In principle, conspiracy theories might not always be false, and their validity depends on evidence as for any theory. However, they are often implausible prima facie due to their convoluted and all-encompassing nature.[3] Conspiracy theories tend to be internally consistent and correlate with each other;[4] they are generally designed to resist falsification either by evidence against them or a lack of evidence for them.[5]
This conspiracy theory emerged in the US in the 1960s. The John Birch Society originally promoted[10] it, asserting that a United Nations force would soon arrive in black helicopters to bring the US under UN control. A similar theory concerning so-called "phantom helicopters" appeared in the UK in the 1970s.[11] The theory re-emerged in the 1990s during the presidency of Bill Clinton, and was "energetically" promoted by writer Jim Keith in his book Black Helicopters Over America. By the 2000s, the term "black helicopters" became a shorthand for anti-government conspiracy theories that "stretch the bounds of credulity",[12] such as those espoused by militia groups and a number of guests of talk show host Glenn Beck.[13][14]
A high-flying jet's engines leaving a condensation trail (contrail)
Also known as SLAP (Secret Large-scale Atmospheric Program), this theory alleges that water condensation trails ("contrails") from aircraft consist of chemical or biological agents, or contain a supposedly toxic mix of aluminum, strontium and barium,[15] under secret government policies. An estimated 17% of people globally believe the theory to be true or partly true. In 2016, the Carnegie Institution for Science published the first-ever peer-reviewed study of the chemtrail theory; 76 out of 77 participating atmospheric chemists and geochemists stated that they had seen no evidence to support the chemtrail theory, or stated that chemtrail theorists rely on poor sampling.[16][17]
Korean Air Lines Flight 007
The destruction of Korean Air Lines Flight 007 by Soviet jets in 1983 has long drawn the interest of conspiracy theorists. The theories range from allegations of a planned espionage mission, to a US government cover-up, to the consumption of the passengers' remains by giant crabs.[18]
The disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 in southeast Asia in March 2014 has prompted many theories. One theory suggests that this plane was hidden away and reintroduced as Flight MH17 later the same year in order to be shot down over Ukraine for political purposes. American conspiracy theorist James H. Fetzer has placed responsibility for the disappearance with the then Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.[19] Historian Norman Davies has promoted the conspiracy theory that hackers remotely took over a Boeing Uninterruptible Autopilot, supposedly installed on board, remotely piloting the aircraft to Antarctica.[20][21]
Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17
Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 was shot down over Ukraine in July 2014. This event has spawned numerous alternative theories. These variously include allegations that it was secretly Flight MH370, that the plane was actually shot down by the Ukrainian Air Force to frame Russia, that it was part of a conspiracy to conceal the "truth" about HIV (seven disease specialists were on board), or that the Illuminati or Israel was responsible.[19][22]
Multiple conspiracy theories pertain to a fatal oil-rig industrial accident in 2010 in the Gulf of Mexico, alleging sabotage by those seeking to promote environmentalism, or a strike by North Korean or Russian submarines. Elements of such theories had been suggested or promoted by US radio host Rush Limbaugh.[23][24]
A theory claims that The Coca-Cola Company intentionally changed to an inferior formula with New Coke, with the intent either of driving up demand for the original product or permitting the reintroduction of the original with a new formula using cheaper ingredients.[25] Coca-Cola president Donald Keough rebutted this charge: "The truth is, we're not that dumb, and we're not that smart."[26]
Deaths and disappearances
Death of Nero
In ancient times, widespread conspiracy theories were circulated pertaining to the death of the Roman emperor Nero, who committed suicide in 68 AD.[27] Some of these theories claimed that Nero had actually faked his death and was secretly still alive, but in hiding, plotting to reestablish his reign.[27] In most of these stories, he was said to have fled to the East, where he was still influential.[27] Other theories held that Nero would return from the dead to retake his throne.[27] Many early Christians feared Nero's return to resume his vicious anti-Christian persecutions.[27] The Book of Revelation may allude to these conspiracy theories in its description of the slaughtered head returned to life.[27]
In modern times, multiple conspiracy theories concerning the assassination of John F. Kennedy in 1963 have emerged.[28]Vincent Bugliosi estimated that over 1,000 books had been written about the Kennedy assassination,[29] at least ninety percent of which are works supporting the view that there was a conspiracy.[29] As a result of this, the Kennedy assassination has been described as "the mother of all conspiracies".[30][31] The countless individuals and organizations that have been accused of involvement in the Kennedy assassination include the CIA, the Mafia, sitting Vice PresidentLyndon B. Johnson, Cuban Prime MinisterFidel Castro, the KGB, or even some combination thereof.[32][29] It is also frequently asserted that the United States federal government intentionally covered up crucial information in the aftermath of the assassination to prevent the conspiracy from being discovered.[32]
At approximately 12:20pm on 17 December 1967, then-Prime Minister of AustraliaHarold Holt, disappeared while swimming at Cheviot Beach, near the town of Portsea in Victoria. While it is presumed that Holt drowned, the topic is still described as one of the biggest unsolved mysteries in Australian history and has spawned many conspiracy theories.[33] The conspiracy theories have been widely criticised by the public and by members of Holt's own family.
In 2007, television presenter Ray Martin hosted the television special Who Killed Harold Holt?, which first aired on the Nine Network on 20 November 2007. While the special explored numerous theories about Holt's disappearance, it gave particular credence to the theory that he committed suicide.[34] In the lead-up to the airing of the program, Holt's biographer, Tom Frame, described the allegations made in the special as "unjustified and contrary to all the evidence" in an opinion piece published in The Australian newspaper, while Holt's son, Sam, said he was "amazed that people can still keep bringing up [these] fallacious theories".
The disappearance, and often presumed death, of an individual may also become a cause for conspiracy theorists. Theories of a cover-up surrounding the 1974 disappearance of Lord Lucan following the murder of his family's nanny include, for example, allegations of a suicide plot whereby his body was fed to tigers at Howletts Zoo.[67][68][69] Numerous conspiracy theories have also attended the 2007 disappearance of English girl Madeleine McCann.[70]
The New World Order theory states that a group of international elites control governments, industry, and media organizations, with the goal of establishing global hegemony. They are alleged to be implicated in most of the major wars of the last two centuries, to carry out secretly staged events, and to deliberately manipulate economies.
Many theorists allege that the contents of fictional media, in a process called "predictive programming," are manipulated to reference planned false flags, technological innovations, social changes, and other future events.[83] These references are understood to be a conditioning and brainwashing tool, such that the public becomes more accepting of these events than they would be otherwise.[83][84] Predictive programming has been used to explain events such as the September 11 attacks and COVID-19 pandemic, and has been connected with media such as Die Hard, The Simpsons, and Contagion.[83][85]
Hungarian-American investor George Soros has been the subject of conspiracy theories since the 1990s. Soros has used his wealth to promote many political, social, educational and scientific causes, disbursing grants totaling an estimated $11 billion up to 2016. However, theories tend to assert that Soros is in control of a large portion of the world's wealth and governments, and that he secretly funds a large range of persons and organizations for nefarious purposes, such as antifa, which some conspiracy theorists claim is a single far-left militant group. Such ideas have been promoted by Viktor Orban, Donald Trump,[86]Rudy Giuliani,[87]Joseph diGenova,[88]Bill O'Reilly, Roy Moore, Alex Jones, Paul Gosar, and Ben Garrison. Soros conspiracy theories are sometimes linked to antisemitic conspiracy theories.[89]
Conspiracy theories in Turkey started to dominate public discourse during the late reign of the Justice and Development Party and Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.[93] In 2014, Erdoğan coined the term üst akıl ("mastermind") to denote the alleged command and control institution, somewhat ambiguously placed with the government of the United States, in a comprehensive conspiracy to weaken or even dismember Turkey, by orchestrating every political actor and action perceived hostile by Turkey.[94][95][93] Erdoğan as well as the Daily Sabah newspaper have on multiple occasions alleged that very different non-state actors—like the Salafi jihadist Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), the libertarian socialist Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and supporters of Fethullah Gülen—were attacking Turkey at the same time in a well-coordinated campaign.[96]
One instance of promoting the "mastermind" conspiracy theory occurred in February 2017, when then-Ankara Mayor Melih Gökçek claimed that earthquakes in the western province of Çanakkale could have been organized by dark external powers aiming to destroy Turkey's economy with an "artificial earthquake" near Istanbul.[97] In another example, in November 2017, the Islamist newspaper Yeni Akit claimed that the fashion trend of "ripped denim" jeans was in fact a means of communication, via specific forms of rips and holes, between agents of foreign states and their collaborators in Turkey.[98]
Conspiracy theories concerning Malala Yousafzai are widespread in Pakistan, elements of which originate from a 2013 satirical piece in Dawn. These theories variously allege that she is a Western spy, or that her attempted murder by the Taliban in 2012 was a secret operation to further discredit the Taliban, and was organized by her father and the CIA and carried out by actor Robert de Niro disguised as an Uzbekhomeopath.[104][105][106][107]
Holocaust denial is also considered an antisemitic conspiracy theory, claiming that the Nazi extermination of European Jews is a hoax designed to win sympathy for Jews and justify the creation of the State of Israel.[114][115] Holocaust deniers include Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad,[116] the chemist with a conviction for inciting racial hatred Germar Rudolf[117] and the discredited author David Irving.[118]
Reptilian conspiracies, prominent in ufology theories, have also been linked to anti-semitism,[62][119] as "a very old trope with disturbing links to anti-immigrant and antisemitic hostilities dating to the 19th century."[120] Conspiracy author David Icke suggests numerous Jewish political figures are reptilian shapeshifters and "the Jewish Rothschild family is part of a bloodline of reptilian humanoids that secretly control the world".[121] Critics contend these theories to be antisemitic, although he denies animosity towards Jewish people.[120] Other far-right ufologists speculate that the Jewish race originated from genetic engineering by malevolent extraterrestrials engaged in interstellar conflict with Anunnaki or Pleiadians.[122]
Conspiracy theories that allege that the Armenians wield secret political power are prevalent in Azerbaijan[123] and have been promoted by the government,[124] including President Ilham Aliyev.[125][126][127] Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu has claimed that the Russian media is run by Armenians.[128] American writer and disbarred lawyer Samuel Weems[129] has claimed that the Armenian genocide was a hoax designed to defraud Christian nations of billions of dollars, and that the Armenian Church instigates terrorist attacks.[130] Filmmaker Davud Imanov has accused the Armenians of plotting against Azerbaijan and has claimed that the Karabakh movement was a plot by the CIA to destroy the Soviet Union.[131]
Iran's Baháʼí Faith minority has been the target of conspiracy theories alleging involvement with hostile powers. Iranian government officials and others have claimed that Baháʼís have been variously agents of the Russian, British, American or Israeli governments.[132] An apocryphal and historically inaccurate book published in Iran, entitled The Memoirs of Count Dolgoruki, details a theory that the Bahá'ís intend to destroy Islam. Such anti-Baháʼí accusations have been dismissed as having no factual foundation.[133][134][135]
Since the Protestant Reformation of the 16th century, theories about Catholic conspiracies have taken many forms, including the 17th-century Popish Plot allegations,[136] claims by persons such as William Blackstone that Catholics posed a secret threat to Britain, and numerous writings by authors such as Samuel Morse, Rebecca Reed, Avro Manhattan, Jack Chick and Alberto Rivera. Theorists often claim that the Pope is the Antichrist, accuse Catholics of suppressing evidence incompatible with Church teachings, and describe Catholics as being involved with secret evil rituals, crimes, and other plots.
In 1853, the Scottish minister Alexander Hislop published his anti-Catholic pamphlet The Two Babylons,[137] in which he claims that the Catholic Church is secretly a continuation of the pagan religion of ancient Babylon, the product of a millennia-old conspiracy founded by the Biblical king Nimrod and the Assyrian queen Semiramis.[137] It also claims that modern Catholic holidays, including Christmas and Easter, are actually pagan festivals established by Semiramis and that the customs associated with them are pagan rituals. Modern scholars have unanimously rejected the book's arguments as erroneous and based on a flawed understanding of Babylonian religion,[137] but variations of them are still accepted among some groups of evangelicalProtestants.[137] The Jehovah's Witnesses periodical The Watchtower frequently published excerpts from it until the 1980s.[138] The book's thesis has also featured prominently in the conspiracy theories of racist groups, such as The Covenant, The Sword, and the Arm of the Lord.[139]
Fears of a Catholic takeover of the US have been especially persistent,[140][141] prompted by large-scale Catholic immigration in the 19th century[142] and Ku Klux Klanpropaganda.[143][144] Such fears have attached to Catholic political candidates such as Al Smith[145] and John F. Kennedy.[146][147][148]Pope John Paul I died in September 1978, only a month after his election to the papacy. The timing of his death and the Vatican's alleged difficulties with ceremonial and legal death procedures has fostered several conspiracy theories. The elderly Pope Benedict XVI's resignation in February 2013, officially due to "lack of strength of mind and body",[149] prompted theories in Italian publications such as La Repubblica and Panorama that he resigned to avoid the exposure of an underground gay Catholic network.[150][151]
Bible conspiracy theories posit that significant parts of the New Testament are false, or have been omitted. Various groups both real (such as the Vatican) and fake (such as the Priory of Sion) are said to suppress relevant information concerning, for example, the dating of the Shroud of Turin.[156] Much of this line of conspiracy theory has been stimulated by a debunked book titled The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail (1982), which claimed that Jesus and Mary Magdalene were lovers and that their offspring and descendants were secretly hidden in Europe following the death of Jesus, from whom the then-living French draughtsmanPierre Plantard claimed descent. Interest in this hoax saw a resurgence following the publication of Dan Brown's 2003 novel The Da Vinci Code.[157]The Gospel of Afranius, an atheistic Russian work published in 1995 with an English translation published in 2022, proposes politically motivated gaslighting as the origin of the foundational Christian belief in the resurrection of Jesus.[158]
During the 1930s and 1940s, Neo-Pagan Heinrich Himmler organized a branch of the SS to do an extensive survey of witch-hunt trial records across Europe, with the intention to use it as anti-Christian propaganda by claiming the inquisition had been a repression of an indigenous Völkisch Norse-Germanic nature religion, and using it as evidence for reconstructing that religion.[166]
Paul the Apostle
Paul the Apostle makes an appearance in some variants of the medieval Jewish anti-Christian polemic, Toledot Yeshu, as a spy for the rabbis.[167] Muslims have long believed that Paul purposefully corrupted the original revealed teachings of Jesus[168][169][170] by introducing elements of paganism,[171] the theology of the cross,[172] and the idea of original sin producing the need for redemption.[173] The Baháʼí Faith also regards Paul as a false or misguided preacher who corrupted Jesus's original message. In this sense, he is seen as the real "Judas" who betrayed Jesus.[174]
"The Plan" is an alleged plot by white power brokers in Washington, D.C., to take control of the city's local government from African Americans, who were a majority of the city's population from the late 1950s to the early 2010s and remain its largest ethnic group.[187][188] While most residents, of any race, do not believe in an intentional plan to move or displace black people, many still feel that gentrification, urban renewal projects and the demolition of black neighborhoods have contributed (intentionally or otherwise) to Washington's changing demographics.[189]
Fandom, celebrity relationships, and shipping
Numerous conspiracy theories surround the desire by followers of a fandom for two celebrities to be in a romantic and/or sexual relationship, known as shipping.[190] Many real-person shipping conspiracy theories involve claims that the pregnancies and children of partnered or married celebrity couples are fake.[191] Proponents of celebrity shipping conspiracies that ship two celebrities of the same gender typically argue that they are being pro-LGBT by supporting two people who are forcibly closeted by a homophobic industry.[192] Conspiracy communities about celebrity relationships tend to be created and dominated by women.[191]
Larries are a group of shipping conspiracy theorist fans, centered around the idea that two members of the boy band One Direction, Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson, are secretly a couple.[193] These conspiracy theorists falsely claim that Styles and Tomlinson have been closeted by their management since the inception of the band, despite multiple claims otherwise by Styles, Tomlinson, their friends, and their family.[193]
In the modern era, political conspiracy theories are often spread using fake news on social media. A 2017 study of fake news, which was published by the Shorenstein Center, found that "misinformation is currently predominantly a pathology of the right".[194] Political conspiracy theories may take generalized and wide-ranging forms concerning wars and international bodies, but may also be seen at a localized level, such as the conspiracy theory pertaining to the 118th Battalion, a British regiment stationed in Kitchener, Ontario, during World War I, which was believed by some in Kitchener to still be present years after the war ended and to be controlling local politics.[195]
BlueAnon
BlueAnon is a set of loosely related left-wing conspiracy theories that suggest Donald Trump is engaged in elaborate plots to capture or maintain control of the United States Government.[196][197][198]
Crisis actors are individuals who portray disaster victims in first responder training exercises. Conspiracy theories allege that mass shooting and similar traumatic events are actually staged, with victims and their families being portrayed by covert crisis actors.
Illuminati in Europe
Conspiracy theories concerning the Illuminati, a short-lived 18th-century Enlightenment-era secret society, appear to have originated in the late 19th century, when some Catholic conservatives in Europe came to believe that the group had been responsible for the French Revolution of 1789–1799.[199] Hoaxes about the Illuminati were later spread in the 1960s by a group of American practical jokers known as the Discordians who wrote a series of fake letters about the Illuminati to Playboy.[200]
False flag operations are covert operations designed to appear as if they are being carried out by other entities. Some allegations of false flag operations have been verified or are subjects of legitimate historical dispute (such as the 1933 Reichstag arson attack).[201] Unsubstantiated allegations of such operations feature strongly in conspiracy theories.
The 2019 death of Jeffrey Epstein, an American financier billionaire and convicted sex offender with ties to Bill Clinton, Donald Trump, and other members of the elite, has become the subject of conspiracy theories.[220][221]
The 2017 Las Vegas shooting, the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history, has sparked numerous conspiracy theories. Some theorists suggest the use of a machine gun rather than semi-automatic weapons, claiming the rapid fire heard in videos indicates automatic gunfire. Others allege government involvement, speculating that the incident was orchestrated to justify banning bump stocks, devices that enable semi-automatic rifles to fire more rapidly. Additionally, there are theories about multiple shooters, fueled by eyewitness accounts and video evidence that purportedly show gunfire from different locations. Despite extensive investigations debunking these claims, they continue to circulate in various conspiracy theory communities.
The United States' Federal Emergency Management Agency is the subject of many theories, including that the organization has been building concentration camps in the US to prepare for imposing martial law and genocide.[222]
African National Congress
Members of South Africa's African National Congress party have long propagated conspiracy theories, frequently concerning the CIA and alleged white supremacists. In 2014, Deputy Minister of Defence Kebby Maphatsoe joined others in accusing without evidence Public Protector Thuli Madonsela of being a US agent working to create a puppet government in South Africa.[223][224][225]
Donald Trump has been a proponent of the conspiracy theory that Barack Obama was not born in the United States.
Barack Obama has been the subject of numerous conspiracy theories. His presidency was the subject of a 2009 film, The Obama Deception, by Alex Jones, which alleged that Obama's administration was a puppet government for a wealthy elite. The "birther" theory, which came to prominence in 2009, denies the legitimacy of Obama's presidency by claiming that he was not born in the US.[226] This theory has persisted despite his Hawaiian birth certificate and birth announcements in two Hawaiian newspapers in 1961.[227] Notable promoters of the theory are dentist-lawyer Orly Taitz[10] and former President Donald Trump, who has since publicly acknowledged its falsity but is said to continue to advocate for it privately.[228][229][230] Other theories claim that Obama, a Protestant Christian, is secretly a Muslim.
The intellectual group known as the Frankfurt School, which emerged in the 1930s, has increasingly been accused of promoting communism in capitalist societies. The term "Cultural Marxism" has been notably employed by conservative American movements such as the Tea Party,[234][235] and by Norwegian mass murderer Anders Behring Breivik.[236]
While the term is occasionally used as a neutral term to denote a nation's bureaucracy,[237] the conspiratorial notion of a "deep state" originated principally in Middle Eastern and North African politics with some basis in truth, and has been known in the US since the 1960s. It was revived under the Trump presidency.[238][239] "Deep state" in the latter sense refers to an unidentified insider "power elite" who manipulate a nation's politics and government. Proponents have included Canadian author Peter Dale Scott, who has promoted the idea in the US since the 1990s, as well as Breitbart News, Infowars and Donald Trump.[240] A 2017 poll by ABC News and The Washington Post indicated that 48% of Americans believe in the existence of a conspiratorial "deep state" in the US.[241][242]
The 2017 Sutherland Springs church shooting has also been the subject of multiple conspiracy theories. The shooter has been linked to multiple conspiracies, such as identifying him as a Democrat, Hillary Clinton supporter, Bernie Sanders supporter, "alt-left" supporter, antifa member, or radical Muslim;[243][244] or claiming that he carried an antifa flag and told churchgoers: "This is a communist revolution".[245] Some reports also falsely claimed that he targeted the church because they were white conservatives.[246]
Beginning in 2017, a sprawling conspiracy theory emerged from 4chan and was spread via right-wing message boards and websites, then via Breitbart and Fox News to then-President Donald Trump and his allies. The conspiracy theory holds both that Ukraine (rather than Russia) had interfered in the 2016 United States elections, and that then-Vice President Joe Biden had intervened to protect a company in which his son Hunter was involved. The New Yorker found that reporting of the conspiracy in the right wing media was initiated by Peter Schweizer, a former Breitbart News contributor and president of The Government Accountability Institute, "a self-styled corruption watchdog group chaired and funded by conservative mega-donor Rebekah Mercer"[247] and founded by Steve Bannon.[248]
A series of allegations have been made that Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden coordinated efforts against anti-corruption investigations in Ukraine into the Ukrainian gas company Burisma, on whose Board Hunter Biden sat.[249] Investigations are currently ongoing.
The golden billion is an idea there is an anti-Russian Western population of approximately one billion seeking to appropriate Russia's natural resources. It is a justification for Russian leader Vladimir Putin's imperial aggression, claiming to be a defense against a far-reaching covert attack.[262] The theory was first advanced under the name A. Kuzmich.[263]
While pencils are provided at polling places in the United Kingdom and Australia, in neither country is it required that they be used.[266] On their website, the Australian Electoral Commission states:
"While the provision of pencils used to be a legal requirement, since 2020 under Section 206 of the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918, the AEC is required to provide an "implement or method for voters to mark their ballot papers".
The AEC has found from experience that pencils are the most reliable implements for marking ballot papers. Pencils are practical because they don't run out and the polling staff check and sharpen pencils as necessary throughout election day. Pencils can be stored between elections and they work better in tropical areas.
There is, however, nothing to prevent an elector from marking their ballot paper with a pen if they so wish."[267]
While the AEC only conducts federal elections, voters can use either pencil or pen in state, territory and local elections. Pencils are supplied at polling places for federal elections and for state elections in Tasmania[268] and Victoria,[269] while pens are supplied at polling places for state elections in New South Wales[270] and Western Australia. In 2015, the New South Wales Electoral Commission made the decision to replace pencils with pens at polling places due to controversies regarding their usage and at the 2015 state election, pens began being supplied at polling places across the state.[271] Similarly, the Western Australian Electoral Commission has provided pens instead of pencils at polling places since the 2017.[272]
Since December 2021, disinformation has been spread concerning Swedish social services taking Muslim children into care without a legal basis.[282] As a result of the conspiracy theory, two Swedish people were killed in Brussels in 2023.[283][284]
Sustainable development
Various theories have emerged in response to concepts or international agreements relating to sustainable development. These include theories that Agenda 21, a non-binding action plan of the United Nations, is a plot, disguised as an environmental movement, to end individual freedom and establish a one-world government[285][286] to cut the world population by 85%,[285] and/or to introduce surveillance by the 5G network.[287]
Similarly, the Great Reset Initiative is an economic recovery plan drawn up by the World Economic Forum (WEF) in response to the COVID-19 pandemic that prioritizes sustainable development.[288] It has been the basis for theories that the COVID-19 pandemic will be used, or was even created by a secret group in order to seize control of the global economy.[289]
The urban planning concept of 15-minute cities envisages that all of life's necessities (e.g. work, shops, schools, medical centres) should be within a short walk or bike ride from people's homes.[287] This would thereby encourage people to use their cars less and reduce emissions and pollution in neighbourhoods. However, it has been interpreted as a plan to restrict freedom of movement outside of the 15-minute neighbourhood.[287] These theories occasionally overlap with anti-vaccine misinformation, and fears of a world government.[290]
A 2013 study approved by the University of Chicago suggested that almost half of Americans believe at least one medical conspiracy theory, with 37% believing that the Food and Drug Administration deliberately suppresses 'natural' cures due to influence from the pharmaceutical industry.[291] A prominent proponent of comparable conspiracy theories has been convicted fraudster Kevin Trudeau.[292]
Scientists have found evidence that HIV was transferred from monkeys to humans in the 1930s. Evidence exists, however, that the KGB deliberately disseminated a notion in the 1980s that it was invented by the CIA.[293] This idea, and similar ideas concerning Ebola, have since been promoted by persons such as actor Steven Seagal,[294][295][296]Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan and former South Africa President Thabo Mbeki.[293][297][298] Similar conspiracy theories allege that pharmaceutical companies assist in the creation of conditions and diseases including ADHD, HSV and HPV.
A number of conspiracy theories have been promoted about the origin and purported motive behind the SARS-CoV-2 virus and its spread.[6] Some claimed that the virus was engineered,[299] that it may have been a Chinese or United States bioweapon,[6][300][301][302] a Jewish plot, part of which is to force mass vaccinations or sterilizations,[303][304][305] spread as part of a Muslim conspiracy,[306][307] a population control scheme,[308][309] or related to 5G mobile phone networks.[310][311]
Fluoridation
Ripper explains to Mandrake that he discovered the Communist plot to pollute Americans' "precious bodily fluids", a reference to the John Birch Society's anti-fluoridation conspiracy theories (Dr. Strangelove, 1964).
Water fluoridation is the controlled addition of fluoride to a public water supply to reduce tooth decay.[312] Although many dental-health organizations support it, some conspiracy theorists[313] claim that it was a way to dispose of industrial waste,[314][315] or that it exists to obscure a failure to provide dental care to the poor.[313] A further theory promoted by the John Birch Society in the 1960s described fluoridation as a communist plot to weaken the American population.[316]
It is claimed that the pharmaceutical industry has mounted a cover-up of a causal link between vaccines and autism. The conspiracy theory developed after the publication in Britain in 1998 of a fraudulent paper by discredited former doctor Andrew Wakefield.[317] The resulting anti-vaccine movement has been promoted by a number of prominent persons including Rob Schneider,[318]Jim Carrey[319] and former US PresidentDonald Trump,[320][321] and has led to increased rates of infection and death from diseases such as measles and COVID-19[322] in many countries, including the US, Italy, Germany, Romania and the UK.[323][324][325][326] Vaccine conspiracy theories have been widespread in Nigeria since at least 2003, as well as in Pakistan. Such theories may feature claims that vaccines are part of a secret anti-Islam plot, and have been linked to fatal mass shootings and bombings at vaccine clinics in both countries.[327][328][329]
Conspiracy theorists have long posited a plot by organizations such as NASA to conceal the existence of a large planet in the Solar System known as Nibiru or Planet X, which is alleged to pass close enough to the Earth to destroy it. Predictions for the date of destruction have included 2003, 2012 and 2017. The theory began to develop following the publication of The 12th Planet (1976), by Russian-American author Zecharia Sitchin, was given its full form by Nancy Lieder, and has since been promoted by American conspiracy theorist and End Times theorist David Meade.[333] The notion received renewed attention during the period prior to the solar eclipse of 21 August 2017.[334][335] Other conspiracy theorists in 2017 also predicted Nibiru would appear, including Terral Croft and YouTube pastor Paul Begley.[336][337]
Among the foremost concerns of conspiracy theorists are questions of alien life; for example, allegations of government cover-ups of the supposed Roswell UFO incident or activity at Area 51.[338]Multiple reports of dead cattle found with absent body parts and seemingly drained of blood have emerged worldwide since at least the 1960s. This phenomenon has spawned theories variously concerning aliens and secret government or military experiments.[339] Prominent among such theorists is Linda Moulton Howe, author of Alien Harvest (1989).[340][341]
Many conspiracy theories have drawn inspiration from the writings of ancient astronaut proponent Zecharia Sitchin,[342] who declared that the Anunnaki from Sumerian mythology were actually a race of extraterrestrial beings who came to Earth around 500,000 years ago in order to mine gold.[342][343][344] In his 1994 book Humanity's Extraterrestrial Origins: ET Influences on Humankind's Biological and Cultural Evolution, Arthur Horn proposed that the Anunnaki were a race of blood-drinking, shape-shifting alien reptiles.[342] This theory was adapted and elaborated on by British conspiracy theorist David Icke,[342] who maintains that the Bush family, Margaret Thatcher, Bob Hope, and the British Royal Family, among others, are or were such creatures, or have been under their control.[345] Icke's critics have suggested that 'reptilians' may be seen as an antisemitic code word, a charge he has denied.[62]
Genuine American research in the 1950s and 1960s into chemical interrogation and mind-control techniques were followed by many conspiracy theories (like Project Monarch), especially following CIA Director Richard Helm's 1973 order to destroy all files related to the project. These theories include the allegation that the mass fatality at Jonestown in 1978 was connected to an MKUltra experiment.[356]
Flat Earth
Logo of the Flat Earth Society, 2013
Flat Earth theory first emerged in 19th-century England, despite the Earth's spherical nature having been known since at least the time of Pythagoras. It has in recent years been promoted by American software consultant Mark Sargent through the use of YouTube videos.[357] Flat-earther conspiracy theorists hold that planet Earth is not a sphere, and that evidence has been faked or suppressed to hide the fact that it is instead a disc, or a single infinite plane. The conspiracy often implicates NASA. Other claims include that GPS devices are rigged to make aircraft pilots wrongly believe they are flying around a globe.[358][359]
RFID chips
An RFID tag, exposed by the damage to this Oyster card
Radio frequency identification chips (RFID), such as those implanted into pets as a means of tracking, have drawn the interest of conspiracy theorists who posit that this technology is secretly widely implanted in humans. Former Whitby, England town councilor Simon Parkes has promoted this theory, which may be related to conspiracy theories concerning vaccination, electronic banking and the Antichrist.[360][361]
Technology suppression
Numerous theories pertain to the alleged suppression of certain technologies and energies. Such theories may focus on the Vril Society Conspiracy, allegations of the suppression of the electric car by fossil-fuel companies (as detailed in the 2006 documentary Who Killed the Electric Car?), and the Phoebus cartel, set up in 1924, which has been accused of suppressing longer-lasting light bulbs.[362] Other long-standing allegations include the suppression of perpetual motion and cold fusion technology by government agencies, special interest groups, or fraudulent inventors.[363] Promoters of alternative energy theories have included Thomas Henry Moray,[364]Eugene Mallove, and convicted American fraudster Stanley Meyer.[365]
Weaponry
Conspiracy theorists often attend to new military technologies, both real and imagined. Subjects of theories include: the alleged Philadelphia Experiment, a supposed attempt to turn a US Navy warship invisible;[366] the alleged Montauk Project, a supposed government program to learn about mind control and time travel; and the so-called "tsunami bomb", which is alleged to have caused the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami.[367]
Some theories claim that the dates of historical events have been deliberately distorted. These include the phantom time hypothesis of German conspiracy theorist[373] Heribert Illig, who in 1991 published an allegation that 297 years had been added to the calendar by establishment figures such as Pope Sylvester II in order to position themselves at the millennium.[374]
A comparable theory, new chronology, is associated with Russian theorist Anatoly Fomenko, who holds that history is many centuries shorter than widely believed, numerous historical documents have been fabricated, and legitimate documents destroyed, all for political ends. Adherents of have included chess grandmaster Garry Kasparov.[375]
Another claim is that world governments have hidden evidence for an advanced worldwide civilization with access to free energy and partially populated by giants called Tartaria, which was destroyed in the 1800s by a great "mud flood" cataclysm, causing its remains to be buried.[376]
The theft and disappearance of the Irish-bred racehorse Shergar in 1983 has prompted many conspiracy theorists to speculate about involvement by the Mafia, the IRA and Colonel Gaddafi.[390]
Rigged selection processes
The "frozen envelope theory" suggests that the National Basketball Association rigged its 1985 draft lottery so that Patrick Ewing would join the New York Knicks. Theorists claim that a lottery envelope was chilled so that it could be identified by touch.[391] A similar "hot balls theory", promoted by Scottish football manager David Moyes, suggests that certain balls used in draws for UEFA and AFC competitions have been warmed to achieve specific outcomes.[392]
On the day of the 1998 World Cup Final, Brazilian striker Ronaldo suffered a convulsive fit.[394] Ronaldo was initially removed from the starting lineup 72 minutes before the match, with the teamsheet released to a stunned world media, before he was reinstated by the Brazil coach shortly before kick off.[395][396] Ronaldo "sleepwalked" through the final, with France winning the game.[396] The nature of the incident set off a trail of questions and allegations that persisted for years, with Alex Bellos writing in The Guardian, "When Ronaldo's health scare was revealed after the match, the situation's unique circumstances lent itself to fabulous conspiracy theories. Here was the world's most famous sportsman, about to take part in the most important match of his career, when he suddenly, inexplicably, fell ill. Was it stress, epilepsy, or had he been drugged?"[397] Questions also circulated into who made Ronaldo play the game. The Brazil coach insisted he had the final say, but much speculation focused on sportswear company Nike, Brazil's multimillion-dollar sponsor—whom many Brazilians thought had too much control—putting pressure on the striker to play against medical advice.[397]
The New England Patriots have also been involved in numerous conspiracy theories.[398] During their AFC Championship24–20 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars, several conspiracy theories spread stating that the referees helped the Patriots advance to Super Bowl LII where they were eventually defeated by the champion Philadelphia Eagles.[399] However, sports analyst Stephen A. Smith stated the Jaguars were not robbed, but that they had no one to blame but themselves for the loss.[400] There were also conspiracy theories regarding the Super Bowl LI matchup between the Patriots and the Atlanta Falcons stating that the game was rigged[401] while others said the Falcons made questionable play-calls at the end of the game that resulted in them blowing a 28–3 lead.[402]
A conspiracy theory is an explanation for an event or situation that asserts the existence of a conspiracy, when other explanations are more probable. The term generally has a negative connotation, implying that the appeal of a conspiracy theory is based in prejudice, emotional conviction, or insufficient evidence. A conspiracy theory is distinct from a conspiracy; it refers to a hypothesized conspiracy with specific characteristics, including but not limited to opposition to the mainstream consensus among those who are qualified to evaluate its accuracy, such as scientists or historians.
Alexander Emerick Jones is an American far-right radio show host and prominent conspiracy theorist. He hosts The Alex Jones Show from Austin, Texas, which is the longest-running online news and politics talk show, and was previously broadcast by the Genesis Communications Network across the United States via syndicated and internet radio. He is the founder of InfoWars and Banned.Video, websites that promote conspiracy theories and fake news.
New Tang Dynasty Television is a multilingual American television broadcaster founded by adherents of the Falun Gong new religious movement and based in New York City. The station was founded in 2001 as a Chinese-language broadcaster, but has since expanded its language offerings; in July 2020, it launched its 24/7 English channel which now broadcasts nationwide in the U.S. and UK. It is under the Epoch Media Group, a consortium which also includes the newspaper The Epoch Times. The Epoch Media Group's news sites and YouTube channels have promoted conspiracy theories such as QAnon, anti-vaccine misinformation and false claims of fraud in the 2020 United States presidential election.
QAnon is a far-right American political conspiracy theory and political movement that originated in 2017. QAnon centers on fabricated claims made by an anonymous individual or individuals known as "Q". Those claims have been relayed and developed by online communities and influencers. Their core belief is that a cabal of Satanic, cannibalistic child molesters is operating a global child sex trafficking ring that conspired against President Donald Trump. QAnon has direct roots in Pizzagate, an Internet conspiracy theory that appeared one year earlier, but also incorporates elements of many different conspiracy theories and unifies them into a larger interconnected conspiracy theory. QAnon has been described as a cult.
The Clinton body count is a conspiracy theory centered around the belief that former U.S. President Bill Clinton and his wife, former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, have secretly had their political opponents murdered, often made to look like suicides, totaling as many as 50 or more listed victims. The Congressional Record (1994) stated that the compiler of the original list, Linda Thompson, admitted she had 'no direct evidence' of Clinton killing anyone. Indeed, she says the deaths were probably caused by 'people trying to control the president' but refuses to say who they were."
The Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting occurred on December 14, 2012, in Newtown, Connecticut. The perpetrator, Adam Lanza, fatally shot his mother before murdering 20 students and six staff members at Sandy Hook Elementary School, and later committed suicide. A number of fringe figures have promoted conspiracy theories that doubt or dispute what occurred at Sandy Hook. Various conspiracy theorists have claimed, for example, that the massacre was actually orchestrated by the U.S. government as part of an elaborate plot to promote stricter gun control laws.
One America News Network (OANN), also known as One America News (OAN), is a far-right, pro-Trump cable channel founded by Robert Herring Sr. and owned by Herring Networks, Inc., that launched on July 4, 2013. The network is headquartered in San Diego, California, and operates news bureaus in Washington, D.C., and New York City.
8kun, previously called 8chan, Infinitechan or Infinitychan, is an imageboard website composed of user-created message boards. An owner moderates each board, with minimal interaction from site administration. The site has been linked to white supremacism, neo-Nazism, the alt-right, racism and antisemitism, hate crimes, and multiple mass shootings. The site has been known to host child pornography; as a result, it was filtered out from Google Search in 2015. Several of the site's boards played an active role in the Gamergate harassment campaign, encouraging Gamergate affiliates to frequent 8chan after 4chan banned the topic. 8chan is the origin and main center of activity of the discredited QAnon conspiracy theory.
According to an American political conspiracy theory, the deep state is a clandestine network of members of the federal government, working in conjunction with high-level financial and industrial entities and leaders, to exercise power alongside or within the elected United States government.
"Pizzagate" is a conspiracy theory that went viral during the 2016 United States presidential election cycle, falsely claiming that the New York City Police Department (NYPD) had discovered a pedophilia ring linked to members of the Democratic Party while searching through Anthony Weiner's emails. It has been extensively discredited by a wide range of organizations, including the Washington, D.C. police.
Kashyap Pramod Vinod Patel is an American lawyer and former federal prosecutor at the U.S. Department of Justice. Previously, he served as Chief of Staff to the acting U.S. secretary of defense Christopher C. Miller, and senior advisor to the acting director of national intelligence Richard Grenell, both during the first presidency of Donald Trump. In November 2024, President-elect Trump nominated Patel to succeed Christopher A. Wray as director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Chanel Rion is an American broadcaster, political cartoonist, and children's book author. She was formerly the chief White House correspondent for One America News Network (OAN), a far-right American cable channel. She is known for promoting conspiracy theories.
Elizabeth M. Crokin is an American columnist and conspiracy theorist. Since 2017, she has been an outspoken supporter of QAnon conspiracy theories.
Marjorie Taylor Greene, sometimes referred to by her initials MTG, is an American far-right politician, businesswoman, and conspiracy theorist who has been the U.S. representative for Georgia's 14th congressional district since 2021. A member of the Republican Party, she was elected to Congress in 2020 following the retirement of Republican incumbent Tom Graves and was reelected in 2022 and 2024.
In United States politics, conspiracy theories are beliefs that a minor political situation is the result of secretive collusion by powerful people striving to harm a rival group or undermine society in general.
Ronald Watkins, also known by his online pseudonym CodeMonkeyZ, is an American conspiracy theorist and site administrator of the imageboard website 8kun. He has played a major role in spreading the discredited far-right QAnon conspiracy theory, and has espoused conspiracy theories that widespread election fraud led to Joe Biden's victory over Donald Trump in the 2020 U.S. presidential election. He is the son of Jim Watkins, the owner and operator of 8kun.
Q: Into the Storm is an American documentary television miniseries directed and produced by Cullen Hoback. It explores the QAnon conspiracy theory and the people involved with it. It consisted of six episodes and premiered on HBO on March 21, 2021. The series received mixed reviews, with some critics praising its insight into the conspiracy theory, and others finding it to be overlong and lacking in analysis of the impacts of QAnon. Some reviewers have criticized the series for not following best practices outlined by extremism researchers for reporting on extremism and conspiracy theories.
Italygate is a pro-Trump, QAnon-affiliated conspiracy theory that alleges the 2020 United States presidential election was rigged to favor Joe Biden using satellites and military technology to remotely switch votes from Donald Trump to Biden from the U.S. Embassy in Rome. The conspiracy was also rumored to involve the Vatican. Fact-checkers at Reuters and USA Today, who investigated these claims, described them as "false" and "baseless".
Since the movement's emergence in 2017, adherents of the QAnon far-right conspiracy theory have been involved in a number of controversial events, some of them violent, resulting in the filing of criminal charges and one conviction for terrorism.
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1 2 3 Carroll, Lauren (23 May 2017). Sanders, Katie (ed.). "The baseless claim that slain DNC staffer Seth Rich gave emails to WikiLeaks". PolitiFact.com. Archived from the original on 22 March 2018. Retrieved 22 March 2018. There is no trustworthy evidence supporting the theory that Rich was WikiLeaks' source for thousands of DNC emails. The police believe his death was the result of a botched robbery, not a political assassination.
↑ Shalby, Colleen (24 May 2017). "How Seth Rich's death became an Internet conspiracy theory". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 29 May 2017. Retrieved 15 April 2018. Despite police statements and Rich's family concluding that his death was the result of an attempted robbery, the rumor spread within the same circles that churned out the bogus 'PizzaGate' story
↑ Kay, Jane; Chronicle Environment Writer (6 July 2009). "San Francisco Bay Area". San Francisco Chronicle. Archived from the original on 27 April 2011. Retrieved 3 August 2010.
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↑ Baker, Lee D. (2010). Anthropology and the Racial Politics of Culture. Duke University Press. p.158. ISBN978-0822346982.
↑ Waltman, Michael; Haas, John (2010). The Communication of Hate. Peter Lang. p.52. ISBN978-1433104473.
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↑ "Pope Renounces Papal Throne". Vatican Information Service, 2 November 2013 Bulletin – English Edition. Archived from the original on 6 October 2014. Retrieved 15 July 2014.
↑ Aaronovitch, David (2010) [2009]. Voodoo Histories: How Conspiracy Theory Has Shaped the Modern World. Vintage. pp.187–218, Chapter 6: Holy Blood, Holy Grail, Holy Shit.
↑ Demonizing a President: The "Foreignization" of Barack Obama, Martin A. Parlett – 2014, p 126
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1 2 Tiffany, Kaitlyn (2022). Everything I Need I Get from You: How Fangirls Created the Internet as We Know It. Farrar, Straus and Giroux. pp.173–222. ISBN9780374722722.
↑ Berlet, Chip (July 2012). "Collectivists, Communists, Labor Bosses, and Treason: The Tea Parties as Right-Wing Populist Counter-Subversion Panic". Critical Sociology. 38 (4): 565–87. doi:10.1177/0896920511434750. S2CID144238367.
↑ Berkowitz, Bill (2003), "Reframing the Enemy: 'Cultural Marxism', a Conspiracy Theory with an Anti-Semitic Twist, Is Being Pushed by Much of the American Right." Intelligence Report. Southern Poverty Law Center, Summer. "SPLCenter.org: Reframing the Enemy". Archived from the original on 7 February 2004. Retrieved 7 February 2004.
↑ "TURKISH BAN ON FREEMASONS. All Lodges To Be Abolished". Malaya Tribune, 14 October 1935, p. 5. The Government has decided to abolish all Masonic lodges in Turkey on the ground that Masonic principles are incompatible with nationalistic policy.
Stanton, Gregory (9 September 2020). "QAnon is a Nazi Cult, Rebranded". Just Security. Archived from the original on 17 September 2020. Retrieved 15 September 2020.
Polantz, Katelyn (15 January 2021). "US takes back its assertion that Capitol rioters wanted to 'capture and assassinate' officials". CNN. Archived from the original on 15 January 2021. Retrieved 16 January 2021. Prosecutors accuse Chansley of being a flight risk who can quickly raise money through non-traditional means as 'one of the leaders and mascots of QAnon, a group commonly referred to as a cult (which preaches debunked and fictitious anti-government conspiracy theory)'.
Mulkerrins, Jane (15 January 2021). "Life inside QAnon, the cult that stormed the Capitol". The Times. ISSN0140-0460. Archived from the original on 13 February 2022. Retrieved 13 February 2022. To hear Rein Lively describe her experiences with QAnon, it sounds, I say, very much like a cult... "It is a decentralised online conspiracy theory cult," agrees Joseph Uscinski, professor of political science at the University of Miami and author of Conspiracy Theories and the People Who Believe Them.
↑ Freeze RA, Lehr JH (2009). "Fluorophobia". The Fluoride Wars: How a Modest Public Health Measure Became America's Longest-Running Political Melodrama. John Wiley & Sons. pp.127–69. ISBN978-0-470-44833-5.
For Katrina:"Illuminati, Mind Control and Hurricanes: Conspiracy Theories Follow HAARP". International Business Times. 30 July 2015. Archived from the original on 3 August 2017. Retrieved 27 June 2017. Described as a 'bionic forest' by Noah Schactman of Wired, HAARP has been blamed for a series of devastating hurricanes. In 2005, Katrina, Rita and Wilma all tore through the US, as three of the six most intense Atlantic hurricanes ever recorded. During this year, HAARP saw its funding peak at $49.3 million. Of course, this has led theorists to suggest there was a link between the two.
For Helene:Dunbar, Marina (7 October 2024). "Marjorie Taylor Greene condemned over Helene weather conspiracy theory". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 7 October 2024. Retrieved 9 October 2024. She appeared to double down on these comments with a post on Saturday, sharing a clip from a 2013 CBS News broadcast about experimental efforts to induce rain and lightning using lasers. 'CBS, nine years ago, talked about lasers controlling the weather,' Greene wrote, apparently mistaking the year of the broadcast.
For Milton:Warzel, Charlie (10 October 2024). "I'm running out of ways to explain how bad this is". The Atlantic. Retrieved 12 October 2024. The posts would be laughable if they weren't taken by many people as gospel. Among them: Infowars' Alex Jones, who claimed that Hurricanes Milton and Helene were 'weather weapons' unleashed on the East Coast by the U.S. government
↑ Khan, Coco (29 October 2021). "Is my phone listening to me? We ask the expert". The Guardian. Retrieved 5 September 2024. I think my phone is somehow listening in. How else can I explain the ads that appear for a product just as I'm talking about it?
↑ Tidy, Joe (5 September 2019). "Why phones that secretly listen to us are a myth". BBC News. Retrieved 5 September 2024. The internet is awash with posts and videos on social media where people claim to have proof that the likes of Facebook and Google are spying on users in order to serve hyper-targeted adverts.
↑ Martínez, Antonio García (10 November 2017). "Facebook's Not Listening Through Your Phone. It Doesn't Have To". WIRED. Retrieved 5 September 2024. The internet is awash in theories about Facebook using your smartphone's microphone to eavesdrop on your conversations. It's not. Here's why.
Baer, Marc David (2013). "An Enemy Old and New: The Dönme, Anti-Semitism, and Conspiracy Theories in the Ottoman Empire and Turkish Republic". Jewish Quarterly Review. 103 (4): 523–555. doi:10.1353/jqr.2013.0033. S2CID159483845.
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