Marianna in Conspiracyland

Gary Matthews was into conspiracy theories - until he caught Covid and died. What role did falsehoods play in his death? BBC disinformation reporter Marianna Spring investigates. Gary was a talented artist and photographer, sociable and well-liked - a familiar face in his hometown of Shrewsbury. A few years ago, his friends noticed that he was getting into conspiracy theories. Like millions of others, he fell for Covid pseudoscienc...

Two of Gary’s closest friends give us the inside story of his journey towards conspiracy theories. Gary Matthews was a talented artist and photographer, sociable and well-liked - a familiar face in his hometown of Shrewsbury. A few years ago, his friends noticed that he was getting into conspiracy theories. Like millions of others, he fell for Covid pseudoscience when the pandemic hit. In January 2021, at the age of 46, Gary caught...

Marianna goes to a rally on the invitation of a man who believes strange things about Covid. Gary Matthews was a talented artist and photographer, sociable and well-liked - a familiar face in his hometown of Shrewsbury. A few years ago, his friends noticed that he was getting into conspiracy theories. Like millions of others, he fell for Covid pseudoscience when the pandemic hit. In January 2021, at the age of 46, Gary caught the v...

Marianna meets Charlie Parker, the man who ran the Facebook group Gary was in before he died. Gary Matthews was a talented artist and photographer, sociable and well-liked - a familiar face in his hometown of Shrewsbury. A few years ago, his friends noticed that he was getting into conspiracy theories. Like millions of others, he fell for Covid pseudoscience when the pandemic hit. In January 2021, at the age of 46, Gary caught the ...

Gary’s death is covered in the local media – and online, the information battle heats up. Gary Matthews was a talented artist and photographer, sociable and well-liked - a familiar face in his hometown of Shrewsbury. A few years ago, his friends noticed that he was getting into conspiracy theories. Like millions of others, he fell for Covid pseudoscience when the pandemic hit. In January 2021, at the age of 46, Gary caught the viru...

Filmmaker Tristan hears about the death of his cousin Gary. Seeking to understand what happened, Tristan returns to Shrewsbury, where he encounters Charlie Parker. Gary Matthews was a talented artist and photographer, sociable and well-liked - a familiar face in his hometown of Shrewsbury. A few years ago, his friends noticed that he was getting into conspiracy theories. Like millions of others, he fell for Covid pseudoscience when...

Marianna examines new evidence and fills in the gaps of Gary’s last days. Gary Matthews was a talented artist and photographer, sociable and well-liked - a familiar face in his hometown of Shrewsbury. A few years ago, his friends noticed that he was getting into conspiracy theories. Like millions of others, he fell for Covid pseudoscience when the pandemic hit. In January 2021, at the age of 46, Gary caught the virus, and died. Mar...

Marianna looks at the role that social media played in pushing Gary towards conspiracy theories. Gary Matthews was a talented artist and photographer, sociable and well-liked - a familiar face in his hometown of Shrewsbury. A few years ago, his friends noticed that he was getting into conspiracy theories. Like millions of others, he fell for Covid pseudoscience when the pandemic hit. In January 2021, at the age of 46, Gary caught t...

Marianna asks what we get wrong about people who are drawn to conspiracy theories – and finds out who's really at risk of falling down the rabbit hole. Gary Matthews was a talented artist and photographer, sociable and well-liked - a familiar face in his hometown of Shrewsbury. A few years ago, his friends noticed that he was getting into conspiracy theories. Like millions of others, he fell for Covid pseudoscience when the pandemi...

As Gary is remembered by those he left behind, what does his story tell us about the world we live in – online and off – right now? Gary Matthews was a talented artist and photographer, sociable and well-liked - a familiar face in his hometown of Shrewsbury. A few years ago, his friends noticed that he was getting into conspiracy theories. Like millions of others, he fell for Covid pseudoscience when the pandemic hit. In January 20...

What do you do when you’re Ukrainian and your cousin in Russia refuses to believe her country is attacking your home?

After spending days huddled in an air raid shelter, Kristina and her family managed to flee the capital Kyiv with just the few possessions they could carry.

Her ordeal has been made that much worse because her cousin in Russia - who’s been watching Russian TV - remains convinced that it’s actually the Ukrainian forces...

When social media star Maxim was shelled out of his home, he didn’t expect to be called a liar by some of his followers. But did the hostility come from real people - or automated accounts?

As the battle for Ukraine rages, another conflict is being fought in parallel – an information war. 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 bee...

Masha is one of the most famous faces on Ukrainian TV and a huge social media star.

But the Russian-speaking celebrity has taken on a new role. Her Instagram posts about skin care tips have been replaced by patriotic propaganda.

The former Eurovision Song Contest host says she is one of around 200 influencers who are using their social media accounts to help the Ukrainian government to get its message out.

As the military battle for U...

When Russia bombed a maternity hospital in Mariupol, it claimed that a wounded pregnant woman was faking it. Her friends told us something different.

Images of Marianna Vyshemirska fleeing the aftermath of the attack caused an outcry around the world. But they were also seized upon for a furious disinformation campaign, waged by people including Russian diplomats, that sought to justify the bombing.

But we’ve found clear evidence th...

What does the invasion of Ukraine have in common with the coronavirus pandemic?

On the face of it not much at all, but disinformation about the war is also fuelling existing conspiracy movements around the world.

Covid denialists who claimed the pandemic was invented by a shadowy elite to impose a tyrannical global government, now believe that the conflict in Ukraine is part of the same evil plot.

It’s a bizarre offshoot of the extrao...

Marianna Vishegirskaya is the pregnant woman who has unwittingly found herself at the centre of one of the most disputed events of the war.

In a previous episode we looked at how Russia falsely accused her of helping fake photos of the aftermath of its attack on a maternity hospital, in which at least three people were killed.

But now Marianna has told her side of the story, after escaping the besieged city of Mariupol with her husb...

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 sh...

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...