Drawing a line from alternative theories to untruths

New York

FOR years, false claims have bubbled from an especially noxious Internet crockpot.

The walks on the moon were faked by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Nasa). The Sept 11 attacks and the bombing of an Oklahoma City government building were inside jobs carried out by the US government. The slaughter of children at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut did not actually happen but was staged by gun-control advocates, using child actors.

Most people might want to get as far away as possible from this brew of toxins, carried on a website and radio show run by an ally of US President Donald Trump.

But not the president. As he has before, Mr Trump dipped a ladle into this pot on Monday, asserting in a speech before military leaders in Florida that the "very, very dishonest press doesn't want to report" on episodes of terrorism. The White House followed up by releasing a list of 78 incidents of "Islamic violence" that the administration claims were played down. In fact, nearly all of them were covered by The New York Times and other new…