media: Pallywood

Evidence: 100 • authority: 72

Pallywood (a portmanteau of "Palestine" and "Hollywood") is a derogatory, anti-Palestinian term used to falsely accuse Palestinians of staging scenes of suffering and civilian death in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. It has been described as a conspiracy theory and a prominent element of Israeli disinformation in the conflict. Gazawood, a variant of the term, refers to similar footage originating in the Gaza Strip. The term gained prominence following the 2000 killing of Muhammad al-Durrah during the Second Intifada, after some pro-Israel commentators alleged that the incident had been a media hoax. Israeli pundits have used the term to dismiss videos showing Israeli violence or deny Pale…

Evidence: 54 • authority: 72

The LGBTQ grooming conspiracy theory is a far-right conspiracy theory and anti-LGBTQ trope which alleges that LGBTQ people, and those supportive of LGBTQ rights, are engaging in child grooming and enabling child sexual abuse. Although the belief that LGBTQ individuals are more likely to molest children has no factual basis, this stereotype has existed for decades in the United States and Europe, dating back to before World War II. The specific use of the term groomer as a slur to refer to LGBTQ people (particularly trans people and drag queens) became more prominent during partisan political campaigning in the 2020s, where it was often used to justify anti-LGBTQ curriculum bills. Despite or…

Evidence: 45 • authority: 72

"Pizzagate" is a conspiracy theory that went viral during the 2016 United States presidential election cycle, falsely claiming that the New York City Police Department (NYPD) had discovered a pedophile ring linked to members of the Democratic Party while searching through Anthony Weiner's emails. It has been extensively discredited by a wide range of organizations, including the Washington, D.C. police. The personal email account of John Podesta, Hillary Clinton's campaign chair, was hacked in a spear-phishing attack in March 2016. WikiLeaks published his emails in November 2016. Proponents of the Pizzagate conspiracy theory falsely claimed the emails contained coded messages that connected…

Evidence: 45 • authority: 72

The chemtrail conspiracy theory is the erroneous belief that long-lasting condensation trails left in the sky by high-flying aircraft are actually "chemtrails" consisting of chemical or biological agents, sprayed for nefarious purposes undisclosed to the general public. Believers in this conspiracy theory say that while normal contrails dissipate relatively quickly, contrails that linger must contain additional substances. Those who subscribe to the theory speculate that the purpose of the chemical release may be solar radiation management, weather modification, psychological manipulation, human population control, biological or chemical warfare, or testing of biological or chemical agents…