What is the Great Reset - and how did it get hijacked by conspiracy theories?

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Shayan Sardarizadeh
@Shayan86
NEW: A vague @wef plan has inspired dark tales about an authoritarian socialist world government run by powerful elites in the latest reimagining of the "New World Order" conspiracy updated for the age of Covid.

This is the story behind the "Great Reset".
People hold placards protesting the United Nations and the "great reset" at a rally of conspiracy theorists and supporters of US President Donald Trump on January 14, 2021 in Wellington, New Zealand

What is the Great Reset - and how did it get hijacked by conspiracy theories?
A global Covid recovery plan by the World Economic Forum has inspired false rumours about the creation of a tyrannical world government.
bbc.co.uk
5:55 PM · Jun 23, 2021

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-trending-57532368

Believers spin dark tales about an authoritarian socialist world government run by powerful capitalists and politicians - a secret cabal that is broadcasting its plan around the world.

Despite all the contradictions in the last sentence, thousands online have latched on to this latest reimagining of an old conspiracy theory - updated for the age of Covid.

Where did it begin?

Like many popular conspiracy theories, this one starts with a grain of fact.

In June 2020, the Prince of Wales and the head of the annual Davos summit launched an initiative calling for the pandemic to be seen as a chance for what they called a Great Reset of the global economy.

A flashy launch video interspersed images of a world in chaos - a dead killer whale, a hurricane, a kangaroo caught in a fire - with a speech by Prince Charles.

*snip*