Conspiracy theories: A guide to the most absurd conspiracy theories

The Earth is flat, COVID-19 is a hoax, and the Freemasons rule the world. These theories sound like nonsense, but millions of people are ready to defend them. Why? We analyze the most ridiculous conspiracy myths of recent years and explain why even smart people believe in them.

A conspiracy theory is a simplified way of explaining complex events, in which everything that happens is presented as the result of the secret actions of some powerful group. Unlike the scientific approach, which analyzes many objective factors, conspiracy thinking reduces any social, political or economic processes to the malicious intent of a small group of people — governments, secret societies or corporations.

• Coronavirus and the anti-vaxxer movement

There are several main Covid conspiracy theories that have posed a danger to society.

1. Coronavirus does not exist

Supporters deny the existence of the virus as a phenomenon. Unfortunately, top officials of states were among the “dissidents”. A sad example was the case of Tanzanian President John Magufuli, who, after spending a lot of effort fighting the new infection, fell victim to the disease and died in 2021. At the same time, just a few days before the death of the Tanzanian leader, the Kenyan newspaper Nation announced that “one of the leaders of African countries” was connected to a ventilator due to COVID-19. At the same time, Tanzanian Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa publicly denied the president’s critical condition and stated that Magufuli, who had not appeared in public for a month, was “fine and continuing his work”. After Magufuli’s death, the country’s government also continued to deny claims that the president was infected with the coronavirus.

2. Coronavirus is a development of Chinese scientists

Despite that fact, that coronaviruses have been around for a long time, since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the most resonant assumption for a long time was that the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus variant was artificially created in China. However, explanations for the goals differed. According to one version, the Chinese needed the disease to overcome the demographic crisis and resolve the problem of overpopulation. A number of well-known politicians demanded explanations and compensation from China.

3. The source of coronavirus is 5G towers

A theory has spread across British social media that 5G networks affect the human immune system, making people vulnerable to coronavirus. More than 20 mobile phone towers have been set on fire in the UK. Despite the fact that there is no scientific evidence to support this theory, its followers have thoughtlessly set fire to towers, several of which supplied electricity to hospitals. One such incident occurred in Birmingham. Another arson attack destroyed equipment used by emergency services and several mobile phone operators, possibly leaving some people without hope of being rescued.

The version about their appearance in connection with the COVID-19 epidemic was promoted, among others, by local conspiracy theorist David Icke, who denied the existence of the virus and considered it a fabricated explanation, while “in reality” people were dying from the harmful effects of 5G technology.

4. The creation of the virus was financed by Bill Gates

According to another conspiracy theory, the figure of Microsoft founder Bill Gates is behind the spread of the virus. Also, the famous philanthropist Bill Gates allegedly decided to introduce tracking chips into people’s bodies under the pretext of vaccination – “chipping” — according to surveys, every 14th American believed in such a possibility.

5. Chemtrails and coronavirus

According to conspiracy theorists, chemtrails are traces of toxic aerosols sprayed by the government or interested parties under the guise of a condensation trail. After the appearance of chemtrails in the area, the weather and people’s health allegedly worsen. In fact, the situation is prosaic: the white stripe that forms behind the plane is nothing more than the result of condensation of water vapor from the exhaust gases in cold, thin air. It consists of microscopic ice crystals and can persist from a few seconds to hours, depending on atmospheric conditions. Although some attribute mysterious properties to such traces, their appearance is entirely explained by the physics of the atmosphere and the operation of jet engines.

• Harm from 5G towers

It is also necessary to note the high popularity of theories about the harm of the latest generations of wireless cellular technologies. The greatest number of rumors are concentrated around 5G. Supporters of this theory are sure that 5G technology provokes the development of cancerous tumors, disruptions of the immune system and harms the reproductive system, although the World Health Organization noted back in 2020 that a number of studies did not show a negative impact of wireless technologies on human health.

• Flat earth believers

A significant number of people on planet Earth share the viewpoint of Samuel Shelton, who called scientific evidence of the Earth’s spherical shape incorrect in 1956. Followers of the flat Earth theory exist all over the world. According to them, the Earth is a disk with the North Pole in the middle. At the edges of the disk is Antarctica, which is actually a huge ice wall guarded by NASA so that no one knows the truth. One of the key postulates characteristic of these groups is the assertion that the theory of the Earth’s sphericity was invented to disprove the existence of God, so a significant share of publications in such groups are posts dedicated to evil spirits, excerpts from the Holy Scriptures, etc.

Psychologist Ashley Landrum from the Texas Tech Institute believes that supporters of the flat Earth are not necessarily people who do not believe in science. Rather, it is a question of mistrust of authorities and institutions. According to her, those who believe in conspiracy theories are people who are confused by the abundance of information and have lost the ability to distinguish reliable facts from fiction. Their mistrust extends not only to the authorities, but also to scientific organizations such as NASA, which (according to the conspiracy theory) are part of a larger conspiracy aimed at preventing the truth about the flat Earth from being revealed.

• Moon Conspiracy

In 1976, American writer Bill Kaysing published a book, We Never Went to the Moon, in which he argued that all Apollo astronaut flights were faked, and that those scientists and astronauts who spoke out against the global deception were eliminated. The main claims were as follows: the technology did not allow sending a man to the Moon; there are no stars in the photographs taken there; a waving flag is visible in the film, which cannot happen in a vacuum; a crater should have formed after the landing, which is not observed.

At the same time, according to a study published in PlOS ONE, more than 400,000 conspirators would have been needed to fake the Moon landing, which makes the conspiracy unlikely to have lasted more than four years. However, even despite numerous refutations, the theory of a fake lunar landing continues to live, sharing the fate of other pseudoscientific myths such as the flat Earth. As Jack Singal, a professor of physics at the University of Richmond (USA), notes, this theory is especially persistent among “advanced” conspiracy theorists. For them, denial of the moon landing is not just a curious fact, but an important element of a holistic alternative worldview that is virtually impossible to shake with external arguments. This phenomenon shows how deeply alternative worldviews can take root, especially when they become part of a personal identity and worldview system.

• Freemasonic conspiracy

One of the most popular myths is that the world is ruled by Freemasons. This secret society of stonemasons has managed to remain mysterious for several centuries. That is why there are so many conspiracy theories and rumors around them. Here are some: Freemasons rule the world; Freemasons worship the devil; Freemasons cooperate with reptilians, etc.

In fact, the secrecy factor played a cruel joke on the Masonic order, since access to Masonic lodges is closed to outsiders, and this leads to the idea that members of the order are up to something terrible. And many seriously believe that all this is really true. The paradox of Freemasonry is that its traditional secrecy and ritualism, originally conceived to create an atmosphere of spiritual brotherhood, have become the basis for the most incredible suspicions. In reality, as researchers note, Masonic “secrets” are more symbolic in nature, being a form of sacralization of comradely bonds, and not a tool for concealing sinister plans. Having emerged in the Age of Enlightenment as an alternative to traditional religious institutions, Freemasonry did indeed adopt some external attributes of religiosity, but never developed the dangerous theological doctrines attributed to it by conspiracy theorists.

• Blue Ray

According to this popular conspiracy theory, Blue Beam is a project developed by NASA and the UN. The project involves the creation of a one-world state (New World Order), controlled by a one-world government that will control all aspects of people’s lives.

The Blue Beam project was first announced in 1994 by independent Canadian journalist Serge Monast, who gave a report at the Quebec Free Press Center entitled “NASA’s Blue Beam Project.” He said that he received inside information from journalists for his investigation in the form of a US Department of Defense program to create concentration camps. During the investigation, he allegedly learned that there is a most complex plan to deceive all of humanity, behind which stands NASA, the UN, and the US Government, seeking to make people disillusioned with their own religious beliefs in order to then introduce the New Age religion everywhere — the very one that will be necessary in order to proclaim the Messiah and establish the New World Order.

“The entire space program was created only to make people believe in aliens, and the camps are needed for those who recognize the deception and will not submit to the new world order,” Serge Monast said in an interview.

Why do we believe in conspiracy theories?

• An over-engineered “intention detector.” The human brain is evolutionarily programmed to look for patterns and intentions even where they don’t exist.
• Fear of uncertainty and the need for control. In times of crisis (pandemics, wars, economic upheavals), people experience “cognitive dissonance” and look for simple explanations. Conspiracy theories provide the illusion of understanding and control. A study by Karen Douglas from the University of Kent showed that people with high levels of anxiety and a sense of powerlessness are more likely to believe in conspiracies.
• Confirmation bias. People tend to look for information that confirms their views and ignore refutations. For example, supporters of the “moon landing conspiracy” interpret the lack of evidence of falsification as evidence of a careful cover-up.
• Proportionality bias. Major events (such as the Kennedy assassination) seem too significant to be the result of an individual’s actions — hence the belief in an “intelligence conspiracy.”
• The need for belonging. People who feel socially isolated are more likely to join conspiracy communities. These groups provide a sense of exclusivity (“we know the truth”) and psychological support.

Over the past two decades, representatives of various fields of science have been studying the phenomenon of conspiracy theories. As it turns out, the phenomenon is not so marginal. Conspiracy theories are not just “nonsense”, but a complex adaptive response to uncertainty. Understanding these mechanisms helps not only to explain, but also to prevent the harmful consequences of the spread of conspiracy theories.

The fight against conspiracy theories is not just an intellectual dispute, but a matter of public safety. When false ideas like the “vaccine autism” myth or HIV denialism gain currency, the result is real human tragedy — from outbreaks of preventable diseases to hundreds of thousands of deaths, as happened in South Africa during the Mbeki era. Education and critical thinking remain key tools to counteract this danger.