Marianna Spring in Conversation with Justin Webb

Marianna Spring, dubbed the ‘conspiracy theory agony aunt,’ is the BBC’s first evr Disinformation and Social Media Correspondent, and few understand the online world better than she does. Speaking to a packed auditorium at BookFest, she emphasised the importance of being ‘curiouser and curiouser’ about disinformation, social media, and conspiracies.

In her book Among the Trolls, Marianna catalogues her courageous search for trolls and their victims. During the event, she shared her passion for seeking truth and explained how her empathetic and inquisitive approach has given her unique insight into the world of online trolls. She recounted meeting conspiracy theorists in Totnes, engaging with anti-vaxxers, and tracking down and speaking to a self-described ‘citizen journalist’ named Weg, who was deeply involved in the proliferation of a popular ‘disaster hoax’ conspiracy, and his meeting with one of his former followers, who was involved in the disaster. Her mission is to understand why people fall into the ‘rabbit hole’ of conspiracies, why people troll, how algorithms feed on our daily clicks, and why this battle over information is increasingly dangerous.

Marianna highlighted how social media algorithms profile users and actively push specific content their way, ‘prioritising engagement over everything else’. She shared the story of an 18-year-old who described these algorithms as ‘staining your brain,’ distorting users’ perceptions of reality. Through her ‘undercover voters’ – fictional characters with online profiles – she has exhibited how quickly social media can politicise individuals’ feeds. She advised the audience to always be curious, interrogate the evidence, and think critically before forming opinions.

She also delved into the root causes of conspiracies, describing her meeting with an ex-conspirator and survivor of the 2017 Las Vegas shooting who obsessively clung to theories in an attempt to find certainty in an uncertain time.

Marianna is a journalist who embodies fearlessness and intelligence. She was nominated as the Royal Television Society’s Young Talent of the Year in 2023; the same year she was the most abused BBC journalist online. She is the voice of my generation on the BBC, and as alumna of my school, a role model. I wholeheartedly recommend her book and judging from the enthusiastic Bookfest audience, I am not the only one.