Do ‘disaster trolls’ believe the conspiracy theories they promote?
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Do the conspiracy theorists who push the most shocking narratives circulating online really believe them?
It’s a question I’m confronted with once again, after Manchester Arena bomb survivors filed landmark legal action against a conspiracy theorist who claims the attack was faked.
Martin and Eve Hibbert, who were left with severe disabilities after the 2017 blast, are suing Richard D Hall for defamation and harassment after he tracked down Eve and other survivors to see if they were lying about their injuries. It’s the first time such action has been launched against a conspiracy theorist in the UK.
His defiant response to the BBC investigation, and an initial letter from Mr Hibbert’s legal team, suggests he is yet to change his position. He continues to defend the book he has written claiming the Manchester Arena attack was staged, and to post suggestions the attack was fabricated online. But why?
We can turn to the US for some possible answers. This new case echoes the legal action brought there against conspiracist Alex Jones, one of the world’s most famous “disaster trolls.”
Content retrieved from: https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-65201949.
