Recently, Spain won the 2026 World Cup final against Argentina, a result that was widely celebrated as the public opinion on Argentina generally swung negative. Among the more justifiable points of criticism, such as racism and foul play, was a more interesting and less believable claim, that the 2026 FIFA World Cup tournament had been rigged in Argentina’s favor. I don’t care much for the veracity of the claim than the existence of the claim itself. “Rigged” seems to have become an all-too-common excuse for anybody to fall back on, from election results to archaeological discoveries, and apparently now football. Baseless claims on the internet, of course, are not new. I remember reading conspiracy theories online for entertainment growing up: Area 51, anti-vaxxers, flat earthers. Back then, they were the collective laughingstock of the Internet, relegated to backwater Facebook forums. But I must admit, it’s not so funny now. Older conspiracy theories about chemtrails or the antivax movement revolve around the distrust of the unknown, whether it be new technology or new values. Tech
