Polybius | The CIA's Mind-Control Arcade Game

Ways to support the podcast:Buy Me a Coffee: ☕ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://bmc.link/philipthompson⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Donate via PayPal: 💸 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠paypal.me/PhilipT284⁠⁠⁠⁠In 1981, a mysterious arcade game appeared in Portland, Oregon. Kids who played it suffered amnesia, nightmares, and seizures. Men in black suits arrived to collect data from the machines. Then the cabinets vanished without a trace. For decades, gamers have whispered about Polybius—the CIA's mind control experiment disguised as entertainment.But here's the problem: the game never existed. The legend of Polybius is one of the internet's most successful hoaxes, a conspiracy theory built on a foundation of real events, genuine medical incidents, and Cold War paranoia. This episode traces the fabrication of a modern myth, from FBI gambling raids and vector graphics seizures in 1981 Portland, to a calculated internet hoax in the year 2000 that continues to fool people today.What happens when verified history, MKUltra anxiety, the Satanic Panic, and digital folklore converge? You get a game that never was, but somehow feels more real than the truth.Hosted by Philip Thompson.Weblore is a production of Thompson Media Ltd.Write to me: [email protected]