Top 25 Most Popular Conspiracy Theories

We humans love drama. We love it so much that whenever we find it our initial reaction is to immediately tell someone, and if we don’t find any we make it up and tell someone anyway. Besides, what would the world be without UFO’s falling from the sky, shadow governments watching our ever move, and big brother trying to keep you down. These are the top 25 most popular conspiracy theories out there. (list included below video)

We humans love drama. We love it so much that whenever we find it our initial reaction is to immediately tell someone, and if we don’t find any we make it up and tell someone anyway. Besides, what would the world be without UFO’s falling from the sky, shadow governments watching our ever move, and big brother trying to keep you down. These are the top 25 most popular conspiracy theories out there. (list included below video)

25 The JFK Assassination

Some things in life are certain. Like for example the fact that on November 22, 1963 President John F. Kennedy was shot twice while riding through downtown Dallas in his presidential convoy. Other things can be a bit more hazy. While Lee Harvey Oswald was accused of killing him and an official investigation declared him to be the lone assassin, it seems that a majority of people even today (70% in fact) are not buying it. Was there another gunman? Did the CIA want revenge for the Bay of Pigs? Were mobsters upset that his brother was cracking down on organized crime? Perhaps the world will never know.

Big Pharma
We love to hate drug companies. They make insane profits off of expensive products that people literally can’t live without. Not surprisingly this is also fertile ground for budding conspiracy theorists with many accusing the pharmaceutical companies, along with other medical providers, of conspiring to keep people sick by not disclosing various cures that have already been found.

The Reptilian Elite
Popularized by former BBC sports writer David Icke, his theory posits that anyone holding a position of power or influence is actually a blood thirsty, extra-terrestrial, shapeshifting reptile. Since then he has written several books on the topic and not surprisingly been awarded the title “paranoid of the decade”.

Fluoride
There are only a few countries that fluoridate their water supplies – the United States, the UK, Canada, Australia – Although it is done for health reasons and to prevent tooth decay in the population numerous theorists have generated resistance by claiming that the water fluoridation is all part of a shady mind-control scheme put on either by communists or some insidious elite.

Paul McCartney
To conspiracy-inclined beatle fans, Paul is not only dead, he has been dead, since 1966, meaning he never had any of those kids, never got in a fight with Yoko Ono, never went vegetarian, and when he was knighted by Queen Elizabeth in 1997, well, that was a stand in. So how could anyone believe that someone who is still very much alive is actually dead? Maybe its not too far from believing that someone who is actually dead is still alive, which brings us to…

Elvis and Tupac
Although not directly related, the concept is similar. Elvis died in 1977 and Tupac in 1996, which not surprisingly doesn’t keep some people from passionately believing they are still with us.

Princess Diana
While most conspiracy theories are supported by your run of the mill average joes, this one had some serious weight behind it. The father of Dodi Al-Fayed, who was in the car with Diane when their drunken chauffer failed to escape pursuing paparazzi, claimed that the car accident was actually a set up by British Intelligence acting on behalf of the Royal Family. Although the claims were found to be baseless it was all the fuel the conspiracy flame need to keep its fires burning.

Pearl Harbor
Although for most of us it was a surprise, the conspiracy theorists claim that for a select few …it wasn’t. Particularly for President Roosevelt, who having advocated for war against Germany finally had found his opportunity. Of note, proponents often point out that none of the Navy’s three Pacific aircraft carriers were in port that day.

Shakespeare
For years people have suggested the true identity of the world’s greatest author wasn’t really Shakespeare of Stratford. Why? Well ,there isn’t a whole lot of biographical information concerning his life which is what led some conspiracy theorists to believe the works were actually written by William Stanley or Francis Bacon.

Pan Am Flight 103
On December 21 1988 flight 103 exploded over Lockerbie, Scotland killing everyone on board and 11 residents of the town as well. Although Libya has recently claimed responsibility for the attack, of all the items on this list flight 103 has probably been responsible for spawning the greatest number of conspiracy theories.

Chemtrails
When the exhaust from a plane’s engine hits the cold air and begins to condense it leaves a vapor trail also known as a contrail. Some people, however, exercising their paranoia are convinced that the government is spraying chemical agents at its citizens from 30,000 feet hence the name, chemtrail.

Everlasting Lightbulb
Similar to the idea of Big Pharma keeping its disease curing drugs to itself, some people have theorized that the lightbulb industry is keeping the eternal glow of their everlasting lightbulbs from the masses simply to increase their profit margins.

War For Oil
Although there have been numerous reasons, both real and contrived for the invasion of Iraq, none has been more influential than the idea of it being a war for oil. It seems, however, that if it really were the sole reason, the government would have simply gone ahead and cut a deal without all the expensive explosions.

Global Warming
Although it is undeniable that the average temperature of the climate system has increased in recent years, the reason for the increase is a bit more controversial. Is it cyclical, man made, are the thermometers broken? It seems as though there is no consensus and everyone is pointing the conspiracy finger at everyone else.

Jesus and Mary
As the basis for the plot of the Da Vinci code, the idea that Jesus wed Mary and now has a physical bloodline made for a good performance at the box office. The theory itself, however, is loosely based on excerpts taken from the Gnostic Gospels whose authenticity is still being disputed.

Peak Oil
There are some who believe that peak oil is a fraud put forth by the oil industry as a method of keeping prices high. Supposedly the companies are holding massive reserves under wraps to maintain the illusion that oil is scarce.

McCarthyism
Although today the term is often used to describe the act of making an accusation without proper evidence, it finds its origins in the red scare of the 40’s when Senator Joseph McCarthy went on a rampage, accusing numerous high level officials of being associated with the Communist party and ruining numerous careers in the process.

Subliminal Advertising
It’s a very broad theory that suggests governments and companies alike embed hidden messages in advertisements and other media in order to subconsciously affect a person’s decisions and desires. While it’s true that subliminal stimuli are effective when it comes to priming one’s senses, they are not capable of the complete brain control like many proponents fear.

Phantom Time Hypothesis
In 1991 Heribert Illig came up with the idea that large parts of history were complete fabrications, particularly Europe during the Early Middle Ages (AD 614-911). Proponents of his theory believe that this was accomplished primarily by the alteration and misrepresentation of physical evidence.

New World Order
Between Zionist occupations, shadow governments, Freemasons, and Illuminati there is a lot that falls into this umbrella category. By and large though, all these conspiracy theories are tied together by one train of thought – someone is trying to take over everything.

The Moon Landing
In one of the most popular conspiracy theories of our time proponents argue that the moon landing was actually an elaborate hoax and all the pictures supposedly taken hundreds of thousands of miles away were actually taken in studios right here on Earth.

The Holocaust
It seems crazy, and it is, but there are actually people out there who believe the Holocaust never happened. They claim that there was no government policy against Jews, that gas chambers were never used, and that the actual number of Jews killed was many times less than the historically accepted figure of 5 to 6 million.

Area 51/Roswell
Ever since an unknown object crashed near Roswell, New Mexico in 1947 there have been hundreds of conspiracy theories put forth concerning its true nature. Along with Area 51, which the US government didn’t even acknowledge existed until 2003, these theories have formed the backbone of our culture’s obsession with aliens and UFO’s.

9/11
The theories range all the way from US government officials turning a blind eye to various agencies actually assisting with the attack. Certain groups like the 9/11 Truth Movement have led to these ideas becoming very popular and they insist that there is no way the towers came down because of jet fuel alone.

Grand Unified Conspiracy Theory
It sounds complicated, but its really not. The premise is simple – everything is a conspiracy….which ironically includes the conspiracies themselves.