A conspiracy theory is an explanation for an event or situation that invokes a conspiracy by sinister and powerful groups, often political in motivation, when other explanations are more probable. The term has a negative connotation, implying that the appeal to a conspiracy is based on prejudice or insufficient evidence. A conspiracy theory is not the same as a conspiracy; instead, it refers to a hypothesized conspiracy with specific characteristics, such as an opposition to the mainstream consensus among those people who are qualified to evaluate its accuracy.
Jesse Ventura is an American politician, actor, television presenter, political commentator, author, and retired professional wrestler. After achieving fame in the World Wrestling Federation, he served as the 38th governor of Minnesota from 1999 to 2003. He was elected governor with the Reform Party and is the party's only candidate to win a major government office.
The Bilderberg meeting is an annual conference established in 1954 to foster dialogue between Europe and North America. The group’s agenda, originally to prevent another world war, is now defined as bolstering a consensus around free market Western capitalism and its interests around the globe. Participants include political leaders, experts from industry, finance, academia, and the media, numbering between 120 and 150. Attendees are entitled to use information gained at meetings, but not attribute it to a named speaker. This is to encourage candid debate, while maintaining privacy – a provision that has fed conspiracy theories from both left and right.
Shadow government may refer to:
There are many conspiracy theories that attribute the planning and execution of the September 11 attacks against the United States to parties other than, or in addition to, al-Qaeda, including that there was advance knowledge of the attacks among high-level government officials. Government investigations and independent reviews have rejected these theories. Proponents of these theories assert that there are inconsistencies in the commonly accepted version, or that there exists evidence that was ignored, concealed, or overlooked.
June Konadu Sarpong is a British television presenter and executive. She was a panellist on ITV's Loose Women and is currently a panellist on the Sky News programme The Pledge. In November 2019, Sarpong was appointed as the BBC's first Director of Creative Diversity.
Loose Change is a series of films released between 2005 and 2009 that argue in favor of certain conspiracy theories relating to the September 11 attacks. The films were written and directed by Dylan Avery and produced by Korey Rowe, Jason Bermas, and Matthew Brown.
QAnon is a disproven far-right conspiracy theory alleging that a cabal of Satanic, cannibalistic pedophiles operate a global child sex trafficking ring and conspired against former President Donald Trump during his term in office. QAnon has been described as a cult.
Jesse Walker is books editor of Reason magazine. The University of Michigan alumnus has written the books The United States of Paranoia: A Conspiracy Theory and Rebels on the Air: An Alternative History of Radio in America, and he maintains a blog called The Perpetual Three-Dot Column. His articles have appeared in a number of publications, including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, The Atlantic, Salon, The New Republic, Politico, L.A. Times, L.A. Weekly, Chronicles, Boing Boing, No Depression, and the Journal of American Studies.
Doug Bruckner is an American television news correspondent, reporter, host, voice-over artist and producer, who is among the best-known correspondents in the history of tabloid television, well known for his exclusive interviews with the most notorious criminals of our time.
Conspiracy Theory with Jesse Ventura is an American television series hosted by Jesse Ventura and broadcast on truTV. It ran for three seasons from 2009 to 2012 and was canceled in 2013.
American Conspiracies: Lies, Lies, and More Dirty Lies That the Government Tells Us is a book written by former Governor of Minnesota Jesse Ventura, together with Dick Russell. It was published by Skyhorse Publishing in 2010.
Judy Anne Mikovits is an American former research scientist who is known for her discredited medical claims, such as that murine endogenous retroviruses are linked to chronic fatigue syndrome. As an outgrowth of these claims, she has engaged in anti-vaccination activism, promoted conspiracy theories, and been accused of scientific misconduct. She has made false claims about vaccines, COVID-19, and chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), among others.
Brad Meltzer's Decoded was an American mystery and conspiracy theory investigation television series, produced by Go Go Luckey and Berman/Braun, that premiered December 2, 2010, on the History channel. The series is hosted by political thriller author and non-fiction writer Brad Meltzer and follows a team of investigators who try to determine the meanings behind various symbolism, alleged secret codes and conspiracies that surround us every day. History Decoded, a book by Meltzer that was inspired by the show, was published in October 2013.
RT America is a U.S.-based pay television and internet-based news channel which is part of the RT network, a global multilingual television news network based in Moscow, Russia, funded and controlled by the Russian government.
Among the Truthers: A Journey Through America's Growing Conspiracist Underground is a 2011 book by Canadian journalist Jonathan Kay that examines the popularity of conspiracy theories in the United States. The book examines the history and psychology of conspiracy theories, particularly focusing on the 9/11 Truth movement. It received generally positive reviews, though some reviewers raised issues about the book's focus and political claims.
Zeitgeist is a series of three documentary films released between 2007 and 2011 that present a number of conspiracy theories, as well as proposals for broad social and economic changes. The films, Zeitgeist: The Movie (2007), Zeitgeist: Addendum (2008) and Zeitgeist: Moving Forward (2011) are all directed by Peter Joseph.
Plandemic: The Hidden Agenda Behind Covid-19 and Plandemic: Indoctornation are a 2020 conspiracy theory video and film, respectively, both of which were produced by Mikki Willis and promote misinformation about the COVID-19 pandemic. Both feature Judy Mikovits, a discredited American researcher who has been described as an anti-vaccine activist. The first video, in addition to promoting various conspiracy theories, also features Willis and Mikovits discussing viruses in general and Mikovits herself. Willis produced the first video with a low budget under the name of his production company Elevate Films. Three months after the video's Internet release, the second film Plandemic: Indoctornation, which also includes other people, was released by another distributor.
American political conspiracy theories are usually defined by the same theme: a small, powerful group strives to hide secretive, destructive information, harm another rival group, or undermine society in general. Theories play off of actual conspiracies, which include a similar concept: a few individuals work together in secret to unravel a larger system. Often, the struggle between a real conspiracy theory and a misconception of one is what leads to conflict, creating polarization in elections, dispersing distrust in government, as well as racial and political divisions. Many political conspiracies begin and spread due to politically charged circumstances, individual's partisan affiliations, and online platforms that form echo-chambers with like-minded individuals. Belief in American political conspiracies applies to all parties, ideologies, races and ethnicities, socioeconomic levels, and genders.
