Most people believe in at least one conspiracy theory. A conspiracy theory usually contradicts the usual, popularly-accepted version of an event or phenomena. People continue to believe a theory in the hope that they will eventually be proven right.
9/11 was an inside job
The terrorist attacks on 11 September 2001 were actually orchestrated by the US government.
The theory is that the jet fuel from the planes was not enough to melt the steel beams of the World Trade Center towers. The buildings were brought down by a controlled demolition.
One reason for the theory’s longevity is that it has been proven that the war in Iraq was justified by using false information about the existence of so called weapons of mass destruction.
A secret group controls the world
This elite group is mostly referred to as the Illuminati and it has been controlling the world for centuries. Its end game is to create a New World Order which will dissolve national boundaries and people’s identities while allowing for total authoritarian control.
Other versions of this theory see other groups in a similar position of world domination – the Freemasons, the Jewish people, the Bilderberg Group or the “globalists” that are often invoked in the right wing media. President Trump himself mentions “globalists” and invokes fighting against insidious “elites” as a battle cry for his base.
The moon landing didn’t happen
The moon landing did not happen and evidence was orchestrated by NASA and the US government to make them seem superior to the Soviet Union and to boost national pride.
NASA faked the landings to avoid humiliation and to ensure that it continued to get funding.
Moon-landing conspiracists focus heavily on NASA photos. They point to oddities in photos and films taken on the Moon.
Another theory is that Stanley Kubrick, director and producer of 2001: A Space Odyssey was the mastermind behind the fake footage of the moon landing.
Roswell, Area 51 and aliens
The remains of an alien spacecraft that crashed near Roswell, New Mexico in 1947 are stored at Area 51, a top-secret military base about 250 km from Las Vegas where government scientists conduct research on alien technology and time travel.
This theory is partly fueled by UFO sightings in the area and the testimony of a retired army colonel who says he was given access to extraterrestrial materials from Roswell.
The US government’s secrecy about Area 51 and the fact that information about it is classified “for purposes of national security” is further proof that the military is hiding aliens or alien spacecraft.
Reptilians are running the world
Famously espoused by David Icke, this is another version of secret groups controlling the world. According to a national survey 12 million Americans believe this theory.
The belief is that the top echelons of governments are controlled by shape-shifting reptilian aliens, who have been wielding power over humans for thousands of years to turn them into mindless slaves.
Chemtrails
The lines of clouds in a clear blue sky are actually “chemtrails” – chemicals sprayed by the government to control the population.
The purpose of the claimed chemical release may be solar radiation management, psychological manipulation, human population control, weather modification, or biological or chemical warfare. The trails are causing respiratory illnesses and other health problems.
The Holocaust never happened
In spite of a well-documented historical fact that six million Jews were exterminated by German Nazis during the second world war there are people who believe the Holocaust did not happen.
Only about 54 percent of the world’s population has heard of the Holocaust, according to a large 100-country survey by the Anti-Defamation League. Only a third of those who’ve heard of it believe the Holocaust is portrayed correctly.