Much like the folklore of yesteryear, conspiracy theories are a contemporary approach to dealing with strange situations. It gives people a way to confront the often mysterious, unexplainable, or downright chaotic currents of existence. As the world grows, so does its entirety exceed people’s grasp, and conspiracy theories are a tidy way of making sense of things. Eerily, at least one of the conspiracy theories on this list has been proven true. For that reason alone, let’s explore the 10 most popular conspiracy theories of the 21st century. (Discover the most unbelievable conspiracy theories in history.)
To compile a list of the most popular conspiracy theories, 24/7 consulted a range of publications including Live Science and Time Magazine. From there we selected the theories that have had the widest effect on popular culture. After that, we consulted sites like Scientific American for detailed information about said conspiracies. It should be noted that, even though many of these conspiracy theories were birthed in the 20th century, they only grew in popularity during the new millennium.
The Moon landing was faked
The day that the United States landed on the moon was a truly unprecedented historic day for mankind. Some people, however, believe that the moon landing never happened. Instead, they believe that some, if not all, of the televised lunar landing was a hoax filmed on a Hollywood soundstage.
Be it telemetry measurements, destroyed footage, or even simple misunderstandings of physics, conspiracy theorists hold that the moon landing was a ploy to win the space race with Russia. Some even posit that famed director Stanley Kubrick filmed the hoax. While scientists and even NASA have come out with evidence to debunk it over the years, the moon landing being faked remains one of the most popular conspiracy theories well into the 21st century.
Area 51
Oh, Area 51. It’s a restricted site in Nevada run by Edwards Air Force Base and a home to all manner of aliens and demons. At least, that’s what many conspiracy theorists believe. No doubt, one of the most enduring and popular conspiracy theories is that of Area 51. There is some truth to the mystery, however, as all the work done by the government at the site is classified as top secret.
As to what kind of secrets live next to Groom Lake, however, remains to be seen. Conspiracy theorists claim that all manner of alien hijinks such as UFOs and hybrid-breeding programs occur somewhere within or below Area 51. As for the government’s response, mum is the word as the site’s top-secret programs remain shrouded in mystery. No doubt, conspiracy theorists will continue to believe what they want about Area 51. Frankly, it’s more fun that way.
Princess Diana was murdered
When Princess Diana died in a car crash in Paris in late 1997, the story captured the world by storm. It also captured the minds of conspiracy theorists. They say that the crash was staged, if not orchestrated, by parts of the English Monarchy.
That the driver of her limo was drunk does not sway the tinfoil hat crowd. Instead, they say the crash was designed to kill an increasingly unruly Princess Diana, along with her unsavory affair partner, Dodi Fayed. While the press coverage of Diana had become unpredictable in the months leading up to her death, a monarchy-supported malevolent plot has yet to be proven true. (Learn about the world’s most powerful secret societies.)
Flat Earth
A much-referenced and often lambasted conspiracy, the flat earth conspiracy is one so crazy it’s hard to believe. Though this idea existed as basically scientific fact in earlier centuries, it has made a resurgence in recent years. People claim that the earth is actually flat, and it’s a centuries-long plot by global powers that has convinced people it is round.
Despite all the evidence to the contrary and jokes at their expense, the flat earthers are true believers. They use any tool in their arsenal, be it bad math or claims of Photoshop, to further this conspiracy theory. This one is hard to argue, but it comes down to the theorists not trusting anything they can’t verify with their own eyes and experience. Nevertheless, it remains one of the most popular conspiracy theories of the 21st century.
MK-Ultra
Strap in, folks, because this conspiracy theory is real. MK-Ultra was a top-secret program undertaken at various universities and locales around the United States in the 1950s and 60s. There, experiments were enacted to test mind-control techniques on unsuspecting citizens. Be it torture-induced hypnotic states or just seeing what would happen when people were given LSD, MK-Ultra was a very real program created by our government.
It was the stuff of myth until revealed to the public by the Church Committee of the United States Congress in 1975. Unfortunately, most of the MK-Ultra files were ordered to be destroyed by CIA Director Richard Helms in 1973. Considering the files that were released exposed horrific, almost surreal illegal activities involving U.S. citizens, it’s frightening to think that evidence of even worse stuff was purposely destroyed.
CIA involvement in the JFK assassination
Another one of the most popular conspiracy theories of the 21st century is, no doubt, the circumstances surrounding the JFK assassination. Though the Warren Commission found Lee Harvey Oswald to be the sole shooter who killed President John F. Kennedy, evidence has increasingly come to light that suggests more nefarious aspects to the crime.
It’s such an enduring conspiracy, however, that many Americans still believe it. Blame is laid at the feet of the military-industrial complex, the mafia, and rogue elements of the government, with concepts like the ‘magic-bullet theory’ and the three tramps on the grassy knoll used to further the stranger aspects of the event. It remains to be seen what exactly happened that day, but the government isn’t helping. All the records related to the assassination were scheduled to be released in 2017. President after president, however, has kept delaying it. The files were finally released in 2022.
Q-Anon
The Q-Anon conspiracy first started surfacing on more problematic online message boards sometime in 2017. It mostly centered around information posted by anonymous individuals known as “Q.” The conspiracy posits that the U.S. government is run by a cabal of satanic pedophiles hell-bent on keeping Donald Trump down. That’s because Trump will expose this Illuminati-like shadow government while in office.
As time went on, the “Q” drops became less and less accurate, predicting increasingly explosive events that never came to fruition. The conspiracy did, however, play a major part in catalyzing the January 6th insurrection, where people stormed the Capitol to protest the results of the election. (Learn about the rise of unsettling ideologies and movements in the United States.)
The Denver Airport
Perhaps the most entertaining conspiracy on this list is that of the Denver International Airport. This is probably due to its strange, labyrinthine design and a well-overrun budget during its construction. As such, the relatively unassuming airport has become catnip to conspiracy theorists. Some say it serves as an entrance to a secret Illuminati base. Others say the tunnels running underneath the airport act as go-betweens for reptilian aliens.
Regardless of what the conspiracy theorists say, the Airport itself has had fun with the phenomenon. Be it insinuating and cryptic advertisements related to Freemasonry or reptilian overlords, Denver International Airport has embraced the outlandish ideas. A true believer would say, however, that this allows the airport’s nefarious secrets to hide better in plain sight.
Chemtrails
The Chemtrail conspiracy theory posits that those long-lasting condensation trails left by airplanes in the sky are actually composed of biological or chemical agents. These agents, theorists claim, are used to manipulate the weather, test diseases on the populace, or enact some type of garden-variety mind control.
Much like the flat earth conspiracy, the chemtrail believers are hard to dissuade. Though dismissed by the scientific community as nonsense, some people truly believe in chemtrails. Even with government agencies coming out to explain away the theories as misinformed, conspiracy theorists are positive those condensation trails are up to no good.
Covid-19 and population control
Another one of the most popular conspiracy theories of the 21st century is those that surround COVID-19. Ostensibly an epidemic disease, theories about the virus range from it being man-made to it acting as a test for population control. More recently, the conspiracy has extended to the vaccine. People claim that the shot holds everything from an RFID identification chip to being a biblical mark of the beast.
Though the more outlandish aspects of this conspiracy were pretty quickly proven to be untrue, it’s hard to say what ways the epidemic shaped the world. Like all conspiracy theories, the COVID-19 conspiracy acts as a salve to the uncertainty of a world-changing event. Then again, much like MK-Ultra, you never know which conspiracy theory will end up true. (Discover alarming outbreaks currently ongoing in the United States.)