Top 10 Conspiracies That Were Officially Investigated
#10: Korean Air Lines Flight 007
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During the Cold War, tensions were high between the United States and the Soviet Union. This tension resulted in the tragic downing of Korean Air Lines Flight 007. This airplane was flying from Alaska to Seoul when it went down in the Sea of Japan, killing everyone on board. No official cause was given, spawning numerous conspiracy theories. An investigation was launched by the International Civil Aviation Organization, or ICAO, and while the Soviet Union claimed that it was innocent, it hid important evidence from the investigative committee. For example, the recovered flight recorder was kept secret, which only fueled further conspiracies. Regardless, the ICAO blamed the Soviet Union. It later admitted that it was them, having shot the plane down after it drifted into prohibited airspace.
#9: Princess Diana
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The tragic demise of Princess Diana was one of the biggest news stories of the late 20th century. Diana died from the results of a horrible car crash on August 31, 1997 at the age of thirty-six. To this day, some conspiracies remain regarding Diana’s death, like the royal family allegedly planning the event. Numerous investigations have been undertaken not only to study Diana’s death, but to dispute the numerous conspiracy theories. A French investigation put sole responsibility on the inebriated driver, Henri Paul. The British Metropolitan Police also opened Operation Paget, with the hopes of conducting their own independent investigation. Blame was again placed on Paul and the pursuing paparazzi. Neither investigation blamed the royal family.
#8: The Satanic Panic
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Religious moral panics may seem like a thing of the distant past, but it was occurring as recently as the 1980s. People were very concerned about the influence of Satan throughout the decade, and some were convinced that the country - maybe even the world - was falling under the control of a powerful Satanic cult. Thousands of unsubstantiated rumors and accusations were made, with targets ranging from the influential elite to teenagers who played “Dungeons & Dragons.” Numerous investigations have studied the phenomenon. An official government report in the United Kingdom found no clear evidence that Satanic rituals were taking place, and hundreds of independent investigations corroborate this finding. It was a moral panic and nothing else.
#7: Jimmy Hoffa’s Disappearance
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A highly influential figure in the American union movement, Jimmy Hoffa ran the International Brotherhood of Teamsters from 1957 to 1971. He disappeared on July 30, 1975 and remains missing to this day. Hoffa and his union worked closely with organized crime, and as a result, the leading theory is that Hoffa was killed and his body disposed of. An extensive investigation was undertaken by the FBI and other major law enforcement agencies, but they could not come to a definitive conclusion. However, they and many historians agree with the leading conspiracy theory and believe that Hoffa was killed by the mafia and that his body was cremated.
#6: Climate Change
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There are countless conspiracy theories regarding climate change. Some dismiss the claims as nothing to worry about. Some argue about specific details, despite agreeing that climate change is occurring. Some even believe that climate change is being used as some kind of political or economic tool and that the so-called “science” is nothing but a hoax. However, these conspiracy theories contradict virtually all scientific studies and reports. In 1988, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change was created to assess the dangers. They have not only confirmed that climate change is real, but that we will face serious consequences if immediate steps are not taken to address it.
#5: The Assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.
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On April 4, 1968, civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. was shot at Memphis’s Lorraine Motel and later died at the hospital. The perpetrator was a man named James Earl Ray. That’s the official story, but not everyone agrees on the latter detail. Even the King family believes that a greater conspiracy was behind the shooting and that Ray was not responsible. In fact, a civil case called the Loyd Jowers trial concluded in 1999 that King died as the result of a conspiracy, but this result has been met with intense criticism. The proceedings were investigated by the Department of Justice in 2000. They concluded that the trial was filled with flaws and fabrications, and they asserted that it had no historical basis.
#4: Project Blue Book
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Throughout the late 1940s, the United States was undergoing a bit of a UFO craze. This was especially bolstered by the famous Roswell incident of 1947. In response, the United States Air Force officially investigated UFO phenomena. It was called Project Blue Book, and it lasted from 1952 to 1969. The investigation collected and analyzed over 12,000 reports, with about 700 remaining unexplained. The rest were officially determined to be simple misidentifications of aerial objects like clouds and aircraft. Upon the conclusion of Project Blue Book, they reported that nothing was of definitive extraterrestrial origin. However, that hasn’t stopped the UFO conspiracy theories from spreading to the present day.
#3: Adolf Hitler’s Death
After concluding that Germany would lose World War II, Adolf Hitler took his own life on April 30, 1945, and his body was burned in the garden of the Reich Chancellery. The following month, dental records confirmed that Hitler was dead. However, Joseph Stalin and the Soviet Union spread misinformation and claimed that Hitler was still alive and that he had fled the country. This has resulted in a major conspiracy theory that persists to this day. A major study was later conducted by West German officials, and they concluded that Hitler did indeed die on April 30, 1945. The conspiracy theory was also investigated by both the FBI and the CIA, but neither found evidence that Hitler had faked his death.
#2: 9/11
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Like climate change, there are endless conspiracy theories centered around 9/11. Some of the most prevalent are that the American government knew about the attacks in advance and that the towers collapsed from rigged explosions, not the impacts of the planes. Nearly every aspect of the attack has a conspiracy theory attached to it. These disregard the findings published in the extensive report of the 9/11 Commission. Some of the conspiracy theories themselves - especially the idea of a controlled demolition - have been investigated by the National Institute of Standards and Technology. They were all resoundingly dismissed, and independent structural engineers have corroborated the findings.
#1: The JFK Assassination
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The killing of President John F. Kennedy is one of the most debated events in American history. Kennedy was shot on November 22, 1963, purportedly by Lee Harvey Oswald. However, the shooting has long been the subject of conspiracy theories, and a majority of Americans believe that some type of conspiracy was at play. Numerous official investigations have studied the assassination and have come to different conclusions. The controversial Warren Commission found that Oswald was the sole shooter. Following their own investigation, the U.S. Justice Department agreed with the Warren Commission. Meanwhile, the United States House Select Committee on Assassinations concluded that at least two people were involved in the shooting. However, this finding has come under scrutiny and has since been discredited.
