Conspiracy Nation: Exposing the dangerous world of Australian conspiracy theories

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In Australia, our conspiracy theories have something to say about our national character, our mythos and our anxieties, from colonisation to our national conceptions of fairness and freedom.

Vaccines kill kids; 5G spreads Covid-19; the Australian government is conspiring to create a new world order its easy to dismiss these as fringe concerns, or imported concepts, but increasingly ideas like these are gaining traction with everyday Australians and influencing our society in far reaching ways. From the backlash to Safe Schools, to algorithms that proliferate the messages of anti-vaxx wellness influencers in turn leading to falling rates of childhood vaccination and the return of devastating, previously all-but-eradicated diseases, to the Christchurch mosque shooting, which was carried out by an Australian, Wilson and Bogle show the devastating consequences of unchecked misinformation and radicalisation, and make a compelling case that by ignoring or diminishing the growing threat of conspiratorial thinking, we invite a fracturing of civil society.

Conspiracy Nation takes readers to rallies, homes, courtrooms, ballrooms, $2000 Byron Bay luxury retreats, secret group chats, homeschools, micronations and farms to provide an on-the-ground account of Australias conspiracy theories and the people who believe them.

Author Bio

Ariel Bogle is an investigative reporter with a focus on technology, extremism and internet policy. An investigations reporter at the Guardian Australia, she has worked in media in Australia and the United States for more than 10 years. Previously, she was the ABCs technology reporter, technology editor at The Conversation, associate editor at Mashable and associate editor with Future Tense, a partnership of Slate, New America and Arizona State University that explores how emerging technologies will change the way we live. Her reporting has been published in The New York Times, The Atlantic, Australian Financial Review and Slate, among other outlets.

Cam Wilson is a Walkley Award-nominated reporter whose work covers the intersection between internet culture, online extremism and politics. Hes currently Crikeys Associate Editor, and previously worked at the ABC, BuzzFeed News, Business Insider and Gizmodo. He has been published in The Guardian, Slate, the Sydney Morning Herald and elsewhere.