GENERAL:
David Aaronovitch, Voodoo Histories: The Role of Conspiracy Theory in Shaping Modern History (New York: Riverhead, 2011).
Kurt Andersen, Fantasyland: How America Went Haywire: A 500-Year History (New York: Random House, 2017).
Jack Z. Bratich, Conspiracy Panics: Political Rationality and Popular Culture (New York: State University of New York Press, 2008).
Rob Brotherton, Suspicious Minds: Why We Believe in Conspiracy Theories (New York: Bloomsbury Sigma, reprint 2017).
Mark Fenster, Conspiracy Theories: Secrecy and Power in American Culture, 2nd ed. (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2008).
G. Edward Griffin, The Creature from Jekyll Island: A Second Look at the Federal Reserve, 5th ed. (New York: American Media, 2010).
Emma A. Jane and Chris Fleming, Modern Conspiracy: The Importance of Being Paranoid (New York: Bloomsbury Academic, 2014).
Mike Lofgren, The Deep State: The Fall of the Constitution and the Rise of a Shadow Government (New York: Viking, 2016).
Kathryn S. Olmsted, Real Enemies: Conspiracy Theories and American Democracy, World War I to 9/11 (New York: Oxford University Press, 2009).
Jon Ronson, Them: Adventures with Extremists (New York: Simon & Schuster, reprint 2003).
Vegas Tenold, Everything You Love Will Burn: Inside the Rebirth of White Nationalism in America (New York: Nation Books, 2018).
Jesse Walker, The United States of Paranoia: A Conspiracy Theory (New York: Harper, 2013).
Lawrence Wright, Remembering Satan: A Tragic Case of Recovered Memory (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1994).
Ilya Yablokov, Fortress Russia: Conspiracy Theories in the Post-Soviet World (Boston: Polity, 2018).
Kevin Young, Bunk: The Rise of Hoaxes, Humbug, Plagiarists, Phonies, Post-Facts, and Fake News (Minneapolis: Graywolf Press, 2017).
PROLOGUE
Marc Fisher, John Woodrow Cox, and Peter Hermann, “Pizzagate: From Rumor, to Hashtag, to Gunfire in D.C.,” Washington Post, December 6, 2016.
Dark Secrets: Inside Bohemian Grove (film, 2000), dir. Alex Jones.
“UFOs Exist, Say 36 Percent in National Survey,” ABC News, June 27, 2012.
1: FALSE TIMES
Sean David Morton, interview with the author, February 11, 2016.
Kathryn S. Olmsted, interview with the author, August 31, 2017.
Richard Hofstadter, “The Paranoid Style in American Politics,” Harper’s, November 1964.
Joseph E. Uscinski, Casey Klofstad, and Matthew D. Atkinson, “What Drives Conspiratorial Beliefs? The Role of Informational Cues and Predispositions.” Political Research Quarterly 69, no. 1 (March 2016): 57–71.
Michael J. Wood, Karen M. Douglas, and Robbie M. Sutton, “Dead and Alive: Beliefs in Contradictory Conspiracy Theories,” Social Psychological and Personality Science, January 25, 2012.
2: “NONE OF IT IS CRAZY”
Michael Harriott, interview with the author, November 16, 2017.
Dr. John L. Jackson, interview with the author, November 16, 2017.
Minister Tony Muhammad, interview with the author, June 21, 2017.
“Hurricane Katrina: Voices from Inside the Storm,” hearing from the Select Bipartisan Committee to Investigate the Preparation for and Response to Hurricane Katrina, December 6, 2005, accessed via C-SPAN.org.
Lisa Meyers, “Were the Levees Bombed in New Orleans?: Ninth Ward Residents Give Voice to a Conspiracy Theory,” NBC News, December 7, 2005.
“Looking Back at the Blasting of the Mississippi River Levee at Caernarvon,” New Orleans Times-Picayune, April 9, 2012.
The Great Mississippi River Flood of 1927: Ain’t Got No Place to Go, online interactive exhibit, National Museum of African American History and Culture, undated, accessed 2017.
“The Mississippi Valley Flood Disaster of 1927; Official Report,” American National Red Cross, 1929, accessed 2018 through Hathi Trust Digital Library.
Susan Scott Parrish, “The Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 Laid Bare the Divide Between the North and the South,” Smithsonianmag.com, April 11, 2017.
William Howard, “Richard Wright’s Flood Stories and the Great Mississippi River Flood of 1927: Social and Historical Backgrounds,” Southern Literary Journal 16, no. 2 (Spring 1984): 44, accessed via RichGibson.com.
“When the Levee Breaks: Ripples of the Great Flood,” NPR, May 18, 2011.
Eric Konigsberg, “Who Killed Anna Mae?” New York Times Magazine, April 25, 2014.
STATE of South Dakota, Plaintiff and Appellee, v. John GRAHAM a/k/a John Boy Patton, Defendant and Appellant, No. 25899. Decided: May 30, 2012.
Alleen Brown, Will Parrish, and Alice Speri, “Leaked Documents Reveal Counterterrorism Tactics Used at Standing Rock to ‘Defeat Pipeline Insurgencies,’” The Intercept, May 27, 2017.
Peter Aldhous and Charles Seife, “Spies in the Skies,” Buzzfeed News, April 6, 2016.
“Reproductive Health of Urban American Indian and Alaska Native Women: Examining Unintended Pregnancy, Contraception, Sexual History and Behavior, and Non-Voluntary Sexual Intercourse,” Urban Indian Health Institute, May 2010.
Ted Goertzel, “Belief in Conspiracy Theories,” Political Psychology 15, no. 4 (December 1994).
L. M. Bogart and S. Thorburn, “Are HIV/AIDS Conspiracy Beliefs a Barrier to HIV Prevention Among African Americans?” Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes, February 2005.
Jacob Heller, “Rumors and Realities: Making Sense of HIV/AIDS Conspiracy Narratives and Contemporary Legends,” American Journal of Public Health, January 2015.
Mike Adams, “And Now the Cover-up Murders Begin in Flint, Michigan: Water Treatment Plant Foreman Found Dead … Young Mom Murdered in Her Home After Filing Lawsuit against Michigan Government,” Natural News, April 24, 2016.
Merrit Kennedy, “Lead-Laced Water in Flint: A Step-by-Step Look at the Makings of a Crisis,” NPR, April 20, 2016.
3: NOCTURNAL RITUAL PIZZA PARTY
David Seaman, interview with the author, March 25, 2017.
Bryce Reh, interview with the author, March 25, 2017.
Amanda Robb, “Pizzagate: Anatomy of a Fake News Scandal,” Rolling Stone, November 16, 2017.
Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai, “How Hackers Broke into John Podesta and Colin Powell’s Gmail Accounts,” Vice News, October 20, 2016.
Nick Bryant, “Flight Logs Put Clinton, Dershowitz on Pedophile Billionaire’s Sex Jet,” Gawker, January 22, 2015.
United States of America v. Edgar Maddison Welch, federal complaint, December 12, 2016.
Bryan Menegus, “What We Learned From the Pizzagate Shooter’s Latest Court Docs,” Gizmodo, June 14, 2017.
Adam Goldman, “The Comet Ping Pong Gunman Answers Our Reporter’s Questions,” New York Times, December 7, 2016.
James Doubek, “Conspiracy Theorist Alex Jones Apologizes for Promoting ‘Pizzagate,’” NPR, March 26, 2017.
Paul Joseph Watson, “Ex-Banker Claims He Was Invited to Participate in Child Sacrifice Rituals,” InfoWars, May 2, 2017.
Eric Hananoki, “Alex Jones Deletes Video in Which He Had Told His Audience to Personally ‘Investigate’ ‘Pizzagate’ Restaurant,” Media Matters, December 16, 2016.
Dan Shewan, “Conviction of Things Not Seen: The Uniquely American Myth of Satanic Cults,” Pacific Standard, September 8, 2015.
Ken Huff, “The Lonely Life of ‘Latchkey’ Children, Say Two Experts, Is a National Disgrace,” People, September 20, 1982.
Steven R. Churm, “Parents Dig Persistently for Evidence: McMartin School,” Los Angeles Times, June 5, 1990.
4: FALSE FLAGS
Lenny Pozner, interview with the author, March 15, 2017.
Louis Leo IV, interview with the author, June 10, 2017.
Silvia Foster-Frau, “Pair Arrested After Harassing Pastor in Sutherland Springs,” San Antonio Express-News, March 5, 2018.
Mike Schneider, “Ibragim Todashev’s Family Sues Agents over His Death,” Associated Press, May 24, 2017.
“Zionist Jews Strike Again, Murdering Three in Boston,” NoDisInfo.com, April 15, 2013.
“SWAT Team Head Behind Attack on Dzhokhar Busted as a Zionist Jew,” NoDisinfo.com, July 22, 2013.
Dave Hodges, “The Globalist Brainwashing of Your Children,” Common Sense Show, April 1, 2014.
“Extremists and Conspiracy Theorists React to Boston Marathon Terrorist Attack,” Anti-Defamation League, April 18, 2013.
Kate Starbird et al., “Ecosystem or Echo-System? Exploring Content Sharing Across Alternative Media Domains,” University of Washington and Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, 2017.
5: USEFUL MURDERS
Joseph Uscinski, interview with the author, February 1, 2017.
Aaron Rich, interview with the author, April 21, 2017.
Manuel Roig-Franzia, “Seth Rich Wasn’t Just Another D.C. Murder Victim. He Was a Meme in the Weirdest Presidential Election of Our Times,” Washington Post, January 17, 2018.
David Folkenflik, “Behind Fox News’ Baseless Seth Rich Story: The Untold Tale,” NPR, August 1, 2017.
Jonathan Mahler, “The Problem with ‘Self-Investigation’ in a Post-Truth Era,” New York Times Magazine, December 27, 2016.
Adam Shrier, “Democratic National Committee Staffer Killed in Washington, D.C. Shooting,” New York Daily News, July 11, 2016.
Aaron Rich v. Edward Butowsky, Matthew Couch, America First Media, and the Washington Times, federal complaint, filed March 26, 2018.
Sorcha Faal, “Assassination of Top US Democratic Party Official Leads to FBI Capture of Clinton ‘Hit Team,’” WhatDoesItMean.com, July 13, 2016.
Peter Hermann and Clarence Williams, “WikiLeaks Offers Reward for Help Finding DNC Staffer’s Killer,” Washington Post, August 9, 2016.
Danielle Kurtzleben, “Unproved Claims Re-Emerge Around DNC Staffer’s Death: Here’s What You Should Know,” NPR, May 11, 2017.
Jeremy W. Peters, “A Pro-Trump Conspiracy Theorist, a False Tweet and a Runaway Story,” New York Times, June 10, 2017.
Cass R. Sunstein and Adrian Vermeule, “Conspiracy Theories,” University of Chicago Law School, Coase-Sandor Working Paper Series in Law and Economics, 2008.
Rosie Gray, “D.C. Lobbyist Who Once Supported Trump Now Says He’ll Raise Money for Anti-Trump Effort,” Buzzfeed News, July 7, 2016.
Jonathan Valania, “How Jack Posobiec Became the King of Fake News,” Philadelphia Magazine, September 16, 2017.
“Roger Stone Uses Vince Foster Conspiracy Theory to Promote Upcoming Book on Hannity’s Radio Show,” Media Matters, September 18, 2015.
“Rod Wheeler Backtracks Statements About Seth Rich Investigation,” Fox News 5 DC, May 17, 2017.
Mary Rich and Joel Rich, “We’re Seth Rich’s Parents. Stop Politicizing Our Son’s Murder,” Washington Post, May 23, 2017.
Emily Steel, “Lawsuit Asserts White House Role in Fox News Article on Seth Rich,” New York Times, August 1, 2017.
David Weigel, “Gingrich Spreads Conspiracy Theory About Slain DNC Staffer,” Washington Post, May 21, 2017.
Caitlin Johnstone, “Why You Should Definitely Keep Talking About Seth Rich,” Medium, May 24, 2017.
David Folkenflik, “Judge Dismisses Suits Against Fox News over Seth Rich Story,” NPR, August 3, 2018.
6: MEDICAL ODDITIES
Andrew Wakefield et al., “RETRACTED: Ileal-Lymphoid-Nodular Hyperplasia, Non-Specific Colitis, and Pervasive Developmental Disorder in Children,” Lancet, February 28, 1998.
Brian Deer, “How the Case Against the MMR Vaccine Was Fixed,” British Medical Journal, January 6, 2011.
Y. Tony Yang et al., “Sociodemographic Predictors of Vaccination Exemptions on the Basis of Personal Belief in California,” American Journal of Public Health, January 2016.
Mary Ann Roser, “Discredited Autism Guru Andrew Wakefield Takes Aim at CDC,” Austin American-Statesman, September 23, 2016.
Linda A. Johnson, “FDA: Avoid Fake ‘Miracle’ Cancer Treatments Sold on Internet,” Associated Press, April 25, 2017.
David A. Broniatowski et al., “Weaponized Health Communication: Twitter Bots and Russian Trolls Amplify the Vaccine Debate,” American Journal of Public Health, August 23, 2018.
J. Eric Oliver and Thomas Wood, “Medical Conspiracy Theories and Health Behaviors in the United States,” JAMA Internal Medicine, May 2014.
Rong-Gong Lin II, “How California Got More Children Vaccinated After the Disneyland Measles Outbreak,” Los Angeles Times, April 13, 2017.
Laurie Wilson, “Family of Radiation Test Victim Angered by Government’s Deceit,” Washington Post, January 2, 1994.
“Settlement Reached in Suit over Radioactive Oatmeal Experiment,” New York Times, January 1, 1998.
Arnold H. Lubasch, “$700,000 Award Is Made in ’53 Secret Test Death,” New York Times, May 6, 1987.
Tim Weiner, “Sidney Gottlieb, 80, Dies; Took LSD to C.I.A.,” New York Times, March 10, 1999.
Nikhil Sonnad, “All the ‘Wellness’ Products Americans Love to Buy Are Sold on Both InfoWars and Goop,” Quartz, June 29, 2017.
7: A NATURAL MAN
Sean David Morton, interview with the author, April 7, 2017.
Colleen Morton Anderson, interview with the author, August 30, 2017.
“Tax Protester Movement,” Anti-Defamation League, undated/archived.
“The Truth About Frivolous Tax Arguments,” IRS.gov, March 13, 2018.
Sean David Morton, letter to potential investors, UFO Watchdog, undated.
Shannon Sands, “Believers Are Not Alone: Outer Space: A Nevada Military Base Lures the Faithful Seeking Close Encounters of Any Kind with the UFOs They Believe Frequent the Area,” Los Angeles Times, March 20, 1991.
Robert Anglen, “Gordon Hall Trades Millions, Mansion for Prison Cell,” Arizona Republic, June 25, 2015.
8: WHITE NATIONALIST COOKOUT
Matthew Heimbach, interview with the author, April 17, 2017.
Chip Berlet, interview with the author, November 9, 2017.
Ryan Lenz, interview with the author, May 21, 2017.
“TradWorker 25 Points,” Traditionalist Worker Party Tennessee website, undated.
Sarah Viets, “Meet the Aryan Nationalist Alliance, a Racist Hodgepodge Doomed to Fail,” Southern Poverty Law Center, July 21, 2016.
Sarah Viets, “Nationalist Front Chumming Up to Klan Members Once Again,” Southern Poverty Law Center, May 30, 2017.
Josh Little, “Pike’s Population on the Decline,” Appalachian News-Express, April 9, 2016.
2016 Kentucky Presidential Election Results, Politico, December 13, 2016.
“The Enemy Within,” Original Knights of America, Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, undated.
Kathryn Flett, “We’re Off to See the Lizards,” Guardian, May 12, 2001.
Jon Ronson, “Beset by Lizards,” Guardian, March 17, 2001.
Marlon Solomon, “Forget the Lizards: David Icke Is Dangerous and We Should Take Him Seriously,” Half Chips/Half Rice, January 4, 2017.
Mansfield v. Church of the Creator, Case Background and Federal Complaint, Southern Poverty Law Center.
“Ku Klux Klan: A History of Racism,” Southern Poverty Law Center, February 28, 2011.
Alexander Zaitchik, “Patriot Paranoia: A Look at the Top Ten Conspiracy Theories,” Southern Poverty Law Center, August 1, 2010.
“Ctrl-Alt-Delete: The Origins and Ideology of the Alt Right,” Political Research Associates, January 20, 2017.
“Identity Evropa and Arktos Media—Likely Bedfellows,” Southern Poverty Law Center, September 26, 2017.
J. Lester Feder and Edgar Mannheimer, “How Sweden Became ‘The Most Alt-Right Country in Europe,’” Buzzfeed News, May 3, 2017.
Tom Batchelor, “Anti-Fascist Activist Goes Undercover with ‘Alt Right’ to Expose Movement’s Rapid European Expansion,” Independent, September 20, 2017.
“The International Alternative Right,” Hope Not Hate.
Jessi Balmert, “Lawmaker Keller Spoke on White Power Advocate’s Show,” Cincinnati Enquirer, April 18, 2017.
Zachary Roth, “Local Tea Party Leader Who Suggested Shooting Hispanics Now Is Wanted by Cops—Tweets: ‘Arm Yourself,’” Talking Points Memo, April 14, 2010.
Grant Pick, “Bigot for Hire,” Chicago Reader, July 21, 1994.
Lauren Carroll, “Fact-Checking Trump’s Claim That Thousands in New Jersey Cheered When World Trade Center Tumbled,” Politifact, November 22, 2015.
“ADL Urges Donald Trump to Reconsider ‘America First’ in Foreign Policy Approach,” Anti-Defamation League, April 28, 2016.
Zack Beauchamp, “Study: 11 Million White Americans Think Like the Alt-Right,” Vox, August 10, 2018.
Gary Langer, “1 in 10 Say It’s Acceptable to Hold Neo-Nazi Views (POLL),” ABC News, August 21, 2017.
“Extremist Info: Frank Gaffney Jr.,” Southern Poverty Law Center.
Natasha Korecki, “‘I Snookered Them’: Illinois Nazi Candidate Creates GOP Dumpster Fire,” Politico, June 29, 2018.
Lois Beckett, “White Nationalist Leader Charged with Harassing Black Protester at Trump Rally,” Guardian, May 1, 2017.
Luke O’Brien, “The Making of an American Nazi,” The Atlantic, December 2017.
Anna Merlan, “Leader of the Hate Group Linked to Charlottesville Attacker Was a Recruiter for the U.S. Marines,” Splinter News, August 14, 2017.
Brennan Gilmore, “How I Became Fake News,” Politico, August 21, 2017.
A. C. Thompson, Ali Winston, and Jake Hanrahan, “Inside Atomwaffen As It Celebrates a Member for Allegedly Killing a Gay Jewish College Student,” ProPublica, February 23, 2018.
9: THE POLITICS OF UFOS
Sharon Hill, “UFO Research Is Up in the Air: Can It Be Scientific?” Center for Skeptical Inquiry, August 28, 2013.
The Roswell Report: Fact vs. Fiction in the New Mexico Desert, Headquarters United States Air Force, 1995.
William J. Broad, “Air Force Details a New Theory in U.F.O. Case,” New York Times, June 24, 1997.
Jason Colavito, “Top MUFON Official Quits over Organization’s Continued Support of John Ventre a Year After Ventre’s Racist Rant,” JasonColavito.com, April 17, 2018.
10: CONSPIRACISM IS FOR EVERYONE: THE DEEP STATE AND RUSSIAGATE
Jonah Engel Bromwich, “C-Span Online Broadcast Interrupted by Russian Network,” New York Times, January 12, 2017.
Amanda Taub and Max Fisher, “As Leaks Multiply, Fears of a ‘Deep State’ in America,” New York Times, February 16, 2017.
Kate Starbird, “Tracing Disinformation Trajectories from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill,” Medium, December 2, 2016.
Philip Bump, “The Web of Conspiracy Theorists That Was Ready for Donald Trump,” Washington Post, April 4, 2017.
Masha Gessen, “Russia: The Conspiracy Trap,” New York Review of Books, March 6, 2017.
Jana Winter and Elias Groll, “Here’s the Memo That Blew Up the NSC,” Foreign Policy, August 10, 2017.
Jon Swaine, “Lurid Trump Allegations Made by Louise Mensch and Co-Writer Came from Hoaxer,” Guardian, August 28, 2017.
EPILOGUE
Brandy Zadrozny and Ben Collins, “Arizona Veterans Group Finds Homeless Camp—and Fuels a New ‘Pizzagate’-Style Conspiracy,” NBC News, June 7, 2018.
Matthew Gault, “#QAnon Conspiracy Theorists Are Hunting for ‘Child Sex Camps’ in the Arizona Desert,” Vice, June 7, 2018.
Will Sommer, “QAnon, the Crazy Pro-Trump Conspiracy, Melts Down over OIG Report,” Daily Beast, June 19, 2018.
Asawin Suebsaeng and Will Sommer, “Trump Meets QAnon Kook Who Believes Democrats Run Pedophile Cult,” Daily Beast, August 24, 2018.
Sebastian Murdock, “Sandy Hook Parents Hit Alex Jones with Defamation Lawsuits,” Huffington Post, April 17, 2018.
Henry Brean, “Suspect in Hoover Dam Standoff Writes Trump, Cites Conspiracy in Letters,” Las Vegas Review-Journal, July 13, 2018.
Philip N. Howard et al., “Social Media, News and Political Information During the US Election: Was Polarizing Content Concentrated in Swing States?” Project on Computational Propaganda, Oxford University, September 28, 2017.
“Every Fifth Swede Does Not Trust Traditional Media,” Resumé, December 15, 2017.
Reuters Institute Digital News Report 2017, Reuters Institute and Oxford University.
Daniel Jolley and Karen M. Douglas, “The Social Consequences of Conspiracism: Exposure to Conspiracy Theories Decreases Intentions to Engage in Politics and to Reduce One’s Carbon Footprint,” British Journal of Psychology, January 4, 2013.
Bradley Franks, Martin W. Bauer, and Adrian Bangerter, “Conspiracy Theories as Quasi-Religious Mentality: An Integrated Account from Cognitive Science, Social Representations Theory, and Frame Theory,” Frontiers in Psychology, July 16, 2013.