# My research into conspiracies.



## Dan C (Jan 19, 2018)

As research for my novel, I am searching for the most ludicrous conspiracy theories on the net. My favourite so far is that Robert De Niro shot Pakistani school girl Malala Yousafzai:

https://www.theatlantic.com/interna...aking-down-malala-conspiracy-theories/309985/

It started off obviously as a piece of satire, but the internet loons took and ran with it. Next up is another beauty and example of the internet buying a spoof posting - Finland doesn't exist:

https://www.vice.com/sv/article/xyd...inced-the-internet-that-finland-doesn't-exist

I've tried to avoid the mainstream crazies (such as David Icke for example) but had to include this rant from Alex Jones: Michelle Obama is a man and killed Joan Rivers.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6UySYaw9Q0

Another video for you. Did you know that Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had Michael Jackson killed to distract the world from the protests going on in his country? (this is actually one of the more sensible videos on the subject.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jsFQbRbsZvI

Finally and, rather wonderfully, is Donald Trump an alien with a monument dedicated to him on Mars?

http://www.ufosightingsdaily.com/2016/07/donald-trump-face-found-on-mars-in-nasa.html

I will keep this thread posted as a kind of light hearted, online reference for my research. Do you guys care to help me? Are you aware of any particularly ridiculous conspiracy theories? The more obscure the better.   


Cheers,

Dan.


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## -xXx- (Jan 19, 2018)

hi dan,

my interest in certain conspiracy theories
tends toward a different type of research,
but if i run across any that seem
creatively fringe, i'll try to post keywords
so you can check them, if desired.

best of luck with your project,


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## stevesh (Jan 20, 2018)

There's a guy who has been calling radio talk shows for twenty years or more to advance his theory that Stephen King killed John Lennon.

http://lennonmurdertruth.com/


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## Dan C (Jan 22, 2018)

Haha! Lightfoot is a loon of the first order! Did you know Stephen King actually wrote to Lightfoot declaring his innocence. Rather predictably Lightfoot used this as evidence against King.

Another little mystery that I encountered on my travels, was the fate of 'Old Rip'.  Named after Rip Van Winkle, Rip was a horned lizard that in 1897 was,  rather cruelly, locked in a the hollow cornerstone of a building in  Eastland County, Texas for 31 years and apparently survived. This tall  tale was all thrown into question by a anonymous letter writer who  claimed that he and his friends had captured a horned toad and secretly  placed it inside the cornerstone before it was opened to the public. Old  Rip had not actually lived in there for 31 years, and the whole story  was a hoax. I thought it was a light hearted story to brighten up what  could potentially quite a dark thread. A local newspaper article can be  found here: https://www.austinchronicle.com/columns ... 17/122282/


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## Dan C (Feb 9, 2018)

And down the rabbit hole we continue........

In 2007 a young girl  of a holidaying British couple was kidnapped never to be seen again. I  don't know if it got much attention in the US, but in the UK the  disappearance of Madeline McCann was a huge deal. The official story is  that Madeline's parents left her in their holiday flat in Praia da Luz,  Portugal and went for an evening meal and when they returned they found  that the flat had been broken into and Madeline was missing.

Almost  immediately conspiracy theories began to appear, ranging from the  police covering up their bungled efforts to child sex abuse rings.  Hundreds upon hundreds of amateur sleuths have, for nearly a decade,  have been investigating every conceivable lead  and the camera friendly  mother and father have been appearing on the TV constantly in an attempt  to keep Madeline's disappearance in the public eye.

Due to the  parent's penchant for fund raising (they have raised over £12,000,000 to  date), their hiring of controversial investigator/conman Kevin Halligen  (recently found dead under less than normal circumstances) and their  constant TV interviews has resulted in them being put under a lot of  scrutiny. It seems there is an impressively large, as far as internet  communities go, group of people who believe McCanns are at least somehow  involved in Madeline's disappearance. Stuff like this is pretty common  place:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=70lUwwaz2ns

That video was actually pretty tame. The further  you look, the seedier the allegations become, with claims that the  McCanns drugged their children so they could go out and Madeline died of  an overdose to them selling her to a cartel of child molesters.

Either  way it is a terrible story that has put me on a downer. I'm going to  type into Google 'The moon is a hologram conspiracy' to cheer me up.


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## escorial (Feb 9, 2018)

when someone says i'm no conspiracy theorist but...i can't get away quick enough


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## kaminoshiyo (Feb 11, 2018)

Conspiracy theories are fascinating material for any author. Some of them are pretty crude and unbelievable, but some are very convincing (even though they are false) There are true ones, of course, but the ones that leave you in that spooky state of ambivalence is the best kind. Something like the Matrix Theory/Conspiracy- which you can't really prove or disprove. Or the God conspiracy. (that actually is a conspiracy when you think about it) Or the aliens underneath the earth conspiracy. 

Some of these lace history and fiction together into a mesmerizing weave. Dan Brown isn't the best writer, but the thoughts themselves are extremely fascinating and have compelled explorers to go around digging in the desert looking for clues to what might be one of the most silliest myths of our history.


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## Jack of all trades (Feb 12, 2018)

escorial said:


> when someone says i'm no conspiracy theorist but...i can't get away quick enough



Would anyone admit to being one?


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## Jack of all trades (Feb 12, 2018)

Dan C said:


> And down the rabbit hole we continue........
> 
> In 2007 a young girl  of a holidaying British couple was kidnapped never to be seen again. I  don't know if it got much attention in the US, but in the UK the  disappearance of Madeline McCann was a huge deal. The official story is  that Madeline's parents left her in their holiday flat in Praia da Luz,  Portugal and went for an evening meal and when they returned they found  that the flat had been broken into and Madeline was missing.
> 
> ...



Sounds like the parents are guilty of neglect, at any rate. But I haven't researched it.

I agree that it's tragic. For the girl, at any rate.


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## hardlyboiledauthor (Feb 27, 2018)

Most of the news is like a big conspiracy theory these days! Elon Musk's SpaceX rocket: someone on the Joe Rogan Show made a humorous conspiracy up about there actually being a guy in the spacesuit inside the Tesla, that Elon had an enemy he launched into space. What a great evil villain character this would make... 

Others that get to me are the Flat Earth Theory and the Old Earth Theory. Check them out, there's plenty of information on the web, but it's a rabbit hole, so be careful what you read into  Best of luck,

Shaun


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## Winston (Mar 3, 2018)

My favorite is that _The Matrix _ is not a fictional world, but a documentary.

Read Plato's "The Allegory of the Cave" in Book 7 of _The Republic_.  The exact mechanism on how we are kept "in the dark" is the stuff Conspiracy Theorists debate over.
The fact we are kept in the dark is just a fact.


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