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A large part of our experience on the internet involves separating the wheat from the chaff: the truth from fiction and facts from lies. We’re constantly thinking, evaluating, and analyzing the information we read, see, and hear, even if we’re not always consciously aware of this.
Over the past couple of years, we’ve seen the rise of ridiculous conspiracy theories like the debunked link between 5G and Covid-19. Nonetheless, various conspiracies, big and small, continue to fascinate people. A simple fact that some people might forget, however, is that some conspiracy theories turn out to be true. And at that point, they simply become… theories.
Reddit users shared their opinions on some conspiracy theories that they personally think are “too logical to ignore.” We’ve collected the most interesting speculations to share with you, Pandas. Have a read, have a think, and let us know in the comments what you think about all these theories.
Bored Panda reached out to Steven Wooding for a chat about conspiracy theories. He is a member of the Insitute of Physics in the UK, as well as a member of the Omni Calculator Project that creates things like the Weird Units Converter. Steven told Bored Panda that the first step anyone should take when evaluating a theory is to check out fact-checking services. "I can recommend PolitiFact.com and FactCheck.org," he said, adding that right here is a nice list of additional fact-checking websites.
"I think that while reading the news every day, we should never forget that the world is a complicated place. The events that occur are usually the result of multiple processes rather than a single cause," Steven said. Scroll down for the rest of his insights and why we should be suspicious of theories that focus only on a single cause for something.
Remember, just because something sounds logical doesn’t make it true. On the flip side, something that sounds weird isn’t automatically false. And above all, take everything that you read on the internet with a grain of salt. Do your due diligence and double-check any and all facts that sound iffy to you, no matter where you might find them.
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
The true conspiracies are right in front of our eyes. The extent of corporate control over the democratic process is no secret but we’re all too busy debating the moon landing, flatearthers and anti-vaxxers.
Steven told Bored Panda the type of interpretation of reality that recognizes only a single cause as a factor in political, social, or historical change is known as monocausal. Reality is often more complex.
"If a theory explaining an aspect of reality has monocausal tendencies (or even shamelessly presents itself as monocausal), it is highly likely to be wrong. We should develop a habit of thinking about this every time we hear a theory supposed to explain some 'hidden truth' to us. Then, if you think to yourself, 'Wow, that sounds pretty monocausal!'—it's a sign you should do your research."
Steven believes that people's fascination with conspiracy theories has to do with the desire for simplicity and clarity in an overly-complex, often-muddled world. "The world is complicated: many processes are going on that we don't have time to follow, don't have the knowledge to explore, don't have an awareness of their existence. Conspiracy theories are usually simple: in their worldview, one cause determines everything (the world is ruled by lizard people, etc.)," he explained.
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#2
That civilizations have risen and fallen far earlier than we currently are aware. And that ancient civilizations were way more capable than we give them credit for.
Mohammad Ammar 2 years ago
Ancient civilizations were just as smart as us. Idk why people act like they were apes. Industrialization and colonialism spread knowledge and technology across the world and made humanity seem collectively advanced. If we had no way of reaching one another some nations would still be far behind. It could be that some civilizations had a similar breakthrough in science but died out before preserving or spreading that knowledge.
"They present (at least at first) a clear and lucid vision of the world—often based on Manichean [good vs. evil] opposition. They give the false impression of thoroughly understanding and explaining the world in a simple way." Other reasons for the spread of conspiracy theories include teleological thinking, e.g. thinking about the purpose of something rather than its cause. Although Steven doesn't think that the moral aspect (that's the "good vs. evil" part) isn't the core element that explains why conspiracy theories are so popular, there's still a strong correlation between the two.
"Studies prove that people who believe in one conspiracy theory are much more likely to believe in another. In this sense, I think that every conspiracy theory is wrong. They differ only in scale, but they are all part of the same mechanism."
#3
There are theories that many famous female stars who were blacklisted (Megan Fox is a good example) were blacklisted because they refused to sleep with directors and producers.
Lav Oravaf 2 years ago
a friend of mine wanted to start her career in TV, she started with commercials and ended up in a quiz show as an image girl. the very famous quiz presenter used to organize lots of (let's called them) " staff parties " where it was more let's see who he can easily F. First time she went to one of those parties she refused to be "nice" to him and that's where her TV career ended. that was back in the 90s. now she is a happy mum :)
Joseph M. Pierre, a professor of psychiatry at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, told Bored Panda during an earlier interview that conspiracy theorists tend to focus on certain events when twisting the truth for their own purposes.
“It is true that certain historical events do tend to attract conspiracy theories and there is evidence that times of societal upheaval or crisis when people are feeling unsafe and desperate for clarity offer a kind of fertile soil for conspiracy theory beliefs,” he said.
#4
David Miscavige, the chairman of the Church of Scientology definitely murdered his wife and is getting off scott free for it. Him and his wife got into a pretty heated argument in 2007, and she hasn’t been seen since. Lawyers hired by David claim she is still alive and devotes 100% of her time to work at the church of scientology, which is why she hasn’t been seen since August 2007. In 2013, a former member of the church had filed a missing person report that was closed after a few officers had “spoken and seen Mrs.Miscavige”, even though there’s no evidence whatsoever of this meeting. All missing person’s reports now are turned down since this investigation is forever closed.
#5
Nothing's actually happening in Area 51. The government just keep it so people will focus on it and ignore the shady stuff happening somewhere else.
#6
The fashion industry makes too much money from purses to care about making pockets for women easily available
“Over the past 60 years, the assassination of JFK, the death of Princess Diana, and 9/11 are the most obvious examples of national traumas surrounded by conspiracy theory beliefs. We should acknowledge that many conspiracy theories, like the idea that the Earth is flat, aren’t really based on any kind of obvious traumatic event,” the professor explained to Bored Panda.
“People who believe in conspiracy theories are also often attracted to the Manichean narratives that conspiracy theories offer, involving battles of good and evil pitting against each other in an almost apocalyptic fashion. So, it should come as no surprise that conspiracy theories might sprout up from World War II—a real-life apocalyptic battle between good and evil,” the expert said.
#7
With the number of millionaire/billionaires that are psychopaths or similar, there must be a few super rich serial k***ers out there.
By extension there must be people making money supplying victims in the same way Epstein was supplying girls to the wealthy who wanted to scratch an itch. With the money, power and influence would come governments and intelligence agencies willing to overlook or cover up terrible actions for leverage.
#8
The art trade. These million dollar art shows/individual pieces that go for insanely high prices are just a way for money laundering
Luther von Wolfen 2 years ago
Or for the rich to display their wealth. In any case, it's bullsh*t.
#9
So my dad actually confirmed a popular conspiracy theory.
I told him about the “laundry detergent caps have the full line too high on purpose”, and he told me this was true. He interned at P&G, and they taught him the full line was for “the highest level of cleanliness our product can give”. You can get away with using much less detergent.
Meanwhile, Lee McIntyre, a Research Fellow at the Center for Philosophy and History of Science at Boston University, told Bored Panda that when debating conspiracy theorists like Flat Earthers, you should ask them upfront what evidence they think would be enough to prove them wrong.
“I used that question in person at FEIC [Flat Earth International Conference] 2018 and it was very telling. Most of them just said ‘proof’ and I said ‘proof of what?’ They couldn’t be specific. This shows that their beliefs weren’t really based on evidence in the first place,” the expert said how conspiracy theorists tend to think.
#11
New Coke was a way for Coca Cola to switch from real sugar to corn syrup without people noticing.
Switch to the new formula that everyone hates, keep it for a while so that people demand the old one back, then switch it back after enough time has passed that people wouldn't notice the relatively subtle change
Oopsydaisy 2 years ago
Cracked actually had a really interesting article on that. https://www.cracked.com/article_31998_7-ways-coca-colas-cocaine-connection-goes-deeper-than-we-realized.html
#12
That the world is controlled by s select few ultra rich. Of cause it is because they are doing all the back door deals making each other even more money.
“At one session I heard many Flat Earthers talk about losing family members, getting kicked out of their churches, losing jobs… who would do that for fun? These are hardcore science deniers. As hard as it might be to accept, there are people who believe this stuff and are willing even to put their lives on the line for it! One rocket guy crashed trying to prove Flat Earth. They aren’t pretending,” McIntyre told Bored Panda.
#13
I quite like the missing cosmonauts theory. It's unlikely but seems like it could have been possible. It boils down to the idea that Yuri Gagarin wasn't the first man in space. He was just the first man in space to survive the entire process.
Monday 2 years ago
Quite likely, but at least one of the more famous "missing cosmonauts" was a hoax. There were supposedly audio recordings of a female cosmonaut burning up after a malfunction on their ship but it was found to be (iirc) an Italian woman faking the recording for a radio station.
#14
The FBI murdered Dr. Martin Luther King. Too much evidence to ignore
#15
Google Maps only asks you for feedback on its navigation when it knows it did a good job.
I use navigation all the time, and I find that when it gets me to the destination on time or earlier than predicted, I get a notification asking to rate the trip. But if it gets me there after it originally estimated, I never get that notification.
“Conspiracy theories have been around since Nero in the Roman Empire. They pop up in times of turmoil or mass unrest when people try to make sense of the world, but can’t. Flat Earth is in some ways just a run-of-the-mill conspiracy theory. They’ve all grown in popularity because beliefs (even fringe beliefs) are reinforced by peer approval, and that is now readily available on the internet. Virtually all of the flat earthers I met were converted based on Youtube videos. Some then went to the conferences. After that, they were ‘down the rabbit hole.'”
#16
That conspiracy theory’s is a term made up by the government to make true things that happen look dumb.
Jyri Hakola 2 years ago
More plausible it would be say that the mainaintaining of the consipracy theories are keeping people on focusing into fictional problems that focusing real problems like pretty f*cd up US healthcare system, wages, long work-weeks and lack of vacations..
#17
This one is small and local but still too insane to ignore and just came up today.
Just recently, our small suburban town’s favorite gas station went out of business. Everyone went there, the guy who ran it was the mayor. He retires and sells the property after an issue with the ground underneath the gas pumps. They tear down the gas pumps and keep the garage, Mavis Tire bought the property and opened a new store.
A few days after the Mavis opens, someone posts a picture on Facebook of an intersection at a road near it with nails all over the road. The guy theroizies that a box of nails fell off of a construction truck. The police come clean it up and it seems all is well. Fast forward a few days later and people are commenting on the post that they’re finding nails in their car tires. Not just from that intersection. People jokingly say “maybe it was the new Mavis guys throwing nails around” but nothing really happens.
Several weeks later, people have been posting day in and day out pictures of nails in their car tires. My dad took my car in to the Mavis in question about 3 weeks ago and they found a nail inside of the right front tire. I noticed that it was driving sort of funny but never that my tire was on the verge of exploding.
I jokingly said “people have been saying you guys have just been going around throwing nails all over the place” trying not to laugh at how insane it sounded to say out loud. The guy behind the counter said nothing but “yeah” with a weird smirk.
Over 50 people have posted on the town Facebook that their cars have had nails in their tires. My mom is driving my car now because her car has a nail in the tire.
XSpooky_Mint 2 years ago
This is really f****d up, people could get hurt or even killed, and all because some dipshit wanted to make some extra cash
#18
1.) Kennedy gets elected
2.) Kennedy is critical of the CIA, his own VP and military for wanting to turn the cold war into a hot one and the willingness to perform false flag operations (Project Northwoods) to do it.
3.) Kennedy is shot
4.) His VP takes power
5.) [Classified]
According to the expert, conspiracy theories can go viral and ‘infect’ new people. “It’s important to remember that these pathologies of human reasoning exist not just to defend themselves but to proselytize new members. They are virulent. They are infectious. I wish Flat Earth were the worst of them, but it isn’t. It’s the scourge of our age. And it will only continue to get worse.”
#19
The media is manipulated by the governments so they can teach us what to think, feel & believe.
#20
Princess Diana car crash wasn't "accidental ". I truly believe P.Philip hired someone to get rid of her and have a feeling that when him, Elisabeth and Charles die some very secret conversations, emails ecc will come out.
Medelaine McCann was accidentally k**led by her parents. I don't believe they intended to do it but I do believe they covered it up and once the press ecc arrived they seen an opportunity to make money out of the situation.
Oopsydaisy 2 years ago
It was 1996. I doubt the royal family was using emails then. Leave the McCanns alone. You and all the other arseholes.
#21
The anti vaccine movement was actually started to k*ll off people stupid enough to not get inoculated against deadly disease, thus strengthening the gene pool.
T. D. Bostick 2 years ago
Nope, people are just plain stupid. This doesn't explain other stupid conspiracy theories like flat earth and QAnon.
#22
9/11 was allowed to happen so the government could go ahead with political agendas that would've been very unpopular otherwise. There were all kinds of advanced warnings that an attack was imminent, yet they were ignored.
The attack allowed for the invasion and never-ending occupation of the Middle East, as well as the Patriot Act that allows for increased spying by the government (and was passed only about a month after 9/11).
#23
The reason Disney came out with a movie called "Frozen" was so that when you Googled "Disney frozen" you would get information about the movie and not websites talking about Walt Disney's body being frozen. The same goes for "Disney on Ice."
Oopsydaisy 2 years ago
Hahaha. Cute. I guess their next movie will be based on sleeping beauty and called Cryogenic.
#24
There is a giant money laundering cycle driven by the sale of paintings. It’s just a piece of canvas with some paint on it. I may understand some people would be willing to buy paintings from the renaissance, but modern art is definitely a huge money laundering instrument.
#25
The reason hot dogs and hot dog buns aren't packaged in the same amount is so customers always have too many buns or hot dogs so they have to buy more
#26
The whole aliens in area 51 thing was to cover up the fact it's actually a military test facility. The gov would rather have alien bs about that place than have other governments steal or sell their weapons and tech to avoid another war. Pretty smart imo.
#27
Saturated fats and cholesterol aren't particularly bad for you, but a very politically aggressive and ethically deficient scientist named Ancel Keyes staked his career on the idea that they were, published studies with egregiously poor methodology (In his landmark Seven Countries study, he specifically picked those countries which best supported his aims while ignoring those countries that didn't) and waged a very aggressive campaign to destroy the careers of detractors (Famously Dr. John Yudkin-- who wrote "Pure, White and Deadly", a book on the dangers of dietary sugar).
Today, scientific nutritional authorities continue to drag their feet on revising the conventional medical wisdom due to the erosion to their own authority that this would represent.
Ancel Keyes was more singularly responsible for obesity in the US than any other person.
#29
Jamie Lyyn Spears, Miranda Cosgrove, Victoria Justice, etc were [taken advantage of] by Dan Schneider. Nickelodeon let him get away with a lot. There’s so many feet jokes in all those shows. A lot of the interviews with those cast members get really awkward when they’re around Dan. If you got to pursue your dream career when you really wanted it wouldn’t you do just about anything? If you made Dan Schneider mad you career would be ruined and your dreams would be over.
#30
That intelligent humans and advanced societies existed before the last Ice age.
#31
Psychedelics are only illegal because they liberate from the consumerism narrative.
#32
McDonald's shake machines are never actually down, the night crew people are just too lazy to clean it
Kirsty 2 years ago
Used to be McDonalds crew and there are two things that'd knock it out of order. 1. The syrup needs changing. To change the syrup you need to open a pressurised container and get it in and out of a tangle of syrup lines, if one pops off it's a couple of hours cleaning. Only certain staff are trained to change out syrups and you never wanna do it during a rush as people will trip over you. 2. The shake mix ran out and you're either waiting for someone to get out the ladder to top it up, or its been topped up and your waiting for it to reach temp, takes around 45 mins. That whole machine is disassembled and cleaned every night, all removable bits left in sterilising solution over night and reassembled in the morning. That cleaning involves various runs of boiling water and cleaning solutions being run through the lines. This is in the UK.
#33
My favorite one is that UFOs are just us in the way distant future time traveling. We probably developed some sort of cloaking device so we never see them except for when it malfunctions.
Susoul Cats 2 years ago
my teacher had a theory about this when someone started talking about aliens in class one day. he said that the way that they "time travelled" is by them being able to travel faster than light, using Einstein's theory of relativity, which would allow them to travel back in time, to our age. And the reason why they would want to do this is because there might be some sort of plague/pandemic which they can't seem to get rid of, and they need to figure out what went wrong, and that's why aliens abduct humans/cows. Needless to say, he was an interesting teacher, he actually didn't teach any conspiracies or force it upon people, and before he explained that theory, he said "IF aliens do exist"
#34
The only reason apple took headphone jacks off their phones is because Square was taking money away from Apple Pay
#35
FYI The moon landings were real in fact there were 6 in total and it’s not hard to achieve
#36
ISIS was created by the CIA
Mohammad Ammar 2 years ago
It was, directly or indirectly. It's a well known fact that the power vaccum created by the U.S intervention in Iraq created jihadist groups. Also the Taliban are pretty much entirely America's creation ( its allies and the Pakistan gov at the time are to blame as well). People have a misconception that ISIS is just an Islamic offshoot cult gone rouge, they aren't.
#37
Mattress firm is a drug cartel or a money laundering company or maybe they’re laundering money for the drug cartels. I don’t know, but whatever it is, they’re up to no good.
#38
The Allies certainly knew about the Holocaust long before April/May 1945, they never just "happened" upon the camps as they were defeating Nazi Germany. This begs the question on why they never lifted a finger to stop the importations, destroy the rail lines to the camps, etc., but they never did despite them knowing what was going on.
T. D. Bostick 2 years ago
Uhh, the had been lifting their fingers since Dec. 1941. There was just the entire Wehrmacht standing in between them and the camps.
#39
Russia is pushing global warming because it wants a warm water port, Arctic resources, and better land/ resources in Siberia.
adiiantryx 2 years ago
it's not pushing it, but it often blocks and vetoes discussion in global forums especially the unsc so as to prevent sustainable action on the same
#40
Trader Joe's makes their parking lots small intentionally to make it seem like it's more popular.
What do you think ?
Burs 2 years ago
Spanish conspiracy so most wont be interested. I believe that Juan Carlos, the ex king of spain, was behind the militar coup that happened after democracy was stablished. He made it so it it worked he would be the new dictator and if it didnt work he would win popular support by "stopping it".
Vicky Z 2 years ago
Wouldn't surprise me! He has done too many things and exile is not enough punishment imo! If he was not royal he would be in prison
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Nikki Sevven 2 years ago
The 40-hour work week was established as a maximum, not a minimum. Today, companies expect people to work a minimum of 40 hours, generally 8 hours per day. It's gotten so bad that some people "flex" about working 80 hours per week, as if it makes them better than everyone else. After work, make dinner, do the dishes, help the kids with homework, go to bed. Repeat. This leave you no time to question the status quo...or take action to change things for the better.
Vicky Z 2 years ago
It's not a conspiracy it's actually a fact! It was indeed established as maximum
Load More Replies...
Not Proud British 2 years ago
Here's a true one. Car manufacturers are aware of fatal flaws but never bother to fix them. Like Vauxhall when the Corsa and Zafira would set on fire, trapping the driver inside due to the self locks. This was known, but it's cheaper for them to pay compensation to the victims than it is for them to change the entire line of cars. So they are aware of the risks but allowing people to die makes more financial sense.
Linouchka 2 years ago
There was a movie with this story line, I forgot the title, but I will forever remember the title given to the people in charge of doing the math between calling back and fixing, and paying compensation : they were called "pea counters"... 😳
Load More Replies...
Burs 2 years ago
Spanish conspiracy so most wont be interested. I believe that Juan Carlos, the ex king of spain, was behind the militar coup that happened after democracy was stablished. He made it so it it worked he would be the new dictator and if it didnt work he would win popular support by "stopping it".
Vicky Z 2 years ago
Wouldn't surprise me! He has done too many things and exile is not enough punishment imo! If he was not royal he would be in prison
Load More Replies... Nikki Sevven 2 years ago
The 40-hour work week was established as a maximum, not a minimum. Today, companies expect people to work a minimum of 40 hours, generally 8 hours per day. It's gotten so bad that some people "flex" about working 80 hours per week, as if it makes them better than everyone else. After work, make dinner, do the dishes, help the kids with homework, go to bed. Repeat. This leave you no time to question the status quo...or take action to change things for the better.
Vicky Z 2 years ago
It's not a conspiracy it's actually a fact! It was indeed established as maximum
Load More Replies... Not Proud British 2 years ago
Here's a true one. Car manufacturers are aware of fatal flaws but never bother to fix them. Like Vauxhall when the Corsa and Zafira would set on fire, trapping the driver inside due to the self locks. This was known, but it's cheaper for them to pay compensation to the victims than it is for them to change the entire line of cars. So they are aware of the risks but allowing people to die makes more financial sense.
Linouchka 2 years ago
There was a movie with this story line, I forgot the title, but I will forever remember the title given to the people in charge of doing the math between calling back and fixing, and paying compensation : they were called "pea counters"... 😳
Load More Replies... You May Like This Instagram Account Shares Weird Facts And Here Are The 50 Of The Creepiest Ones 24 Conspiracy Theories People Online Think Are Spine-Chilling 30 Times Police Were Called on People For The Dumbest Reasons
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