Besides labeling conspiracy theorists as “fringe lunatics” in the book, Vance wrote that their beliefs were popular, in part, because people had lost faith in the media. “With little trust in the press, there’s no check on the Internet conspiracy theories that rule the digital world.”

No sooner had the news of a second assassination attempt on Donald Trump come out than people were queuing up to say that it was fake.

JD Vance once dismissed conspiracy theories as the product of “fringe lunatics” but he's come to embrace them as his star rises in Republican politics