The dangerous cycle that keeps conspiracy theories in the news — and Trump’s tweets

Conspiracy theories aren’t fueled by facts; they are fueled by attention. On Saturday, a baseless conspiracy theory about the death of Jeffrey Epstein gorged itself on a feast of the stuff, as a viral hashtag spammed by believers trended on Twitter. In less than a day, a viral tweet from a conservative Internet personality promoting that hashtag — #ClintonBodyCount — was retweeted by the president.

This rapid spread on Twitter of an unsubstantiated claim (one, in this instance, that is in conflict with information from President Trump’s own Justice Department) is not an aberration. It’s part of a cycle that represents social media platforms working as intended, showing users the things they are most likely to share and click.

Twitter in particular, as the platform of choice for many national journalists as well as Trump, has become the perfect vehicle for conspiracy theories, misinformation and racist screeds to find massive audiences, as messages grow from a few viral tweets, to a trending topic, to news coverage, to a tweet from the president’s popular account. The rapid spread of #ClintonBodyCount indicates that things aren’t really getting any better.

View the complete August 11 article by Abby Ohlheiser on The Washington Post website here.