Just saying the word “conspiracy” out loud can spark all sorts of reactions from people. Some will politely step out of the conversation. Others will get cagey or get excited as soon as the moon, JFK and Bigfoot are mentioned!
But conspiracies do exist. Whether they are true or not is another question.
Today we have more access to information than ever before. However, the overwhelming amount of data has made many more suspicious and fearful of the apparent truths they are hearing.
Are you ready to jump down the rabbit hole with us? Here are 6 conspiracy theories that shook the world:
Ebola was a lab-made virus
Ebola was first described in 1976 in what is now the Democratic Republic of Congo. Since then, it has continued to strike throughout many African countries over the years and has caused immeasurable deaths in its wake.
Fast forward to 2013, and the Ebola virus swept through Africa at an alarming rate and is thought to still be at large in some remote areas. As a result, a series of conspiracy theories were born. The most popular of these was the deadly virus was created in a lab, or that it spread from a particularly nasty snake.
Genetic analysis has since suggested that the virus came from a single origin: an individual infected by a bat or something similar.
Roswell UFO incident
Area 51 is renowned for its compelling alien-related stories. But there is one fact that most sceptics and believers agree on: something unknown crashed on a remote ranch just outside of Roswell, New Mexico, in 1947.
During that time, it was the dawn of the Cold War. Americans and the world were on their toes as fear and unease rippled around the globe. So when the US Army released a statement in the summer of 1947 that they’d recovered a “flying disc,” the conspiracy theories quickly took root.
While many of the theories still stand, the best evidence suggests that it was a cover-up for the top-secret, high-altitude military balloon “Project Mogul.”
The assasination of JFK
John F Kennedy is still considered the most admired US president of the post-WWII era. So you can only imagine the heartbreak that swept the globe on that ill-fated November day in 1963.
While waving to the excited public in a Dallas motorcade, a shot was fired, ending his life. Lee Harvey Oswald was the definitive suspect. But did he act alone?
Two days after Oswald purportedly took JFK’s life, he too was gunned down at point-blank range in the basement of Dallas Police Headquarters. The culprit? Dallas club owner Jack Ruby – a notorious guy with ties to the Mob.
Naturally, numerous conspiracy theories were born that day. Plenty of shadowy culprits have been touted as the masterminds behind the assassination: the CIA, Vice President Lyndon Johnson, Fidel Castro’s government, anti-Castro activists… the list goes on.
The moon landings were fake
On 20th July 1969, millions gathered around their screens to witness the advent of space adventure. Neil Armstong and Buzz Aldrin made history and became the first men to ever walk on the moon.
By the 1970s, the golden age of bizarre conspiracies was in its stride. According to many theorists, the moon landing never happened. But the conspiracies didn’t end there.
The 1978 thriller film “Capricorn One” centred around a reporter uncovering dirty secrets about NASA and the government. Later, numerous documentaries followed, including Fox’s “Conspiracy Theory: Did We Land on the Moon?”
However, like most conspiracy theories, they are easily debunked eventually. For instance, NASA has hundreds of pounds of moon rocks that have been studied worldwide and verified by numerous experts that they are of extraterrestrial origin. Why would scientists willingly participate in a global conspiracy to support the US space agency’s hoax?
Princess Diana was murdered
The people’s princess, Diana, died in a horrific car crash in a Paris highway tunnel on August 31 1997. Within hours of her death, conspiracy theories swirled as the public tried to digest the shocking news of this tragedy.
Unlike most conspiracy theories that sweep the globe, the tale of betrayal and murder was promoted by the billionaire, Mohamed Al-Fayed. Father of Diana’s fiance Dodi Al-Fayed, who also died in the tragic incident, Al-Fayed claimed that the accident was an assassination coordinated by British Intelligence on behalf of the Royal Family.
A 2006 inquiry into the tragedy examined and later dismissed Al-Fayed’s claims as baseless. During Diana’s inquest, the coroner stated: “The conspiracy theory advanced by Mohamed Al Fayed has been minutely examined and shown to be without any substance.”
On April 7 2008, the coroner’s jury concluded that both Diana and Dodi “were unlawfully killed by the negligent driving of their chauffeur and photographers who pursued the couple’s speeding Mercedes into a Paris underpass over 10 years ago.”
COVID-19 is a lie
There probably hasn’t been an event post 9/11 that has struck accord with conspiratorial thinking as the COVID-19 pandemic. Everything from the virus’ origin to every government’s reaction instantly opened the door for people’s suspicion to run rife.
Many around the globe believe the healthcare system, presidents and pharmaceutical companies are lying about COVID-19 related deaths and using it as an excuse for deaths with other causes.
Then there’s the truly bizarre 5G conspiracy.
Electromagnetic frequencies from mobile phone towers can apparently undermine the immune system and make people sick with the virus… Or the one where COVID-19 vaccines are pumped full with tracking chips connected to the 5G network. The government and, of course, Bill Gates, can use those chips to survey and monitor everyone’s movements!
Conspiracy theories are a natural reaction to fear, shock and how we process grief. Whether there’s an alarming incident, a tragic death or a government cover-up, it’s easy to see why our imaginations run wild.
Are you ready to untap your creative side and put on your thinking cap? Take on one of our escape rooms and see if you have what it takes to beat the room!