Top 20 Conspiracy Theories That Turned Out to Be True
#20: Nazi Officers Tried to Kill Hitler
Several efforts were made to assassinate Adolf Hitler during the height of WWII. Perhaps the most famous one is sometimes known as Operation Valkyrie, otherwise referred to as the 20 July Plot. Members of the German resistance planned to set off a bomb during Hitler’s visit to the Wolf’s Lair headquarters. German army officer Claus von Stauffenberg managed to place the hidden explosive, but the result failed to kill the Nazi leader. The other part of the plot involved seizing control of the military in the dictator’s absence. Despite painstaking attempts to account for every move, the operation was discovered and the co-conspirators were largely executed. The film “Valkyrie” brought a renewed interest to the complicated story of the failed plot.
#19: The US Air Force Was Developing a Gay Bomb
Top 50 Conspiracy Theories That Turned Out to Be TRUE
How do you slow down an impending army? Instead of dropping lethal explosives, the US military once considered an unexpected alternative. Researchers considered the possibility of dropping a non-lethal bomb full of a pheromone mixture on troops. Although this idea never reached the battlefield, the theory was that soldiers would be too distracted by each other to keep fighting. It’s especially clear that authorities were really reaching with this particular idea. This isn’t to be confused with the theoretical and equally confusing concept of “Gaydar,” which the Canadian authorities hoped would reveal people’s sexual preferences. All the same, it’s crazy to think that any amount of time was spent working on a “Gay Bomb.”
#18: Operation Menu
The Vietnam War affected neighboring nations in Southeast Asia such as Cambodia. Northern Vietnamese troops used the eastern part of Cambodia for resupplying and encampment during the conflict. This prompted a bombing campaign from the US, which targeted Cambodian sites operating along the Vietnamese border. From 1969 to 1970, this bombardment leveled much of the area. This action was hugely controversial given the force and destruction unleashed on the Cambodians, along with the fact that the secret operation was conducted on a non-combatant country. It later inspired Operation Freedom Deal, which was an even harsher campaign that cut deeper into the heart of Cambodia. Details of this scheme were largely revealed in a declassification from the year 2000.
#17: The US Worked with Former Nazi Scientists
These 10 90s Conspiracy Theories Turned Out To Be True...
Even though the Allies won the war and put many Nazi war criminals on trial, that didn’t stop the US from hiring German scientists. These experts were later integral in the development of the US space program and other military improvements during the Cold War. Many of them had close ties and allegiance to the Nazis, making this entire operation all the more controversial. The Soviet Union also conducted a similar operation in an attempt to bolster their post-war staying power. One of the recruits for the American side, Wernher von Braun, is considered among the more important figures in modern rocketry and early space travel. Sometimes celebrating their achievements, the authorities also largely disregarded many of the subject’s connections to atrocities.
#16: The Business Plot Coup
Top 10 Foreign Conspiracy Theories that Turned Out to Be TRUE
Known as the Business Plot, this little-known conspiracy wanted to bring down the presidency of Franklin D. Roosevelt. Although this was a nefarious coup plot, the case didn’t come to light until the testimony of retired General Smedley Butler. Butler asserted that he was asked to usurp the 32nd President of the United States, partly due to his support of veterans’ groups. Even with the general’s revelations, some people question the veracity of certain details and the extent of the planning that took place. George H.W. Bush’s father, Prescott Bush, has been linked to the plot, but it's still unconfirmed as to his ultimate involvement. David O. Russell’s film “Amsterdam” is just one project that fictionalizes the events surrounding the scheme.
#15: Faked Gulf War Testimony
Top 10 Worst Faked Injuries in Sports
The Gulf War was a brief, but notable conflict preempted by the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. The US intervened soon after, using a number of stories to support the decision including the testimony of a teenager. She was known as Nayirah, and her account of babies being removed from incubators in Kuwait shocked and helped sell the war to American citizens. It became a much-quoted story for President George H.W. Bush and other proponents of military action. Later revealed to be falsified, Nayirah was actually the daughter of the Kuwaiti ambassador to the United States. She not only didn’t see any crimes firsthand, but many details were generated by a PR firm. The case has become infamous as a deeply-flawed attempt to sell the war.
#14: Tuskegee Study
One of the most horrifying chapters in American medical history came out of the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama. A research study offered black men free healthcare in exchange for a secretive and unethical observation, withholding syphilis diagnoses from participating members. Researchers from health organizations such as the US Public Health Service attempted to study the effects of untreated syphilis without treating the patients. This also came at a time when penicillin was becoming a widely confirmed treatment for sufferers of the disease. Not only was it a complete travesty perpetrated by the medical community, but it created a genuine mistrust of the healthcare system among many people in the African-American community.
#13: Operation Condor
At this point, it’s well-known that the CIA had a large-scale and destructive influence on South American politics. Operation Condor was one such plan that completely altered the landscape of countries such as Argentina and Chile. By propping up dictators like Augusto Pinochet, the US helped finance coups of various leaders across the continent. The actions that were supported by American intelligence groups created irreversible damage in these nations as thousands were killed. President Clinton eventually declassified more information about the operation and its effects, bringing forth new details about the plans to de-legitimize left-leaning political movements in the region. In the decades since Operation Condor, its lasting impact is still felt in the countries affected.
#12: Bohemian Grove
Rumors have always swirled about secret societies and country clubs where elites meet up to discuss world affairs. In the case of Bohemian Grove, this accusation is at least partially true. Many of the most powerful and influential American figures of the 20th century met at the California club. The place was reserved for people like Ronald Reagan and Richard Nixon, along with a list of businessmen and even Nobel laureates. While one of their precepts involves leaving world affairs at the door, there’s no shortage of evidence to the contrary. It was also the site of a meeting regarding the Manhattan Project. The presence of many US presidents provokes even more gossip about the other conversations that took place there.
#11: The FBI Spied on John Lennon
10 Cult Conspiracy Theories That Turned Out To Be True
When John Lennon moved to the US in the 70s, he became a target of FBI observation. His outspoken political beliefs were already controversial and some US leaders worried that he would influence the next election. With stories swirling about Lennon’s possible tour, which was an apparent attempt to recruit young liberal voters, J. Edgar Hoover put the musician under close watch. Not only that, the artist was threatened with deportation during this period. Republican Richard Nixon ended up winning the 1972 election, but the attempts to kick the singer out of the country continued until a court ruling in 1975. Unsurprisingly, this wasn’t the first or last person hounded by the FBI as their COINTELPRO program spied on many citizens and political groups.
#10: Big Tobacco’s Big Lie
Top 10 Scientific Conspiracy Theories That Turned Out to Be True
Smoking causes lung cancer and a lot of other adverse health effects. Scientists demonstrated this definitively in the 1950s. However, public opinion wavered for decades, with sources springing up to generate controversy and debate. Some suspected that the tobacco industry was suppressing and distorting the facts through a coordinated campaign. And it eventually came out that they were! Together, the world’s largest tobacco companies initiated Operation Berkshire to generate fake controversy and debate. Big tobacco knew that smoking caused cancer, and that nicotine was addictive. They decided not to make cigarettes less harmful, because addiction made them a lot of money. Just goes to show – where there’s smoke, there’s often fire.
#9: The FBI Spied on Political Activist Groups
Top 10 Government Conspiracy Theories That Turned Out To Be True
Those involved in political protests and other activist causes are often paranoid that they’re being watched. And they should be, because it’s happened before and it can happen again. From the late ‘50s to the early ‘70s, the FBI engaged in illegal surveillance, infiltration, and disruption of protest movements and other organizations deemed “subversive.” These ranged from independence movements, to civil rights activists, to feminist organizations. They even had John Lennon, the former Beatles frontman under watch! While this program, named COINTELPRO, was abolished in 1971, others may have taken its place.
#8: The First Female U.S. President
Top 20 Scientific Conspiracy Theories That Turned Out To Be TRUE
While the United States has yet to elect a woman to the office of president (by electoral college, anyway), some theorized that a woman has assumed the duties of the office already. In 1919, President Woodrow Wilson suffered a debilitating stroke. This left him bedridden and partially paralyzed, with some impaired judgment. For over a year, Wilson’s wife Edith aided him in governing the country, to the point where she was basically performing his job in all but name. The degree of her involvement was kept a close secret and Wilson herself denied that she made executive decisions until her death. The First Female President
#7: The White Sox Threw the World Series
Top 10 Craziest Government Conspiracy Theories
The Chicago White Sox are on record for having one of the longest droughts between winning the World Series, at 87 years. However, they weren’t always known for their bad luck. Back in the late 1910s, the Sox won in 1917 and they even had a wonder like Shoeless Joe Jackson on the team. Yet, rumors during the 1919 Series held that the games were fixed. The White Sox lost the series, but the rumors persisted into the next year. Eventually a grand jury found evidence that eight players, including Jackson (though his role is disputed), were involved in a conspiracy to receive money in exchange for throwing the Series. While a trial found them not guilty, they were nevertheless banned from the League permanently.
#6: Roswell Cover-Up
In the summer of 1947, an object crashed down to Earth in Roswell, New Mexico. Theories that it was an alien spacecraft have pervaded pop culture for over half a century since. The U.S. Air Force claim that the object was merely a “weather balloon” only added fuel to the fire. And the conspiracy theorists were right – it was no weather balloon and there was a cover-up. But it wasn’t an alien ship either. Probably. The object was a high-altitude balloon, launched as part of Project Mogul. These balloons were intended to detect sound waves from Soviet atomic bomb tests. During the Cold War, the U.S. military couldn’t exactly be honest about that in the papers. Now whether you think that’s another cover story…well…
#5: Scientologists Infiltrated the US Government
The Church of Scientology is infamously touchy about any criticism of their organization. Their influence over celebrities is well-known, but theories about their influence over the government are also out there. And here’s the thing – Scientologists really did infiltrate the government. In the 1970s, at least 5,000 members of the organization conducted espionage on government agencies and private organizations! And this wasn’t a fringe element either – the founder’s wife, Mary Sue Hubbard, pleaded guilty and went to prison! It was one of the largest scale infiltrations of the U.S. government in history. All of this was done with the aim of destroying evidence that painted Scientology in an unfavorable light. It arguably had quite the opposite effect…
#4: The Watergate Scandal
Top 10 Conspiracy Theories That Turned Out to Be True
Perhaps the most well-known political conspiracy of all time, the Watergate Scandal was unthinkable when it occurred. The scandal began when Republican President Richard Nixon’s administration illegally wiretapped and broke into the Democratic National Committee headquarters. Their aim was to acquire information about Nixon’s opposition in the forthcoming election. The arrest of the perpetrators led to attempts by Nixon and his administration to cover-up their involvement. However, mounting evidence and leaks soon exploded into a scandal that has become a by-word for political disgrace - leading to Nixon’s resignation.
#3: The Government Is Spying on You
Top 20 MORE Conspiracies That Turned Out To Be Real
The common refrain of cranks and conspiracy nuts for decades has been that the government is watching our every move. And it’s not completely wrong. With the rise of smartphones and the internet, the government has unprecedented access to information on its citizens. In the wake of 9/11, the Bush administration initiated far-reaching mass surveillance programs - both foreign and domestic. The NSA’s activities in the years since have included sucking up and storing online history, emails, metadata, text messages, you name it. Edward Snowden revealed a lot of this info with his leaks, including how other governments were also implicated. Few believe that in the time since, governments have just given up.
#2: False Justification for War
Top 10 Health Myths That Are COMPLETELY FALSE
In August 1964, the USS Maddox fired a warning shot as three North Vietnamese torpedo boats approached in the Gulf of Tonkin. After the torpedo boats opened fire, the Maddox sank all three. Two days later, the report of a second attack - known as the Gulf of Tonkin incident - prompted President Lyndon B. Johnson to authorize further military action in Vietnam. For years, people questioned this justification. It was eventually revealed that the second attack was imaginary, based on wrongly interpreted communications intercepts. It wasn’t the last dubious rationale for war. In 1990, George H. W. Bush leveraged false testimony crafted by a public relations firm to initiate the Gulf War. Over a decade later, his son would falsely claim that Iraq possessed WMDs to justify an invasion.
#1: The C.I.A. Conducted Mind Control Experiments
Top 10 Fast Food Conspiracy Theories
The idea of a government agency trying to control people’s minds might sound like science-fiction, but it really happened! In the 1970s, a commission on the CIA’s activities within the US exposed the existence of Project MKUltra, a secret program that used drugs and torture to manipulate its’ victims’ mental states. These experiments were conducted on prisoners in secret detention centers around the world, as well as within American universities, hospitals, and prisons. The CIA also funded brutal experiments involving electroconvulsive therapy in Montreal, Canada. Victims of MKUltra included Ken Kesey and Allen Ginsberg. It’s one of the darkest conspiracies out there, and we still don’t know the full extent of it.
