Hi friends! Happy Fri-YAY! And a Happy Matariki (Mānawatia a Matariki) to those celebrating back in New Zealand (isn't it wonderful that that's now a public holiday). I sure think so! Anyway, I was trying to look at New Zealand mysteries for this week's Freaky Friday Files but I just haven't been able to find anything that I haven't already covered (like I've done a few unsolved mysteries back when I did daily blogs, haunted places in NZ, and two posts on cults in NZ: 1 & 2). So I thought I'd do something that I haven't really covered yet and that's 5 of the most popular conspiracy theories EVER!
TW: some of these conspiracy theories discuss child p*rn, deaths, and aliens. Please read at your own risk and discretion. If you are after something lighter, check out my Joyful June 2024 Life Updates.
The 5 Conspiracy Theories we are going to cover today are:
First, what's a conspiracy theory? According to Wikipedia, a conspiracy theory is "an explanation for an event or situation that asserts the existence of a conspiracy by powerful and sinister groups, often political in motivation, when other explanations are more probable." One example of a REAL conspiracy theory (i.e., it ended up being true) was Watergate.
Why are conspiracy theories popular? Or a better question is why are we attracted to conspiracy theories? Well, let me break it down for you sociologically (or in bullet points because that's the best way to learn):
Fear/the need for stability - as humans, we get scared easily and we like to be in control and always "in the know", we look for solutions in stressful and awful situations, so finding a simple answer is often a way to feel less afraid and in control.
Confirmation bias and echo chambers - I think this one is self-explanatory but if you start to form a belief, you will usually go out of your way to defend it and if you're looking for something online, you're likely going to find it. In turn, people can get stuck in echo chambers of information and not get out of that worldview.
Knowledge and power - when we discover something that isn't in mainstream media, they may feel powerful and knowledgeable and like they're privy to some new knowledge not everyone knows yet (even if it's untrue).
Not visiting a wide range of sources to identify correct information - always look elsewhere to avoid the echo chamber effect!
It can even go further sociologically with people who are more likely to believe in conspiracy theories being on "the losing side of political issues, a lower social status, experiencing social ostracism, and prejudiced against the enemy."
I don't want to go too much deeper into the sociology of conspiracy theories because I feel like then we just wouldn't get to 5 of the most popular conspiracy theories at all but I do want to say that social media may play an important role in the spread of misinformation and conspiracy theories (remember 2020?) Yeah, that was a time!
Conspiracy Number 1: Princess Diana's Death wasn't an accident
Princess Diana tragically passed away in a car accident in Paris on the 31st August 1997 just one year after her divorce from Prince Charles (feels weird to say King still). Theories emerged that this death was no accident (and I honestly wouldn't put it past the royals).
At the time, the princess was dating an Egyptian film producer Dodi Fayed who also tragically passed away in the same car accident (I believe that Fayed was also still with Kelly Fisher at the time but I'm not 100% sure). Anyway, there was a whole lawsuit but let's move on to the actual conspiracy theory part.
Fayed was allegedly going to propose to Princess Diana at the end of this particular night but I think Princess Diana wanted to end things (this sounds like a lot of juicy drama we'll never know the answer to). In a witness statement after the crash, Fayed's father claimed that the two were killed because the monarchy couldn't stand the thought of Princess Diana's two children having a stepfather who was both Egyptian and Muslim.
The second theory is about the drunk limo driver Henri Paul intentionally crashing the car. This theory emerged because he was head of security at the Ritz Hotel in Paris (where the princess was staying) and that he was on the payroll of some sort of intelligence (either in France or the UK or both).
One more theory is the belief that Princess Diana's medical care following the car crash was deliberately sabotaged due to differences in emergency care. The princess was treated at the sign and not transferred to a hospital, hence why some people think is some sort of proof she was "purposefully killed". However, once she was transferred to a hospital, she passed away there.
Some other "smaller" theories include: Princess Diana was pregnant (however this was ruled as false), Princess Diana believed she was going to be killed by the establishment, there was something wrong with the car (a Mercedes) the Princess was driving in, and that bright vehicles and strange flashes were on the road.
I don't really know what I think, I think it is possible that one or more of these conspiracy theories are true, but it's probably more likely that her death was just caused by negligent driving and the caridac arrest following the crash. You can read more "here." What I find most interesting about this though is the collective behaviour following the announcement of Princess Diana's passing where on a global scale, people mourned collectively.
I also heard somewhere that it might be possible that this was faked and she's still alive, but I feel like someone would have seen her LOL. Moving on!
Conspiracy Number 2: The Flat Earth Theory
Oh gosh, what have I got into here? I just don't know how people believe this one, well actually I can if we argue from the sense of belonging and community side but that's not why we're here today. If you don't know what the flat earth theory is, then you are one lucky being. Essentially, the flat earth theory is a theory that posits that the earth is flat (not a sphere, not found, flat and a disc). This theory has been scientifically disproven. However, A LOT of people still believe it. Often, the younger generation and people who are highly skeptical of science are the ones who are more likely to believe in the flat earth theory. I would say this also ties into some issues when it comes to things like vaccines because if you're already skeptical, why would you get vaccinated? PLEASE GET YOUR VACCINES!
Flat Earthers even have International Conferences - I personally find this so weird. My bias is so bad here, I'm sorry. If you do wanna find out more (which, I hope you don't, you can check out Netflix's Documentary Behind The Curve.
Conspiracy Number 3: The Moon Landing was Fake
Okie, this one is kinda fun because once I read a whole book about how someone disproved every single conspiracy theory about the moon landing to show that it was real. But it's just so funny what people come up with.
In 1969, Apollo 11 landed on the Moon - the first spacecraft where humans stepped out onto the moon (tbh nothing much was there so why would they go back + there has been a lot of geopolitical change and tensions since then so what countries are worrying about the moon)?
Apparently, at least 30% of Americans believed the moon landing was fake in the 1970s (I think this number has dropped significantly since then). So how did they "fake" it?
One satirical alternative reality book was released We Never Went to the Moon: America's Thirty Billion Dollar Swindle by William Kaysing and as he was writing it, he started to fully believe that no one actually went to the moon. The idea of this book was that the Moon landing was shot in Nevada's Area 51.
Shadows in the photos "prove" it was fake (lolwut) because they weren't parallel.
The Apollo astronauts would not have been able to survive the Earth's radiation field (but they did because they partook in something known as firewalking - i.e., don't linger in radiation spots too long).
There are no stars in the photos - well duh it was daytime on the moon so the sun would have blocked any stars.
The flag was waving but a pole was added to it to make it fly.
My brain hurts.
Conspiracy Number 4: QAnon + Pizzagate
This one is SOOO illogical that my brain hurts so much BUT also not that illogical considering Jeffrey Epstein's island and all of that. Anyway, Pizzagate is a conspiracy theory that went viral in 2016 during the election time. This theory posited that the NYPD had discovered a p*doph*lia ring linked to members of the Democratic Party while searching through former politician Anthony Weiner's emails.
In 2016, Hilary Clinton's campaign chair John Podesta fell victim to a phishing attack (his emails were hacked), and those emails were released by WikiLeaks in November 2016 - interesting timing as I write this post as Julian Assange is now a free man. Anyway, the content of these "fake" emails was coded messages that linked really high-ranking government officials with child s*x rings and human trafficking. Carter (2022) writes "Podesta writes about possibly holding a fundraiser at the DC pizzeria Comet Ping Pong, and mentions ordering cheese pizza. These seemingly innocuous details became fuel for the wild conspiracy that Comet Ping Pong was the headquarters of a child s*x-trafficking ring run by Democratic leaders, including Clinton and Podesta. Cheese pizza, theorists claimed, actually meant ch*ld p*rnography." Apparently, this code was something only insiders could decipher.
Arguably, well IMO, the worst part about this conspiracy theory, is the man who went into the pizzeria with a gun to "investigate" this ring only to find absolutely nothing and still fired his gun at a locked door before surrendering to authorities. The owner of the pizzeria and some of his staff also received d*ath threats when all of this was going on. The gunman received a 4-year jail sentence.
Pizzagate is QAnon's predeccesor. QAnon is a far-far-right American political movement and conspiracy theory that began in 2017. Allegedly, someone or many known as "Q" began posting on online forums such as 4chan posing as an American intelligence officer. Q expanded on Pizzagate, by suggesting that many politicians and Hollywood elites are really Satanic p*dos and that they harvest the blood of children in order to stay young. Q said the only person who could stop them was Donald Trump. Trump openly embraced QAnon as well he had a lot to gain from it. This, in turn, amplified the conspiracy. The Guardian has a really great article that explores QAnon more in-depth "here" if you're interested. I thought it was a good read.
Conspiracy Number 5: Area 51 is home to lots of aliens and government secrets
Area 51 is a military base facility in Nevada, USA. It is a highly classified area and is usually used for army training and whatnot. Operations of what military training goes on here are usually not made public, but they have said that it is an open training ground. So we don't really know the "exact" work that goes on in Area 51 but so logically, let's assume it's all alien and weird sh*t. Apparently, the existence of Area 51 was denied until the CIA and Obama told the world about it? I kinda feel like we knew about it before that though. Anyway. Let's look at the conspiracy theories surrounding Area 51:
Aliens who accidentally crash here and are being experimented on (#Roswell) - this theory emerged when a worker Bob Lazar who claimed to work in Area 51 in 1989 and see aliens. Lazar's education claims were false and he is a known criminal (so he was likely telling porky pies). You can read more about the UFO crash "here".
The area is used for things like time travel, teleportation, and experimenting with forms of mass destruction (if the last one was real wouldn't America be f*cked).
Abducted teens had their heads enlarged to look like real aliens.
Government cover-ups (of what, idk)
Storage of alien spacecraft/UFOs
Development of weather control (wouldn't that be nice?)
The creation of new sorts of aircraft (I kinda feel like this one is true)
Meetings with aliens
Anything related to the new world order
I don't personally know what goes on in Area 51 but it's probably safe to assume it's really just a military training range BUT I do get why there are a lot of conspiracy theories about it - because it was hidden from the public for a long time, it's heavily guarded so no one can get in AND it's probably stuff we don't really need to know.
What do you think? Let me know in the comments below!
Time for some Benji tax xoxo
Hope you enjoyed this post! We are heading away next Friday so I am not sure if I will get to Freaky Friday Files then but I will try my best. Much love, Ash xoxo
Some readings if you made it this far down the post:
Borowski, M. (2018). Counterfactual histories of moon landing. Art History & Criticism, 14 (1), 16-27.
De Zeeuw, D., Hagen, S., Peeters, S., & Jokubauskaite, E. (2020). Tracing normiefication: A cross-platform analysis of the QAnon conspiracy theory. First Monday.
Douglas, K. M., & Sutton, R. M. (2008). The hidden impact of conspiracy theories: Perceived and actual influence of theories surrounding the death of Princess Diana. The Journal of social psychology, 148 (2), 210-222.
Fernbach, P. M., & Bogard, J. E. (2024). Conspiracy theory as individual and group behavior: Observations from the flat earth international conference. Topics in cognitive science, 16 (2), 187-205.
Metaxas, P., & Finn, S. T. (2017). The infamous# Pizzagate conspiracy theory: Insight from a TwitterTrails investigation. Wellesley College Faculty Research and Scholarship, 188, 1-5.
van Prooijen, J. W., Wahring, I., Mausolf, L., Mulas, N., & Shwan, S. (2023). Just dead, not alive: Reconsidering belief in contradictory conspiracy theories. Psychological science, 34 (6), 670-682.
Wright, D. W. M. (2022). Encountering UFOs and aliens in the tourism industry. Journal of Tourism Futures, 8(1), 7-23.
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