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The ‘Pizzagate’ conspiracy theory of 2016 claimed that Hillary Clinton and other high-ranking US Democratic Party officials were operating a child sex-trafficking ring from a popular pizzeria in Washington, DC. The conspiracy had migrated from internet message boards to the national news when a 28-year-old man wielding a rifle set out to investigate the claims for himself, and ended up firing three shots inside the restaurant before finding nothing suspicious and surrendering to the police. It’s easy to write off the gunman, and anyone else who came to believe ‘Pizzagate’, as gullible, disturbed and severely misguided. But as this short documentary from the UK filmmaker Charlie Lyne argues, the insidious way in which conspiracy theories plant seeds in the human brain is far more complex. In fact, it’s likely that you’ve fallen prey to one or two conspiracies yourself. Shrewd and darkly funny, Personal Truth has been a film festival favourite in 2018, screening at the Full Frame Documentary Festival, AFI Docs and Aspen Shortsfest, among others.
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Life stages
At 14, Asal is excited about her engagement. Her relatives all have their own opinions
33 minutes
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Metaphysics
Bertrand Russell wanted to kill off causation. Can contemporary philosophy rescue it?
8 minutes
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The future
What’s the healthiest way to handle a creeping feeling that the world is ending?
15 minutes
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Ethics
How many monkeys is it worth sacrificing to save a human life?
6 minutes
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Archaeology
From Roman pots to glass eyes, the shore of the river Thames teems with surprises
8 minutes
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Psychiatry and psychotherapy
Pondering the peculiar one-sided intimacy of the client-therapist relationship
3 minutes
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Human rights and justice
Thirty years after one teenager shot another, is it time to forgive?
28 minutes
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Biotechnology
What it’s like to wear a prosthetic that ‘feels’
6 minutes
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Family life
Fifty years ago, a train collided with Jack and Betty’s car. Here’s how they remember it
9 minutes