List of alleged conspiracy theories
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This is a list of alleged conspiracy theories. For a discussion of conspiracy theories in general, see conspiracy theory.
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Global conspiracy theories
- Bilderberg Group—A well-known informal, international, annual meeting of influential people that some critics allege have a sinister purpose. Its name is that of the hotel in the Netherlands where the group first met in 1954.
- Bush family conspiracy theory.
- Catholic Church—Jack Chick claims that the Church has collected the names of every Protestant church member in the world for a future Inquisition.
- Council on Foreign Relations—Conspiracy theories surrounding the membership of this foreign policy think tank.
- Elders of Zion—A conspiratorial group bent on Jewish global domination, as portrayed by the forged document, The Protocols of the Elders of Zion.
- Eurabia—The idea that Europe is becoming a satellite of the Islamic world at French "instigation" due to the activities of the Parliamentary Association for Euro-Arab Cooperation.
- Freemasons.
- The Gemstone File—Details a wide ranging conspiracy involving Aristotle Onassis, the CIA, FBI, and the Mafia in addition to John F. Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson, Ted Kennedy, Richard Nixon, the Washington Post, San Francisco Mayor Joseph Alioto, Howard Hughes, Martin Luther King Jr., and the Watergate conspirators.
- The Illuminati—Thought of as a secret group attempting to control the world.
- Korean Air Flight KAL-007.
- Nick Berg conspiracy theories.
- SARS conspiracy theory—Suggests that the SARS virus could be developed artificially.
- Trilateral Commission—Theories concerning the motives of this group.
- United Nations—Theories regarding the UN and its various Secretaries General.
Conspiracy theories peculiar to the United States of America
- AIDS conspiracy theories—Many African-Americans in the US believe that HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, was invented by either white American scientists, or by "The Jews", as a way to destroy the black race. This conspiracy theory is most common among lower-income blacks in poor neighborhoods, and among putative left-wing black college students. These racist and anti-Semitic attacks have been propagated for years first by Louis Farrakhan's Nation of Islam, and by the New Black Panther Party, as well by a number of extremist professors in various smaller colleges.
- Apollo moon landing hoax accusations.
- Area 51—Various theories surround the activity of this secretive military base, including the theory that it contains hidden alien spacecraft and/or bodies.
- Assassination—Conspiracy theories of varying popularity surround the deaths and murders of, and attacks on, several prominent figures including:
- Abraham Lincoln, 1865
- Marilyn Monroe, 1962
- John F. Kennedy, 1963
- Malcolm X, 1965
- Martin Luther King, Jr., 1968
- Robert F. Kennedy, 1968
- George Wallace, 1972
- Gerald Ford, 1975
- John Lennon, 1980
- Ronald Reagan, 1981
- George H. W. Bush,
- Black helicopters.
- Denver International Airport—Believed by many conspiracy theorists to be the Western headquarters of the New World Order, and a massive underground base and city is believed to exist underneath the airport. Reasons for this include: the airport is unusually large (larger than some major cities), is very remote with respect to the Denver, Colorado city center, there is to consist in the airport a set of bizarre murals (some of which have been painted over) depicting burning cities, gas-mask wearing soldiers, girls in coffins, Masonic symbols and strange writing. Others believe it is more likely that any strange qualities of Denver International Airport are a consequence of a typical overbudgeted government project.
- Elvis sightings.
- General Motors streetcar conspiracy.
- High Frequency Active Auroral Research Program
- Kentucky Fried Chicken—It is sometimes claimed that the franchise is owned by the Ku Klux Klan, and the chicken is laced with a drug that makes only black men impotent. (Ironically, the franchise is actually owned by an African-American.)
- Majestic 12.
- Men in Black.
- Montauk Project.
- New Coke—This failed product is said to have been put on the market in order to boost sales of the original, later reintroduced.
- Oklahoma City bombing—Various conspiracies surround this event, such as that Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols received assistance from other parties, such as neo-Nazi groups, an Iraqi intelligence agent, or the U.S. government. Much of this speculation surrounds the identity of "John Doe 2", sometimes referred to as the "Third Man" or "Third Terrorist (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0785261036/ref=pd_sim_b_4/102-4145056-0354565?%5Fencoding=UTF8&v=glance)".
- Philadelphia Experiment.
- Polybius
- Satanic ritual abuse.
- Skull & Bones—This Yale fraternity is often thought of as being a secret society producing many financial and political leaders who have control or seek to gain control.
- Space Shuttle Columbia disaster—It has been claimed that the United States Air Force shot the shuttle down with a laser.
- TACMAR.
- TWA Flight 800—Writer Peter Lance (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0060543558/ref=pd_sxp_f/102-4145056-0354565?v=glance&s=books) and others allege that the explosion of this plane, officially ruled an accident for a malfunction of the engine, was actually due to an attack from either the inside or outside, usually said to be by a missile. The complicit parties vary from the U.S. government to radical Islamists.
- Vast right-wing conspiracy theory.
Conspiracy theories peculiar to Canada
- Avro Arrow—Cancellation of this system.
- Shag Harbor—Said to be "Canada's Roswell."
Conspiracy theories peculiar to Germany
Conspiracy theories peculiar to Israel
Conspiracy theories peculiar to the Arab and Muslim worlds
Daniel Pipes has written a book (http://www.danielpipes.org/books/hidden.php) and many essays on the prevalence of conspiracy theories throughout the Arab and Muslim world. Conspiracy theories extend far beyond those concerning international events or those biased against Jews. They extend even to the results of sporting events.
- For some time the Arab press reported that there was a plot by Jews to make Egyptian and Palestinian schoolgirls sexually promiscuous by selling them bubble-gum laced with aphrodisiacs. This story closely resembles the tale of LSD-laced papers or candies which continues to periodically surface in the US. In this case the story is considered to be an urban legend as opposed to a conspiracy theory, because no group is blamed for the "attacks". Like the Palestinian case, there is no evidence that anything like this has ever happened. An example of this conspiracy theory is that written by Mohammad Dalbah:
- Palestinian authorities uncovered Israeli efforts to spread a special kind of gum that contains sexual hormone between Palestinians. The authorities requested laboratory tests on the gum which were conducted in Cairo. Those tests showed that the gum contains progesterone which is responsible for sexual arousal and also prevents pregnancies. Palestinian authorities confiscated 200 tonnes of gum in the city of al-Khalil alone. The Washington Post claimed in report that it asked a chemistry professor in the hebrew university to examine the gum. His tests were negative, however the paper also reported that the majority of Palestinians believe the conspiracy. It quoted one Palestinian saying that it was possible to send a space ship to Mars then it is possible to manufacture a 'sexual gum' it is after all a war.
- On several occasions, Palestinians have claimed that the Israeli government has used nerve gas against them, and then suppressed the evidence of such. No independent investigation has ever substantiated such claims.
- Some Arabs, mostly Egyptians, believe that Israelis engineered the crash of EgyptAir Flight 990 in 1999, despite strong evidence that the pilot committed suicide. [1] (http://www-tech.mit.edu/V119/N60/egyptair_60.60w.html) Others insist that the US is covering up for Boeing, the airplane's manufacturer. [2] (http://www.wsws.org/articles/1999/nov1999/air-n24.shtml)
- Many in the Arab world believe that Jewish doctors deliberately give Palestinians AIDS.
- Conspiracy theory that the Madrid railway bombings were not perpetrated by Muslims since they took place in the Hijri month of Muharram, one of the four sacred months during which attacks on "infidels" are forbidden by the Qu'ran--a rule which Islamic fundamentalists have never broken previously.
- A rumor has recently been spread in Nigeria that the US or other western countries have added either the AIDS virus or a sterilizing agent to polio vaccines being distributed by the World Health Organization. The rumor has caused a marked increase in the number of polio cases in the country, due to Muslim clerics urging parents not to have their children vaccinated. It has also caused the Nigerian strain of polio to travel to other nations.
Other conspiracy theories
- Bielefeld conspiracy—A joke conspiracy which was never intended to be taken seriously.
- Chemtrail theory—Clouds behind aircraft, having the general appearance of contrails, but alleged to be chemical spraying performed for some secretive purpose.
- Flouridation—Theories relating to the flouridation of drinking water, generally in an attempt to poison the populace.
- Free energy suppression.
- Government Warehouse.
- Norman Kirk—There is a persistent theory that the CIA or a related agency was involved in the unexpected death of Prime Minister of New Zealand Norman Kirk in 1974.
Conspiracy theories pertaining to the 9/11 attacks
- 9/11 conspiracy claims regarding Jews or Israel.
- 9/11 conspiracy theories.
- 9/11 domestic complicity conspiracy theories.
- Rumors about the September 11, 2001 attacks.
Conspiracies pertaining to the death of Diana, Princess of Wales
Polls continue to suggest that around a quarter of the UK public, and a majority of people in some Arab countries, believe that there was a plot to murder Diana, Princess of Wales. Motivations which have been advanced for such a conspiracy include suggestions that Diana intended to divorce The Prince of Wales, that she intended to convert to Islam, and that she was pregnant. Organizations which conspiracy theorists suggest are responsible for her death have included French Intelligence, the British Royal Family, the British Intelligence services MI5 or MI6, the CIA, Mossad, the Freemasons, or the IRA. Alternatively, Diana and Dodi Al-Fayed are believed to be alive and living incognito.
See also
- Conspiracism as a worldview.
- Conspiracy theories (a collection)—Collection of conspiracy theories with a short discussion.
External links
Articles pertaining to conspiracy theories involving Jews
- Conspiracy Theories About Jews and 9/11 Cause Dangerous Mutations in Global Anti-Semitism (http://www.adl.org/PresRele/ASInt_13/4346_13.htm)
- Unraveling Anti-Semitic 9/11 Conspiracy Theories - PDF file (http://www.adl.org/anti_semitism/9-11conspiracytheories.pdf)
- Anti-Semitic shuttle conspiracy theories swamp the Internet (http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=264824&contrassID=2&subContrassID=1&sbSubContrassID=0&listSrc=Y)
- Anti-Semitic groups promote Columbia conspiracy theories (http://www.adl.org/Anti_semitism/columbia.asp)
Articles pertaining to Arab and Muslim conspiracy theories
- Examples of Arab conspiracy theories (http://www.adl.org/egyptian_media/old_egyptian_conspiracy.html)
- "NIGERIA: Muslim suspicion of polio vaccine lingers on" (http://www.scienceinafrica.co.za/2004/march/polio.htm)
- "Nigeria's Muslim clerics fear polio vaccine" (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/3400651.stm)
Articles pertaining to the Princess Diana conspiracy theories
- Diana Conspiracy Theory (BBC News) (http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcthree/news/7oclocknews/features/diana_death_060104.shtml)
- Report 'dispells Diana theories' (BBC News) (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/3426309.stm)
- Was there a conspiracy to kill Diana? (TIME Europe magazine) (http://www.time.com/time/europe/html/040119/story.html)
- Plot to murder Princess Diana (News-Star) (http://www.news-star.com/stories/122697/new_conspire.html)