earth science

The Light (newspaper)

The Light (newspaper) is a earth science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand The Light (newspaper) rather than just read about it. In short: The Light is a monthly British, far-right and conspiratorial newspaper founded by flat earther Darren Scott Nesbitt (frequently under the pseudonym Darren Smith) on 27 September 2020. The publication was initially known for claiming the COVID-19 pandemic was a hoax, but has since endorsed articles by Holocaust deniers and Neo-Nazi authors.

Key takeaways

The Light (newspaper) belongs to earth science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect The Light (newspaper) to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of The Light (newspaper) from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The Light is a monthly British, far-right and conspiratorial newspaper founded by flat earther Darren Scott Nesbitt (frequently under the pseudonym Darren Smith) on 27 September 2020. The publication was initially known for claiming the COVID-19 pandemic was a hoax, but has since endorsed articles by Holocaust deniers and Neo-Nazi authors. The paper has a sister publication, named The Irish Light, which was launched in Ireland by Gemma O'Doherty and John Waters. The Light also has affiliated publications in Canada and Australia. The paper has been criticised for spreading COVID-19 misinformation and endorsing antisemitic conspiracy theories including Holocaust denial, as well as making death threats against journalists and health professionals. It regularly prints articles written by conspiracy theorist Vernon Coleman, and according to a review from Harvard Kennedy School "includes content that is aimed at prompting participation and activism amongst adherents of conspiracy theories, rather than simply presenting information". The paper has called for a "second Nuremberg Trial" and executions of journalists, politicians and doctors, leading it to being described by Dave Renton as a "far-right propaganda sheet", whilst other investigative groups have described it as containing "extremist propaganda". Although the company behind the paper was dissolved on 15 February 2021, the BBC reported in June 2023 that at least 100,000 copies of The Light were being printed each month and that the publication had more than 18,000 followers on the social media site Telegram.

Claims The print publication regularly makes conspiratorial claims surrounding Bill Gates and world leaders, promotes climate change denial and claims vaccines are weaponized mind control devices. It has called for modern-day Nuremberg trials for journalists, politicians and doctors and repeatedly referenced conspiracy theories concerning Agenda 21 and the Great Reset. It regularly criticised the COVID-19 restrictions in the United Kingdom by comparing vaccination efforts to Nazi extermination camps. The paper was also found to have spread false claims concerning vaccines, COVID-19 and COVID-19 death figures. In September 2022, The Light shared an article written by Paul Joseph Watson claiming that Lyudmyla Denisova, the former Ombudsman for Human Rights in Ukraine, had admitted to lying about the Russian military committing rape crimes in Ukraine. The disinformation analysis group Logically found that Denisova had only accepted her use of inappropriate language in describing the rape crimes, but had not admitted to lying about said crimes. In November 2022, The Irish Light ran a headline with the phrase 'Died Suddenly' connected to marketing efforts around the release of an independent anti-vaccine film of the same name. In this issue, the paper used the images of 42 deceased individuals, claiming they had died due to being vaccinated. Upon investigation, none of the deaths were found to be due to vaccines but were caused by drowning, long-term illness, car accidents, meningitis and other events. The misuse of the names and images of the deceased individuals being used to promote anti-vaccine conspiracy theories caused severe distress among family members of the bereaved and an increase in online abuse.

Far-right links The paper has been criticised by the anti-racist group Hope not Hate for its support of the far-right. It has printed articles by Holocaust deniers John Hamer, David Icke, Professor Anthony Hall and Nesta Helen Webster, and has recommended books by white supremacist Eustace Mullins as a "renowned author", along with featuring articles by pseudonymous blogger Lasha Darkmoon who "suggested that people had been brainwashed against questioning the Holocaust". It also defended radio host Graham Hart, who was sentenced to 32 months imprisonment after making anti-Semitic remarks on his radio show in which he characterized Jewish people as "filth" and "rats" who "deserve to be wiped out". The paper also regularly references Cultural Marxism conspiracy theory, which has similar roots in anti-Semitism and has also promoted the neo-Nazi propaganda film Europa: The Last Battle on its Telegram channel. It has also printed interviews with anti-Islam party politician Anne Marie Waters, media figure Katie Hopkins and printed articles co-authored by the English Democrats chair Robin Tilbrook and Heritage Party leader David Kurten, along with promoting material by Mark Collett, the neo-Nazi leader of the fascist group Patriotic Alternative. According to its founder, he is in communication with the editor of the German far-right conspiracy theory publication Demokratischer Widerstand (Democratic Resistance), which has stated that it is a "partner" newspaper of The Light. Demokratischer Widerstand has been linked to the Reichsbürger movement, the group behind the 2022 failed coup attempt in Germany. The paper regularly promotes the political ideologies of far-right figures such as the former English Defence League leader Tommy Robinson, Italy’s post-fascist leader Giorgia Meloni and Hungary’s autocratic ruler, Viktor Orbán.

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with The Light (newspaper)

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what The Light (newspaper) claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In earth science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to The Light (newspaper) before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about The Light (newspaper) ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of The Light (newspaper)

In research: The Light (newspaper) appears in earth science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses The Light (newspaper) in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: The Light (newspaper) is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Anti-vaccination media, Antisemitic periodicals, COVID-19 misinformation, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for The Light (newspaper) outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study The Light (newspaper) in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what The Light (newspaper) means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain The Light (newspaper) out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is The Light (newspaper) in simple terms?

Why does The Light (newspaper) matter?

Because it connects several earth science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study The Light (newspaper)?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on The Light (newspaper).