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United States of Conspiracy | Frontline

Courtesy
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Reuters/Callaghan O'Hare
Alex Jones Screams into a megaphone as protesters against the state's extended stay-at-home order to help slow the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) demonstrate at the Capitol building in Austin, Texas, U.S., April 18, 2020

Tue., Jul. 28 at 10pm on WKAR-HD & STREAMING | How trafficking in conspiracy theories went from the fringes of U.S. politics into the White House.

In United States of Conspiracy, as the coronavirus pandemic continues, America reckons with racism and the 2020 election loom, Frontline's acclaimed political team investigates the alliance among conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, longtime Trump associate Roger Stone and the president - and their role in the deepening battle over truth and lies.

WATCH A PREVIEW

As United States of Conspiracy reports, the three men built a template for American politics relying on chaos, conflict and conspiracy. Jones' messages and methods came to be echoed by Trump in campaign speeches and interviews: " I mean, sometimes it was, like, verbatim - like, really Trump, really? You're taking his word for it?" says former InfoWars staffer Rob Jacobsen.

The film explores the role of the internet and social media in fanning the flames: "We all know of conspiracy theorists from the days before Twitter or Facebook. And those people were sort of isolated and shunned. And everybody felt like they had their number," says Elizabeth Williamson of The New York Times. "But with social media and the internet, they find each other. And they push that message to millions of people."

And now, with the country in the grip of the coronavirus pandemic, conspiracy theories have spread like the virus itself - causing people to disregard the warning of public health experts even as the death toll grows.

United States of Conspiracy is a Frontline production with Kirk Documentary Group, Ltd. The producers are Michael Kirk, Mike Wiser and Philip Bennett. The producer & reporter is Jim Gilmore. The writers are Michael Kirk & Mike Wiser. The director is Michael Kirk. The executive producer of Frontline is Raney Aronson-Rath.

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