Disaster Trolls: 4. Hall’s Stall

Marianna Spring finally comes face to face with Richard D Hall. Will she be able to get answers for the terror survivors targeted by his conspiracy theories?

In earlier episodes, we heard how Hall has spread false claims that the Manchester Arena bombing and other terror attacks were faked or actually carried out by the government. He even boasted about placing a hidden camera outside the home of a teenage survivor to try to prove her injuries weren’t real.

He even describes how he tracks down survivors of the attack to determine whether it was faked. When Hall repeatedly refuses to be interviewed, Marianna heads to Wales to visit the market stall where he sells his merchandise.

In this BBC Radio 4 podcast series, Marianna Spring, the BBC’s disinformation and social media correspondent, investigates how online trolls deepen the trauma suffered by people caught up in terror attacks and other horrific events.

This episode contains audio from Richard D Hall’s website.

Presenter: Marianna Spring Producer: Ant Adeane Editor: Ed Main