On this day in conspiracies

Jacques de Molay and Geoffroi de Charney, having recanted their forced confessions and reasserted the order's innocence, are burned at the stake as relapsed heretics in Paris on the orders of Philip IV. A later legend has de Molay cursing the king and the pope from the flames; both men die within the year, which the story treats as ominous.

Around 9 p.m., two armed, masked men force their way into the Nishinomiya home of Katsuhisa Ezaki, president of Ezaki Glico, bind his wife and young daughter, and abduct him. They demand a ransom in cash and gold.

In a Reddit AMA about the pandemic, Gates says that eventually there may be digital certificates showing who has been tested, recovered, or vaccinated. He does not mention microchips or implants, but conspiracy sites soon rewrite the comment into headlines about implantable tracking chips.

A video of Catherine and William walking at a Windsor farm shop, shot by a member of the public, is published by a tabloid to prove she is well. It has the opposite effect: body-double claims explode, with users dissecting her height, smile and gait. Within about a day the false theory racks up tens of millions of views across X and TikTok.