Marianna Spring

"Another memorable meeting happened in Gateshead, as I sat on a rock by a lake, interviewing a man who had a history of believing and spreading online conspiracies. Despite the freezing weather, he insisted on wearing sunglasses to protect himself from the 5G rays that he believed caused the pandemic. Having challenged him under the watchful eye of his entourage, who filmed my every move, he finished by telling me I was a good kid who shouldn’t get caught up in the genocide. Talking in real life had started to erode the barriers between us — and exposed the stark distrust he felt towards everyone. He called me a few weeks ago and, in between telling me I would be tried for war crimes, had the courtesy to ask how I was and wish me a nice day. His inability to question and see the flaws in the conspiracy theories he promotes was unnerving. But conspiracy theories are his way of making sense of what’s going on around him. It’s his way, I think, of regaining control."

"When I found that out, I was quite relieved. [...] To have someone be, like, "Oh, actually, you do receive this phenomenal level of abuse," it makes you think, "Oh yeah, OK, I’m not going mad"."

"There are huge misconceptions about the kinds of people who believe conspiracy theories. This image of people as stupid and crazy is not the case. I often find people are very switched on, hyper-curious and engaged and deeply distrustful. Often they’ve been really let down by people in authority or power and then turn to social media that starts to play on that distrust."

"[Describing the sofa she was sharing with her interviewer] I might love the cream sofa, you might hate the cream sofa, but we agree there's a cream sofa and we're sitting on it. If you don't agree there's a cream sofa, it's really hard to have a conversation."

"It's really normal to really hate me."

"Spring is an extremely energetic, personable young woman. In a screwball comedy about a newsroom, she would be the one described as a dynamo. She is screen-ready – her earrings match her necklace, which matches her trousers, which match her shoes – but seems completely without vanity, the way athletes do. All that emanates from her is drive, curiosity and focus, and the zeal of authentic public-spiritedness. In your crankiest, most contrarian mood, you would still find it impossible to dislike her; it would be like trying to dislike the Lionesses."