The U.S. election in conspiracyland…

Americast

A special episode on how social media, and conspiracy theories, are directly impacting the U.S. election in a new way. Who are the Americans sharing their theories online, and what is the real world impact on the election and those people affected by it? Marianna shares insights with Justin from her reporting in the United States for her new BBC Radio 4 and BBC Sounds podcast Why Do You Hate Me USA, where she hears the views of two women from different backgrounds who believe Trump’s assassination was staged. She also investigates the impact on election workers who are having to work underground. Also joining today’s conversation is Gabriel Gatehouse, presenter of the Coming Storm podcast, which looks at why millions of Americans are convinced their democracy has been hijacked by a sinister Deep State cabal. How did this happen, and what might happen after this November's election regardless of which candidate wins?

Why Do You Hate Me USA: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/brand/p0jmlph9 The Coming Storm: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/brand/m001324r

HOSTS: • Justin Webb, Radio 4 presenter • Marianna Spring, BBC’s Disinformation and Social Media Correspondent

GUEST: Gabriel Gatehouse, presenter of “The Coming Storm” podcast on Radio 4 and BBC Sounds

GET IN TOUCH: • Join our online community: https://discord.gg/qSrxqNcmRB • Send us a message or voice note via WhatsApp to [phone] • Email [e-mail] • Or use #Americast

This episode was made by Rufus Gray and Purvee Pattni. The technical producer was Jonny Hall. The series producer is Purvee Pattni. The senior news editor is Sam Bonham.

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Americast is part of the BBC News Podcasts family of podcasts. The team that makes Americast also makes lots of other podcasts, including The Global Story, The Today Podcast, and of course Newscast and Ukrainecast. If you enjoy Americast (and if you're reading this then you hopefully do), then we think that you will enjoy some of our other pods too. See links below.

The Global Story: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/brand/w13xtvsd The Today Podcast: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/brand/p0gg4k6r Newscast: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/series/p05299nl Ukrainecast: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/brand/p0bqztzm