Are conspiracy theories America’s biggest export?
One British family deals with the devastating consequences of health conspiracies
The Global Story · BBC World Service
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Show Notes
We are away for Christmas, so this is a repeat of a previous episode.
Mistrust in science has never been higher. Fewer people are getting vaccinated, a known vaccine skeptic is leading the most powerful health agency in America and an outbreak of measels in Texas this year led to the first fatalities in almost a decade. Then, in August, a gunman opened fire on the headquarters of the Centre for Disease Control with many speculating he was fuelled by misinformation about health.
Increasingly this misinformation is being exported around the world.
Marianna Spring is the BBC’s Social Media Investigations Correspondent and tells the story of how suspicion of science in America helped radicalise a British mom with devastating consequences.
Producers: Cat Farnsworth and Lucy Pawle
Executive producer: Annie Brown
Mix: Travis Evans
Senior news editor: China Collins
Photo: Kate Shemirani. Martin Pope / Getty