Introducing: Hoaxed

About this episode

<p>In 2014, two children told police a shocking story: that they were being abused by a Satanic cult; a cult headed by their father and by parents and teachers at their school in the wealthy London suburb of Hampstead.&nbsp;The story was a lie. But on the internet, that didn't matter.&nbsp;</p><br><p>From the team who brought you Sweet Bobby, Hoaxed is an investigation into one of Britain's most serious-ever conspiracy theories. A story about a modern-day Satanic panic; about the victims whose lives were destroyed and about the&nbsp;conspiracists who spread the lie around the world.&nbsp;</p><br><p>Oh, and it's about our hunt for the perpetrators - the people who forced the kids to lie - the ones who started it all.&nbsp;</p><br><p>Listen to the full series today. For the&nbsp;premium Tortoise listening experience, curated by our journalists,&nbsp;<a href="https://tortoisemedia.onelink.me/Cx9d/c770bd87" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>download the free Tortoise audio app</strong></a><strong>. </strong>For early and ad-free&nbsp;access to all our investigative series and daily and weekly shows,&nbsp;subscribe&nbsp;to Tortoise+ on Apple&nbsp;Podcasts.</p><br><p>If you’d like to further support slow journalism and help us build a different kind of newsroom, do consider donating to Tortoise at <a href="http://tortoisemedia.com/support-us" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">tortoisemedia.com/support-us</a>. Your contributions allow us to investigate, campaign and explore, and to build a newsroom that is responsible and sustainable.</p><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>