This message comes from the Dateline original podcast Murder in the Moonlight.

Join Keith Morrison as he tells the story of a couple murdered under a pale moon and an

investigation that includes four suspects and spans three states. Search Murder in the Moonlight

to follow now. Hey, I'm Kelly McEvers, and this is embedded from NPR.

Conspiracy theories have been a thing in American politics for a while now.

One study found that 35% of the country believes there is a single group of people who secretly rule the world.

One thing that worries experts is, right now,

conspiracy theories are getting more sticky because people in power are legitimizing them.

Politicians have been talking about QAnon, saying the 2020 election was stolen, that COVID

vaccines had microchips. These, of course, have all been thoroughly debunked.

In the lead up to last year's election, though, a massive amount of misinformation was amplified

on social media. Today, we're bringing you a story about a family that's in crisis in this time

of misinformation. Reporters Zach Mack thinks his father is being radicalized, and his father thinks

Zach's the one being brainwashed.

Last year, they took a pretty unconventional approach to try to pull each other out of the

spell that each of them thinks the other is under.

That year-long journey forced Zach to wonder if one

family can exist in two realities. By the way, this is a different kind of series for us. Because

their story is so personal, Zach's parents have asked us not to use their names, and you'll hear

Zach refer to them simply as mom and dad.

Before we get started, just a quick heads up, this episode contains explicit language.

Okay, here's Zach.

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