ABSTRACT
Despite the growing number of conspiracy theories on the Internet, their verbal transmission remains significant and topical due to their similarly drastic impact, including violence. Exemplary are, for instance, the so-called ‘organ theft legends’ still circulating verbally and implying that certain villains plot to kidnap children or adults in order to harvest their organs for the transplantation industry. Many groups have been accused of such acts, and violence has often been the result. One such example is what happened in the Guatemalan village of San Cristobal Verapaz in 1994, when American tourist Diane June Weinstock innocently said hello to a group of local children. Weinstock’s only fault was that she did not know about the rumour that circulated all over Guatemala and Central America and motivated the assault of many other Americans who found themselves travelling in the region at that time. According to the rumour, Americans and Israelis came to Guatemalan villages to kidnap Guatemalan children, kill them and harvest their organs for transplantation into wealthy North American children. Enraged by these verbally circulating stories, a mob of Guatemalans assaulted Weinstock, inflicting eight stab wounds, several broken limbs and a fractured skull (Samper 2002: 1–2).
