Covering Coronavirus: United States of Conspiracy (podcast) | FRONTLINE

As COVID-19 has spread, so, too, have misinformation and conspiracy theories about the virus — amplified by figures like Alex Jones, and proliferating on social media and even at the highest levels of government.

Veteran FRONTLINE filmmaker Michael Kirk, who was already making a documentary about the rise of conspiracy theories in American politics when the pandemic hit, shares what he’s learned about how such theories have become central to understanding the nation’s response to the coronavirus outbreak.

“There’s been a concerted effort, now that everything is moved from the fringe to the center, to knock down knowledge-based information,” Michael says. “And all of a sudden, a large number of Americans simply do not believe what they’re being told. And that’s where we find ourselves now.”

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The FRONTLINE Dispatch is produced at FRONTLINE’s headquarters at WGBH in Boston and distributed by PRX, a leading podcast creator and distributor working closely with WGBH on a range of podcast initiatives. The FRONTLINE Dispatch is made possible by a generous gift from the Abrams Foundation Journalism Initiative.