Friend of mine lived in Shanghai from late 1980s until 2005. When he came back, we had a BBQ. About halfway through, the conversation took a strange turn. ‘There’s something I have to tell you that you need to know’, he said, mysteriously. After a bit of to and fro, it turned out to be this: whatever hit the Pentagon on 9/11 wasn’t actually an airplane at all, but it was a missile. And it was fired by the US Government. Everyone in the world has been fooled into believing that the Twin Towers were brought down by Islamic extremists - but they weren’t. It was a conspiracy at the highest levels of the US government, and also involved Israel.

He didn’t spell it out so clearly, but I was shocked. I kind of blurted out ‘I really couldn’t be friends with someone who believes that kind of stuff’. (And sadly, the friendship did really come to an end around then.) But the next few days, I read up on the Twin Towers conspiracy theories. I found there was a debunking of the theory by a magazine called Popular Mechanics. I learned about the indie film, Zeitgeist, which was the apparent source of a lot of these ideas. And after that, I decided there really was a conspiracy - that being, a conspiracy to get large numbers of people to believe that the US was behind the Twin Towers. And, furthermore, it had been pretty successful. I’m pretty sure the reason my friend was so convinced was that he had been living in China the last 15 years. (I should add, he’s not a news-reading, current-affairs-savvy kind of guy.) I think it is in China’s interest to have a large number of people believe that kind of thing (not that they would ever admit to that.) And also Irans’, and Russia’s. So there’s your conspiracy. And it worked quite effectively.

The existence of Big Foot indeed may have the most circumstantial evidence going for it. One piece of circumstantial evidence that is almost decisive is the recent find by a group of trekkers of a three feet long toenail clipper.

Yeah, that was one of the nastier ones I left out.

JFK assassination. At least that is a thing that happens and (depending on how this conspiracy is outlined) doesn't require one to completely overturn what they think they know.

On a lighter note, I have read recently that the presumed hair of the Himalayan yeti has been subjected to DNA analysis, and conclusively found to have originated from the Himalayan Brown Bear. Which is kind of a pity, I would love it if yetis were out there.

I think a brief description of each conspiracy should accompany the name. Even one line each would be helpful.
You forgot the Crop Circles, the children's vaccine, and subliminal messages on tv.

I never really bought into the 9/11 official story after I found out office fires brought down building 7. It is a precedent for three skyscrapers to fall from fires in the history of structural engineering. The rebuttal is that the building was structurally "magically" damaged from falling debris from the north or south tower.

The rebuttal is that the building was structurally "magically" damaged from falling debris from the north or south tower. — Posty McPostface

Look up the NIST report devoted specifically to WTC7. WTC7 had a very peculiar structure, owing to its having been built on top of a preexisting Con-Ed substation. It was hosting large diesel tanks. The documented damage and massive fire, together with its structural peculiarities, account for the catastrophic failure with no magic involved.

I used to think JFK conspiracy theories were baloney, but after 55 years of deep denial, I'm now willing to entertain the notion that perhaps, possibly, potentially, there could have been others involved. It isn't necessary, however.

The 9/11 conspiracies all seem extremely far-fetched and implausible.

On the other hand, it is in some ways surprising that there are not more conspiracies being floated. Maybe the Lockerbie bombing in 1988--surely a tin-pot dictator wouldn't be able to pull off a proper bombing. The British must have had something to do with it. Or maybe an unknown Nazi cell did it. Why wasn't the Ebola or Zika virus blamed on the U. S. Government? AIDS, after all, was the subject of such a conspiracy (CIA plot).

Conspiracy theorists seem to be a lazy lot; they are overlooking a lot of possibilities.

Yeah, I don't care to change anyone's mind on the matter. You can lookup Architects and Engineers for 9/11 Truth, the multiple testimonials of loud explosions going off from within both WTC's, traces of nano-thermite around the area, yada-yada.

I picked the New World Order just because it's interesting...

Yeah, I don't care to change anyone's mind on the matter. You can lookup Architects and Engineers for 9/11 Truth, the multiple testimonials of loud explosions going off from within both WTC's, traces of nano-thermite around the area. — Posty McPostface

I am very familiar with the Architects and Engineers for 9/11 Truth. Several years ago I was very much involved in online fora discussing 9/11 conspiracy theories. Discussing the technical and scientific aspects of the events surrounding 9/11 provided a recreation from more serious philosophical work. Later on I moved on to discussing climate science with AGW-skeptics since this topic has more profound societal impacts. I think both of those conspiracies thrive on similar combinations of cherry-picked data, hyped and decontextualized "anomalies", poor technical understanding, lack of focus, and too much tolerance for fringe "science".

Yeah, I hold an attitude of refraining from prejudice on the matter.

Yeah, I heard about that. The Yeti is interesting, too. I can imagine there having been a Himalayan great ape. We, as humans, so often bemoan the significant and often deleterious footprint we make on the Earth, but it remains the case that there are still vast tracts of the planet that have remained utterly untouched by us. Biologists are still discovering all sorts of species by the barrelful.

[Delete] @Baden

And by the way, you missed out the moon landings. — René Descartes

Shit. You're right.

[Delete] @Baden

FDR knew in advance that Pearl Harbor was going to be attacked, and he did not intervene. It was his way of getting the U.S. into WWII.

I don't know if that qualifies as a conspiracy theory--I've seen it presented as both known historical fact and as a conspiracy theory. Anyway, it's the most reasonable one I can think of.

Hmm, yes. I have read a bit on that. It seems possible and seemed to accomplish the supposed agenda of getting involved in a major conflict to cause the US to become a military superpower.

The Clinton Foundation...oh wait.

I don't think the JFK Assassination really changes anything of how we understand history or the mountain of evidence of what we already know U.S. intelligence agencies has done, so even if did happen, I'm not really going to be concerned much except think that they're probably a little more shittier and bold than I thought, at least of that time period.

The term ''Conspiracy theory'' is loaded with prejudice. It has a bad connotation and kinda deflates the balloon before it takes flight.

I think conspiracy theories are healthy - thinking of possible alternatives is a sign of intelligence. Of course everything has limits; at least they're supposed to be within the bounds of reason.

I like UFOs. It doesn't have too many negative attributes such as cover-ups or deception and it is a real possibility with life having evolved on Earth. It opens doors to positive inquiry unlike other conspiracy theories which are all about manipulation, deception, etc.

I think conspiracy theories are healthy - thinking of possible alternatives is a sign of intelligence. Of course everything has limits; at least they're supposed to be within the bounds of reason. — TheMadFool

Good point.

The Clinton Foundation...oh wait. — Cavacava

There's no conspiracy to that theory. :P

What about the Flying Spaghetti Monster?

You forgot the Crop Circles — Caldwell

Are there other theories about them than UFOs?

What about the Flying Spaghetti Monster? — WISDOMfromPO-MO

There's a conspiracy theory about that?

Wouldn't New World Order, Freemasons, and Illuminati all really count as the same conspiracy theory?

[Delete] @Baden

Are there other theories about them than UFOs? — BlueBanana

Hmmm.