By their nature, humans are curious beings who are constantly seeking to be enlightened. There are numerous things that seem enigmatic to us (people, places, events, processes, etc.), and as such, they fascinate our imagination. In a bid to satisfy our curiosity and make sense of the stories that defy explanation, many people come up with their own conjectures. Paradoxically, many of us readily accept such half-baked ideas even if they’re unproven.
The upshot of it is the proliferation of conspiracy theories. Today, there are so many of them that it makes your head spin. You only have to cast your gaze on some major area of our modern society (politics or governance, music, religion, etc.), and you’ll face a seemingly endless flow of conspiracy theories. Even college students, some of whom want to buy an essay online, may be required to write assignments that pertain to this topic.
But where do all those theories spring from? Most of them originate from books, opinion articles, blog posts, social media comments, podcasts, and web-based video channels. Typically, it’s the individuals who have such platforms that come up with all these wild assumptions or unfounded explanations. Once their audience gets hold of the information, it becomes a rumor (with a reference source) that spreads like wildfire. Usually, the larger the audience or popularity/authority of the theorist is, the bigger the conspiracy can become. The theorists may be highly-followed celebrities, bloggers, novelists, and controversial public figures. Some of the most noteworthy examples include Alex Jones (a webcaster behind InfoWars), Gayle Lynds (a novelist) and even Donald Trump – the current US President.
Although the theories may appear fascinating to a significant number of people, they have potentially dangerous implications. The power of conspiracy theories lies in the fact that they become truth after being accepted by the people who believe in them. They take a distorted view of people, events, phenomena, and places-based claims unsupported by evidence. A good case in point? Donald Trump’s backing of the so-called birther conspiracy theory which he advanced against his immediate predecessor, Barack Obama. Just by virtue of one tweet, that theory caught on with many Americans who actually believed it to be true, and even when Obama’s birth certificate was made public, they wrote it off as being forged. Eventually, he backtracked and admitted it was not true. Today, Donald Trump, whose support for various conspiracy theories is well-known, represents a prime example of the enormous influence a famous person can exert on people by propagating unsubstantiated information. Recently, social media platforms have been used to spread anti-vaccine propaganda.
What you’re about to read is some of the most bizarre conspiracy theories ever invented. Ready? Let’s get to it!
1. Humanity’s First Moon Landing Never Happened
Despite all the pride and strong sense of achievement that came with the 1969 moon landing by Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, some people believe it never took place. They contend that it was a make-believe setup designed to fool the world into thinking the US had beaten the Soviet Union in the space race. According to the conspiracy theorists, the whole thing was a highly covert film shot in a secret location in the US.
What’s the basis of this claim, you may ask? Well, look no further than the lack of third-party verification of the event, since the photographic or video evidence was provided only by NASA.
What’s more? Proponents of the theory believe that its proof can be found in the now famous black and white video footage showing Aldrin planting the American flag. They point out that since there is vacuum in space, the flag could not possibly have waved.
But the doubters didn’t stop there. They took it a step further and claimed that an American filmmaker working on a space-related film project assisted the US government.
2. Aliens and UFOs Are Active on Earth
Aliens have for long been a fixation of the science fiction genre. Today, they’re typically described as having a disproportionately large egg-shaped head, dark bulging eyes, small mouth, and tiny limbs. They are considered to be a more advanced civilization existing in outer space and transporting themselves across planets in disc-shaped spacecraft.
In fact, some people even claim to have been abducted by aliens. It’s no surprise that many of them believe that aliens are real and have visited our planet. But why isn’t it reported in the mainstream media? The theorists assert that governments, particularly that of the US, deliberately hide and suppress information about aliens. Hence, those Unidentified Flying Objects (UFO) sightings at night never make it to your evening news bulletin. They even allege that the US government has been in contact with an advanced alien civilization and built top-secret facilities where they’ve been experimenting with alien technology.
A more bizarre claim holds that there are shape-shifting reptilians from space who dwell among us as humans and are capable of changing back into lizards whenever they want. Famous people like Justin Bieber have been accused of being one of them.
3. The September 11 Attack Was an Inside Job
Thousands of people lost their lives in a terrorist attack that took place on September 11, 2001. Back then, the terrorists flew hijacked commercial airplanes into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center, causing them to collapse. As gruesome and unpleasant as the events were, some doubters believe that the label “terrorist” is a misnomer. They contend that the fatal episode was an inside job orchestrated by the US government.
The theorists claim that the destruction of the buildings was a result of controlled explosions and not due to the impact of the planes. Why do they believe the US government is responsible? The reasons differ. There are those who say it happened as an excuse for the US government to invade Afghanistan and Iraq. They also contend that the US intelligence knew about the incident beforehand but did nothing to prevent it. In their view, that supports the claim.
4. Climate Change is a Hoax
Over many millennia, the Earth’s climate has undergone different changes. But today, the hottest topic related to it is global warming. Some scientists agree that human activities, and more specifically explosive industrial growth and the resultant emission of greenhouse gases, are causing our planet to become warmer. One consequence of that process is that large sections of ice sheets in the polar caps are melting faster than ever before leading to a rise in sea water level. This, in turn, has resulted in the flooding of coastal and inland areas due to heavy rains. Similarly, the recent summers have been some of the hottest ever recorded.
Even with a growing body of empirical evidence, not every person agrees that it’s a real problem. Climate change skeptics argue that it’s all a hoax designed to advance an agenda of global population control. They refute the scientific basis and believe it should be discounted in policymaking. President Donald Trump, a publicly avowed climate skeptic, went so far as to officially withdraw America from the 2016 Paris Climate Agreement.
5. The Bermuda Triangle Enigma
Who hasn’t heard of this place? Notorious for unexplained disappearances of people and vehicles, the Bermuda triangle (sometimes called the Devil’s Triangle) is a roughly-defined region in the Atlantic Ocean east of the coast of Florida, northwest of Puerto Rico and south of the island of Bermuda (after which it is named). These three locations form the three points of the “triangle.”
So what makes this area a mystery? There have been claims that over the past 500 years thousands of ships and airplanes have gone missing there under inexplicable circumstances. Accordingly, various conspiracy theories have surfaced explaining the disappearances. Some are based on weak scientific explanations while others concern preternatural activities and alien beings. However, the available evidence suggests that many of the claims are questionable. Even today, the area remains a highly trafficked one both by air and sea without the occurrence of such mysterious incidents.
Given the ever-growing use of media platforms, one should be careful about the information posted there. If prior to reading this post, you’ve been receptive of knowledge you acquire daily, you should take greater care in scrutinizing the content before accepting it as true.