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Protester against Corona measures in Berlin in August 2020
Photo:
Axel Schmidt / REUTERS
I regularly get emails from people who believe in conspiracy theories.
One of those who have been writing to me for years is a man who lives in a medium-sized town in Hesse.
I want to call him Mike here.
Mike believes that John F. Kennedy was murdered by the "deep state" and that the George W. Bush administration was behind the 9/11 attacks.
In 2014 he took part in the vigil for peace because he believes that NATO has orchestrated regime change in Ukraine.
He is a fan of QAnon and believes its claims about a pedophile elite who abuse and murder children.
And of course he thinks the corona pandemic is a hoax to push through other goals.
Mike has worked as a graphic designer for public television for many years.
He was released in spring 2018.
He indirectly blames me for that because his dismissal coincided with the publication of my book on conspiracy theories.
I don't mention Mike in it, but he accuses me of creating a climate of stigmatization in which "conspiracy experts," as he calls himself, became parias.
As far as I can tell, the real reason for his dismissal is that he insulted some prominent figures of his station at the time on YouTube several times.
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