Marianna in Conspiracyland - 1. Entering Conspiracyland

What’s happening in the Devon town of Totnes? The small town of Totnes in Devon is known for its warmth and open-mindedness, gong baths and healing crystals, but a fault line has emerged between the minority who’ve been drawn in by disinformation laced with hate and those who are fighting against it. Some in the town were drawn into a conspiracy theory movement during the pandemic, one whose monthly marches and rallies persist to this day. A conspiracy theory newspaper called The Light seems to have played a key part in the division there. BBC disinformation and social media correspondent Marianna Spring investigates how the theories that dominate its pages are changing the town.

Host: Marianna Spring
Producers: Philip Marzouk and Olivia Lace-Evans
Producer for BBC Radio 4 podcasts: Nathan Jones
Technical Producer: Alex Portfelix
Series producer: Emma Close
Senior news editor: Sam Bonham
Commissioner: Rhian Roberts

New episodes released every few days. If you're in the UK, listen to the whole series first on BBC Sounds bbc.in/42x5sO5

And please get in touch with Marianna by emailing at: mariannainconspiracyland@bbc.co.uk.

Published on Monday, 12th June 2023.

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