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In our modern world, where various information is more available than it ever was, sometimes it’s hard to distinguish between real and made-up information. That’s why conspiracy theories nowadays flourish more than ever, too.
It’s likely impossible to find an internet user who hasn’t encountered a crazy conspiracy theory at some point in their life, even if unknowingly. That’s why when someone asked people to share some theories they’ve heard, plenty of them had something to say.
So, perhaps let’s go see what they had to say, shall we? Just beware: The question was about scary theories, and many of them are quite bone-chilling.
More info: Reddit
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#1
The current social wars were designed to distract us from the trillions of dollars that went from the middle class to the wealthy. It will continue to happen while people fight over body parts and bedroom activities. The people almost broke through with Occupy Wall St. but the PTB continue to divide people to make sure it can't happen again.
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#2
That all this doomer "humanity is the REAL virus/monster, we are destroying our planet like a cancer" type of thinking was made up and spread by corporations to make regular people feel equally culpable for climate change. I'm not killing the planet, and you aren't either. Something like 70% of all global emissions are cause by 100 corporations. THEY are killing the planet, but no one will go after them because "humanity was a mistake", and that cynicism is what will actually do us in.
During your lifetime, you have likely heard of some conspiracy theories. After all, there is probably no topic that these theories don’t cover.
A few months ago, one Reddit user asked others what scary conspiracy theories they had heard of. And, oh boy, have they heard plenty. So, we combined a list of the best responses to this question.
In it, you can find theories like the Dark Forest theory, the AI-Bitcoin connection, and many others. Some are scarier than others, some more believable, but the list is undeniably captivating.
#4
Those Facebook memes of posting a current selfie and a photo of you taken 10 years ago, is to program facial recognition software.
#5
When light bulbs were created, they lasted forever. Producers noticed that would be a limited business and engineered them to go out after a certain period so they could continuously sell them.
#6
Dark Forest Theory: we can't find any evidence of extraterrestrial life because the smart ones are hiding, and the dumb ones have been [ended] by... something else.
There are plenty of others you might be aware of besides the ones on this list. For example, the clan of underground billionaires running the world (sometimes it’s also added that they’re lizard people), the Earth being flat, and the moon landing being fake.
Then, some are known in the deep corners of the internet. The reason behind the difference in their popularity usually lies in certain “requirements” they meet. For instance, having the “right” villain, addresses collective anxieties, makes people feel good about their social group, fills certain knowledge gaps, and escalates during uncertain times.
#7
Human are nothing more than a virus destroying the larger organism earth. Earth will eventually get a fever in an attempt to rid herself of us.
#8
That governments allow events to take place so they can implement security restrictions. The riots in the UK and protests across the EU are allowed, possibly even encouraged. The citizens will demand order by any means necessary and thats when the restrictions will come in.
This isn’t even the full list. Basically, there are many things that can make a theory more or less successful, and theorists usually attempt to check as many of them as possible.
Even if the theories get disproven, some people still believe in them. In fact, about 50% of Americans believe in at least one debunked conspiracy theory.
Research published by the American Psychological Association (APA) revealed that people are more prone to believing conspiracy theories due to certain motivations and personality traits. For example, those who feel a sense of antagonism and superiority toward others perceive threats in their environment and strongly rely on their intuition.
#10
There's plastic in our blood and every piece of tech listens to us.
And nobody really cares.
#12
I find the idea that powerful organizations are secretly manipulating global events the scariest. It’s unsettling to think about how much control they might have.
Additionally, the increased accessibility of information due to social media and 24-hour news cycles also helps to reach more people, thus convincing more of them to believe.
If you read something online and wonder whether it is a conspiracy theory or the truth, there are some things you can do to make sure. For example, seek out the evidence for the stated things, as many theories crumble after a lack of it. Then, you can also “test” the idea with logic and critical thinking. So, basically, look for evidence that contradicts and maybe even debunks it.
#13
Medical knowledge and technology are more advanced than we think but are kept from the public because they would cut into corporate profits
As a bonus, MK Ultra was not an isolated incident, USA (and other govts) continue secret tests on their own citizens, they just got better at hiding it.
#14
Heres a new one for you:
Spontaneous Life is actually extremely common in the universe.
We talk about the primoridal ooze where the first protiens formed into a cell and all that. But this theory states that life actually spontaneously arises on a microscopic level *constantly*. Well, constantly on a universal time scale, at least. Not all of it is carbon based, and in fact life has formed in many different ways that we don't recognize as true life.
However, there is one critical thing that acts as a gateway: reproduction. Almost all life that is spontaneously created lives a short time and dies without reproducing.
On our world, there have been *two* instances of spontaneous life that were able to reproduce.
1. The precursor that lead to all life as we know it on earth over millions and millions of years
2. Viruses.
#15
I love/hate the idea that the existence of the uncanny valley implies the existence of something that looks human but wasn't quite human and we needed to fear it.
Looking for the motives or red flags behind the theory, like prejudicial tropes, and seeking the source of the claim (besides other things) are also useful while figuring out the conspiracy theory's validity.
Also, if after some time you realize that you have fallen for some kind of conspiracy theory, don’t feel too bad – as we made it clear, they’re made to convince people. If you realize the fault in your logic related to them, it’s good for you, and bad for them.
Have you ever fallen for any kind of conspiracy theory? Share your experience with us in the comments!
#16
It's not particularly scary but go read a bit of Commander David Fravors' statement about his F/18 crew that were called to check on an object they had been tracking on the USS Nimitz for weeks in the early 2000s. It was dropping from 80,000' to 20,000' in mere seconds. When they managed to begin tracking it (the radar had trouble picking it up) there was no infrared heat signature for the propulsion of the craft as it hovered over the ocean and it was pulling G's no pilot could make without a full blackout. It disappeared from view of both planes and popped back onto the radar 60 miles away, in less than a minute. His crew also took a different video years later of a similar object. Really makes you wonder, there's a full statement of the hearing online.
#17
That the stereotypical Alien “encounter”, involving abduction, probing, and other experiments, are not aliens, but rather humans, from the future, coming back to try and figure out why we stopped being able to reproduce. Furthermore, that concludes that whatever brings about the potential fall of man has already begun.
#18
The one about Bitcoin being invented by an AI, which is now accumulating a huge amount of computer power by greedy humans building big bitcoin mining centres to make money, but all they are doing is building an ultra resilient network for the AI to run on. The AI also has a huge amount of wealth to now pay anonymously to humans to do it's dirty work in the physical world.
A superintelligence at some point wants more computation and robot arms - given robot arms aren't all that great, money is the next best thing, as humans will do anything for bigger numbers on their bank account.
For me, it's truely terrifying.
#21
That some examples of the mandela effect are actually advertisements for a firm that can counter the streisand effect for the ludicrously wealthy .
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