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Put on your tin foil hat (but like, a stylish one) because we're diving into the rabbit hole of conspiracy theories that don't sound completely bonkers! Forget about typical "the earth is flat" or "lizard people run the government" theories – these are the kind that make you go "wait... that actually makes sense?"

From corporate sneakiness that feels way too real (looking at you, suspiciously tiny women's pockets) to tech companies playing puppet master with our relationships, these theories live in that delicious grey area between skepticism and "hold up, they might be onto something."

Whether it's ancient mysteries, modern marketing manipulation, or the sneaky ways big industries maintain their power, these 35 theories have enough circumstantial evidence to make even the biggest skeptic scratch their head and say "well, maybe..." Don't blame us if you start rethinking everything you thought was true...

#1

Glass cup with assorted bamboo and paper straws next to a green apple, related to controversial conspiracy theories.

Everyone I tell about this tells me I'm overreacting and it's just a conspiracy. But I strongly believe large companies who use eco friendly products around customers only do it to make themselves look good, and to make the customer feel like pollution is their fault when they use for example, plastic straws. When in reality using eco friendly straws barely dents the amount of pollution the company itself makes behind the scenes.

Foohberry , Sarah Chai/pexels Report

Ace
Community Member
10 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

That's not a conspiracy, it's simply marketing. It's been going on forever.

Jen Barr
Community Member
10 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

And plastic bags banned from grocery stores...or you can purchase them? There is plastic EVERYWHERE in stores, just no bags for us!

RELATED:
    #2

    "Wax figure of a man in a suit, symbolizing themes related to controversial conspiracy theories."

    Disney absolutely believed that Hillary Clinton was going to win the 2016 election, so they started building her animatronic for the Hall of Presidents well in advance, and after trump pulled off a victory, instead of starting from scratch they just kinda made a couple half-assed adjustments to the Hillary model and put it up on stage.

    Unique_Unorque , spotastic Report

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    #3

    Laptop, tablet, and smartphone on a wooden desk related to controversial conspiracy theories.

    Planned Obsolescence (if it's still a conspiracy theory). Why does my phone suddenly develop unseen issues when the new one is released? It's not a coincidence. And who even asked for these tech companies to release a new phone every year? We live in a time where technology is now growing at a rather slower pace compared to the 2000s when there was rapid innovation. It's not like my current phone is getting crappier in one year, but wait, IT IS!

    Applies to phones, tablets, smartwatches, basically most (rather expensive) internet-connected devices receiving updates.

    uwhy , Pixabay/pexels Report

    El Cucuy
    Community Member
    10 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Planned Obsolescence is not a conspiracy theory. It's verifiable.

    Roland Nijveld
    Community Member
    10 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Just quality of electronics in general. A TV doesn't last as long as old one did

    Sillywaster Stayalone
    Community Member
    10 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Never used an Iphone, but my first android phone (9 years old) still works, though support for many apps have ended recently and power retention has reduced, it is still in usable as a home phone. Purchased another one 4 years ago, works fine. One thing I can distinguish from my usage pattern and that of others whom I know is that I rarely drop my phone and always put on a hard case even if it looks ugly.

    martymcmatrix
    Community Member
    10 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    This is either a REAL thing, or it's something like a common Mandela effect of conspiracy theories...🤔 🤷🏽 🤭

    joeandy188
    Community Member
    10 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    The same with most products, cars, appliances, electronics. What would the world look like if cars were made to last 100 years?

    Howard Lewis Ship
    Community Member
    10 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I can't speak to Android, but on the iPhone (and the desktop) the innovation tends to be flashy, destabilizing features that no one asks for, that stresses the performance of the device more and more, driving people to buy a newer more powerful device. Do I need "Apple Intelligence"? No. But even turned off, it's just yet another bit of code that may be running in the background, consuming some of my precious CPU time and disrupting some of my equally precious cache memory.

    #4

    MyPyramid dietary guidelines with food groups displayed, highlighting grains, vegetables, fruits, milk, and meat & beans.

    The recommended food pyramid is created by the FDA, but the fda is funded by a lot of certain food industries, poultry, dairy, etc. they in turn made the recommended nutrition based off of their funding by these companies, and not based on a well balanced diet.

    Cock_Vomit , United States Department of Agriculture Report

    Sky Render
    Community Member
    10 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    That's not even a conspiracy theory, the grains and dairy industries were well-documented as having funded the food pyramid to put their items in the "most essential" categories back in the 1980s...

    Katie Allen
    Community Member
    10 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    People get called obese now who wouldn't even have been thought of as overweight 60 or 70 years ago, you can't tell me the diet industry isn't making any money off that.

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    #5

    A person speaking into a smartphone, possibly discussing controversial conspiracy theories.

    That your phones microphone is constantly "hot" and its listening for key words to target advertising.

    Most glaring instance where this happened to me was when I walked into a colleagues office. He had just gotten a standing desk, but one that goes on top of his existing desk rather than a standalone (pun?) Model. That's important to note.

    I said "Nice standing desk, when did you get that?". "Thanks, just today." He replied.

    That was literally all that was said about the desk. We talked about work related stuff and as I walked out and checked my phone, there was an ad on Facebook for that EXACT model of standing desk.

    I have never owned one, wanted one, or googled one before. Yet there it was on my feed. Tin foil hat be damned, they listen in.

    Seannj222 , cottonbro studio/pexels (not an actual photo) Report

    Sky Render
    Community Member
    10 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Mostly AI doing that. Honestly AI has infested way too much of the internet and how it works. Up to and including "news stories" written by AI that are filled to the brim with comments from AI bots designed to reply to news stories.

    Firstname Lastname
    Community Member
    10 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I was talking about how my period was late within hearing distance of my phone. For months now, my ads are for feminine hygiene products, regardless of the theme of the video.

    WindySwede
    Community Member
    10 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Now try to talk about that you'll need some 'Horse jumping obstacles', and see what your results are? 👍

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    martymcmatrix
    Community Member
    10 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    How else are voice commands like »Hey Siri« or »Ok Google« supposed to work if not through permanently activated microphones? Only fools think this is just some kind of magic...🙋🏽

    joeandy188
    Community Member
    10 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Old news, next will be ads based on your thoughts 😂 then if you wear a smart watch, ads based on your blood pressure and sleep quality.

    Ace
    Community Member
    10 months ago (edited) Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    This is one that all too many people like to believe in, but the sheer number of people involved in design and construction of mobile devices renders it almost impossible that this would have remained a theory, It would be very easy to confirm if it were true. Difficult to prove absolutely that it's not, but the burden of proof should always be on those making such claims.

    JB
    Community Member
    10 months ago (edited) Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    You’re confusing very different things. 1st, we need to be clear this is mostly a smart device concern. 2nd, SmartDevice design and construction is hardware + firmware, it varies from brand to brand but probably not as much as you think. 3rd, what governs mic availability/use is in the operating system (OS) settings. The VAST majority of smart mobile devices run some form of Apple OS or some flavour of Android OS. Every device where the user makes use of voice commands via the AI assistant, yep, the mic is constantly on listening for keywords; how else do you think voice commands work? If you think that passive data isn’t being processed and sold, you have been deliberately ignoring all the data scandals. The FACT is neither your device manufacturer nor your telecom provider nor your OS provider will tell you that they process transient and passive data to sell. They don’t have to! They don’t necessarily record it, just forward it to their partners. It’s not easy to confirm because it’s mostly based on hearsay/observation. Proof requires access to the off device algorithms, which are proprietary data. Source: over a decade in telecoms including mobile devices and data. My best advice? Ignore ads, they can’t force you to buy anything. Whatever you want to buy, research, then ignore all the ads that come up because you researched something.

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    #6

    "Warning sign prohibiting photography, linked to controversial conspiracy theories."

    And that Area 51 is a publicity stunt by the government to hide the real testing facility.

    Dahvoun , David James Henry Report

    Lost Panda
    Community Member
    10 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Willing to believe this one more than most of the others.

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    #7

    Underwater coral reef scene, vibrant marine life, possibly tied to controversial conspiracy theories about ocean health.

    That there are monsters in the ocean. We have only discovered 5% of our worlds ocean and I truly believe there is something hiding down there.
    Edit: turns out it's like 9 or 10% now.

    MerryShelly1 , Francesco Ungaro/pexels Report

    Thee8thsense
    Community Member
    10 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Most monsters seem to be on land, in positions of "power".

    Petra Peitsch
    Community Member
    10 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    There are sure many species deep down there, what are new to us.

    WindySwede
    Community Member
    10 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    They could use E-DNA to test that!? https://sv.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/E-DNA

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    Sillywaster Stayalone
    Community Member
    10 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Well, most deepwater creatures look like "monsters" . Just not big enough to harm us.

    hillybilly gourdess
    Community Member
    10 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Undiscovered life forms, yes. Monsters, no.

    Jac Carr
    Community Member
    10 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I reckon we know less than 25% about our earth & universe; probably a lot less actually. We'll be seeing a lot more about "strange" creatures walking the earth over the next few years and also about what we would now consider to be supernatural things. Makes me sound like a tin foil hatter I know but there's already quite a bit of evidence, it's just going to be really hard to get people to accept it.

    Lee Gilliland
    Community Member
    Premium
    10 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    And it is possible that's where UAPs come from.

    #8

    Lab experiment setup, gloved hand uses tweezers on petri dish, related to controversial conspiracy theories.

    Human cloning has already been done or attempted. We cloned a sheep named dolly in 1996, and humans aren't that much different to sheep in their early blastocyst or embryonic development. Some government agency has probably cloned a human and are watching over that person right now.

    MrSexyPizza3 , Paphrag Report

    DennyS (denzoren)
    Community Member
    10 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I'm 100% sure it's been attempted.

    Lowrider 56
    Community Member
    10 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Yea, somebody somewhere has tried to clone a human.

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    #9

    Crowd at theme park entrance on a sunny day, with castle in the background, linked to controversial conspiracy theories.

    The reason Disney came out with a movie called "Frozen" was so that when you Googled "Disney frozen" you would get information about the movie and not websites talking about Walt Disney's body being frozen.

    -eDgAR- , Craig Adderley/pexels Report

    WindySwede
    Community Member
    10 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    The you just search for "Walt Disney cryogenic" - a workaround.. 🙃

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    #10

    Emergency alert about a ballistic missile threat in Hawaii, a subject of controversial conspiracy theories.

    The "Ballistic Missile Threat" that was sent to Hawaiian's cell phones saying, "seek shelter this is not a drill," that was later deemed a mistake, was a real missile that was intercepted before impact.

    claytonisbrown , Apple Inc. Report

    Feathered Dinosaur
    Community Member
    10 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I was on Oahu that day, in blissful ignorance, as my German phone didn't receive the warning

    #11

    Child reaching for tissues next to medicine bottles, reminiscent of controversial conspiracy theories about health.

    This is the smallest conspiracy ever, but - you know how when you pull a tissue out of a box, there's this dust that comes out from the tissue when it scrapes the perforated edge? I swear it's designed like that so that the dust makes you sneeze. And then suddenly you need more tissues...

    Rise up against BIG TISSUE!

    griceylipper , cottonbro studio/pexels Report

    WindySwede
    Community Member
    10 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Hearing Patric Stewart in StarTrek pronounce 'Tissue'..

    #12

    A typewriter with a sheet labeled "National Security," hinting at controversial conspiracy theories.

    That the CIA post this question every time so they know what the general public suspect.

    workingonaname , Markus Winkler/pexels (not an actual photo) Report

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    #13

    Person browsing laptop with images related to controversial conspiracy theories on the screen in a cozy workspace.

    One of my favorites is that the government was behind #ThrowbackThursday in order to get us to digitize and upload pictures that they would not have had access to in order to improve age progression/facial recognition algorithms.

    -eDgAR- , picjumbo.com/pexels (not an actual photo) Report

    joeandy188
    Community Member
    10 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    We can really test our facial/body recognition if we tell everyone to wear a mask 😆

    Lost Panda
    Community Member
    10 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Never thought about this one, but it makes a lot of sense

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    #14

    Person in a white suit, with hand in pocket, showcasing fashion elegance, linked to controversial conspiracy theories.

    Women’s pants pockets are significantly smaller than men’s pants pockets to encourage us to buy handbags and purses.

    mccrayola , Vlad Deep/pexels Report

    DennyS (denzoren)
    Community Member
    10 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I always thought it was more about the fit/look. Like a skirt wouldn't flow as well with heavy pocket items or a pants not as sleek...but maybe that's what they want me to think...damn, I'm a sheep...

    Strings
    Community Member
    10 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    The Utilikilt Mocker makes a lie of the "fit/look" question...

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    Katie Allen
    Community Member
    10 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    the fashion industry is very anti-woman in general

    Nicki Violet
    Community Member
    10 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Buy men's pants! They are made better overall.

    #15

    Woman shopping online at a laptop surrounded by colorful bags, discussing controversial conspiracy theories.

    Consumerism is a massive hoax hiding in plain sight. A handful of sly and powerful exploiters have tricked billions of people into believing they need to constantly buy things to survive. For most Westerners, endless consumption has become an unqestioned state of being. Billions of people have voluntary enslaved themselves because they cannot stop craving "more."

    If people abruptly stopped buying everything except the necessities, it would cause more damage than World War I and II combined. Most of the world's countries would cease to be.

    reddit.com , Andrea Piacquadio/pexels (not an actual photo) Report

    Quarkbeast
    Community Member
    10 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    This is not a conspiracy theory: see Netflix documentary for confirmation - "Buy Now: The Shopping Conspiracy".

    Apatheist Account2
    Community Member
    10 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    On principle I never buy anything that's labelled as "must-have" or watch anything labelled "must-see". I never respondent to unsolicited advertising.

    Katie Allen
    Community Member
    10 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    A lot of people can't even afford the necessities

    Jac Carr
    Community Member
    10 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    It's not a hoax, it's just an industry doing what industries do. We all know we don't "need" that stuff

    martymcmatrix
    Community Member
    10 months ago (edited) Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Not for nothing, the title of my fantasy thesis goes by »The silent desperation of the overbred pet in the age of digital consumerism (during breakfast)«...🤭

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    #16

    A DNA strand made of flowers and leaves, symbolizing controversial conspiracy theories in genetics.

    All those DNA ancestor sites are giving the government your DNA for their record

    Mike9307 , Google DeepMind/pexels Report

    Apatheist Account2
    Community Member
    10 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Obviously. No problem with this - it will make it easier to identify criminals and victims.

    Fat Harry (Oi / You)
    Community Member
    10 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    If you have a friendly government. If you have an unfriendly government, it can be used to identify people with a particular trait found largely among certain minorities. Hitler would have found identifying Jews a lot easier if he'd had a database of his citizens' genome.

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    The Q
    Community Member
    10 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Add this to your conspiracy theories. if you have ever given a blood sample, they have your DNA on file.

    Lost Panda
    Community Member
    10 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    If you join any branch of service, they already have your DNA anyways so... go nuts XD

    The Q
    Community Member
    10 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    We were told it was to identify our body.

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    Roni Stone
    Community Member
    Premium
    10 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Already aware.

    #17

    Police car with blue lights on, often linked to conspiracy theories involving law enforcement activities.

    Cops go on Waze and leave random police sightings to cause people to slow without actually having to stay and check on people.

    mxbnr , Pixabay/pexels Report

    Quarkbeast
    Community Member
    10 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    But then they wouldn't be able to stop people and give them tickets to meet their quota! Oops another conspiracy theory.

    Auntriarch
    Community Member
    10 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Well if they aren't, then they should

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    #18

    Pyramids of Giza under a clear blue sky, often linked to controversial conspiracy theories.

    That in very ancient times people were gigantic and shrunk with the ages. And that those giants built mysterious structures such as stone henge. No real reason to believe it I just like it.

    theBrD1 , David McEachan/pexels (not an actual photo) Report

    Jac Carr
    Community Member
    10 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    There is proof of giants in several countries

    Sillywaster Stayalone
    Community Member
    10 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Yeah, 7ft tall are labelled as giants, more so when the average height was lesser than what it is today due to the availability of better nutrition

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    WindySwede
    Community Member
    10 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    "Trust me, I've heard it from a *social media platform*! "

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    Hell'n Damnation
    Community Member
    10 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    So the pyramids were just giant Lego. Excellent.

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    #19

    Sunset behind nuclear towers emitting smoke, often linked to controversial conspiracy theories.

    The Oil and Coal industries invested heavily in killing off nuclear power as an attractive alternative. These days we have reactor designs many times safer than other methods of generating power, and the waste issue is something that could be fixed with sufficient investment.

    TheDiggertron , Markus Distelrath/pexels (not an actual photo) Report

    Auntriarch
    Community Member
    10 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Ah, with sufficient investment, I think I've found the fly in the ointment

    Sillywaster Stayalone
    Community Member
    10 months ago (edited) Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I like these phrases, "the problem can be solved with sufficient investment" or "at least many people". Bliss of creativity

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    #20

    Scientists work in a modern lab, wearing lab coats and masks, related to controversial conspiracy theories.

    The government experiments on the mentally insane because no one will believe someone with that kind of medical history.

    hablomuchoingles , Pavel Danilyuk/pexels (not an actual photo) Report

    DennyS (denzoren)
    Community Member
    10 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    We do it to animals, why wouldn't we do it to humans.

    Jac Carr
    Community Member
    10 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    That's been going on for decades

    WindySwede
    Community Member
    10 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    See the Vipeholm experiment in 1947-1949. About tooth decay. With extra sticky toffee.. a long time ago though. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vipeholm_experiments

    #21

    Spacious art gallery with visitors viewing paintings, related to controversial conspiracy theories in historical contexts.

    the art world is basically a lowkey way for rich people and companies to launder money, which is why the stupidest most odd of paintings randomly go for hundreds of millions of dollars.

    reddit.com , Riccardo/pexels (not an actual photo) Report

    Major Harris
    Community Member
    10 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    like this one. seriously, jackson pollack "paintings" look like, to me, the drop cloths from some one finished after painting their house!

    Petra Peitsch
    Community Member
    10 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    95% of contemporary "art" for sure.

    Sillywaster Stayalone
    Community Member
    10 months ago (edited) Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Well the chief minister of the my state (equivalent to governer in USA) often sells her child like squiggles for a good sum. Her paintings has no real value both in terms of artistic endeavor or metaphor, except for the identity of the painter. And her buyers include people who were later arrested for running scams. If you are interested, here is a link - https://www.thequint.com/news/india/painter-didi-in-trouble-cbi-quizzes-tmc-on-sale-of-mamatas-paintings#read-more

    Roni Stone
    Community Member
    Premium
    10 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Easily true.

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    #22

    Makeup brushes and cosmetics on a table, related to controversial conspiracy theories in beauty industry.

    It came to mind that women's makeup is actually secretly damaging their skin so when they see it, they'd be convinced to buy more makeup.

    Edit: This blew up. Now my highest upvoted comment is about women's beauty products being a scam. Thank you all.

    Classic_Mckoy , Anderson Guerra/pexels Report

    Sky Render
    Community Member
    10 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    As I like to point out, I've not used makeup since my early teens (barely used it then; never liked how it feels) and look how most people assume a 20-something looks without makeup at 43.

    Auntriarch
    Community Member
    10 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    You don't even need that. If your skin looks smoother and more even in colour with makeup, you will be even more dissatisfied with it au naturel than you were before trying it.

    #23

    "Speaker at podium during historical event linked to controversial conspiracy theories, addressing a large crowd."

    Martin Luther King Jr was assassinated by the FBI.

    Before he even died he was sent a threatening letter from the FBI that basically said stop doing you’re doing or we’ll expose your cheating to your wife. There had been another man called Raul that James Earl Ray had met before who he claimed was deeply involved in the case, he even asserted he didn’t personally shoot King but may have been involved in the assassination unknowingly. Heck even the King family doesn’t believe that James Earl Ray killed King. There’s still more other info online about this than I wanna talk about but honestly from the point of view of the FBI at that time, it makes sense to kill King, he was becoming a big influence in the black community and so to combat that, they could’ve easily killed him and set someone else up like Ray to take the fall

    Real-Gucci , Rowland Scherman Report

    Katie Allen
    Community Member
    10 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I wonder how many famous people were assassinated because of some conspiracy.

    Jac Carr
    Community Member
    10 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Same for both Kennedy brothers who were promoting racial integration

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    #24

    Reddit app icon on a smartphone screen, often a hub for controversial conspiracy theories discussions.

    The Reddit search function is intentionally bad (or not purposely bad but they know how to fix it but refuse to) to encourage more new posts.

    BobSacramanto , Brett Jordan/pexels Report

    Roland Nijveld
    Community Member
    10 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Easier to use Google for that than Reddit itself

    #25

    A hand holding wireless earbuds and a case on a marble surface, relevant to controversial-conspiracy-theories.

    Apple started the meme about AirPods being expensive as a marketing ploy.

    sickb , ready made/pexels Report

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    #26

    "Hands using a coin to scrape a lottery ticket, surrounded by theories of luck and chance."

    Lotteries are actually traps for timetravelers.

    Abraham_Santa , Adem Erkoç/pexels Report

    Auntriarch
    Community Member
    10 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    So we've been setting traps for time travellers for centuries? Do let me know when you catch one

    David Jeffery
    Community Member
    9 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I'm not entirely sure how this would work? Anyone who wins big must be a time traveller?

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    #27

    Computer screen with code and illuminated red keyboard, evoking themes of controversial conspiracy theories.

    I dunno if it's a "conspiracy theory" at this point, but a lot of people still don't acknowledge that your internet searches and social media profiles area absolutely being used as training models by major IT companies. I was a drunk college student and had access to them to run AI training, if you still think you're "off the grid" you're an idiot. Being frank, it's not a big deal if you don't have dark shit to hide, those people are too busy building the new technological world to care what you look at. But don't delude yourself to think people don't have access to anything you do on the internet.

    reddit.com , Rahul Pandit/pexels (not an actual photo) Report

    Sillywaster Stayalone
    Community Member
    10 months ago (edited) Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    This is the basic internet literacy. One is never anonymous, and large part of your privacy comes from the inadequacy of incentive to unravel it.

    The Q
    Community Member
    10 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I know they are watching and I don’t care. I won’t live forever. I used to get spam demanding money or they would revile to my friends and family that I watch porn. They already know I watch porn, so what?

    #28

    Abstract light pattern resembling a vortex, often linked to controversial-conspiracy-theories about space phenomena.

    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 because of 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 many as many examples of UFOs now even through 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- , Kevin Gill Report

    PurpleKU77
    Community Member
    10 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Someone must have smoked a TON to come up with this

    Jac Carr
    Community Member
    10 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    There's tons of new evidence for UFOs, as well as many other "weird" things too; it's just people don't search it out, their beliefs were formed decades ago in some cases and they never update themselves

    Roland Nijveld
    Community Member
    10 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Majority of the UFO sightings are from the USA.

    El Cucuy
    Community Member
    10 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Nope. Bonnybridge, Scotland: Ufologists say this is the world's top UFO location, with around 300 sightings per year. Bonnybridge is part of the Falkirk Triangle, which stretches from Stirling to Fife and the outskirts of Edinburgh.

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    #29

    Motorcade in street with onlookers; relates to controversial conspiracy theories.

    JFK was only wounded by LHO's bullet. He was actually killed by a Secret Service agent's bullet accidentally, which is why there was such an obvious cover-up.

    LHO's bullet was a full-metal jacket bullet which hit JFK in the throat before ricocheting into Governor Connally.

    The bullet which blew up half of JFK's head was almost certainly a hollow-point bullet. Instead of continuing its trajectory like a FMJ would, the hollow point expands after the first object that it hits - which was JFK's head.

    There was one (known) weapon in play which was using hollow-point bullets that day - it was a sub machine gun which did not have the safety on and was operated by George Hickey.

    In the melee after LHO's shots were fired, the theory is that Hickey accidentally discharged his weapon and killed the President.

    The Secret Service could never let anyone know that they had accidentally killed the President, hence their behavior in the aftermath.

    f3m1n15m15c4nc3r , Walt Cisco, Dallas Morning News Report

    Katie Allen
    Community Member
    10 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    there would probably be less JFK conspiracy theories if Oswald had lived long enough for there to be some sort of trial

    hillybilly gourdess
    Community Member
    10 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Exactly why he didn't get to live long enough for a trial. Don't want the truth to get out.

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    #30

    Person at a control center with multiple screens, associated with controversial conspiracy theories.

    We live in a simulation, however, the code is constantly being upgraded. In 'olden times', there were plenty of bugs that were easy to exploit if you knew where to look, thus things like miracles and magic were basically hackers doin' what they do.

    (OK, I don't really believe this is true. I just like it)

    abnormica , ThisIsEngineering/pexels (not an actual photo) Report

    Roni Stone
    Community Member
    Premium
    10 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I love this theory. I don't "believe" it, either, but it's neither provable or unprovable as far as I can tell. Great for theoretical philosophers.

    #31

    Yellow crime scene tape with "Do Not Cross" text, suggesting themes of controversial conspiracy theories.

    There’s an underground PR firm that helps celebrities fake their own death to escape the harshness of the limelight or if they feel like their life is in danger.

    i.e Tupac, Biggie, Paul Walker, etc.

    reddit.com , kat wilcox/pexels (not an actual photo) Report

    Jac Carr
    Community Member
    10 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    If you've been used to having constant attention, at least one of them would have resurfaced; it's tough being a nobody if you're used to being a somebody

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    #32

    "Mechanic in a workshop inspecting car engine, relating to controversial conspiracy theories in technology."

    There was a dude that invented a car that runs on water, he stated multiple times he would not die from natural causes and that if he dies to investigate it. A year away from putting his cars into mass production he died. Before he died he said that oil companies have threatened his life. (I got this info from my dad a couple months ago but look the dude up, search like water car or whatever)

    Edit: Amazing responses! From what some people are saying it might be a little bit of a hyperbole to say water car but still an amazing story!

    Fudgemuffin95 , Andrea Piacquadio/pexels (not an actual photo) Report

    #33

    Airplane seating chart highlighting a "terrorist seat," sparking controversial conspiracy theories discussions.

    There's a conspiracy theory that Flight 93 was shot down by hastily-scrambled jet fighters and/or missiles, in the interest of public safety, and that the government made up the relatively wholesome "the passengers decided to fight the hijackers and sacrifice themselves" story to keep up morale. I don't know whether it happened or not, but I can entirely believe it might be true.

    reddit.com , Pi3.124 Report

    Ace
    Community Member
    10 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    And all the messages from passengers sent during the struggle were somehow faked after the event?

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