Marianna in Conspiracyland

The visitor to Lisa’s boatyard appeared to be an ordinary customer. But, she was horrified to later discover the real reason he had turned up at her workplace. The man who had pretended to be interested in buying a speedboat or a jet ski, was actually the conspiracy show host Richard D Hall.Lisa was seriously injured in the 2017 Manchester Arena bombing - a terror attack which Hall falsely claims was faked by sinister forces in the secret services. Some time after Hall’s visit, Lisa was distressed to learn that Hall had visited her workplace, posing as a customer, with the aim of secretly recording her to discover whether she’s lying about her injuries - and that he had talked about it online.As Lisa ponders how Hall can be held to account, another Manchester survivor reveals his plans to take legal action against him. Martin Hibbert - who we heard from in an earlier episode - is spurred on by the US court victory of the relatives of the Sandy Hook shooting victims who have successfully sued Infowars host Alex Jones in Texas. Across this series - and in this episode - there are graphic descriptions of violence. This episode contains audio from Richard D Hall’s website.Presenter: Marianna Spring Producer: Ant Adeane Editor: Ed Main

How widespread is the belief in conspiracy theories that falsely claim UK terror attacks are faked? Marianna Spring reveals the results of a survey carried out for the BBC.There’s a moment of revelation when she talks to Alicia, a fan of Richard D Hall, to learn more about the appeal of the online conspiracy show host. We also hear how Hall’s online reach has grown during the pandemic.In this BBC Radio 4 podcast series, Marianna Spring, the BBC’s disinformation and social media correspondent, investigates how survivors of the Manchester Arena bombing and other tragedies, are targeted with online abuse and false claims that deny the reality of the horrific events they have lived through.How popular are these extreme conspiracy theories? What are the factors that make people more susceptible to believing them? This episode provides some insight from the results of an online survey carried out for the BBC. King's College London interviewed more than 4000 adults in the UK, between 1-9 October 2022.Presenter: Marianna Spring Producer: Ant Adeane Editor: Ed Main

Marianna Spring finally comes face to face with Richard D Hall. Will she be able to get answers for the terror survivors targeted by his conspiracy theories?In earlier episodes, we heard how Hall has spread false claims that the Manchester Arena bombing and other terror attacks were faked or actually carried out by the government. He even boasted about placing a hidden camera outside the home of a teenage survivor to try to prove her injuries weren’t real. He even describes how he tracks down survivors of the attack to determine whether it was faked. When Hall repeatedly refuses to be interviewed, Marianna heads to Wales to visit the market stall where he sells his merchandise.In this BBC Radio 4 podcast series, Marianna Spring, the BBC’s disinformation and social media correspondent, investigates how online trolls deepen the trauma suffered by people caught up in terror attacks and other horrific events.This episode contains audio from Richard D Hall’s website.Presenter: Marianna Spring Producer: Ant Adeane Editor: Ed Main

What sort of person spreads false claims about survivors of terror attacks? An unexpected source gives Marianna Spring the inside track on conspiracy show host Richard D Hall.Neil Sanders has moved in the same sort of conspiracy-minded circles as Hall for years. He’s been a regular guest on Hall’s show. Neil even says he probably wouldn’t have written his book without Hall’s encouragement. In this episode, he helps Marianna chart Hall’s evolution from a UFO enthusiast obsessed with alien abductions to someone who promotes toxic conspiracy theories.Neil rejects Hall’s theories about so-called “crisis actors” and faked terror attacks, and he recognises the distress those false claims cause to survivors.In this BBC Radio 4 podcast, the BBC’s disinformation and social media correspondent Marianna Spring, investigates how survivors of UK terror attacks and tragedies are targeted with horrific conspiracy theories, online abuse and threats. Some are even tracked down offline too. Now they want answers and justice.This episode contains audio from Richard D Hall’s website.Presenter: Marianna Spring Producer: Ant Adeane Editor: Ed Main

Martin and his daughter suffered life-changing injuries in the Manchester Arena bombing, but one conspiracy theorist claims to have gone to great lengths to try to prove otherwise.Eve, then 14, and her father were the closest people to the blast to survive the 2017 terror attack, in which 22 people and the bomber were killed. During the months that followed, Martin was shocked to be told about false claims, promoted by conspiracy show host Richard D Hall, that the bombing was faked. Hall accused him and other survivors of lying about their injuries. But then to Martin’s even greater horror, he discovered Hall had shared a video with his followers online where he demonstrated how he would set up a camera to film Eve - now profoundly disabled and in a wheelchair - to see whether she could in fact walk. In this BBC Radio 4 podcast series, the BBC’s disinformation and social media correspondent Marianna Spring, investigates how survivors of UK terror attacks and tragedies are targeted with horrific conspiracy theories, online abuse and threats. Across this series - and in this episode - there are graphic descriptions of violence. This episode contains audio from Richard D Hall’s website.Presenter: Marianna Spring Producer: Ant Adeane Editor: Ed Main

Daren is haunted by his experience of the Manchester Arena bombing. So why do people taunt him with conspiracy theories which falsely claim the attack didn’t happen?On 22 May 2017, a terrorist bomb was detonated in the foyer of the arena at the end of an Ariana Grande concert, killing 22 people and the bomber. Daren, who had been in the audience with his son, rushed to help the injured. He has lived with the trauma of that night ever since. But to Daren’s disbelief, it wasn’t long before sinister claims began circulating online, wild allegations that the attack was faked. He and other survivors were accused of being “crisis actors” paid to play a part in a massive deception by evil forces in the government. So who is propagating these baseless claims? In this BBC Radio 4 podcast, the BBC’s disinformation and social media correspondent Marianna Spring, investigates how survivors of UK terror attacks and tragedies are targeted with horrific conspiracy theories, online abuse and threats. Some are even tracked down offline too. Now they want answers and justice.Across this series - and in this episode - there are graphic descriptions of violence. This episode contains audio from Richard D Hall’s website.Presenter: Marianna Spring Producer: Ant Adeane Editor: Ed Main

What happens when tragedy makes you a target? Why would anybody accuse terrorism survivors of being liars and “crisis actors”?The BBC’s disinformation and social media correspondent Marianna Spring investigates how people caught up in the Manchester Arena bombing and other UK terror attacks, are targeted with extreme conspiracy theories, online abuse and threats. Some are even hunted down offline. It’s a phenomenon we might usually associate with the US, and the billion dollar damages ruling against Alex Jones for claiming the Sandy Hook school shootings were faked. But Marianna uncovers shocking evidence that British trolls are also blighting the lives of people right here in the UK, people who now want answers and justice. Presenter: Marianna SpringProducer: Ant AdeaneEditor: Ed Main

Citizen journalism – reporting by self-taught people, often on the ground - can play a vital role in the coverage of conflict. However, not everyone who contributes to this coverage is as 'independent'’ as they’d like their followers to believe. Roddy’s distrust of the media led him to start his own podcast. He also follows self-styled citizen journalists who are roaming around inside Ukraine. In this episode of War On Truth, the BBC’s specialist disinformation reporter Marianna Spring investigates some of their work. She speaks with an expert who has analysed some of their coverage, tries to understand how it gets made, what might be influencing it - and why it spreads to people like Roddy. Producer: Joseph Martin Editor: Ant Adeane

On the first day of the war, Ukraine gained a new patriotic hero and Tetyana thought she had lost a son. But the story wasn't quite as it first seemed.Tetyana’s son, Roman became world famous for defiantly swearing at a Russian warship which had threatened to bomb him and his fellow border guards on Snake Island, if they didn’t surrender.A recording of the exchange went viral and the Ukrainian government declared that Roman and his comrades had died as national heroes.Tetyana was plunged into grief as her son was celebrated as a symbol of national resistance. But, as she recounts, events soon took an unexpected turn. The ramifications of what actually happened at Snake Island have become a battleground in the information war that is being fought over Ukraine, alongside the military battle. And like the conflict on the ground, this fight also has real consequences for the people whose lives it touches. In this podcast series, BBC disinformation reporter Marianna Spring investigates stories from Ukraine, Russia, and around the world, and hears from those caught up in the battle for the truth.Producers: Ant Adeane and Joseph MartinEditor: Ed Main

After Russia’s first independent radio station was taken off air by the Kremlin, the journalists who worked there are finding ways to get round censorship of the war in Ukraine.Sergei Buntman helped to found Echo of Moscow which for more than three decades provided an alternative to the news on Russian state media.In the days following the invasion of Ukraine, his radio station and several other news organisations were forced to shut down for challenging the official narrative about the war.Yet despite threats of violence and imprisonment, Sergei and some of his fellow Russian journalists are refusing to stay silent, and are finding new ways to make themselves heard.They find themselves on the frontline of the information war that is being fought over Ukraine, alongside the military battle. And like the conflict on the ground, this fight also has real consequences for the people whose lives it touches. Russia’s military assault has been accompanied by an onslaught of disinformation and propaganda from state media, trolls and influencers. With all sides seeking to capture and control the narrative, how do you tell what is fake and what is real?In this podcast series, BBC disinformation reporter Marianna Spring investigates stories from Ukraine, Russia, and around the world, and hears from those caught up in the battle for the truth.Producer: Ant AdeaneEditor: Ed Main