Conspiracy Theories: Difference between revisions

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* In Utah, there is a minority but [[Serious Business|bitterly]] [[Vocal Minority|vocal]] theory that democracy -- ''[[Insane Troll Logic|all]]'' [[Insane Troll Logic|democracy]] -- is the work of [[Dirty Commies]] trying to establish Marxist regimes. The solution? Oppose democracy and promote a ''[[Better by a Different Name|republic]]''. This is believed to be rooted in Utah being so staunchly hard-conservative in culture and politics, and any word starting with "democra"- is anathema, and words beginning with "republic-" [[Newspeak|are preferred]]. The irony is that the majority Mormon culture had traditionally practiced a form of [[wikipedia:Christian socialism|Christian socialism]] called the [[wikipedia:United Order|United Order]], which is still manifested in institutions like [[wikipedia:LDS Family Services|LDS Family Services]] (formerly called LDS Social Services), the [[wikipedia:Bishop's storehouse|Bishop's storehouse]], etc. There was a tectonic [[Values Dissonance|cultural shift]] during the [[Cold War]]/[[Red Scare]] when Mormons were suspected of being [[Acceptable Political Targets|socialist sympathizers]], so Mormon culture came to [[Fanon Discontinuity/Real Life|retroactively deny]] all socialism or the association of the United Order as socialist in nature. (In fairness, the United Order had no direct relation to Marxism under the common umbrella of socialism, and the United Order actually [[Older Than They Think|predated Marxism]].) With the continual rightward shift since Utah became a predominantly Republican state in the [[Civil Rights Movement]] (and now one of the most solidly red states in the United States), ''democracy itself'' has also increasingly been seen as a conspiracy by [[Dirty Commies]] to spread Marxism. While still a minority view, it has become notable enough to make [http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/blogschalkboard/50771956-57/democracy-district-alpine-bromley.html.csp repeat] [http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/news/51130453-78/state-education-board-control.html.csp news] [http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/home/51186884-76/bill-committee-democracy-government.html.csp reports] in local publications like the ''Salt Lake Tribune'', and even a national mention or two in publications like ''The Week'' (in their "Only [[Eagle Land|in America]]" section).

* [http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/glenn-beck-rape-murder-hoax#.TiTAEeBE-Yk "Did Glenn Beck rape and murder a young girl in 1990?"] Similarly to the Bielefeld conspiracy above, this is a parody of conspiracy theories, specifically spoofing the style of talk [[Radio]] host (and former [[Fox News Channel]] pundit) [[Glenn Beck]], who is known for making outrageous, highly speculative allegations and asking his guests to disprove them.

* There's been a fairly new conspiracy theory involving celebrities and Scientology. This theory is that a lot of the alleged celebrity scientologist aren't real believers of the religion. Instead most see the organization as more of a facade and a country club made up of Hollywood insiders. And most join for the perks, and networking. In essence it's a organization within another organization. Basically celebs and Hollywood insiders are exploiting the group for their own end, while Scientology gets to use the celebs' fame (and money).

* There's been a fairly new{{when}} conspiracy theory involving celebrities and Scientology. This theory is that a lot of the alleged celebrity scientologist aren't real believers of the religion. Instead most see the organization as more of a facade and a country club made up of Hollywood insiders. And most join for the perks, and networking. In essence it's a organization within another organization. Basically celebs and Hollywood insiders are exploiting the group for their own end, while Scientology gets to use the celebs' fame (and money).

* In the wake of the Libyan revolution, there has been a noted increase in violence against black migrants. Some people [http://new-power.org/2011/09/05/more-ethnic-cleansing-by-nato-backed-forces/ have extropolated this] to claim the NTC is initiating a mass ethnic-cleansing program against said migrants, supported by NATO, of course. [[Fridge Logic|Despite the fact that such a program would be rather antithetical to the principles of NATO]].

** A few people have gone so far as to say that the revolution itself doesn't exist.

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* The ''HMS Invincible'' Conspiracy states that during the Falkland Islands War, the light aircraft carrier ''HMS Invincible'' was sunk by an Argentinean fighter pilot using an Exocet anti-ship missile (who conveniently died in the attack). The gist of it being that ''Invincible'' was damaged and met offshore with another aircraft carrier, ''HMS Hermes'' (a ship the conspiracy claims "should not have been there") and personnel and material were moved onto it, with the ''Invincible'' sinking or scuttled. Then the ''Invincible'''s sister ship ''Illustrious'' carried the name ''Invincible'' until a replacement ship could be built. Critics point out the numerous logical fallacies, such as the fact that the war was heavily covered by the media and the sinking of an aircraft carrier going unnoticed would be impossible, the ''Illustrious'' had the Phalanx CIWS system installed when the ''Invincible'' only had it installed after the war, it would have left a wreck and it would be impossible to disguise the construction of a brand new aircraft carrier. Despite this, the theory still has a following in Argentina, where it originated.

* Due to some bizarre leap of logic, police officials on the West Coast of the United States and even the Attorney General of New Mexico came to the conclusion that [[Memetic Mutation|Pedobear]] [[Did Not Do the Research|was some kind of a rallying mascot for pedophiles]]. Officers were told to look out for Pedobear symbols or paraphernalia as the mark of pedophile activity and distributed flyers warning parents of the "menace". [http://gawker.com/5636011/stupid-california-police-warn-parents-of-pedobear-the-pedophile-mascot The internet] [http://www.buzzfeed.com/rebeccae/pedobear-police-warning-a-seemingly-innocent-mena had a] [https://web.archive.org/web/20120119013635/http://gammasquad.uproxx.com/2010/09/police-issue-pedobear-warning-seriously field day].

* Pick any military conflict where the US or Great Britain directly or indirectly attacked a Third-World country. Hold it in your head for a couple minutes. Inevitably, ~~SOMEONE~~ will accuse the CIA or ~~[[MI 6]]~~ from plotting the entire thing from the start.

* Pick any military conflict where the US or Great Britain directly or indirectly attacked a Third-World country. Hold it in your head for a couple minutes. Inevitably, ''someone'' will accuse the CIA or MI6 from plotting the entire thing from the start.

* One conspiracy theory begins with the known fact that in early 1982, the British Gov't was considering heavy cuts in the Royal Navy. Royal Navy Intelligence is supposed to have known all about the threat from Argentina, but deliberately with-held their information from politicians, knowing the Navy would more than prove its worth in any reconquest, and cold-bloodedly allowing the Argies to invade. The Royal Navy then duly proved its worth in the war, and made any cuts unthinkable Just to make sure, informaation about the cuts was leaked to daily newspapers and TV. Whatever the truth in this, the navy cuts were discreetly dropped after the war...

* During the conflict in Iraq, a rumor began to spread in the city of Basra that the British forces occupying the city had released a genetically modified hell-beast to kill cattle, maim children and generally cause panic and terror. The hell-beasts in question turned out to be honey badgers. They used to live in an area that was once swampland, dammed up by Saddam in an effort to evict a local Arab minority. When the marsh was re-flooded, the badgers left and started moving into the city. Major Mike Shearer shot the claims down saying "We can categorically state that we have not released man-eating badgers into the area".