How to talk about conspiracy theories - 6 Minute English

Conspiracy theories are not a new phenomenon - some people still don't believe that man has ever been to the Moon. But with the coronavirus pandemic has come a huge wave of novel online misinformation, including some outlandish ideas, and some panicky people are buying into them. Neil and Sam discuss what to do when you are confronted with someone who spreads falsehoods. They teach you vocabulary along the way.

To download the audio and a transcript, go to our website: https://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish/english/features/6-minute-english/ep-200903

More 6 Minute English episodes:
Should we wear face masks?
https://youtu.be/7ZJxdmEKn0Q

COVID-19: The office after lockdown
https://youtu.be/glK2V-7DJD8.

Sport against poverty
https://youtu.be/atPNphv-NEI

Food made in space
https://youtu.be/_q8geBY3vPA

The medicine of coronavirus
https://youtu.be/gu_GfdJpdsA

Is this the era of distrust?
https://youtu.be/AhoslePC6yI

Vocabulary
down the rabbit hole
enter a situation which seems interesting and uncomplicated at first but ends up becoming strange, confusing and hard to escape from

pretext
pretend reason for doing something that is used to hide the real reason

bonkers
silly, stupid or crazy (informal)

disdain
disliking something because you feel it does not deserve your attention or respect

get to the bottom of (something)
discover the real but sometimes hidden reason why something happens

sweeping
something spoken or written about that is too general and does not carefully consider all the relevant facts

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