
Sign up to save your podcasts
Or


Daren is haunted by his experience of the Manchester Arena bombing. So why do people taunt him with conspiracy theories which falsely claim the attack didn’t happen?
On 22 May 2017, a terrorist bomb was detonated in the foyer of the arena at the end of an Ariana Grande concert, killing 22 people and the bomber. Daren, who had been in the audience with his son, rushed to help the injured. He has lived with the trauma of that night ever since.
But to Daren’s disbelief, it wasn’t long before sinister claims began circulating online, wild allegations that the attack was faked. He and other survivors were accused of being “crisis actors” paid to play a part in a massive deception by evil forces in the government.
So who is propagating these baseless claims?
In this BBC Radio 4 podcast, the BBC’s disinformation and social media correspondent Marianna Spring, investigates how survivors of UK terror attacks and tragedies are targeted with horrific conspiracy theories, online abuse and threats. Some are even tracked down offline too. Now they want answers and justice.
Across this series - and in this episode - there are graphic descriptions of violence. This episode contains audio from Richard D Hall’s website.
Presenter: Marianna Spring
By BBC Radio 44.3
257257 ratings
Daren is haunted by his experience of the Manchester Arena bombing. So why do people taunt him with conspiracy theories which falsely claim the attack didn’t happen?
On 22 May 2017, a terrorist bomb was detonated in the foyer of the arena at the end of an Ariana Grande concert, killing 22 people and the bomber. Daren, who had been in the audience with his son, rushed to help the injured. He has lived with the trauma of that night ever since.
But to Daren’s disbelief, it wasn’t long before sinister claims began circulating online, wild allegations that the attack was faked. He and other survivors were accused of being “crisis actors” paid to play a part in a massive deception by evil forces in the government.
So who is propagating these baseless claims?
In this BBC Radio 4 podcast, the BBC’s disinformation and social media correspondent Marianna Spring, investigates how survivors of UK terror attacks and tragedies are targeted with horrific conspiracy theories, online abuse and threats. Some are even tracked down offline too. Now they want answers and justice.
Across this series - and in this episode - there are graphic descriptions of violence. This episode contains audio from Richard D Hall’s website.
Presenter: Marianna Spring

7,810 Listeners

1,069 Listeners

5,517 Listeners

1,804 Listeners

1,880 Listeners

1,871 Listeners

1,065 Listeners

2,123 Listeners

1,981 Listeners

492 Listeners

2,093 Listeners

488 Listeners

600 Listeners

108 Listeners

46 Listeners

301 Listeners

842 Listeners

64 Listeners

52 Listeners

3,208 Listeners

1,042 Listeners

74 Listeners

126 Listeners

51 Listeners

49 Listeners