Conspiracy Theories
A conspiracy theory is a belief that a powerful group is secretly fooling or harming many people.

Conspiracy Theories

Health:
5G Radiation — 5G cellular radio waves do not cause COVID-19 or other health problems (allegedly covered up by cell companies and/or governments).
Chemtrails — The condensation trails behind jets are not laced with chemical/biological agents (allegedly harming health and/or for governments to modify weather, reduce population, or mind control).
Mind Control Beams — The government does not target people with mind control beams, allegedly blocked by a tin foil hat.
COVID-19 & Vaccine “Hoax” — The virus was not developed as a bioweapon or a result of 5G. Ample test data shows the vaccines are safe and effective, and do not alter DNA or contain tracking chips. The virus & vaccines are not a scam for profits or for governments to expand power or reduce their populations.
Vaccines & Autism — Extensive research shows vaccines do not cause autism (allegedly covered up by Big Pharma for profits and doctors who are paid off).
Fluoridation — Fluoride is added to the water supply to reduce tooth decay, not to dump industrial waste or a communist plot to weaken Americans.

Science:
Moon Landings “Faked” — NASA did not fake the moon landings (allegedly to win the Space Race or steal the budget money).
Flat Earth — The round Earth is not a hoax pushed by scientists worldwide (for no clear reason), with NASA guards who wipe memories of anyone who gets too close to the ice wall edge.
Ancient Giant Trees — Mountains are not the stumps of ancient giant trees that once dominated the flat Earth.
Reptilian Imposters — Shapeshifting reptilian aliens (lizard people) do not take human form as political leaders, CEOs, and celebrities.
Area 51, Roswell — There is no reliable evidence that the US military/gov. is covering up extraterrestrials (allegedly to develop alien tech weapons or collaborate in alien plots).
Free Energy “Suppression”, Water-Fueled Car — Technologies for free/low-cost energy are not being suppressed by the government or the energy industry.
Global Warming “Hoax” — Global warming is not a hoax by scientists, governments, environmentalists, or green industries (allegedly to protect research funding, manipulate energy markets, or expand government control).
Weather Manipulation & Earthquakes — The HAARP radio transmitter in Alaska and Cloud Seeding are not gov. weapons to cause floods, hurricanes, droughts, earthquakes, or mind control (except Operation Popeye cloud seeding in the Vietnam War).

Politics:
New World Order, Illuminati, Freemasons — There is no secret group controlling the world, and no underground headquarters at the Denver International Airport.
Holocaust Denial — The Holocaust was not war propaganda faked by the US and allies, Soviet Union, or Jews.
JFK Assassination — There is no reliable evidence that President Kennedy was assassinated by the CIA, Mafia, KGB, Lyndon B. Johnson, or Fidel Castro.
Princess Diana’s Death — Princess Diana was not assassinated by MI6 or the Royal Family (allegedly because they worried she might marry a non-Christian).
9/11 “Inside Job” — The US government did not plan or allow the 9/11 terrorist attacks (allegedly as a pretext to invade Iraq and Afghanistan).
Sandy Hook & Parkland Shootings “Hoax” — The killings at Sandy Hook Elementary & Stoneman Douglas HS were not planned or faked by the government (allegedly to encourage gun-control).
Epstein’s Death — Jeffrey Epstein was not murdered by “powerful people” (allegedly because he had evidence against them).
QAnon, Pizzagate — There is no cabal of Satanic cannibals trafficking children for sex and conspiring against Trump.
2020 Election “Stolen” — There was no significant voter fraud in the presidential election (allegedly by Democrats, RINOs, Antifa, Communists, or other countries).

Public Figures:
Faked Deaths — False rumors they were still alive: Adolf Hitler, John F. Kennedy Jr., Princess Diana, plus celebrities Elvis Presley, Tupac Shakur, Michael Jackson, Jim Morrison, and Andy Kaufman.
Body Doubles, Clones, Robots — False rumors they were replaced part-time or completely: Vladimir Putin, Joe Biden, plus celebrities Avril Lavigne, Paul McCartney, and Britney Spears.

See More Conspiracy Theories


Actual Conspiracies

Governments:
The Holocaust — 1941-45. German Nazis killed 6 million Jews plus other ethnicities, religions, Blacks, disabled, and gays. They denied the genocide. (The concetration camps, forced labor, and quasi-medical experiments were not secret.)
Operation Paperclip, Operation Osoaviakhim — 1945-59. The US gov. employed 1600 Nazi scientists/engineers, moving them to the US. In 1946, Soviet Union moved and employed 2500 Nazi scientists/engineers.
MKUltra — 1953-73. The CIA tested LSD & other drugs and tortured people without their knowledge/consent to develop interrogation techniques and create sleeper agents.
COINTELPRO — 1956-71. The FBI infiltrated and discredited “subversive” groups for civil rights, feminism, anti-war, environmentalism, communism, KKK, etc., using harassment, false evidence, imprisonment, violence, and assassination.
Global Surveillance — Leaked in 2013 by Edward Snowden, the US NSA and several other countries secretly collaborate to spy on their own citizens, corporations, and each other, including call logs, phone tracking, emails, texts, chats, and browsing histories.

Government Medical Testing:
Unit 731 — 1936-45. The Japanese Army secretly tested biological & chemical weapons and torture on mostly Chinese civilians, including children.
Mustard Gas Experiments on Race — 1940s. The US Army secretly tested mustard gas on 60,000 US troops grouped by race.
See Abstract
Guatemala Syphilis Experiments — 1946-48. The US gov. secretly infected 1308 Guatemalans with STDs like syphilis and gonorrhea to study treatments and preventions.
Operation Sea Spray — 1949-69. The US gov. released bacteria and chemicals in several cities to test biological warfare.

Deplorable but not Secret Conspiracies:
Poisoned Alcohol — 1926-30. To help enforce Prohibition, the US gov. required poisonous additives in industrial alcohol, knowing bootleggers used it for liquor. Thousands of people died.
Videos: SciShow, Smithsonian
Tuskegee Syphilis Study — 1932-72. The US gov. studied 399 black men who had syphilis, without informing them of the disease, and prevented them from getting treatment. (They published their findings without secrecy or cover up.)

Businesses & Organizations:
Phoebus Cartel — 1925-39. Light bulb manufacturers in US and Europe colluded to fix prices and reduce the lifespan of bulbs from 2500 hours to 1000 hours.
Big Tobacco — After 1952 research showed smoking causes cancer, tobacco companies ran disinformation campaigns for decades, and designed cigarettes to give false tar readings on mandated testing.  See More
Operation Snow White — 1973-76. 5000 members of the Church of Scientology infiltrated 136 government agencies to steal incriminating documents against them.
Church Sexual Abuse — The Catholic Church covered up for clergy who committed sexual abuse of children, exposed in 2002. Southern Baptist churches had a similar scandal exposed in 2019.

This list does not include small-scale or single-company cover-ups, like Watergate or Enron. A criminal conspiracy can be a plot to commit any crime, but this page is about large conspiracies with many victims.


Test the Difference

Ask yourself two questions to distinguish a fake conspiracy theory from a real conspiracy:

1. Is it easy to keep secret?

•How many people need to keep the secret?
•Are they all in the same group, or in rival groups, like political parties, competing companies, or different countries?
•Are the conspirators in the military or intelligence agencies, who are disciplined at keeping secrets? Or are they mostly civilians?
•Is everyone in on the conspiracy, without a single person ethical enough to refuse?
•Has anyone shown evidence of being offered a bribe or forced to lie?
•Is the evidence easy to cover up?

2. Is there a plausible motive?

•Would there be an easier way to achieve the same goal with fewer people, fewer steps, and lower costs?
•Is the motive straightforward? Or are multiple conflicting motives proposed?
•Is it probable? Not just possible, but likely?