Death Threats & Disinformation: What It’s Like Being Viciously Targeted By Conspiracy Theory Activists

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Marianna Spring – the BBC’s first ever disinformation and social media correspondent – writes for Vogue what it’s like to be the target of conspiracy theorists, and why she isn’t giving up.

I am a little bit afraid of the dark, and I don’t like heights. I also feel a bit scared when I’m watching my football team trying desperately not to concede another goal at the end of a game. But otherwise, I’d like to think I’m fearless. That’s because I used to believe that social media trolls, who I spend my time battling and investigating on a regular basis, could smell fear.

That’s what they want. I was, however, shaken. Incidents like this one are investigated by the police, and I receive support from the BBC. The man has since been removed from the premises. They found a “bladed item” with his belongings – a flip-knife, I was later told. Weeks later, another conspiracy theorist turned up outside the BBC, pleading for an interview with me. They followed the director general Tim Davie to the Tube, repeatedly making their request.

 

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