There isn’t yet a tariff on conspiracist narratives. So former Daily Wire podcaster Candace Owens imported one from France. Which is why she now finds herself the subject of a serious lawsuit filed by the French President Emmanuel Macron and the First Lady Brigitte Macron. 

Owens used Instagram influencer aesthetics to recycle a 2021 theory for American audiences that was originally promoted by a French spiritual medium and spread through “Yellow Vest” and antivax networks. For some reason, Owens wasn’t satisfied with the genuinely odd history of the Macrons’ relationship (they met when Brigitte was married with children and Emmanuel was just 14, despite most American sources claiming they met when he was 15.) Instead she picked up the convoluted conspiracy theory that Brigitte is really her brother Jean-Michel Trogneux who became a trans woman and proceeded to assist with turning Emmanuel into an MKULTRA-controlled “Manchurian Candidate.” In Owen’s ludicrous tale, the Macrons then killed anyone who started asking questions about Brigitte’s past, Clinton-body-count style. But since this nonsense is powered by crude bigotry rather than any investigatory impulse, the evidence is unsurprisingly weak. Owens’ method of argumentation involves ignoring the fact that Jean-Michel Trogneux is clearly alive and a separate person, looking at real photos and declaring them fake, and birthday numerology. 

Travis, Jake, and Julian unpack Owens’ past, the history of the conspiracy theory, how she promoted it through the 8-part series “Becoming Brigitte,” and the lawsuit that now threatens her independent media empire.


Subscribe for $5 a month to get all the premium episodes: https://www.patreon.com/qaa


Editing by Corey Klotz. Theme by Nick Sena. Additional music by Pontus Berghe. Theme Vocals by THEY/LIVE (https://instagram.com/theyylivve / https://sptfy.com/QrDm). Cover Art by Pedro Correa: (https://pedrocorrea.com)

https://qaapodcast.com

QAA was known as the QAnon Anonymous podcast.

///

We’ve launched a new podcast miniseries network: Cursed Media. The very first Cursed Media miniseries is Science in Transition. 

Science in Transition is an investigation into the intellectual origins of the contemporary right wing backlash against transgender acceptance. Through six deeply-researched episodes, hosts Liv Agar and Spencer Barrows unearth a bizarre coalition of well-meaning clinicians, aristocratic sexologists, militant feminists, right-wing culture warriors, headline-chasing journalists, and conservative politicians.

Binge all six episodes of Science In Transition by subscribing through this link.

www.cursedmedia.net/

Subscribers to Cursed Media get access to three new podcast series per year, plus every episode of QAA’s existing mini-series (properly organized!)

////


Becoming Candace (E335)

Alex is back for some speculation about the health of Donald Trump (after his disappearance) and Rudy Giuliani (after his “not targeted” car crash). Then we turn to the weird world of Democratic Party influencers and the dark-money group secretly funding their American Girl Doll memes. Finally, we chat a little about phones in schools and Adam Friedland’s interview with Richie Torres.

Follow Alex on Twitter @Lowenaffchen
Check out his show Fortune Kit: https://www.patreon.com/fortunekit
And stream “Hotel California” by Bob Marley: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=taTD0NPb8Do 

And listen to Felix’s new series about video games THE PLAYERS CLUB!

965 - A Chorus Line feat. Alex Nichols (9/2/25)

Chapo Senior Foreign Policy correspondent Derek Davison is back once again to talk about the escalating possibility of war in Venezuela. We discuss the recent strike on a Venezuelan boat by Trump and his newly-Christened Department of War, a botched raid into North Korea, our collapsing relationship with India, China’s SCO summit with Russia, and conflict on the Thai-Cambodia border. Plus: a Matt Christman prediction comes true…

Find all of Derek’s foreign policy coverage at:
www.foreignexchanges.news
www.americanprestigepod.com

967 - Whitehat feat. Derek Davison (9/8/25)

Documenting another turbulent week in the American Years of Lead

Support us on Patreon: www.patreon.com/trillbillyworkersparty

Episode 409: Throwing The Circuit Breaker

Will Sommer of The Bulwark returns to Chapo to talk about the right’s reaction to the assassination of Charlie Kirk as well as his funeral proceedings in Arizona. We recap the Groyper War that preceded the assassination and the pressure it put on Kirk to move right, as well as the conspiracies surrounding his shooting. Was Israel involved? Why was there no exit wound? Did Charlie have a late-in-life conversion to Catholicism? And which faction of the right will be able to define the man’s legacy?

Follow Will Sommer on Twitter/X: https://x.com/willsommer 

971 - The Years of Whatever feat. Will Sommer (9/22/25)

Liv, Travis, and Jake discuss the continuing fallout from Charlie Kirk's assassination and new details from Tyler Robinson's charging document.

Thanks for subscribing to QAA on patreon.

Check out our new podcast series network Cursed Media and binge the entirety of our new show Science in Transition by Liv Agar and Spencer Barrows: https://cursedmedia.net

Editing by Corey Klotz. Theme by Nick Sena. Additional music by Pontus Berghe. Theme Vocals by THEY/LIVE (https://instagram.com/theyylivve / https://sptfy.com/QrDm). Cover Art by Pedro Correa: (https://pedrocorrea.com)

https://qaapodcast.com

QAA was known as the QAnon Anonymous podcast.

See You In Valhalla, Charlie (E341)

Catching up on the latest news after a brief hiatus: Charlie Kirk memorial and everything therein; Kamala's new book about the 2024 election; and debating whether or not democracy really can survive

Support us on Patreon: www.patreon.com/trillbillyworkersparty

Episode 411: Awakening The Warrior Spirit

This week we're having a truth and reconciliation hearing for the libs

Support us on Patreon: www.patreon.com/trillbillyworkersparty

Episode 412: For Those Afraid To Rock

Séamus joins us to talk about Trump’s proposed “Gaza peace plan” and what horrific policies it would actually entail in practice, as well as the Democratic Party’s desperate attempts to triangulate on the issue. We also wade into the increasing possibility of regime change in Venezuela as well as ICE’s pillaging of Chicago apartment buildings. On the lighter side, we talk about Bari Weiss being given the keys to CBS news and Tyler Cowen’s Humbert Humbert-esque ode to an AI actress.

Follow @Turbulence_pod on X for updates about when Séamus’s pod drops.

NEW MERCH IS OUT NOW! Go to https://chapotraphouse.store/ and buy a new hat or shirt, especially our great new “Carousel Club” design.

AND be sure to pre-save the date of October 28 for Will and Hesse’s LIVE WATCH PARTY of Re-Animator! Tickets available now – use the promo code CHAPO20 for 20% off! https://checkout.stagepilot.com/collections/chapo-trap-house 

975 - Like a Virgin feat. Séamus Malekafzali

Jacob Silverman is back to walk us through the absurd levels of crypto corruption in the White House and his new book Gilded Rage: Elon Musk and the Radicalization of Silicon Valley.

https://bookshop.org/p/books/gilded-rage-elon-musk-and-the-radicalization-of-silicon-valley-jacob-silverman/90640a782bd09515

Hit the tip line: (646) 801-1129 | tips@trueanon.com

Discover more episodes at podcast.trueanon.com


Episode 496: Money for Nothing

Drop Site’s Ryan Grim and Jeremy Scahill return to talk more about the ceasefire deal in Gaza. We discuss what finally led to this moment, whether this ceasefire will be any different than the previous ones, and the future of Gaza, Israel, and the Gulf States. We then turn to the media’s coverage of Gaza: Jeremy’s new story on The Free Press’ “debunking” of the photos of malnourished Gazan children, the news that Douglas Murray and David Frum were writing speeches for an Israeli ambassador, a supposed document from Mohammad Sinwar, and Jacki Karsh’s pro-Israel journalism fellowship.

Subscribe to Drop Site here: https://www.dropsitenews.com/ 

NEW MERCH IS OUT NOW! Go to https://chapotraphouse.store/ and buy a new hat or shirt, especially our great new “Carousel Club” design.

AND be sure to pre-save the date of October 28 for Will and Hesse’s LIVE WATCH PARTY of Re-Animator! Tickets available now – use the promo code CHAPO20 for 20% off! https://checkout.stagepilot.com/collections/chapo-trap-house 

977 - The Next Day feat. Ryan Grim and Jeremy Scahill

Chapo Trap House