Article created by: Justinas Keturka

The US seems to be the home sweet home of conspiracy theories. From Area 51 and Bigfoot sightings to chemtrails, New World Order, Freemasonry, Illuminati, Sandy Hook, “stolen election,” COVID-19 pandemic… Well, we don’t have that much time for naming them all. But you get an idea.

But wouldn’t it be great to look at the minds of people who actually believe the conspiracy theories and see what it is in there that makes them tick? Thanks to a redditor who posed the question “What conspiracy theory do you believe to be true? What evidence led you to this conclusion?”, we are now able to do just that.

Let’s see what exactly made people believe in one conspiracy or another, and don’t forget that the truth, it’s just out there.

#1

Gallery interior with art displays and minimalist lighting, reflecting themes of conspiracy theories and belief. Modern art exists solely for money laundering. I believe that modern/minimalistic art exists solely for money laundering. It's just a way for rich people to move money around. There's a reason why paintings of plain geometric shapes sell for millions of dollars, and it's not because the buyers are really into shapes

WildlifeAnalysis , Thomas Chung Report

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    #2

    People using smartphones, possibly discussing conspiracy theories they believe in, wearing casual clothing. That the government uses social media to manipulate, and measure public sentiment and opinion.

    Toke_A_sarus_Rex , terimakasih0 Report

    #3

    New York City skyline at sunset, highlighting famous skyscrapers and urban architecture linked to conspiracy theories. Banks and landowners conspire to manipulate urban land prices. Turn an area into a ghetto by marking it as a high-risk loan proposition, denying loans in the area. Property values plummet on a down-town area because no one can sell, because no one can get a loan. Once things are down enough, you can buy up prime location land at pennies on the dollar then re-develop it into being worth the 'real' market value of such a central location, plus what you invested in the actual development.

    00zau , pedro layant Report

    Bec
    Community Member
    8 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Developers are a blight on humanity

    #4

    Clorox stain remover bottles displayed on a store shelf, related to conspiracy theories people believe in. The lines on the detergent caps are higher than they should be so you use more detergent for each load of laundry. It's so easy for them to get away with it

    Shoemagoo52 , Mr. Brian Report

    #5

    Crispy bacon strips on a wire rack, part of a conspiracy theories discussion. The bacon industry is ever so slightly making normal sliced bacon thinner every few years,so that eventually,what was once considered normal sliced bacon becomes thick cut,thus saving the big bacon industry money. My only evidence is the fact that my bacon,which I have always and will only buy from a specific brand,seems to be getting thinner and thinner,more flimsy,more likely to fall apart as I get it out of the package.

    NBr33zii , Didriks Report

    #6

    Shiny black handbag on a wooden table, linking to conspiracy theories discussion. Women's fake pockets are a marketing ploy. Women's pants have fake pockets to make us buy purses.

    Knightskye02 , Laura Report

    #7

    Person working on a laptop, surrounded by gadgets and notes, engaged in researching conspiracy theories. All my devices listen in on me. The other day I was arguing with my Dad about some chicken I thought had gone off (it was frozen for about a month so we weren't too sure but my Dad was insistent that it was still edible). Dad decided to ask Google, and low and behold the related searches even from the first letter were: "Is chicken edible after being frozen for a month" and "How long can you freeze chicken before it goes off". Also, my Mum and I use this tactic where if we need to ring up a company about something and it puts us in a queue, we swear at it. It then puts you on a priority list and you don't have to wait as long. Kinda sketchy on the company's behalf.

    anime_lover_420 , kaboompics Report

    #8

    Desert landscape with distant mountains, evoking mystery and conspiracy theories. Area 51 is not a place for secret government/military testing with aliens and stuff, instead Area 51 is a scapegoat while shady behind the scenes stuff is going on at another military base that the general public doesnt know about. I mean if you were really going to do something in secrecy, would you do it in the place where everyone thinks it is? Hell no! I dont have any specific evidence to back this up but it makes sense right?

    _coyotes_ , Wikimedia Commons Report

    #9

    Person with short hair talking on a phone outdoors, discussing conspiracy theories. I used to tell people that I believed the government listened to or phone calls. Years later some guy named Snowden proved me right.

    Jim3001 , Didgeman Report

    #10

    Portrait of Mona Lisa with a serene expression, often referenced in conspiracy theories about hidden secrets. Priceless artwork and historical documents are replicas. I’ve always speculated that a lot of priceless artwork and historical documents are actually replicas or copies. Obviously a painting by a world-famous artist using a very specific technique would be very hard to fake, and I don’t think that every art scholar in the world is paid off in some grand conspiracy. Rather, I just think that either the national treasures never left their vaults or that some national treasures actually were lost to history but they were copied.

    LeatherAir , Wikimedia Commons Report

    #11

    Round wall clock indicating 10:10, related to conspiracy theories, with a Scandinavian design element. The countdown timers on ads for games or streaming services are actually longer than seconds. Seems too long sometimes.

    danielle8088 , John Johnston Report

    #12

    Movie poster for Disney's "Frozen," featuring Olaf and characters in snow. Conspiracy theories explored in related content. Disney only named a movie Frozen to distract from 'frozen head' Google searches. That Disney made a movie named Frozen so that when people google things like 'frozen' and 'Disney' together, info about the movie comes up instead of stories about Walt Disney’s frozen head.

    g_stokes12 , disney Report

    #13

    Sunny forest clearing with mysterious stone structure, evoking conspiracy theories. UFO sightings are just humans from the future on a time-traveling safari. All the UFO sightings throughout history are just humans from the future on a time-traveling safari meant to observe how we were in the past. They are supposed to keep out of sight, but thanks to human/mechanical errors, there have been hiccups with their cloaking which have resulted in being seen. That's why there have always been so many reports of them throughout history, but there has never been an attack. It's just us. Also the reason why we don't see as many examples of UFOs now even though pretty much everyone has a camera is because people are not that interested in this time period since we already document aspects of human life all the time.

    -eDgAR- , Wikimedia Commons Report

    #14

    Floral-patterned fabric in close-up, displaying vintage design style with pink roses on blue background. I believe in the mattress store conspiracy, so the conspiracy is that mattress stores are for money laundering. I went onto google maps and typed in ‘mattress stores near me’. There were 4 MATTRESS STORES IN THE SAME SHOPPING CENTER. There was a road that had 5 mattress stores less than a mile apart. So I definitely believe in it.

    idk1010101 , romana klee Report

    #15

    Lip balm close-up, part of a discussion on believable conspiracy theories, with visible brand text. I believe that chapstick causes lips to become more dry a couple hours after usage. I base this on the fact that my lips are more dry 5 hours after using chapstick than 2 days after using it

    sharvey4994 , Tools of Men Report

    #16

    White wireless earbuds with charging case on a gray surface, related to conspiracy theories people believe in. Apple started the AirPod memes. I believe that Apple started the 'wearing AirPods = cool/rich' meme intentionally to boost sales. They became the best-selling wireless earbuds worldwide after the meme.

    superflyjasper , Maurizio Pesce Report

    See Also on Bored Panda
    #17

    Malaysia Airlines jet taking off, associated with popular conspiracy theories among believers. Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 wasn't an accident. There were definitely external forces that catalyzed its disappearance. The flight path was diverted many times and there was a lot of shady stuff about some of the passengers and the pilot of Flight 370. We may never know unless the plane is found.

    AnsweringQuestions4G , Wikimedia Commons Report

    #18

    I'm sorry, I can't help with identifying the person in this image. Michael Jordan's father was murdered in retribution for Jordan not paying off massive gambling debt. Jordan didn't retire and then come back, he was suspended for gambling. In the mid 90's, Michael Jordan was an industry. The truth about his gambling habits may have cost a lot of people a lot of money, so the cover story was presented.

    duh_metrius , Wikimedia Common Report

    #19

    Tinder notifications on a phone screen, showing new matches with heart emojis. Tinder gives fake 'You got a new match!' notifications to get you to swipe more. I have a theory that Tinder gives fake 'You got a new match!' notifications so people get excited and open Tinder, which leads them to swipe more.

    BatSwinger Report

    Kurt Ramsey
    Community Member
    8 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I second this one. I get match notifications that disappear before I can open the app, even though it's only 30 seconds of elapsed time.

    #20

    Soldiers in camouflage gear with rifles in a mountainous terrain, illustrating modern military operations. The US will never publicly fund college because no one would enlist in the military. The US will never add colleges to public funding like they did high schools because then the enlistment rate for the military would plummet.

    Green_Ari , The U.S. Army Report

    #21

    Person in jeans holding a smartphone on a bench, exploring conspiracy theories online, concept of belief and curiosity. The 10-year challenge was used to collect facial recognition data. The 10-year challenge all over social media is actually a way to record and gather more facial recognition data.

    Emdizzle22 , JESHOOTS Report

    #22

    Person at a computer wearing a tinfoil hat, symbolizing conspiracy theories. Bookshelves in the background. I believe that the government probably makes some conspiracy theories to try to make questioning the government seem somewhat crazy.

    luke-dies-at-the-end , Nic McPhee Report

    #23

    Military vehicle with mounted gun on patrol in a rural area, illustrating conspiracy theories involving military operations. I believe the US military went to Afghanistan in order to seize control of the Poppy fields and instead of destroying them they manufactured black tar and other forms of heroin and sent it back to the states. I have several friends that were marines in Afghanistan and they've confirmed these suspicions. The drugs got worse after being in Afghanistan not better or more contained. The USA military is the biggest cartel in the world

    FrolicTheCat_YT , Wikimedia Commons Report

    #24

    Pharmacy aisle with medicine shelves and price signs; linked to conspiracy theories theme. Modern drug prohibition is a "for profit" endeavor perpetrated by governments for the benefit of pharmaceutical corporations, prison industrials, and warlords.

    baronvonbee , Clean Wal-Mart Report

    #25

    Emergency alert on screen about ballistic missile threat in Hawaii, intriguing conspiracy theory prompt. The Hawaii nuke false alarm was a test. The Hawaii nuke false alarm last year was actually the US government testing to see how the general population would react if an actual nuclear war broke out.

    AvailableWrongdoer Report

    #26

    Modern office building of a genetics company, surrounded by greenery, with street signs visible at the intersection. 23 and Me is run by the government to collect your DNA and database it for later.

    RogerPackinrod , Wikimedia Commons Report

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    #27

    Man in a mugshot wearing an orange shirt connected to a conspiracy theory. When Ted Kaczynski (the unabomber) was at Harvard, he participated in a brutal psychological experiment led by professor Henry Murray. The experiment lasted for three years and by many accounts they seemed to have an extreme impact on Kaczynski’s psyche. I think this experiment was part of the CIA’s MKUltra project and destabilized Kaczynski enough to where he eventually went on his reign of terror of sending bombed packages around the country. During the MKUltra project, the CIA collaborated with university professors on these mind-control experiments but a lot of the documentation was destroyed when people started to look into it. TL;DR: The unabomber participated in an experiment that was a part of the MKULtra project that eventually led to him becoming a mass-murderer.

    rolo1323 , Wikimedia Commons Report

    #28

    Head & Shoulders bottles on display, labeled as America's #1 dandruff shampoo. I’m starting to believe anti-dandruff shampoo actually causes dandruff.

    just__Steve , Mike Mozart Report

    #29

    A lit birthday cake with multiple candles being lit by a person using a lighter. Restaurant owners sing 'Happy Birthday' to embarrass you. Restaurant owners know how awkward it is to be sung to in front of the whole establishment, and they do it to discourage people from taking advantage of their free birthday food.

    ThatQueerWerewolf , lokate366 Report

    #30

    Gas station with cars refueling and a visible price sign, possibly linked to conspiracy theories about fuel prices. Gas station owners are the ones putting the card scammers on the pumps. They don't want your info, they want you to distrust pay at the pump so you'll come inside and make an impulse buy. Most stations barely make any money of gas, the money is in the stuff they sell inside.

    biggins9227 , NNECAPA Photo Library Report