Most people of sound mind scoff at the mere mention of conspiracy theories.
Many of these beliefs alleging an organization with influential power is responsible for certain circumstances or events have persuaded gullible individuals to take action resulting in unfavorable outcomes.
But there are a handful of conspiracy theories that sound legit enough to make someone really question their belief systems.
Curious to hear what those might be, Redditor BayAreaBored510 asked:
"What conspiracy theory do you fully believe is true?"
The internet and social media have become a crutch for many of us seeking answers or getting things done remotely or efficiently.
But at what cost?
Marketing Strategy
"Netflix marketing team releases memes about shows to give off the appearance that everyone is watching said show. Since people have FOMO they watch the shows to understand the memes until everyone eventually does watch it."
Exposed Online Activity
"For many years people were considered crazy for saying the government is spying on everything you do online; then the leaks started..."
Facial Recognition
"I think the trend where you show a picture of yourself now versus 10 years ago was promoted if not invented by Facebook owned social media companies in order to train artificial intelligence to be able to recognize and analyze how faces age."
Was For Encryption
"the truecrypyt organization was bullied/bought off into suddenly ceasing operations to encourage other closed source encryption alternatives with back doors."
Theater Kid
"When I was in high school my friends and I came up with this conspiracy theory between us, that the theater kids are covering up for something because they act like a cult and talk about the theater teacher like he's their personal Jim Jones. Two years after graduating I find out he's been arrested for assaulting his female students, and was only found out because he thought he could trust this freshman new theater kid, and started showing him all the naked pics he's taken with those girls. Kid turned around and reported him the next day. The other theater kids went on social media to defend their god anyway 🤦🏻♀️."
Some storefronts act as a foil for dirty business behind the scenes.
So the next time you wander a street lined with ma and pop stores, you may wonder if it's all for show.
The Art Of The Con
"That the art market is actually a huge money laundering scheme. I don't remember where I read this, but it said that King Pins and criminals will often buy paintings and sculptures for millions of dollars in order to make dirty money transactions legal."
– Ajmk72
Retail Front
"That all of those souvenir shops on prominent shopping streets in London, England are money laundering fronts. You know the ones with a massive floor space selling key rings and knock off hoodies that say Tik Tok or something yet have no customers except young male staff sat about on their phones? How on Earth would a not very busy shop survive in Europe's most expensive retail space other than that? Also factoring in a global pandemic and a massive reduction in international tourists (who they're presumably aimed at) yet they show no signs of shutting down. They also all appear to be owned by the same person and stock the same merchandise."
– Ryohiko
Clean Operation
"A few years ago a huge amount of 'soap shops' started appearing in my city; fancy boutiques which sold luxury bars of soap. The staff were mainly people who didn't speak the language, and they hardly sold any products. A few months later some crime syndicate got busted and poof, all soap shops were gone."
– GuPu99
Exclusive Paprika Chips
"Someone paid off someone so there are no paprika flavor potato chips in Lithuania in all major supermarkets but one. 3 months ago you could find it anywhere and it was like the 3rd or 4th most popular, I think."
People Who Made A Lot Of Money From Something Totally Random | George Takei’s Oh Myyy
Suspicious Pharmacy
"There is a local pharmacy in my town and I have not seen anyone in it my whole life. I've lived here since I was six and I'm 22 now. I think money laundering. But not sure. My own local conspiracy theory. Edit: I tried to call and it's been closed for two months. F'k me. I gotta do more research will report back."
Government and crime appears to go hand-in-hand.
Extraterrestrial Coverups
"I'm torn between the government being completely aware of extraterrestrial contact and that the government is purposely leading people to believe that there's an extraterrestrial coverup in order to cover up advance technology testing."
Healthcare Glitches
"Health Insurance companies make 'mistakes' on purpose to avoid paying claims. This is honestly one I made up myself but I swear this is the truth. I've had bizarre 'glitches' keep huge medical bills from being paid. I also think the rules are impossible to understand on purpose so that it is harder to get them to pay."
Alien Tech
"Area 51 was a conspiracy theory started by the US government to lead The Soviet Union into falsely believing that the US had alien technology during the Cold War."
– Samm092
Faking Death
"Ken Lay from Enron faked his own death so he can escape the US and not serve his time for the fraud he was convicted of.."
"I believe he is alive and well, living off the $300mm he stole from Enron."
The Fleeing Enron Exec
"Speaking of Enron, the fact that Lou Pai got off completely Scot free baffles me."
"He left the company with $250 million just before everything imploded, and there is reason to believe he was part of the reason why it did."
"No idea why he was able to just walk away with no issues, tbh."
Being in the entertainment industry, I have many talented friends who are professionals.
I may know one or two performers who appeared on a specific reality show competition where they were introduced to TV audiences as amateurs with no formal training – when in fact, they were trained in some of the best arts conservatory schools in the country and had professional careers.
Maybe they were "hired" to boost credibility or ratings on the show.
But, it's not my place to blow the proverbial dog whistle if I knew that to be true.
@RandyRRQuaid/X
@realDonaldTrump/Truth Social
