Top 10 Government Conspiracy Theories That Turned Out To Be True

It was known as Project MK-Ultra, a secret U.S. government program that conducted drug experiments on Americans, often without their knowledge or consent. Specifically, MK-Ultra was part of a larger umbrella of projects that sought whether or not LSD could be used as a means of torture or assist in interrogation or foreign defections. These drug experiments started in the late fifties and continued into the 1970s. Subjects were chosen from a pool that, “could not fight back,” such as prisoners, sex workers, or patients dwelling in mental hospitals. The CIA had many files associated with MK-Ultra destroyed in 1973, although some evidence was declassified in 2001.

Did the United States falsify an attack in the South China Sea in order to justify a more intense presence in the Vietnam War? Yes and no. The truth is that the USS Maddox was attacked by three Vietnam People’s Navy boats on August 2nd, 1964. The attack was a sound victory for the Maddox, with no American casualties and a scattered Vietnamese fleet. However, the second attack on August 4th was a non-event, based on faulty information and a desire to drum up more support for the war at home. The declassified truth was that the USS Turner Joy fired upon nothing, while the report at the time was that more Vietnamese boats were on the Gulf of Tonkin on that day.

The United States government was very intent on dissuading bootleggers and upholding Prohibition laws during the 1920s and 30s. They were so intent, in fact, that they even took to poisoning their own people. The process was known as denaturation of industrial alcohols, and it basically means adding dangerous chemicals to ethyl alcohol, so that it couldn’t be used to produce booze. The Department of the Treasury actively pressured this process to the point where it’s alleged that over ten thousand people died from ingesting denatured alcohol. It’s incredible to think that a country would actively poison its populace in this way, but here, truth is stranger than fiction.

You may have heard the term “false flag operation” in recent years, but do know what it actually means? It’s an old naval technique commonly used by pirates, with the intent of disguising one’s true intentions by committing to an act of misdirection. Operation Northwoods was one such event that almost came to fruition, acts of home-grown terrorism designed to drum up support for military action against Cuba during the Cold War. The plan was for the CIA to engage in terrorism upon American targets, before then blaming the actions on the Cuban government. Thankfully, President John F. Kennedy shot this plan down before it could come to pass.

It was a scandal that rocked the Reagan Administration during the 1980s, secret back-door dealings of military arms that led to finger-pointing, excuses and depositions. The Iran-Contra Affair dealt with the United States illegally funneling weapons to the government of Iran, despite an embargo being placed on the country during this time. The money from those arms was then intended to fight communism in Nicaragua, funding the right-wing Contra groups that were accused of numerous assaults to human rights, as well as acts of terrorism. There were other elements to the affair, as well, including how much Reagan knew about the Contra money, as well as the proposed “arms for hostages” trades with Iran.

The Bush Family has a long political history, both with Governor Jeb Bush, as well as former Presidents George W. and George Herbert Walker. The latter’s father, Prescott Bush, was a particularly interesting figure in American political history, although perhaps not for what you might think. The former senator of Connecticut was allegedly involved in something called the “Business Plot,” a conspiracy to overthrow President Franklin Delano Roosevelt via a coup d'état, and install a dictator in his place. It should be said that opinions differ as to how far discussion of this plot went, and the level of involvement Prescott Bush possessed, but one thing’s for sure: this was almost a very dark day in American history.

It only took three years for the purpose of Project Sunshine to be revealed to the public, but by then, the damage had already been done. The research performed by Project Sunshine was intended to measure the effects of radioactivity upon society at large, specifically in the aftermath of the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki during World War II. Unfortunately, the way in which this research was conducted is nothing short of disgraceful. Basic body snatching was the name of the game here, as remains were quite literally swept up from under the noses of unwitting victims. It’s the sort of crime done in the name of science that sounds better suited to a horror movie.

The Electronic Frontier Foundation is a non-profit organization that works to promote a free internet, and does so while working with a number of companies and groups within the tech world. The EFF has also revealed what many of us already know: that governments seek to know more about us via our personal, digital devices. Specifically, a report from the EFF described how the companies like Apple, Facebook, and Google fielded tens of thousands of requests for personal data, while data brokers buy and sell information about what we buy and how we click on a daily basis.

The projects gathered under the umbrella of COINTELPRO went far beyond mere smear campaigns. No, these were intentional and relentless attacks by the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation against groups they considered “undesirable.” These included, but weren’t limited to, the Black Panther Party, anti-Vietnam protestors, and even movie stars, such as “Breathless” star Jean Seberg. Media manipulation, psychological warfare, and even political assassinations were all fair game under COINTELPRO, and all committed under the direction of former FBI head, J. Edgar Hoover. Legendary civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr. even had his phone tapped by agents, who sought to use King’s marital infidelity as a means to discredit his work.

Some of the conspiracies discussed on this list were actually exposed to the public back in 1975 by an investigation known as the Church Committee. This committee put the plans of MK-Ultra, COINTELPRO, and more on the books, while also revealing some even more troubling news: that the CIA had been carrying out targeted assassinations. What’s even wilder is the reveal that the organization held in their possession something colloquially known as a “Heart Attack Gun.” The weapon was battery-powered and was said to inject an ice bullet that contained a poisonous shellfish toxin. This resulted in death by what “appeared” to be a heart attack, and it’s been conspiratorially linked with the mysterious deaths of everyone, from Marilyn Monroe, JFK, and J. Edgar Hoover himself.