S07 E08: Anatomy of a Conspiracy Theory
5/14/20261 hr 20 min
Why do all of these stories purporting false allegations of child abuse sound the same? If enough people have experienced the same thing, that must mean it’s true, right? The truth is, as soon as you do a little digging, these cases begin to unravel. By taking a closer look into the cases featured in Serial’s The Preventionist and Mike Hixenbaugh’s Do No Harm, the copy and paste storytelling becomes apparent. Featuring: Tara Haelle, Science Journalist Dr. Jill Glick, Child Abuse Pediatrician
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First 90 secondsCaitlin Keating· Soundbite0:02
[intro music] True Story Media.
Andrea Dunlop· Host0:05
Please note that this show discusses child abuse, which may be difficult for some listeners. For resources about abusive head trauma, go to shakenbaby.org. [instrumental music] Conspiracy theories are most effective when they contain just enough of the truth to seem real. QAnon was predicated on the idea that global elites, particularly Democratic politicians, were trafficking children and participating in satanic abuse, and that President Trump was going to come into office and bring them all to justice. And as we now know, thanks to the deluge of horrors that continue to emerge from the Epstein files, elites from across the political spectrum were indeed up to many disturbing things. But as for the people who were supposed to bring them to justice, well, that's suddenly the last thing they seem interested in doing. That's another thing about conspiracy theories. They tend to include some projection, and they take hold when they do for a reason. The specifics may be very wrong, but the cultural anxieties that fuel them are very real. We've broken down a number of specific cases this season of parents who are presented as falsely accused of abuse because of a doctor's misdiagnosis. But there is no evidence in any of these cases that the doctors who diagnosed abuse were wrong. And these cases are not outliers in the media coverage. They're the rule. There's no way I can investigate