Are the disappearances or deaths of at least 11 US scientists, each allegedly connected in some way to space, defense and nuclear research, really linked in a nefarious plot: one that involves the Chinese or other state enemies, or possibly links back to UFOs?
A conspiracy theory positing exactly that has roared through sections of the US population in recent weeks, spreading rapidly from the internet into rightwing media and hence into the mainstream press and prompting an inquiry from Congress and questions from Donald Trump.
Could such an outlandish theory have even an inkling of truth? Or are lawmakers, the FBI, the White House, countless substackers and podcasters, along with US media outlets, just pandering to the latest clickbait conspiracy theory in an age rife with them?
Like all good conspiracy theories, the mysterious case of the sudden flood of missing or dead US scientists is difficult to sift through. And answers to its puzzle likely lie not in the conspiracy theory itself but what it represents in an era of AI slop and social media disinformation. Especially when each morsel of conspiratorial connection creates more appetite for another and can never be satiated.
But there are a few known elements.
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