I was pregnant because i knew 00:01:01,975 2147483051:37:15,702 that walking was going to be 2147483051:37:15,702 4294966103:13:29,429 really helpful for a natural the cable line snapping. But it also could have been something else. It could've also been that the construction workers who had been working on this bridge since january of this year were weakening the infrastructure so that when it was hit, it would collapse on cue. But i do know that massive steel and cement bridges don't just fall like a house of cards. Just like how we know that buildings don't, either. Catch my drift? there's no evidence to support any of these ideas or suggestions. I've learned so much on this journey because of the research i've done and i think that because of that, it's really made me more solidified in this mindset of, like, what else is out there? because this can't be it, you know? we get fed a certain aspect of something or one thing or another but we don't ever fully realise that there's yes and. There's always more. And i think that really helped solidify for me the importance of doing research and seeing what else might exist out there that might fit better within your own intuition or what you feel is right for you, you know? while this state may be most famous for its natural beauty, it's also become a bit of a hotbed for conspiracy theories. They're not dissimilar from the kinds of theories wild mother buys into. But before you hear more from her, i want you to meet someone else. She's called camille and she lives in denver, the capital of colorado. I sort of have a reputation — that crazy dog lady. She says she's voted democrat for the past 15 years. She is a passionate supporter of racial and gender equality and she rehomes rescue dogs. She first became a really active on social media when she started posting about one of them, winky. I guess, marianna, i would admit to you that i spend too much time on social media now and, in my mind, it's kind of a problem. And i somehow need to be better about time blocking, time limits, screen time altogether. Winky died in 2020 and rather than stepping back from social media, camille started to spend more time engaging with another community on x — one that was more into politics than puppies. Having a private citizen with a non—political background enter the political arena and create a very divisive and adversarial mood, there was more of an urgency and sort of an alarm as far as what is happening. You mean donald trump? yeah, thank you. Do you like saying his name? no? not really. I mean, iwill. Why is that? i'm just trying to behave. Chuckles keep it together. Why is that, because it make you feel strongly, or. . . ? on social media, which is the topic of our discussion today? i'd say tfg. What does that stand for? that bleep guy. You just wanted me to say that, didn't you? one event on the night of the 13july 2024 gave her network on x a lot to talk about. And you know, that's a little bit old, that chart. Donald trump was speaking at a campaign rally in butler, pennsylvania when gunshots were fired at him. Gunshots get down, get down, get down, get down! screaming like millions of americans, camille was watching in real—time on live tv. A member of the crowd was killed and trump was rushed away with blood on his ear. Crowd chants: usa! what was your first reaction? that was staged. That was my first reaction because the secret service, if they weren't not involved in some sort of staged event, a, i don't think it would've happened and b, they would have dragged their protectee out on the ground. Never let him stand up, raise his fist in the air, put his torso and head into the open air and allow for. . . The only way i feel they would've let that happen is if they knew he wasn't going to get shot again. They knew the game plan. And they wouldn't have let him pose for a picture and expose his body to the open air with an active shooter nearby. And i just don't think that it's beyond him to sacrifice others for his own gain. Already suspicious that something didn't add up, camille turned to x for more information. Posts making unfounded suggestions that the shooting had been staged were recommended on herfeed and within minutes, they were trending. I couldn't just watch this narrative spin out of control for profit and power without attempting to counter it in some way with what i know is to be the truth. What was interesting to me is that know is more and more of that viewpoint showed up as time went by, over days. So right away, i think there was a hesitancy to say that. But as time went on, more accounts, more people were positioning — positioning that belief. Who thought of it? who paid people? how did they engage that shooter? what did he think that he was going to come away with it? and also, those early days, you could — they interviewed more than one person who said, we saw the shooter. We alerted local police and we were perplexed as to why they didn't do anything. And why did they even let trump come out, knowing that? there were many failures that day, it seems like, and to me, there's no other logical explanation. Camille's suspicion started with allegations of security failings that day. The director of the us secret service has since resigned because of those. What the evidence so far broadly tells us is that less than four months before the 2024 election, a 20—year—old called thomas matthew crooks attempted to assassinate the former president. Trump would go on to be targeted again in the campaign during what the fbi has called another assassination attempt. The shooter injuly�*s motives remain unknown, which leaves many questions wide open. And camille's thoughts continued to spiral. The collar of his shirt and cuff are blood—free. This was a sympathy play. Suggesting an event like this could've been staged is quite a classic part of the conspiracy theory playbook. It's a way of thinking that i've tracked as it's developed over several years, but camille is a newcomer. Back near the waterfall in rural colorado, it's clear to me that wild mother is no stranger to this way of looking at the world. While camille was watching this assassination attempt unfold on tv, wild mother also immediately heard the news. The difference between her and camille is that wild mother thinks donald trump is the best option for president this election. Talk me through the day when you found out that there had been an assassination attempt targeting donald trump? so, it was actually on my birthday. We went out to lunch, came home, i took a nap with my daughter and my sister had come into the bedroom at that point and said, oh, my god. Trump was just shot at! and i was like oh! of course! of course it would happen on my birthday! like camille, wild mother says she also thought something just felt a bit off. There are some aspects of it that don't make any sense, i'll say that, from both sides. Whether it was him attempting to gain more followers or if it was the liberals attempting to end the life of a former president running for office, i don't — i don't know yet, so i don't like to put my comments out there unless it's for, obviously, reasons that will draw in more questions so that we can try to figure it out. I don't think that we're there yet. I think that it was very. . . It was very strange, which is why i'm led to believe that there's something more behind it than what we're being told. Wild mother's scepticism can be explained in part because she's been exposed to unfounded conspiracy theories since she was a kid — including one about when another president was assassinated. I would say thankfully for me, i was raised in a family where even my mother, she had questions aboutjohn f kennedy getting assassinated from the moment it happened. And because of that, i was raised to kind of have this alternative idea about reality. Wild mother tells me the 9/11 attacks were the next major tragedy in american history that she believes we're being lied to about, in spite of all the evidence about what did actually happen. It's called 0peration warp speed. That means big and it means fast. Then, during the covid—i9 pandemic, she spent a lot more time on social media. And because she was suspicious of what was happening during the pandemic, she began to question whether even more events were actually staged or somehow orchestrated by a cabal of powerful people. There was a lot going on at the time that i was not ok with and it didn't make any sense — like, we're talking about common sense suddenly not being common any more. And it would make people who were real thinkers feel like they're going crazy. I wasn't allowed to go to work any more and then, ijust started seeing things online — just alternative ideas about what was happening behind the scenes then — and in my core, those things made way more sense than what we were being told, so it really forced me to keep doing research from that point forward. Do you have one of these seven rare intuitive traits? let's talk about it! wild mother may not be who you think of when you envisage a typical trump supporter, and she hasn't always been. . . Said was qanon out in full force. . . But something that drew her towards him, and which she thinks could linking all of these events, is the qanon movement. They have a wide—ranging, completely unproven theory that says that donald trump is waging a secret war against elite satan—worshipping paedophiles in government, business and the media. I would never in my life even imagine some of the stuff that i've had to hear and come across knowing is going on right now under our noses and it blows my mind that something hasn't been done yet already about it. We have to be able to protect our most innocent. 0therwise, what are we doing? 0therwise, who are we as a humanity? yeah, we stopped the vote! during the violent storming of the us capitol building onjanuary 6, 2021, you might remember some qanon supporters being among the crowd. And now, wild mother signs up to the idea that they might�*ve been involved somehow in staging trump's shooting in order to frame what is known as the deep state. Hello, patriots! the deep state is claimed to be a shadowy coalition of security and intelligence services looking to thwart certain politicians. They've already basically, over these past four years, have been doing convert operations behind the scenes as what they call the white hats, which are the good guys of the military that didn't want this to go on any more. And is that trump's team, so to speak? so to speak, yeah. So, i think that they believe that it's a white hat operation which was done to put trump on the map to those who were not necessarily paying attention yet. Like, paying attention to what they then would call like the deep state and the bad stuff happening? right. And i think that that's where that theory stems from, is that they are — they're allowing it to play out the way that it would have if they hadn't stepped in and done what they've done. And stopped it happening? yep. Gotcha. Wild mother doesn't claim to know for sure if the theory about a white hat army fighting a deep state elite is true, but she does know what she wants to believe. You know, and it's, it sounds amazing. It would be so cool if it were true! i hope it is, you know? i really do. Why? because i think our country needs rescuing from our government right now. It's a horrible mess. Horrible mess. How do you feel about politics right now? how do you feel about the election? sighs i'm taking its not good. I'm just over it. I don't know who isn't. It's circus and pony show and everyone's starting to catch onto that and realise it. We realise that our vote doesn't actually matter as much as they said it does and i think that i'm not alone when i say that we're just tired of it. And then, we get these words of the election being stolen and then, we get all of these newscasts coming out about — and these are hidden, by the way, not mainstream — all how all these different counties across the united states are having to recount the ballots because yes, there was manipulation happening and if you were paying attention ahead of time, you kind of knew that already to begin with. These conspiracy theories feed into the wider belief that anything and everything can be staged or rigged — including elections, as we saw after the 2020 presidential vote. Oh, wow! i'm spending some time with some of the election workers in the firing line. Welcome to our warehouse. Injefferson county, we have more than 400,000 voters and every registered voter gets a ballot in the mail. And most of those voters choose to vote that ballot at home. They take their time, they fill it out on their kitchen table, they research what's on it. Then, they go drop it off in a drop box. And the first stop when it gets back is this giant warehouse. Each bipartisan team is coming in with their bag. It's sealed. You'd have to break it to open that bag, so we know if anything's been tampered with. The top of it also has a log for who has touched that bag and those ballots. And sometimes, we are getting notjust ballots in their envelopes but maybe we're also getting drawings or utility bills or sometimes their car keys in there, right? so, we have to sort through. And then, the next step is to go through our ballot sorting machine. It's highly efficient. It cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. But what it allows us to do is efficiently process our mail ballot envelopes. We verify every single ballot envelope for identity, so you have to sign your envelope, and we make sure that's you or else we never even open that envelope because we're going to count the ballot until we know that it has been voted by an eligible voter and you are who you say you are. When we load it, we make sure the barcode faces towards the machine. The machine goes by the name of hal. Amanda's colleague cuong spends a lot of time hanging out with him. I think the best way to combat misinformation — at least on the local level — is to invite these types of folks who have questions about the legitimacy of our elections or our process and be as transparent as possible. And so, we invite the public in, folks who are — who doubt the election process, folks who love the election process — all kinds of folks — so they can actually see it with their own eyes, ask questions and validate their concerns so that we can show them that it is secure and that we are transparent with our process. To be the person who oversees elections in colorado, first, you have to be elected yourself. When amanda was deciding whether or not to run in 2021, she had to consider what had happened the year before. The tenor of the election, right? that it was a really scary timejust in the midst of a pandemic. And then, layered on top of it was this election that felt unprecedented, right? and so, when i decided i was going to run for office, you know, a year or so later, i was a little bit nervous. I had worked really closely with election administrators in my previous role and every single person i knew who worked in elections had gotten a death threat. And so, at the time i was looking at running for office, i was living by myself and, i mean, i have a dog but he's 20 pounds and not ferocious, right? like, charlie is not gonna to get ya! so, i was living by myself at the time and i was like, huh. Is this going to be ok? i am also the first latina elected to this particular role. I identify as bi and i'm also the first out queer person in this role, right? and so, we know that sometimes, your identities impact how people see you or interact with you on the internet or, right? feel entitled to send you various kinds of e—mails, and i was nervous. Thinking ahead to the presidential election, what are you most worried about and what are you doing to deal with that — i think particularly when it comes to conspiracy theories, abuse? yeah, i mean, the things i worry about when it comes to conspiracy theories is the effect that it possibly has on participation, right? i want everybody to vote. I want every eligible voter to vote. And if you are — if all you're seeing online or all you're seeing on television is that, you know, it's all these conspiracy theories and, you know, it's not worth it or something, you might be convinced to stay home, right? you might be convinced that it doesn't matter, that your voice doesn't matter, that you shouldn't even turn in your ballot. And so, those are my biggest fears, actually. I've watched my staff light up and be really proud of the work they're doing to, like, make sure eligible voters get their ballots. Like, there's a lot of pride in that. There's also a lot of exhaustion in that it's hard to get daily e—mails that all begin with, you know, you've messed up in this giant way and they say that in really unkind ways! what impact did that have on you as an elected official and your fears around violence manifesting itself offline? i mean, i think that's what makes me so angry about seeing this stuff online is that it is not inconsequential, right? that discourse is totally fine, but when you are spreading lies and hate with the intent of riling people up and either making them not participate in our democracy — which i think is a really bad thing — or, worse, inciting violence, ijust find it really horrifying. Is it possible to win back the people who just don't think they can trust the system any more? we don't know how many votes were stolen on tuesday night. We don't know anything about the software that many say was rigged. We don't know. We gotta find out. Both wild mother and camille's increasing reliance on social media is because they no longer believe what they're being told by traditional media, like cable news channels. I'm here with you. Listen, marianna — bbc is a source that i trust and watch at home. And i'm almost about to cry. If you had called me and said, hey, we want — i'm from newsmax or fox or. . . You would've wanted to know what i would've said and i would never be sitting here, across from that person. Why does that make you feel emotional? isn't that odd, that it does? because it's — we've devolved so badly. Do you think that it's ever possible to have a positive argument, so to speak, or discussion, debate, on social media? i do think it depends who it is. I think that's maybe what it was originally for, right? now i feel like we are, don't talk to me. The regular arguments on x that camille finds herself embroiled in have left it with her guard up in the real world, too. Might i still hold that someone driving a big truck or flip of a driver who cuts me off? hmm, probably not, because we don't know how others are going to react any more. And i think that the nature of this political. . . Sighs. . Divisiveness and roller—coaster that we've been on in the united states has, yes, it's changed my behaviour when i'm out. Do you think social media has changed society? do you think. . . Yes, i do. While it's clear to me that camille and wild mother would not threaten anyone themselves and strike me as empathetic, kind people, when you truly believe these conspiracy theories, it can feel like online conflict is necessary. What seems quite hard here is that everyone feel very strongly about something and sometimes, that then manifests in a way that is harmful to other people. Yeah. How do you think we deal with that? well, i think we're walking a really fine line in our society right now about the difference between what is harmful and what is seeking justice. It's not bullying people. It's not writing your senators and calling them racist names or this and that. No. If you were somebody who truly did your research and found that there was an issue, do i agree that you should use your voice? absolutely. Social media's algorithms are drawing some people deeper into an online world detached from reality, where hate can feeljustified. And ahead of this presidential election, it's notjust the old—timers but also, the new recruits. Hello there. With high pressure building in across the country, it looks like the next couple of days for most of us should stay dry with a good deal of sunshine around, but nights will be chilly, with some mist and fog to greet us in the morning. So the next few days, then, largely settled. Some welcome dry and sunny weather for most of us. Here it is, our area of high pressure, pretty much dominating the scene right across the uk. We've lost those weather fronts across the southeast. Could still just see the odd light shower towards east anglia and the southeast, but most places will be dry. Lots of sunshine through the morning, a bit of fair weather cloud bubbling up into the afternoon. That could just herald the odd light shower. But most places will be dry and the winds a lot lighter too. A little bit fresher through the channel, across devon and cornwall. Temperature—wise, doing pretty well. It will feel very pleasant in the sunshine — around 16 or 17 degrees in the south, mid—teens further north. Now, as we move into thursday night, with clear skies, light winds, it's going to turn quite chilly again, particularly across scotland and england and wales. But the breeze, the cloud, outbreaks of rain will start to push into the northwest of the country by the end of the night, so temperatures here recover into double figures. But again, further east, it'll be chilly with a touch of frost and some mist and fog to greet us first thing on friday. Friday, we've still got our area of high pressure dominating the scene for most of us, but these weather fronts, low pressure starts to push into the north and the west. That'll bring stronger southerly winds, more cloud for northern ireland, for western scotland, where we'll see some showery bursts of rain. But southern and eastern scotland and the majority of england and wales will have another fine and dry day, a good deal of sunshine into the afternoon. And again, with light winds, temperatures reach highs around 17, maybe 18 degrees, mid—teens further north and west. Now, some changes as we head into the weekend. It does look like this area of low pressure begins to encroach into the north and the west of the country, so it turns wetter and windier here. Further east, though, it stays dry into the first part of the weekend too. Some of this rain will pep up across northern ireland, western scotland to become quite heavy into the afternoon. But eastern and southern scotland and the majority of england and wales again having another dry day on saturday, but some rain will get into west wales, southwest england later on with increasing breeze. Top temperatures, again, 17 or18 degrees, mid—teens further north. But the upcoming week does look more unsettled. It looks like this area of low pressure in the atlantic will win out. It'll bring showers or longer spells of rain, but it'll be on the mild side, with milder nights to come too. Hello and welcome to newsday. Leiper from hello and welcome to newsday. Leiperfrom singapore, i am steve lai. These are the top stories for the levin �*s health �*s is five people were killed after israel carried out fresh drugs in beirut. —— fresh strikes. After iran president missile attack on tuesday we will assess the damage on where the water goes next. Another nurse presidentjoe biden surveys the damage left by storm helene. And how the brain of the humble fruitfly could shed light on the human process. Welcome to bbc news. We start this hour as israel continues its airstrikes on the lebanese capital targeting what it says are hezbollah members and buildings. This was the thing in beirut a couple hours ago as israel launched what they called precise strikes on the city. Lebanese officials say at least five people have been killed this evening. The idea has bombed a building in central beirut and told civilians to leave the southern parts of the city. Meanwhile more than 1000 people have been killed in lebanon in the past few weeks by israeli bombardments according to lebanese officials including 46 on wednesday. Israel and iran