Madness: Claims the shooting was staged expose a conspiracy theory crisis
But the Greek tragedy “The Bacchae” offers plenty of lessons about the plunge into conspiracy theories that followed a California teacher’s foiled attack. Euripides’s final play tells the story of the Theban King Pentheus, who is gradually driven mad by the god Dionysus. In time, Pentheus’s growing unreality infects the whole of Theban society, to the point that his own loyalists no longer recognize their king.
- ▪But the Greek tragedy “The Bacchae” offers plenty of lessons about the plunge into conspiracy theories that followed a California teacher’s foiled attack.
- ▪Euripides’s final play tells the story of the Theban King Pentheus, who is gradually driven mad by the god Dionysus.
- ▪In time, Pentheus’s growing unreality infects the whole of Theban society, to the point that his own loyalists no longer recognize their king.
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Opinion>Opinions - White House The views expressed by contributors are their own and not the view of The Hill Madness: Claims the shooting was staged expose a conspiracy theory crisis Comments: by Max Burns, opinion contributor - 04/28/26 8:00 AM ET Comments: Link copied by Max Burns, opinion contributor - 04/28/26 8:00 AM ET Comments: Link copied Getty Images TOPSHOT – This illustration photo taken in Los Angeles shows a phone with a Truth Social post by US President Donald Trump displaying an image of the alleged suspect in a shooting incident at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner on the ground after being apprehended on April 25, 2026.
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