How Online Conspiracy Theories Led to This Man’s Mental Health Crisis
Ask Students: When did David Morrill start engaging with online conspiracy theories? What are some of the conspiracy theories Morrill came to embrace?
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February 14, 2023
Ask Students: When did David Morrill start engaging with online conspiracy theories? What are some of the conspiracy theories Morrill came to embrace?
Share
David Morrill of Portland, Oregon, was involved in conspiracy theory communities online until a mental health crisis forced him to confront his beliefs. He talked with his father about how he found his way back to reality. Their conversation is part of our Student Reporting Labs series on misinformation, “Moments of Truth.”
At one point in this interview, David Morrill says working through puzzles of conspiracy theories felt like a “hero’s journey”? What do you think he meant by this? Do you think the feeling he describes is an attraction of many conspiracy theories?
Media Literacy: Why do you think this story was put together by high school reporters? What does that add to the storytelling?
Conspiracy theories might spread like wildfire online, but conspiratorial thinking long predates the internet. Classrooms can use this lesson to discuss common conspiracy theories through U.S. history and compare then to now.
Foster digital literacy and safety online and explore the algorithmic biases that can cause direct harm to young people online.
Republished with permission from PBS NewsHour Classroom.