List of conspiracy theories

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The list of conspiracy theories is a collection of the most popular unproven theories related but not limited to clandestine government plans, elaborate murder plots, suppression of secret technology and knowledge, and other supposed schemes behind certain political, cultural, and historical events. They did not have any link to the actual incidents. Some theories are meant to cover up the accusers' own schemes, such as Holocaust denial. Most of them are imaginary works of some people.

Conspiracy theories usually go against a consensus or cannot be proven using the historical method and are typically not considered to be similar to verified conspiracies such as Germany's pretense for invading Poland in WW2.

This conspiracy theory states that a group of international elites controls and manipulates governments, industry, and media organizations worldwide. The primary tool they use to dominate nations is the system of central banking. They are said to have funded and in some cases caused most of the major wars of the last 200 years, carry out false flag attacks to manipulate populations into supporting them, and they have a grip on the world economy, deliberately causing inflation and depressions at will. Operatives working for the New World Order are said to be placed in high positions in government and industry. The people behind the New World Order are thought to be international bankers, in particular the owners of the private banks in the Federal Reserve System and other central banks, and members of the Council on Foreign Relations, Trilateral Commission and Bilderberg Group.^[1] The New World Order is also said to control supranational and global organizations such as the European Union, United Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund and the proposed North American Union. The term gained popularity following its use in the early 1990s, first by President George H. W. Bush when he referred to his "dream of a New World Order" in his speech to the United States Congress on September 11, 1990, and second by David Rockefeller in a statement to the United Nations Business Council in September 1994, sometimes cited as evidence that the New World Order had a motive for carrying out the September 11, 2001, attacks:

"We are on the verge of a global transformation. All we need is the right major crisis and the nations will accept the New World Order."^[2]

The concept of this shadow government predates 1990; it is accused of being the same group of people who, among other things, created the Federal Reserve Act (1913), supported the Bolshevik Revolution (1917), and supported the rise of the Nazi Party in Germany, all for their own agenda.^[3] The World Bank and national central banks are said to be the tools of the New World Order; war generates massive profits for central banks because government spending (hence borrowing at interest from the central banks) increases dramatically in times of war and distress.^[4] Many conspiracy theorists believe that Denver International Airport is the western U.S. 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's unusually large size (larger than some major cities), distance from the Denver, Colorado city center, and the set of environmentally themed murals by artist Leo Tanguma depicting burning cities, gas-mask wearing soldiers and girls in coffins, and the capstone of the Great Hall which includes Masonic symbols and strange writing.^[5] It is believed that secret fleets of black helicopters are ready to take control when the New World Order is set up.

The New World Order is said to control the wealth of nations through central banks, via the issuance of currency. The Federal Reserve System is the central bank of the United States, though not a part of the government, created in 1913. There is a theory that the Federal Reserve System is designed to transfer wealth from the poor and middle classes of the United States to the international bankers of the New World Order.^[6]

False flag operations are covert operations conducted by governments, corporations, or other organizations, which are designed to appear as if they are being carried out by other entities. Numerous conspiracy theories have developed suggesting that false flag operations have been carried out throughout the 20th century, and the secrecy of the true nature of the events have been maintained by successful cover-ups. The following are some attacks that are believed by some to be examples of false flag attacks:

• On February 27, 1933, the German parliament, the Reichstag building, was subject to an arson attack; this is seen as the pivotal event for the appropriation of authoritarian power by the government of Nazi Germany. Several leading German historians concluded that the fire was a secret Nazi operation for which the Nazis then blamed a communist.^[7]
• Pearl Harbor advance-knowledge conspiracy theory
• Pan Am Flight 103 conspiracy theories.
• Columbine conspiracy theories.
• Former GRU officer Aleksey Galkin,^[8] former FSB officer Alexander Litvinenko^[9] and other defectors from the Russian government and security services have asserted that the 1999 Russian apartment bombings, which precipitated the Second Chechen War, were false flag operations perpetrated by the FSB, the successor organization to the KGB.
• Many 9/11 conspiracy theories
• 2004 Madrid train bombings.^[10]

The motivations for nations starting, entering, or ending wars are often brought into question by conspiracy theorists. Munitions suppliers are often blamed^[11] for devising, coordinating and precipitating the events that lead nations into war, either in part or in toto. According to this view, there is always a party within a nation that benefits from war, on whatever pretext: the suppliers of weapons and other military material. President Dwight Eisenhower referred to this source of potential conflict of interest as the military-industrial complex. President Abraham Lincoln is known to have made a similar observation near the close of the American Civil War, and in 1865, I. Windslow Ayer alludes to conspiracies of Copperheads and of the Sons of Liberty in his historical work, The Great North-Western Conspiracy in All Its Startling Details.^[12]

Related is the allegation that certain wars which are claimed by politicians to be in the national interest, or for humanitarian purposes, are in fact motivated by the conquest and control of natural resources for commercial interest. In the Spanish-American War, the explosion of the USS Maine prompted the United States annexation of Puerto Rico, the Philippines, and Guam. Opponents of the war, such as Mark Twain and Andrew Carnegie, claimed that it was being fought for imperialist motives.

A war planned for economic gain can be seen as a conspiracy in the conventional sense of a secret plot—particularly when the public is presented with false pretexts for war. It has also been suggested that war is a perfect way of distracting citizens, as an electoral tactic, from difficulties facing the current government. This premise is the basis of the film Wag the Dog, and the George Orwell novel 1984.

Some have claimed^[who?] that this was the motivation behind the Falklands War. At that time the National Reorganization Process, the right-wing dictatorship that ruled Argentina between 1976 and 1983, was facing increasing discontent among the population over its Dirty War and this may have contributed to the decision to invade the Falkland Islands.

In many cases, critics have accused the U.S. of engaging in realpolitik in the cynical sense of political action without regard for principle or morals. In recent times, wars in the Middle East such as the Gulf War and the invasion of Iraq have been described as wars for oil, as well as power, money and land.

Governments, particularly the United States government, have been accused of carrying out false flag coups d'état, in order to install friendly governments in foreign countries. Some of these have since been acknowledged – such as Operation Ajax (1953), a covert coup to topple the democratically elected leaders of Iran. Another coup that some believe may have been actively supported by the United States government is the 2002 Venezuelan coup d'état attempt.^[13]

Conspiracy theories sometimes emerge following assassinations of prominent people. The best known is the assassination of John F. Kennedy (1963), which has caused a number of conspiracy theories to develop. Central to this theory is the claim that the injuries received by Kennedy and Governor John Connally could not have been caused by a lone gunman behind the motorcade and to the right. This theory was popularised by the Oliver Stone movie, JFK. Three polls conducted in 2003 suggest that there is widespread disbelief (between 68% and 83% of respondents) among the U.S. public about the official story of a lone gunman. An ABC News random telephone poll found that just 32% (plus or minus 3%) of Americans believe that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone in the assassination of John F. Kennedy, while 68% do not believe Oswald acted alone.^[14] The "Discovery Channel" poll (sampling method not given) reveals that only 21% believe Oswald acted alone, while 79% do not believe Oswald acted alone,^[15] (self-selected responses) details that only 17% of respondents believe that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone in the assassination of John F. Kennedy, while 83% do not believe Oswald acted alone.^[16]

The assassinations of Robert F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X are also the subject of conspiracy theories. In many cases, it is asserted that a "Manchurian candidate" may have been used. The question of "Who benefits?" is also often asked, with conspiracy theorists asserting that insiders often have far more powerful motives than those to whom the assassination is attributed by mainstream society. The assassinations of historical figures, such as Eric V of Denmark and Tsarevich Dmitry Ivanovich of Russia remain subject to conspiracy theories. More recent examples include those of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Carrero Blanco, Benigno Aquino, Jr., Olof Palme and Yitzhak Rabin.

Some deaths that are officially recorded as accident, suicide or natural causes are also the subject of some conspiracy theories. Examples include the car crash that killed Diana, Princess of Wales and Dodi Fayed in 1997, the death of John F. Kennedy Jr. in a plane crash in 1999, and the death of Senator Paul Wellstone in a plane crash in 2002. Often, unusual circumstances in a suicide or accident are cited as evidence of a conspiracy such as the case of Gary Webb who suffered 2 gunshots to the head. Sometimes, deaths initially considered to be accidents gain such strong conspiracy theories due to new evidence that murder investigations are opened and arrests made as in the case of journalist Cats Falck.

Other examples of deaths that are not considered to be murders that later receive conpiracy theories include: the suicide of Deputy White House Counsel Vincent Foster; the plane crash that killed United States Secretary of Commerce Ron Brown; the death of Dag Hammarskjöld; the Mayerling Incident; and the deaths of U.S. Presidents Zachary Taylor and Lyndon B. Johnson, Władysław Sikorski, James Forrestal, British political leader Hugh Gaitskell, Australian prime minister Harold Holt, James P. Brady, New Zealand prime minister Norman Kirk, Jimmy Hoffa and David Kelly. In the case of Salvador Allende, the former President of Chile conspiracy theories regarding his suicide were so prominent in the public arena official investigations were opened into the matter. There are also theories about untimely deaths of celebrities, the number one example arguably being the death of Marilyn Monroe, but also Sam Cooke, Salvador Sanchez, Brian Jones, Tupac Shakur, Biggie Smalls, Jimi Hendrix, Kurt Cobain, Jeff Buckley, Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison, Elvis Presley, Bob Marley, John Lennon, Alexis Arguello and Michael Jackson.

There are also theories that some assassination attempts have been carried out by secret conspiracies, in some cases failures but in other cases entirely staged events. The motive for staging an unsuccessful assassination attempt can be to augment the popularity of the person involved; public opinion polls tend to be boosted by unsuccessful attempts on the life of a prominent politician. There have been numerous unsuccessful attempts to assassinate U.S. Presidents. Some of them, such as the attempted assassinations of Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush have aroused suspicion from conspiracy theorists that the events might have been staged. Former Presidents of Taiwan and Ukraine are cited in similar conspiracy theories a well.

In other cases the perpetrators of murders and assassinations are not found and conspiracy theories even become part of official police investigations as in the case of the Swedish Prime Minister Olof Palme. In cases like this further public conspiracy theories can exist about why the cases are not closed. In the case of another prominent Swede^[who?] who died in the Lockerbie bombing, theories exist that contend that the larger crime was committed to hide a more targeted assassination, which therefore also hasn't been solved. In the case of Aldo Moro, an assassinated Italian Prime Minister, a conspiracy to encourage his kidnappers to kill him has been admitted to and is largely accepted as fact, yet theories exist as to the nature of the secrets he was killed to protect. In more extreme cases it has been alleged that some people have been assassinated without acknowledgement of their deaths, assuming that they were replaced by a double or alternatively that their deaths never occurred when it has been claimed that they did.

In India there are several conspiracy theories circulating about the 1945 death of pro-Axis Indian nationalist leader Subhas Chandra Bose – that he did not die in an accident, as officially claimed, but was assassinated; or that he did not die at that time, but was still alive and hidden somewhere.

Some conspiracy theories have been directed at American Presidents.

The Clinton Body Count, as it is popularly known, is a conspiracy theory that Bill Clinton, while he was president and before, was quietly assassinating his associates (ostensibly anyone who got in the way of his career, such as Vince Foster). It was started as a retaliation to the Bush Body Count (which ostensibly had various members of the Bush family responsible for events like JFK assassination and the October surprise^{[clarification needed]} killing lesser co-conspirators on their way).^[17] The Clinton Body Count is a list of about 50–60 associates of Clinton who have died "under mysterious circumstance".^[18] The list began circulating over the Internet starting in the mid-1990s.^{[citation needed]} The list grew out of a 1993 list of about 24 names prepared by the pro-gun lobby group American Justice Federation^[19] which was led by Linda Thompson. The list was posted to the group's Bulletin board system.^[20] Snopes.com has debunked this list, noting 1) many of those claimed to be assassinated actually died from very well documented accidents that leave no possibility of assassination 2) a political figure who becomes President of the United States will have a loosely defined circle of "associates", and many of these associates are in dangerous positions (police officers, pilots, soldiers) or older men in high stress jobs (therefore at greater risk of dying of stress related disease or suicide).

A closely related cluster of conspiracy theories are associated with the 44th President, Barack Obama, the first President of African descent, who was born in Honolulu in 1961 to a Kenyan father and a mother from Wichita. The essence of all such theories is an allegation that his claim to the Presidency is illegitimate due to the circumstances of his birth. It is alleged that either his birth certificate was faked or that he secretly holds dual citizenship and this disqualifies him as President. The conspiracy theories have been tenacious despite the early release of Obama's Hawaii birth certificate by his election campaign and the April 2011 release of a certified copy of Obama's original Certificate of Live Birth (so-called "long form birth certificate"). Related rumors involve questioning the President's Social Security Number, the President's avowed religion, Christianity, and suggesting that he is or was at one time a Muslim.

Antisemitism has, from the Middle Ages, frequently taken on characteristics of conspiracy theory. Antisemitic canards continue to circulate. In medieval Europe it was widely believed that Jews poisoned wells, had killed Jesus, and consumed the blood of Christians in their rituals (despite the fact that human and animal blood is not kosher).

In the second half of the 19th century conspiracists claimed that Jews and/or Freemasons were plotting to establish control over the world. The most famous text alleging the existence of this Judeo-Masonic conspiracy theory is The Protocols of the Elders of Zion. A more modern manifestation of such ideas is the myth of a Zionist Occupation Government.

Various conspiracy theories have been advanced regarding Jews and banking,^[21] including the myth that world banking is dominated by the Rothschild family,^[22] that Jews control Wall Street,^[22] and that Jews control the U.S. Federal Reserve System.^[23] A related canard is that Jews control Hollywood or the news media.^[24]

Most Holocaust denial claims imply, or openly state, that the Holocaust is a hoax arising out of a deliberate Jewish conspiracy to advance the interest of Jews at the expense of other peoples.^[25] For this reason, Holocaust denial is generally considered to be an antisemitic^[26] conspiracy theory.^[27]

Samuel A. Weems (1936–2003) was a writer and a disbarred lawyer in Arkansas, United States, who was allegedly paid by the Turkish lobby in the United States, who is in turn sponsored by the Turkish government.^[28] In his book, Armenia: The Secrets of a Christian Terrorist State (2002), he argued in favor of the myth that the Armenian Genocide was a gigantic fraud designed to fleece Christian nations out of billions of dollars. He also claimed that the Armenian Church was a state-owned entity that organizes and funds terrorist (including ASALA) attacks and that Armenians had infiltrated the United States.^[29] That book states that Armenian Diaspora communities in the United States and throughout the world are actually colonies/political bases intended to gain money and support for Armenian Republic. The book also states that Armenia is founded on land stolen from Muslims and that Armenians have perpetrated enormous massacres against Turks and Azeris, both recently (in the Nagorno-Karabakh war) and in the past. He has been quoted as saying "The religion of the Armenians is fake" and that his research shows "that there is clearly an Armenian Master Plan that generates Armenian hate around the world."^[30] Prior to his death in 2003, he was preparing to write a second book claiming the international Armenian community collaborated with and supported Nazi Germany.

Some Rastafarians maintain that a white racist patriarchy ("Babylon") controls the world in order to oppress the African race.^[31] They believe that Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia did not die when it was reported in 1975, and that the racist, white media ("Babylon") propagated that rumour in order to squash the Rastafari Movement and its message of overthrowing Babylon.^[32] Other Rastafarians, however, believe in peace and unity, and interpret Babylon as a metaphor for the established "system" that oppresses (or "downpresses", in Rasta terminology) groups such as Africans and the world's poor.

British-Egyptian writer Bat Ye'or, author of Eurabia: The Euro–Arab Axis, later followed by Italian journalist Oriana Fallaci, proposed a conspiracy they said was hatched between a cadre of French elites within the European Economic Community and the Arab League in the mid-1970s to form a strategic alliance against the United States and Israel, and to turn Europe into an appendage of the Islamic world.^[33]

Radio talk show host David Emory claims that Nazi leader Martin Bormann never died and has built a global empire involving, among many others, the Bush family, Hassan al Banna, Grover Norquist, Meyer Lansky, and Michael Chertoff.

Iran's Baha'i minority has been the target of persecution since its inception and has been the subject of various conspiracy theories entailing involvement with foreign or hostile powers. Iranian government officials and others have claimed that Bahá'ís have had ties to foreign powers, and were agents of Russian imperialism, British colonialism, American expansionism, Zionism, as well as being responsible for the policies of the previous Shah of Iran.^[34] These accusations against the Bahá'í have been disputed, and described as misconceptions,^[35] with no basis in historical fact.^[36][37] Bahá'u'lláh, the founder of the Bahá'í Faith, taught that Bahá'ís are to be loyal to one's government, not be involved in politics, and to obey the laws of the country they reside in.^[38]

Apocalyptic prophecies, particularly Christian apocalyptic and eschatalogical claims about the end times, the Last Judgment, and the end of the world have inspired a range of conspiracy theories. Many of these deal with the Antichrist (Arabic: المسيح الدجّال/ Masih ad-Dajjal). The Antichrist, also known as the Beast 666, is supposed to be a leader who will create a world empire and oppress Christians (and in some conspiracies, Jews as well). Countless historical figures have been called "Antichrist" in their times, from the Roman emperor Nero to Adolf Hitler to Ronald Reagan to Javier Solana to Barack Obama. At times, apocalyptic speculation has mixed with anti-Catholicism, believing that the reigning Pope is the Antichrist or the False Prophet. Another interpretation sees the Antichrist as a world leader involved with the United Nations, who will create a one world government (New World Order) and establish a single monetary system. The latter is identified with the Mark of the Beast, which the Bible states that people in the end times will need in order to conduct trade.^[39]

Two nations often involved in apocalyptic conspiracy theories are Israel and Iraq. The former is the location of both the Temple Mount and Armageddon (Megiddo), places seen as important in prophecy. The latter is the ancient location of Babylon, which also figures in the Book of Revelation. During the Gulf War, some suggested that Saddam Hussein had ordered the excavation and re-population of the city of Babylon, thus casting Saddam as an Antichrist figure. Other interpretations have held that "Babylon" in the Book of Revelation refers to another mighty nation, such as the Roman Empire, the Vatican (Rome) and the Catholic Church, or more recently the Soviet Union or the United States of America.^[39]

Bible conspiracy theories posit that much of what is known about the Bible, in particular the New Testament, is a deception. These theories variously claim that Jesus really had a wife, Mary Magdalene, and children, that a group such as the Priory of Sion has secret information about the bloodline of Jesus, that Jesus did not die on the cross and that the carbon dating of the Shroud of Turin was part of a conspiracy by the Vatican to suppress this knowledge, that there was a secret movement to censor books that belonged in the Bible, or the Christ myth theory, proposed for example in Zeitgeist, the Movie as a means of social control by the Roman Empire. A fictionalized contrivance of this is portrayed in the novel The Da Vinci Code.

The Two Babylons was an anti-Catholic religious pamphlet produced initially by the Scottish theologian and Presbyterian Alexander Hislop in 1853. It was later published as a book in 1919. Its central theme is the allegation that the Catholic Church is a veiled continuation of the pagan religion of Babylon, the veiled paganism being the product of a millennia old conspiracy.^[40][41] It has been recognized by scholars as discredited and has been called a "tribute to historical inaccuracy and know-nothing religious bigotry" with "shoddy scholarship, blatant dishonesty" and a "nonsensical thesis".^[42][43]

Although scholarship has shown the picture presented by Hislop to be absurd and based on an exceedingly poor understanding of historical Babylon and its religion, his book remains popular among some fundamentalist Christians.^[40] The book's thesis has also featured prominently in the conspiracy theories of groups such as The Covenant, The Sword, and the Arm of the Lord^[44] and other conspiracy theorists.^[45]

Although extensively footnoted, giving the impression of reliability, commentators (in particular Ralph Woodrow) have stated that there are numerous misconceptions, fabrications and grave factual errors in the document, and that this book follows the line of thought of works like: Martin Luther – On the Babylonian Captivity of the Church (1520), Titus Oates – An Exact Discovery of the Mystery of Iniquity as it is now in Practice amongst the Jesuits (1679), Conyers Middleton – Letter from Rome (1729).^[46]

• Vril Society Conspiracy which suggests that a secret form of energy, called "Vril", is used and controlled by a secret subterranean society of matriarchal socialist utopian superior beings. The theory also claims that Nazi Germany used this technology to create advanced aircraft (flying saucers).^{[citation needed]}
• A typical suppressed invention story is that of the incredibly efficient automobile carburetor, whose inventor was supposedly killed or hounded into obscurity by petroleum companies desirous to protect their business from an engine that would make their product obsolete. It has been claimed that the Elsbett diesel engine running on plant oil had to put up against unfair competition practices.^{[citation needed]}
• The documentary Who Killed the Electric Car? alleged that electric car technology has been largely suppressed by big oil and gas firms. The first suppression of such occurred shortly after the turn of the 20th century (in 1899 the world's land speed record was set by an electric car at 65 mph); the second time was in 1913–1914 when the same interests sabotaged Henry Ford's and Thomas Edison's attempt to produce an 'inexpensive' electric car.^{[citation needed]}
• Inventor Nikola Tesla has been the object of several conspiracy theories, with claims relating to revolutionary energy generation and distribution technologies which may or may not have been utilised by "HAARP", an American military-funded research program. While the technology Tesla discovered was real and exists today, his discoveries have often been linked to such pseudoscience as Wilhelm Reich's "orgone" generator which was supposedly suppressed by the establishment.^{[citation needed]}
• The Phoebus cartel set up in 1924 certainly seems to have stopped competition in the light bulb industry for some years^{[neutrality is disputed]}, and has been accused of preventing technological advances that would have produced longer-lasting light bulbs.^[47] However, the Phoebus cartel also features in Thomas Pynchon's fictional Gravity's Rainbow, which has led some to blur fact and fiction.^{[citation needed]} The document Light Bulb Conspiracy claimed that the Phoebus cartel deliberately limited the expected lifetime of a light bulb to 1000 hours. However, 1000 hours was a reasonable optimum life expectancy for most bulbs.^[48] A longer lifetime can be obtained only at the expense of efficiency: more electricity is wasted as heat and less light is obtained.^[48]

• Free energy suppression^{[citation needed]}

• Philadelphia Experiment – A supposed attempt to turn a U.S. Navy warship invisible that allegedly caused severe harm to on-board crew members. According to official sources, the experiment's actual goal was only to make the ship invisible to torpedoes, through degaussing technology and other methods.^{[citation needed]}
• Montauk Project – A continuation of the Philadelphia Experiment, the Montauk Project would put government trained psychics (Duncan Cameron) into a program with the intent of mind control, time travel, and even mental manifestation. Although denied by the government, a few (Preston Nichols, Al Bielek) have given lectures and written books on the subject.^{[citation needed]}
• High Frequency Active Auroral Research Program theory claims that HAARP could be used as directed-energy weapon, weather control, earthquake induction device and/or for mind control.^[49]
• Tsunami bomb - Allegations that the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami was caused intentionally by a "tsunami bomb" – a nuclear weapon detonated in a strategic position under the ocean. Some reason that the technology is at least feasible since research into such technology has been conducted by the military as far back as World War II.^{[citation needed]} According to declassified files, top-secret "tsunami bomb" experiments utilising explosions to trigger "mini-tidal waves" were conducted off the coast of New Zealand in 1944 and 1945.^[50] The U.S. Defense Department had even expressed concern about earthquake-inducing technology in warfare well before the 2004 disaster. In 1997 Defense Secretary William S. Cohen stated, "Others are engaging even in an eco-type of terrorism whereby they can alter the climate, set off earthquakes, volcanoes remotely through the use of electromagnetic waves." However, he also indicated other countries might just claim such capabilities as a "false scare of a threat."^[51]
• Chemtrail theory: Clouds behind aircraft, having the general appearance of contrails, but alleged to be chemical spraying performed for some secretive purpose.^{[citation needed]}

• Peter Vogel's book The Last Wave from Port Chicago argues that the Port Chicago disaster was an accidental detonation or intentional test of a nuclear weapon on ships manned by (mostly African American) U.S. sailors.^[52]
• A ubiquitous and persistent rumour in Cameroon has it that the Lake Nyos carbon dioxide disaster of 1986 was caused by the U.S. or French (depending on the version) military testing a secret bomb in the lake.^{[citation needed]}
• According to some theories the crashes of Arrow DC8^[53] and TWA800^[54] were caused by a secret electromagnetic directed-energy weapon.
• Contention lingers over the continuing after-effects of secret British nuclear testing at Maralinga, South Australia during the 1950s.^{[citation needed]}
• The Venezuelan state-run TV station ViVe has claimed that the 2010 Haiti earthquake was caused by US government weapons testing, and a government cover-up took place.^[55]

Particular technologies of surveillance and control arouse concern that has bordered upon, or crossed over into, conspiracy theory. These are technologies being developed by governments which are intended to intrude into the privacy or harm the persons of citizens, particularly dissenters. Conspiracy theories of this sort cast government agencies as pursuing vast technical powers in order to spy on people, control their minds, or otherwise suppress an alienated populace. The plausibility of establishing such surveillance capabilities, by technical means or by a widespread network of informants, should perhaps be viewed in the context of events in former Eastern bloc countries, particularly the activities of the East German Stasi before the fall of the Berlin Wall. The various services provided by Google have also been considered to invade people's privacy, thus enabling intelligence agencies to monitor their activities.^{[citation needed]}

Many governments use intelligence agencies to promote national policies in secretive ways—in several cases including the use of sabotage, propaganda, and assassination. Intelligence agencies, such as the CIA, KGB, MI6, BND and Mossad, are a common element of political conspiracy theories precisely because they are known to participate in some activities similar to those described in conspiracy theories.^[56] Indeed, conspiracy theories about espionage agencies go back at least as far as the 17th century, with allegations the English spymaster Robert Cecil was responsible for the Gunpowder plot of 1605. Some examples include the Pine Gap satellite tracking system in Australia, which is believed by some to be a global database used to track individuals Big Brother style.

Numerous theories have been put forward surrounding Korean Air Lines Flight 007, a Boeing 747, carrying 269 people including anti-communist Cong. Larry McDonald. KAL 007 was shot down near Moneron Island by the Soviet military after it strayed into prohibited airspace in 1983.^[57] These theories started in a Cold War era of heightened tensions and mutual distrust, and have been fanned by subsequent misinformation, deception, suppression of evidence and political events.

Some theorists claim that forced transition to digital television broadcasting is practical realization of "Big Brother" concept. They claim that miniature cameras and microphones are built into set-top boxes and newer TV sets to spy on people. Another claim describes use of mind control technology that would be hidden in the digital signal and used to subvert the mind and feelings of the people and for subliminal advertising.^[58]

The subject of suppressed-invention conspiracy also touches on the realm of medical quackery: proponents of more unlikely forms of alternative medicine are known to allege conspiracy by mainstream doctors to suppress their cures. Such conspiracies are often said to include government regulators, to the extent that a legal decision may be relevant. Some medical conspiracy theorists argue that the medical community could actually cure supposedly "incurable" diseases such as cancer (like the noted Luigi di Bella's medicines) and AIDS if it really wanted to, but instead prefers to suppress the cures as a way of maintaining the multi-trillion dollar "cancer industry". The costs for long-term treatment are generally higher than for a one-time cure. Other medical conspiracies charge that pharmaceutical companies are in league with some medical practitioners to "invent" new diseases, such as ADD, ADHD, HSV, HPV and even HIV.

Some activists and spokespersons for legalization of drugs (especially marijuana) have long espoused a theory that government and private industry conspired during the first half of the 20th century to outlaw hemp, allegedly so that it would no longer provide inexpensive competition to pulp paper and synthetic materials.^[59] William Randolph Hearst is often pointed to as one of the businessmen responsible due to his involvement in the printing industry and his eminence in the public eye.^[59] An extensive study on the subject has been done by Jack Herer in his book The Emperor Wears No Clothes.

This type of theory posits that, with the help of the food industry and the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the medical industry is generating billions in drug and treatment revenue from consumers who have become unhealthy as a result of poor or incomplete diet guidelines from the FDA. It is claimed that as long as the medical industry's dietary research studies are accepted and enforced as the measure, they will continue to suggest a minimum calorie intake above the actual healthy level, and will also continue to suppress any findings of the greater benefits of fasting and other calorie restriction type diets, and as long as the consumer continues to eat at the level suggested by the FDA, the incidence of obesity will continue to rise and the medical industry will continue to profit. Thus, it would be self-defeating for the medical industry to produce a cure for the many services that they depend on to generate revenue from unhealthy dietary practices of their customers.^{[citation needed]}

There are claims that AIDS is a human-made disease (i.e., created by scientists in a laboratory). Some of these theories allege that HIV was created by a conspiratorial group or by a secretive agency such as the CIA. It is thought to have been created as a tool of genocide and/or population control. Other theories suggest that the virus was created as an experiment in biological and/or psychological warfare, and then escaped into the population at large by accident. Some who believe that HIV was a government creation see a precedent for it in the Tuskegee syphilis study, in which government-funded researchers deceptively denied treatment to black patients infected with a sexually transmitted disease.

It has been claimed that the CIA deliberately administered HIV to African Americans and homosexuals in the 1970s, via tainted hepatitis vaccinations.^[60] Groups such as the New Black Panther Party and Louis Farrakhan's Nation of Islam assert that this was part of a plan to destroy the black race. Others claim that it was administered in Africa as a way of crippling the development of the continent.

There have been suggestions that either HIV or a sterilizing agent has been added to polio vaccines being distributed by the World Health Organization in Nigeria. Since these claims have been in existence, there has been a marked increase in the number of polio cases in the country, because Muslim clerics have urged parents not to have their children vaccinated.^[61]

Water fluoridation is the controlled addition of fluoride to a public water supply to reduce tooth decay.^[62] Although almost all major health and dental organizations support water fluoridation, or have found no association with adverse effects, efforts to introduce water fluoridation meet considerable opposition whenever it is proposed.^[63] Since fluoridation's inception in the 1950s, opponents have drawn on distrust of experts and unease about medicine and science.^[64] Conspiracy theories involving fluoridation are common, and include the following:^[63]

Claims that:

• Fluoridation is part of a Communist, Fascist or New World Order or Illuminati plot to take over the world. This notion is mentioned, with comical effect, in Stanley Kubrick's Dr. Strangelove.^[63]
• Fluoridation was designed by the military–industrial complex to protect the U.S. atomic weapons program from litigation.^[65][66]
• Fluoridation was pioneered by a German chemical company to make people submissive to those in power.^[66]
• Fluoridation was used in Russian prison camps and produces schizophrenia.^[63]
• Fluoridation is backed by the aluminium or phosphate industries as a means of disposing of some of their industrial waste.^[66]
• Fluoridation is a smokescreen to cover failure to provide dental care to the poor.^[63]

Fluoridation researchers are accused to be in the pay of corporate or political interests as part of the plot.^[63] Specific anti-fluoridation arguments change to match the spirit of the time.^[67]

Many proponents of traditional, natural and alternative medicines claim that pharmaceutical companies and various governments and government agencies conspire to maintain profits by ensuring that the general public uses only modern medicines. For example, many countries have laws that prevent unproven medicinal claims from being printed on packaging, advertisements, etc., for medicines. Any substance for which medicinal claims are made are deemed "drugs". (See Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act.) Many of these laws originated in part to due to when snake oil and other such remedies were sold without any government regulation ^{[citation needed]}. Proponents of traditional, natural and alternative medicines often claim that since herbs, etc., are of natural origin, they are not drugs and that such laws fallaciously define them as drugs in order to control and ultimately limit or prevent their distribution thus ensuring profits for the pharmaceutical industry.

A variation on this conspiracy is claimed by Kevin Trudeau, author of Natural Cures "They" Don't Want You to Know About. He claims that in the USA, "they" (pharmaceutical companies, the FDA and FTC) conspire to withhold natural cures because "they" can make more profit selling long-term treatments, that do not cure, in perpetuity.

There are theories that the "peak oil" concept is a fraud concocted by the oil industries to increase prices amid concerns about future supplies. The oil industry is aware of vast reserves of untapped oil, according to these theories, but it deliberately refuses to utilize them in order to maintain the illusion of scarcity.

Parallels have been drawn between this and the diamond industry, where it is recognized that a monopoly cabal maintains an illusion of scarcity of diamonds in order to increase their value. Such an idea was featured prominently in the novel Shock Wave by Clive Cussler.

The alleged presence of large quantities of oil has led to increased interest in the Western world in a theory of the origin of oil that was popular in the 1950s and 1960s in the Soviet Union—the abiogenic petroleum origin theory.

The past or present existence of these groups is not disputed, and a variety of theories regarding hidden plots and/or agendas actively guarded from the general public have been proposed. There is dispute as to whether any of these theories are true.

• 1001 Club^{[citation needed]}
• Bilderberg Group^{[citation needed]}
• Bohemian Grove^[68]
• Committee of 300^{[citation needed]}
• Council on Foreign Relations^{[citation needed]}
• Freemasonry (see Masonic conspiracy theories)^[69]
• The Illuminati—Thought of as a secret group attempting to control the world.^{[citation needed]}
• Le Cercle^{[citation needed]}
• Opus Dei - See Controversies about Opus Dei and Opus Dei and politics
• Pilgrims Society^{[citation needed]}
• Royal Institute of International Affairs^{[citation needed]}
• Tavistock Institute On Human Relations
• Skull and Bones—This Yale University fraternity is often thought of as being a secret society producing many financial and political leaders who have control or seek to gain control.^{[citation needed]}
• Trilateral Commission^{[citation needed]}
• United States Government^{[citation needed]}
• BP^{[citation needed]}
• SUPO
• IETF-Accused of ulterior motives for promoting IPv6
• Rotary Club
• The Mafia

These groups are often discussed in conspiracy theories, however their existence is disputed:

• Majestic 12^{[citation needed]}

In U.S. cities that are controlled by African-American majorities, a persistent conspiracy theory holds that Caucasians are plotting to regain control and take over those cities. Cities that are experiencing an urban renaissance, such as Washington, D.C., are particular centers of "The Plan".^{[citation needed]}

A somewhat different version of this^[which?] theory maintains that humanity is actually under the control of shape-shifting alien reptiles, who require periodic ingestion of human blood to maintain their human appearance. David Icke has been a devoted proponent of this theory.^[70] According to Icke, the Bush family and the British Royal Family are actually such creatures, and Diana, Princess of Wales was aware of this, presumably relating to her death.^[70] David Icke's theory, which encompasses many other conspiracy theories, is that humanity is actually under the reptilians; with evidence ranging from Sumerian tablets describing the "Anunnaki" (which he translates as "those who from heaven to earth came"), to the serpent in the Biblical Garden of Eden, to child abuse and water fluoridation.

A sector of conspiracy theory with a particularly detailed mythology is the extraterrestrial phenomenon, which has become the basis for numerous pieces of popular entertainment, the Area 51/Grey Aliens conspiracy, and allegations surrounding the Dulce Base. It is alleged that the United States government conspires with extraterrestrials involved in the abduction and manipulation of citizens. A variant tells that particular technologies, notably the transistor—were given to American industry in exchange for alien dominance. The enforcers of the clandestine association of human leaders and aliens are the Men in Black, who silence those who speak out on UFO sightings. This conspiracy theory has been the basis of numerous books, as well as the popular television show The X-Files and the movies Men in Black and Men in Black II. The X-Files based the plots of many of its episodes around urban legends and conspiracy theories, and had a framing plot which postulated a set of interlocking conspiracies controlling all recent human history.

There are claims about secret experiments known as the Montauk Project conducted at Camp Hero, Montauk, New York. Allegedly, the project was developing a powerful psychological war weapon. The project is often connected to other alleged government projects such as the Philadelphia Experiment and Project Rainbow, both of which involved the use of the Unified field theory to cloak vessels. Experiments involving teleportation, time travel, contact with extraterrestrials, and mind control are frequently alleged to have been conducted in the camp. Preston B. Nichols has authored five books on the subject, including Montauk Project: Experiments in time.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "List of conspiracy theories" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (March 2010) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

War

• That the Pearl Harbor attack was not a surprise event and the US president Franklin D. Roosevelt knew about the risk of a military attack by the Japanese, so he ordered the US Department of State to keep it quiet through late 1941 because he knew that the attack would galvanize public opinion in favor of the United States entering World War II. (See Pearl Harbor advance-knowledge debate)
• That the 1999 US bombing of the People's Republic of China embassy in Belgrade had been a deliberate retaliation. China was secretly helping Yugoslavia in resisting NATO forces, particularly, by providing advanced radar technology which enabled the Army of Yugoslavia to shoot down an F-117 stealth fighter – the first US stealth aircraft lost in action. An alternative theory states China had bought the remains of that F-117 from Yugoslavia and stored them temporarily inside its embassy's basement. US force discovered this and attempted to destroy these remains before they were to be shipped to China. It was stated that one hardened penetrator bomb was amongst the bombs dropped, that bomb reached the basement after penetrating several floors, but failed to explode. Most of the F-117 remains were eventually transported to China, as well as the laser-guided bomb.^{[citation needed]}
• It has been said that Adolf Hitler never did commit suicide and was alive well after World War II because the Soviet Union never found his body.^{[citation needed]}
• The death of former NFL player, and US Army Ranger Corporal Patrick D. Tillman was believed by many to have died in Afghanistan in 2004 not be a result of a friendly fire incident, but a intentional act of murder by the U.S. government, carried out by the U.S. military to boost support for the war. What was confirmed was that the military indeed tried to cover up the circumstances of his death.

Nature

• Several theories are advanced regarding the cause and aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.^[71]
• Conspiracy theories related to the causes of the devastating 2010 Pakistan floods abound, with even mainstream newspapers repeating allegations that India and/or the US are responsible.^[72][73]

Advertising

• There is a theory that the famous "computer vs. human" chess game – between Russian grandmaster Garry Kasparov and IBM's Deep Blue computer – involved cheating by IBM, to ensure they would achieve a victory that would be widely publicized. This theory is argued by the documentary Game Over: Kasparov and the Machine.
• Another conspiracy theory related to advertising is that The Coca-Cola Company intentionally changed to an inferior formula with New Coke with the intent of driving up demand for their classic product, later reintroducing it for their financial gain. Alternatively, people believe the switch was made to allow Coca-Cola to reintroduce "classic" Coke with a new formulation using less expensive corn syrup.^[74] Donald Keough, president of Coca-Cola, replied to this theory: "The truth is, we're not that dumb, and we're not that smart."^[75]

Space

• Theorists claim that the Apollo moon landings were "staged" in a Hollywood movie or other studio either because they never happened or to conceal some aspect of the truth of the circumstances of the actual landing.
• Another theory regarding the moon landings is that the Apollo astronauts found a human skeleton and footprints on the moon. (Despite the fact that there is no way for anything to decompose on the moon because its lack of atmosphere would prevent this.) The theory received more widespread attention when the Weekly World News twice published stories about a human skeleton on the moon, first on Nov 28, 1989,^[76] and then again on Jul 15, 1997.^[77] This same story had been told before in a 1977 novel, Inherit the Stars, by James P. Hogan.
• Soviet space program conspiracy accusations suppose that some failed human spaceflights in the USSR occurred but were concealed by the government.
• Also some theorists claim that China secretly tried a manned spaceflight in the winter of 1978/1979 but it was a failure.

Communism

• Since the mid-1970s, a variety of conspiracy theories have emerged centering around British Labour Party Prime Minister Harold Wilson. These range from Wilson having been a Soviet agent, to Wilson being the victim of plots by right-wing members of the civil service. Żydokomuna is a theory that Communism in Poland during the Cold War was controlled by Jews. There is a theory that Lech Wałęsa was an informer of the SB, communist secret police in Poland.

Celebrities

• In October 1969, a rumour began circling that Paul McCartney, one of The Beatles, died in a car crash in late 1966 and was replaced by a lookalike. Proponents of the theory, which is commonly referred to as the Paul is dead hoax, cite "clues" in the form of peculiar album covers, possible symbolism in strange lyrics, and backmasking.
• John Lennon also of The Beatles is supposed by some to have been assassinated by the CIA using mind manipulation upon Mark Chapman, because Lennon had too much influence.
• There have been many purported sightings of Elvis Presley over the years since his death in 1977. Several conspiracy theories have developed suggesting that he is still alive.
• Kurt Cobain, singer and guitarist of Nirvana was suggested to not to have committed suicide, but was in fact murdered.
• Some people believe that comedian Andy Kaufman faked his own death. Some believe Tupac Shakur also faked his death. Some claim that Michael Jackson is still alive, having faked his death.
• Some people believe Jimi Hendrix was killed by his manager, who would gain $2,000,000 if Hendrix was to die.
• Some people believe that Bob Marley was assassinated by the CIA. Allegedly someone gave him a pair of boots, and when he put them on a small copper wire inside jabbed him in the toe-the same toe that gave him the cancer (acral lentiginous melanoma) that would eventually kill him.

Global Warming

• The Global warming conspiracy theory asserts that the global community of climate scientists has colluded to fabricate a vast body of scientific evidence and literature in order to deceive the world into believing there is a significant anthropogenic component to increases in global temperatures, with the objective of misdirecting research funding, political power, or simply money.

History

• Some New Chronology theories, such as the Phantom time hypothesis of Heribert Illig and the Fomenko-Nosovsky chronology, claim that the conventional dating of historical events is incorrect, and that the historical timeline has been purposely distorted by powerful interests.
• Revisionist history in regards to the Irish Potato Famine was more of a result by the British naval blockade around Ireland when the international community began to send naval ship food shipments and the British reroute those naval ships to England.

Sports

• The "Frozen Envelope Theory" suggests that the NBA rigged the 1985 NBA Draft Lottery so Georgetown University standout Patrick Ewing would land with the New York Knicks, who had the first pick in that year's draft. Conspiracy theorists argue that the New York Knicks' envelope was placed in the freezer so that when NBA commissioner David Stern reached into a bowl containing the envelopes of all the teams participating in the draft lottery, he would be able to identify the Knicks’ envelope by its being colder than the others.^[78]
• The death of Phar Lap, the champion New Zealand and Australian racehorse, was purported to be a deliberate poisoning. There are also several theories concerning the disappearance of the champion racehorse, Shergar.

Electronic banking conspiracy

• The Theory of Electronic Conspiracy is said to be a variant of modern New World Order conspiracy theories. The theory consists of the belief that a secret group has attempted for centuries to reach world domination, even if the result by design would be world destruction. According to this theory, the worldwide dominion has been planned from antiquity and follows the following phases:^[79]

1. The substitution of precious metal-based coin currency by paper currency. This process began in the Renaissance, with the beginning of the use of tickets which allowed for people to have a tangible good (such as silver or gold pieces) by paper—a more virtual, but comfortable, medium which the state was committed to provide the equivalent amount of precious metal if such was required.
2. The appearance of virtual money, with credit cards: money approaches wholly virtual status. Money is no longer a tangible paper- or metal-based object but rather a series of numbers recorded in magnetic stripes.
3. The proliferation of Internet and Electronic commerce: credit cards are no longer required in order to purchase or sell goods and services from an Internet-connected computer.
4. The concentration of the worldwide bank into few hands, by means of continuous international banking fusions.
5. The worldwide implementation of an electronic identity card.
6. The great worldwide blackout. A tremendous disaster will take place when, after a great electrical blackout on a planetary scale, the data of all electronic accounts erase simultaneously. After this event, chaos and poverty will immediately ensue throughout the planet; and civilization will revert to its primitive forms of slavery to survive. This is the last aim of the "secret organization" which has spent centuries guiding this process. The worldwide blackout will be preceded by partial blackouts that would only be tests and "signals" to communicate that different phases of the process are being fulfilled. An example of these partial blackouts would be those that have been produced almost simultaneously in different parts around the world; and, at the beginning of the 21st century, shortly after the September 11, 2001, attacks: the blackouts in the United States, Canada, Australia, and the United Kingdom.

• Korean Air Lines Flight 007 alternate theories
• Great American streetcar scandal

• Tudge McConnachie, Robin James (2008) [2005, 2008]. The Rough Guide to Conspiracy Theories. Rough Guide. ISBN 1 858282810.
• Hodapp, Christopher (2008). Conspiracy Theories & Secret Societies For Dummies. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley. ISBN 0470184086. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthor= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
• Gray, John (2000) [1998]. False Dawn: The Delusions of Global Capitalism. New Press. ISBN 1-56584-592-7.
• Still, William T. (1990). New World Order: The Ancient Plan of Secret Societies. Huntington House Publishers. ISBN 0-910311-64-1.
• Abraham, Larry (1988) [1971]. Call it Conspiracy. Double a Publications. ISBN 0-9615550-1-7.
• Robertson, Pat (1992). The New World Order. W Publishing Group. ISBN 0-8499-3394-3.
• Wardner, James (1994) [1993]. The Planned Destruction of America. Longwood Communications. ISBN 0-9632190-5-7.
• Marrs, Jim (2001) [2001]. Rule by Secrecy: The Hidden History That Connects the Trilateral Commission, the Freemasons, and the Great Pyramids. HarperCollins. ISBN 0-06-093184-1. {{cite book}}: External link in |publisher= (help)