The Lindbergh Kidnapping and the Origin of the Viral Conspiracy Theory: How The Crime of The Century Set the Mold For Conspiratorial Thinking And Why We Continue to Believe Hauptmann Was Innocent

It was called the crime of the century. The toddler son of America's foremost hero, Charles Lindbergh was kidnapped from his home on the family's almost 400-acre estate in New Jersey. "Lucky Lindy" became America's foremost hero in 1927 when he made the first non-stop flight from New York to Paris. The family paid the ransom, but the child had been killed. The kidnapping and the trial of the man accused, Bruno Hauptmann, were front page news stories for months. Historian Dr. John D. Van Dyke delves deep into the history to reveal the controversy about Hauptmann's conviction and the theories that still circulate about the case, the first viral conspiracy theory. He debunks those myths and shows how they led to the skepticism of documented facts and prevalence of conspiracy theories that, with the help of the internet and podcasts, continue to spread disinformation and undermine legitimate sources. Alexander Reiman, Skeptic magazine: I’ve watched Dave engage with the leading voices on the Lindbergh case, and his command of the evidence surpasses that of any other expert. Drawing from original research, court transcripts, and crime scene photos, this is investigative work at its finest. No hearsay, no motivated reasoning, no agenda—just the facts, examined with rigor and precision. It’s the most reliable account we have of one of the most notorious child kidnappings in American history. Robert Zorn, author of Cemetery John: The Undiscovered Mastermind of the Lindbergh Kidnapping: Van Dyke hits the nail on the head: Charles Lindbergh had nothing to do with orchestrating the kidnapping or in any way causing the death of his toddler son, Charlie. The child’s murder was, in fact, the great tragedy of Lindbergh’s life—a tragedy I’m convinced he never got over, and one that changed the course of his life. Facts and evidence are the enemy of the conspiracy theorists, who speculate wildly that Lindbergh was behind the crime. Confirmation bias is their friend. Personally, I prefer scholarship. View Less