In the age of TikTok and Twitter, conspiracies are gaining a new lease of life on our social media feeds. But why do people believe conspiracy theories and who's behind some of the biggest online?
In an age of Twitter and TikTok, conspiracy theories have garnered a new lease of life across social media platforms.
One baseless conspiracy, that has gone global, drew an unfounded link between pricey cabinets of the furniture company Wayfair and the human trafficking of missing individuals in the United States.
Ireland, the United Kingdom, and Turkey are among the top five countries searching for the word "Wayfair" and analysis shows that the term has gathered more than 4.5 million interactions on Instagram.
The claim has been repeatedly debunked across the media, but it remains one of the most searched conspiracy theories of 2020 so far.
So, why has this outlandish conspiracy theory gone viral, and are social media algorithms to blame?
A special edition of #TheCube on conspiracy theories tries to answer why we share them, and how they make it to our timelines.
Click on the video player above to learn more.