When Julia Wandelt posted on social media that she believed she was Madeleine McCann, she became a lightning rod for online anger. In the first of a new series exploring extraordinary cases of online hate and the possibility of forgiveness, Marianna Spring, the BBC's Disinformation and social media correspondent, speaks to Julia about her motives and regrets. Listen to more episodes of Why Do You Hate Me on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts. For this series, Marianna Spring (one of th...
Jan 30, 2024•30 min•Season 5Ep. 1
The online world can be a breeding ground for hate. But why do some people behave the way they do on social media? In each episode, the BBC's Disinformation and social media correspondent Marianna Spring - one of the most trolled BBC journalists - dives into her inbox and investigates a different extraordinary case of online hate to find out. She meets the people at the heart of these conflicts, and in some cases brings them together, to see if understanding - even forgiveness - is ever possible...
Jan 16, 2024•3 min•Season 5Ep. 1
Marianna travels to Dublin to investigate a court case unfolding against the Irish Light conspiracy theory newspaper. Edel Campbell and her lawyer have been targeted by an extreme campaign of abuse after suing The Light which falsely claimed Edel’s son Diego died from a Covid vaccine, when in reality he had died by suicide. Conspiracy theorists worldwide have used dozens of tragic deaths to spread vaccine misinformation. This case is thought to be the first where a relative has sued. And what is...
Aug 06, 2023•19 min•Season 4Ep. 13
In this bonus episode, the BBC’S International Editor Jeremy Bowen and Disinformation and Social Media Correspondent Marianna Spring talk about their respective new podcasts: Frontlines of Journalism and Marianna in Conspiracyland. They reflect on the obstacles that stand between journalists and the truth and the conspiracy theory movement that seems to have boomed in the UK after Covid. Exploring the similarities and differences of their journalistic specialisms, they discuss techniques to hold...
Jul 04, 2023•40 min•Season 4Ep. 12
What will happen next in Conspiracyland? In the final episode, Marianna is back where she started, in the Devon town of Totnes. With the help of locals, she makes sense of the legacy left by the conspiracy theory newspaper and the wider movement all over the UK. Host: Marianna Spring Producers: Philip Marzouk and Olivia Lace-Evans Producer for BBC Radio 4 podcasts: Nathan Jones Technical Producer: Alex Portfelix Senior news editor: Sam Bonham Commissioner: Rhian Roberts New episodes released eve...
Jun 30, 2023•14 min•Season 4Ep. 10
Do you know someone who’s fallen down the rabbit hole? During the investigation, Marianna’s inbox has been filled with messages from people sharing their stories about those they know and love who’ve been sucked into conspiracy theories. With the help of social psychologist Karen Douglas, Marianna explores how people find themselves in Conspiracyland, why they stay, and how some managed to escape. Host: Marianna Spring Producers: Philip Marzouk, Olivia Lace-Evans Producer for BBC Radio 4 podcast...
Jun 30, 2023•14 min•Season 4Ep. 9
Could people in the UK conspiracy theory movement ever become violent? Returning to the UK, BBC disinformation and social media correspondent Marianna Spring meets possibly the only person outside of the movement who has read as much of the Light as her: political scientist at King’s College London Dr Rod Dacombe. What insights will he have for Marianna from his years studying The Light and the conspiracy theory movement in the UK? Host: Marianna Spring Producers: Philip Marzouk and Olivia Lace-...
Jun 28, 2023•14 min•Season 4Ep. 8
What can the UK learn from Germany? In Berlin, BBC disinformation and social media correspondent Marianna Spring meets a whistleblower who stopped writing for a conspiracy theory newspaper in his country because he feared it was becoming more radical. Marianna uncovers more about the connections between the German paper and a failed coup attempt, and unpicks what it can tell us about our own conspiracy theory movement in the UK. Host: Marianna Spring Producers: Philip Marzouk, Olivia Lace-Evans ...
Jun 26, 2023•15 min•Season 4Ep. 7
Why are journalists being attacked in Germany? Marianna travels to Berlin to meet a journalist called Jorg who’s been covering the conspiracy theory movement in his country. He’s been attacked several times trying to do his job and he’s not the only one. Jorg says he’s heard from other journalists who’ve experienced something similar. And the latest figures from Germany show attacks against journalists have risen sharply since the pandemic. Host: Marianna Spring Producers: Philip Marzouk and Oli...
Jun 23, 2023•12 min•Season 4Ep. 6
Who is funding this UK conspiracy theory newspaper? Flicking through the pages of The Light, Marianna is drawn to the adverts that populate its back pages. After the face-to-face encounter with the paper’s editor Darren she has more questions for the people involved in funding the paper. The advertisers. She manages to track down one: Iain, a property developer in Glastonbury. The two of them discuss wizards, goddesses, capital punishment and what motivates him to promote his business in The Lig...
Jun 21, 2023•14 min•Season 4Ep. 5
Who is the man behind The Light? BBC disinformation and social media correspondent Marianna Spring tracks down the editor of the conspiracy theory newspaper, The Light. His name is Darren and he agrees to meet Marianna in a pub just outside Manchester for a dual interview in which she interviews him for the podcast and he interviews her. What answers will she get about the paper and the man at its helm? Host: Marianna Spring Producers: Philip Marzouk and Olivia Lace-Evans Producer for BBC Radio ...
Jun 19, 2023•14 min•Season 4Ep. 4
Where does all the anger come from? As Marianna delves further down the rabbit-hole, she finds herself in the alternative medicine clinic of one Totnes’ movement’s figureheads. He is one of the people behind a conspiracy-theory group in the town called the New World Alliance who are key to organising monthly rallies in the town and distributing The Light. Curiously Marianna finds herself invited along to one of the rallies to learn more about it and the people within it. Host: Marianna Spring Pr...
Jun 12, 2023•15 min•Season 4Ep. 3
What do those in the movement believe? And why? BBC disinformation and social media correspondent Marianna Spring continues her investigation into Totnes’ conspiracy theory movement after hearing about one of its prominent members: an artist named Jason Liosatos. Meeting him in his gallery she learns more about some of his beliefs and what that indicates about the movement. Host: Marianna Spring Producers: Philip Marzouk and Olivia Lace-Evans Producer for BBC Radio 4 podcasts: Nathan Jones Techn...
Jun 12, 2023•14 min•Season 4Ep. 2
What’s happening in the Devon town of Totnes? The small town of Totnes in Devon is known for its warmth and open-mindedness, gong baths and healing crystals, but a fault line has emerged between the minority who’ve been drawn in by disinformation laced with hate and those who are fighting against it. Some in the town were drawn into a conspiracy theory movement during the pandemic, one whose monthly marches and rallies persist to this day. A conspiracy theory newspaper called The Light seems to ...
Jun 12, 2023•15 min•Season 4Ep. 1
What happened to the people who fell down the rabbit hole into a world of conspiracy theories? How far have they fallen – and how far will they go? In this 10-part series, the BBC’s Disinformation and Social Media Correspondent Marianna Spring investigates the legacy left by the rise in conspiracy movements in the UK and the media machine at its heart. The movement's followers hold a range of different beliefs – which many would never act on - but there are others whose views seem to be becoming...
Jun 05, 2023•4 min•Season 4Ep. 1
Marianna Spring returns to her investigation into conspiracy theories about UK terror attack victims, and reports on moves to hold those responsible for spreading them to account. Disaster Trolls revealed how people caught up in the Manchester Arena bombing suffered years of online abuse and threats as a result of false claims that they were “crisis actors” who faked the attack. In this new episode, Marianna discovers what has changed for some of the people who featured in the original series. S...
Apr 03, 2023•28 min•Season 3Ep. 11
News breaks of a landmark US court ruling about the Sandy Hook shooting, raising the hopes of victims of conspiracy theories in the UK, in their own struggles for accountability. When a Connecticut jury orders Infowars host Alex Jones to pay almost a billion dollars in damages for the false claims he promoted, Marianna Spring is contacted by many of the people she has spoken to during the series. She is also sent reaction by other bereaved relatives of terror victims, who have been targeted with...
Oct 30, 2022•16 min•Season 3Ep. 10
Travis survived the Westminster Bridge attack, but he didn’t expect what came next. Are victims of terrorism taken seriously enough when they seek help against abusive trolling? A terror attack outside the Houses of Parliament in March 2017 left five people dead, while 50 more - including Travis - were injured. As Travis lay recovering in hospital, he opened his phone and saw a death threat that accused him of being a “crisis actor” paid to fake the attack. More were to follow. But Travis says w...
Oct 30, 2022•15 min•Season 3Ep. 9
Brent has disavowed the toxic conspiracy theories he helped create about the 7/7 London terror attacks. But what will happen when he meets a survivor? After years down the rabbit hole, Brent has severed his ties with the conspiracy world which has dominated much of his adult life. He recalls helping to shape false claims that the 7/7 London terror attacks in July 2005 were “false flag” operations staged by sinister forces in the government. But now he is trying to make amends. Paul was seriously...
Oct 30, 2022•15 min•Season 3Ep. 8
Rob tried to stop his Infowars colleagues spreading conspiracy theories about the Sandy Hook shooting. Now his testimony has helped hold his former boss to account in court. Twenty of the 27 people killed in the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Connecticut, were children. But for years after the attack, Infowars host Alex Jones used his show to spread false claims that nobody died, and that the shooting was faked to create a pretext to disarm US gun owners. In this episode, Rob talk...
Oct 30, 2022•15 min•Season 3Ep. 7
The visitor to Lisa’s boatyard appeared to be an ordinary customer. But, she was horrified to later discover the real reason he had turned up at her workplace. The man who had pretended to be interested in buying a speedboat or a jet ski, was actually the conspiracy show host Richard D Hall. Lisa was seriously injured in the 2017 Manchester Arena bombing - a terror attack which Hall falsely claims was faked by sinister forces in the secret services. Some time after Hall’s visit, Lisa was distres...
Oct 30, 2022•14 min•Season 3Ep. 6
How widespread is the belief in conspiracy theories that falsely claim UK terror attacks are faked? Marianna Spring reveals the results of a survey carried out for the BBC. There’s a moment of revelation when she talks to Alicia, a fan of Richard D Hall, to learn more about the appeal of the online conspiracy show host. We also hear how Hall’s online reach has grown during the pandemic. In this BBC Radio 4 podcast series, Marianna Spring, the BBC’s disinformation and social media correspondent, ...
Oct 30, 2022•16 min•Season 3Ep. 5
Marianna Spring finally comes face to face with Richard D Hall. Will she be able to get answers for the terror survivors targeted by his conspiracy theories? In earlier episodes, we heard how Hall has spread false claims that the Manchester Arena bombing and other terror attacks were faked or actually carried out by the government. He even boasted about placing a hidden camera outside the home of a teenage survivor to try to prove her injuries weren’t real. He even describes how he tracks down s...
Oct 30, 2022•14 min•Season 3Ep. 4
What sort of person spreads false claims about survivors of terror attacks? An unexpected source gives Marianna Spring the inside track on conspiracy show host Richard D Hall. Neil Sanders has moved in the same sort of conspiracy-minded circles as Hall for years. He’s been a regular guest on Hall’s show. Neil even says he probably wouldn’t have written his book without Hall’s encouragement. In this episode, he helps Marianna chart Hall’s evolution from a UFO enthusiast obsessed with alien abduct...
Oct 30, 2022•16 min•Season 3Ep. 3
Martin and his daughter suffered life-changing injuries in the Manchester Arena bombing, but one conspiracy theorist claims to have gone to great lengths to try to prove otherwise. Eve, then 14, and her father were the closest people to the blast to survive the 2017 terror attack, in which 22 people and the bomber were killed. During the months that followed, Martin was shocked to be told about false claims, promoted by conspiracy show host Richard D Hall, that the bombing was faked. Hall accuse...
Oct 30, 2022•14 min•Season 3Ep. 2
Daren is haunted by his experience of the Manchester Arena bombing. So why do people taunt him with conspiracy theories which falsely claim the attack didn’t happen? On 22 May 2017, a terrorist bomb was detonated in the foyer of the arena at the end of an Ariana Grande concert, killing 22 people and the bomber. Daren, who had been in the audience with his son, rushed to help the injured. He has lived with the trauma of that night ever since. But to Daren’s disbelief, it wasn’t long before sinist...
Oct 30, 2022•16 min•Season 3Ep. 1
What happens when tragedy makes you a target? Why would anybody accuse terrorism survivors of being liars and “crisis actors”? The BBC’s disinformation and social media correspondent Marianna Spring investigates how people caught up in the Manchester Arena bombing and other UK terror attacks, are targeted with extreme conspiracy theories, online abuse and threats. Some are even hunted down offline. It’s a phenomenon we might usually associate with the US, and the billion dollar damages ruling ag...
Oct 24, 2022•3 min•Season 3Ep. 1
Citizen journalism – reporting by self-taught people, often on the ground - can play a vital role in the coverage of conflict. However, not everyone who contributes to this coverage is as 'independent'’ as they’d like their followers to believe. Roddy’s distrust of the media led him to start his own podcast. He also follows self-styled citizen journalists who are roaming around inside Ukraine. In this episode of War On Truth, the BBC’s specialist disinformation reporter Marianna Spring investiga...
Apr 29, 2022•16 min•Season 2Ep. 9
On the first day of the war, Ukraine gained a new patriotic hero and Tetyana thought she had lost a son. But the story wasn't quite as it first seemed. Tetyana’s son, Roman became world famous for defiantly swearing at a Russian warship which had threatened to bomb him and his fellow border guards on Snake Island, if they didn’t surrender. A recording of the exchange went viral and the Ukrainian government declared that Roman and his comrades had died as national heroes. Tetyana was plunged into...
Apr 22, 2022•16 min•Season 2Ep. 8
After Russia’s first independent radio station was taken off air by the Kremlin, the journalists who worked there are finding ways to get round censorship of the war in Ukraine. Sergei Buntman helped to found Echo of Moscow which for more than three decades provided an alternative to the news on Russian state media. In the days following the invasion of Ukraine, his radio station and several other news organisations were forced to shut down for challenging the official narrative about the war. Y...
Apr 14, 2022•21 min•Season 2Ep. 7
