy thinking, why we believe in these theories, what role they have played in history and what power they have in our society with Pepe Tesoro who in his book “The Same Evil Men as Always: A Theory of Conspiracy Theories” (2024, Círculo de Bellas Artes) helps us understand how we fall into conspiratorial thinking and its role today. And we analyze the political use of conspiracy theories, and why it is no coincidence that flat-eartherism or QAnon have appeared in politics with Oriol Erausquindoctoral researcher at the CSIC Institute of Philosophy who investigates conspiracy theories in far-right propaganda; and the person behind the Ideological Infusion account and a great collaborator of this program.