What is the ‘Great Reset’ conspiracy theory being taught in a Stockport school?

In a suspected illegal school, hidden away in Stockport, teachers are shunning maths, English and geography for conspiracy theories.

Those are the allegations made by the Times, whose undercover reporter witnessed children being taught by those who believe dinosaurs never existed, airplane contrails cause disease and that crystals can cure illness.

They are also firm believers in the ‘Great Reset’, a conspiracy theory that emerged during Covid and quickly captured followers across the globe.

But what is the Great Reset theory, and who started it?

What is the Great Reset theory?

The Great Reset is an online conspiracy that claims a global elite is using the coronavirus pandemic to ‘dismantle capitalism and enforce radical social change’.

Central to this was the use of lockdowns and vaccines, seen as a way to control the population. 

There were also plans to trap people in micro cities, and force them to live off eating bugs.

The conspiracy theory started after the World Economic Forum (WEF) did actually launch something called the Great Reset, but they had something different in mind – a ‘fairer economic and social system’. The internet read into it a little differently.

To fully understand how the idea morphed into a plan to enslave the world, it is worth diving (safely) into the world of conspiracy theories.

What is a conspiracy theory generally?

In general, a conspiracy theory is an attempt to explain harmful, tragic or unusual events as the result of actions by a small but powerful and often secretive group.

Tom Phillips, co-author of Conspiracy: A History of B*llocks Theories and How Not to Fall For Them, says at their heart, conspiracy theories are a way to make sense of the world.

‘Humans have always told ourselves stories that try to explain the confusing, messy world around us with a simple and dramatic narrative,’ he says. ‘Conspiracy theories are just one example of that.

‘People want the world to make sense – there’s something oddly comforting about believing that at least someone is in charge… even if they’re an evil cabal of super-powerful elites.’

At the lighter end of the spectrum, conspiracy theories can be the myriad UFO conspiracy theories, such as Area 51, or that the Moon landings never happened.

But others have morphed and twisted into life-changing, all-consuming obsessions that endanger both believers and those around them. Anti-vaxxers die from the illnesses a vaccine would have protected them from. American Edgar Welch was sent to prison after threatening restaurant staff with a rifle while ‘investigating’ the Pizzagate conspiracy – which claimed the Democrats ran a paedophile ring from its basement.

And five people died during the January 6 insurrection in Washington as those who believe the 2020 presidential election had been ‘stolen’ stormed the Capitol building.

Many conspiracy theories are often overtly or covertly antisemitic.

‘”Political elite” or “global elite” can often simply be a code term for some other disfavoured group – historically, that’s often been Jewish people,’ says Tom. ‘Not every conspiracy theory is antisemitic, but you usually don’t have to scratch the surface very hard to uncover the antisemitic version.’

How do conspiracy theories spread?

Conspiracy theories are not new. For as long as people have not been able to explain what they see or hear, conspiracy theories have circulated.

In Conspiracy: A History of B*llocks Theories and How Not to Fall For Them, Tom and his co-author Jonn Elledge recount the story of a young boy, William, who was found dead in a forest outside Norwich in 1144. 

To cut a long story short, William’s death became the basis for a conspiracy theory that endures today – that Jews practise the ritual murder of Christian children and use their blood in religious ceremonies.

Known as the ‘blood libel’ conspiracy, it has endured for centuries, through the advent of the printing press, radio, telephone, TV and now the internet.

But it is the arrival of social media, which allowed anyone with a computer or smartphone to broadcast their thoughts to the world – or at least anyone else who wanted to read or listen to them – that has supercharged the spread of conspiracy theories.

This, combined with collective societal and emotional upheaval caused by a global pandemic, set the scene for the ‘Great Reset’ theory.

Where did the ‘Great Reset’ come from?

As with so many conspiracy theories, it did not emerge out of thin air.

The idea was launched at the WEF in Davos – a collection of world and business leaders, as it happens. The aim was to ‘urgently build the foundations of our economic and social system for a fairer, sustainable and more resilient post-Covid future’.

The King, then Prince Charles, championed the idea at Davos, while WEF chairman Klaus Schwab co-authored a book by the same name.

Unfortunately, despite all the fanfare, there was little concrete information about the initiative, and whenever there is a vacuum of information, the internet can always be counted on to fill it – as shown when Buckingham Palace failed to provide updates on the health of the Princess of Wales, leading to a whole range of outlandish claims.

In the case of the ‘Great Reset’, it morphed into everything from a plan to trap people within ‘15-minute cities’ they were only allowed to leave 100 times a year – shared by controversial broadcaster Alex Jones – to plans to replace beef with crickets. Some argued that was why I’m A Celeb was launched, to make eating bugs seem normal.

The ‘Great Reset’ also tied into many leading Covid conspiracy theories, such as the vaccine containing microchips, or lockdowns being a step towards ‘enslaving’ all but the political elite.

Being so fluid and wide-ranging, capable of being moulded to almost any agenda, it has united conspiracy theorists from across the spectrum – including the far left and far right, anti-vaxxers and anti-lockdown campaigners.

Believers also feared for their children, arguing that the global elite had ‘infiltrated’ Sesame Street after the puppet Grover made an appearance on the World Economic Forum’s Great Reset podcast. 

‘It is I, your cute and adorable pal Grover,’ he said. ‘You’re in luck because I know a thing or two about resetting – I reset my alarm clock every morning.

‘But you are talking about resetting the entire world now that is a very big job.’

What happens now Covid is over and the ‘Great Reset’ didn’t happen?

It is now 2024, lockdowns are over and to most, Covid is definitely in the past. Will conspiracy theorists now acknowledge the ‘Great Reset’ was never a plan to enslave the masses?

Probably not. The ‘Great Reset’ is simply the latest version of a totalitarian world government conspiracy theory, known since the 1960s as the New World Order.

‘These theories often focus on controlling or wiping out the rest of humanity because it’s a way of amplifying our everyday fears and frustrations,’ says Tom. ‘This is why you see people convinced that, for example, low traffic neighbourhoods are part of an evil plot that ends with mass population culls.

‘Conspiracy theories also have a tendency to grow and escalate over time, as new elements get added into the story. This can be to try and attract new believers, or simply to explain away inconsistencies in the narrative.’

Famously, inconsistencies in a conspiracy theory don’t typically deter believers – they are often seen as further evidence of a badly-executed cover-up.

‘The “Great Reset” is a new term applied to an old theory,’ says Tom. ‘It’s basically the same narrative as in the 1920s, when the Illuminati and Jews were blamed for starting revolutions, or the 50s and 60s when the New World Order was going to implement a dictatorial single world government.

‘Each new version of the theory over the past century has adapted and built on what came before, with new layers being added, and the stakes getting higher and more dramatic every time.

‘Ultimately, a lot of this can be traced back to the 18th century, when there was a real group called the Illuminati, who were blamed – completely inaccurately – for planning the French Revolution.’

Well of course they didn’t. It was all down to a zombie fungus. Possibly.