TRUST ME, IT'S A CONSPIRACY
We are told to dismiss conspiracy theories. They fuel violence, erode trust, and distort reality. Ignoring them seems like common sense. But history reminds us that conspiracies do happen. Power can be abused behind closed doors. And labelling something a ‘conspiracy theory’ has long been a convenient excuse for shutting down scrutiny altogether.
This leaves us in a difficult position: believe too readily and risk paranoia and harm; dismiss too quickly and risk missing cases of real wrongdoing. In a world shaped by mistrust, the challenge is not just in rejecting conspiracy theories, but in balancing scepticism with responsibility when the stakes are high.
Ariel Bogle
Ariel Bogle is an investigations reporter at Guardian Australia, and the co-author of Conspiracy Nation. She has won a Walkley Award for her journalism and worked in media in Australia and the United States. Previously, she was a technology reporter with the ABC. Her reporting has been published in The New York Times, The Atlantic, Australian Financial Review and Slate, among other outlets.
Harry Hobbs
Harry Hobbs is an Associate Professor at UNSW Law & Justice and Director of the Pseudolaw Project at the Gilbert + Tobin Centre of Public Law. An award-winning scholar and author, his research spans constitutional law, Indigenous rights, micronations and sovereign citizens. Known for making complex ideas accessible, Harry regularly contributes to major Australian media and is frequently invited to discuss his work with governments, courts and the public.
Anke Richter [GER/NZL]
Anke Richter is an award-winning international journalist in Aotearoa New Zealand and the author of the bestseller Cult Trip: Inside the World of Coercion & Control (HarperCollins, 2022). Originally from Germany, Anke has worked as a foreign correspondent from the South Pacific for over two decades, contributed to documentaries and investigated high-control groups and spiritual movements around the world. She is the founder and director of Decult, a grassroots charity that held the first cult awareness conference in Australasia.
Patrick Stokes
Patrick Stokes is associate professor of philosophy at Deakin University in Melbourne, and a writer, radio producer and media commentator on philosophical topics. His most recent book is Digital Souls: A Philosophy of Online Death (Bloomsbury, 2021).
We acknowledge the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation - the custodians of the country on which we meet - and acknowledge their Elders, past and present.
The views and opinions expressed by the Festival participants are not necessarily the views of The Ethics Centre and our partners.