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See Also
See Again
© Shutterstock/Getty Images
0 / 29 Fotos
The Dalai Lama works for the CIA - According to declassified intelligence documents, the Dalai Lama earned US$180,000 in connection with the CIA’s funding of the Tibetan Resistance in the 1960s. The aim was to disrupt China.
© Shutterstock
1 / 29 Fotos
There was a "gay bomb" - The U.S. Air Force did consider using pheromones as a weapon. The "gay bomb" was supposed to infuse enemy troops with female pheromones, making them sexually attracted to each other and disrupting troops' morale. However the weapon was never made.
© Shutterstock
2 / 29 Fotos
John Lennon was under surveillance - In 1971, the FBI and CIA put John Lennon under surveillance due to his anti-war songs.
© Getty Images
3 / 29 Fotos
Water changes frogs' sex - Radio host and conspiracy theorist Alex Jones claimed that chemicals in water are turning frogs gay. While the chemicals won't change a frog's sexual orientation, a study shows that exposure to a certain pesticide can actually change frogs' sex. Estrogen in suburban lakes can have the same effect.
© Shutterstock
4 / 29 Fotos
The Canadian government built a "gaydar" machine - In the 1950s, the Canadian government developed the "fruit machine" to test for homosexuality in federal employees. The testing was done by exposing subjects to same-sex intimate images and analyzing pupil dilatation response. Many employees lost their jobs.
© Shutterstock
5 / 29 Fotos
U.S. government investigating UFOs - The Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program investigated UFO sightings and other UFO-related events.
© Shutterstock
6 / 29 Fotos
Black men died of treatable syphilis
- The Tuskegee Study of Untreated Syphilis in the Negro Male was a study conducted in 1932. 600 poor black men were mislead to participate in the study. They were left untreated, as the aim of the study was to determine from autopsies what the disease does to the human body.
© Shutterstock
7 / 29 Fotos
Illuminati and the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) - There is actually a link between the supposedly secret organization that rules the world and the NSA, albeit just a hyperlink. Just type Illuminati backwards (Itanimulli) into a web browser, and it will take you to the NSA website.
© Shutterstock
8 / 29 Fotos
The government spies on your internet use - In 2005 it was revealed that the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) had been intercepting phone calls and internet communications. Many companies and government agencies continue to do so today without your knowledge.
© Shutterstock
9 / 29 Fotos
The U.S. government used dead babies for radioactive testing - 'Project Sunshine' tested radioactive strontium-90 on body parts of newly deceased children. This was done without the parents’ knowledge or consent.
© Shutterstock
10 / 29 Fotos
Osama bin Laden was captured through a fake vaccination program
- The CIA ran a fake vaccination program, and they had Bin Laden’s DNA on file thanks to his sister who lived in the U.S. A Pakistani doctor then identified his children's DNA in the area where he was hiding, and this information led to his capture.
© Getty Images
11 / 29 Fotos
Polio vaccine caused cancer - In 1960 it was revealed that some of the cells used to make the polio vaccine could cause cancer. Between 1955 and 1963, nearly 100 million children were given this vaccine.
© Shutterstock
12 / 29 Fotos
False testimony lead up to the Gulf War
- A young girl, identified as Nayirah, falsely testified on Iraq's invasion of Kuwait before the Congressional Human Rights Caucus in 1990. It turns out Nayirah was actually the daughter of the Kuwaiti ambassador to the U.S. and her testimony was part of a campaign called Citizens for a Free Kuwait, run by Hill & Knowlton, a PR firm.
© Getty Images
13 / 29 Fotos
Sugar industry funded research underplaying risks of sugar consumption - Studies funded by the National Confectioner’s Association and Coca-Cola made shocking claims, such as children who ate candy generally weighed less than those who didn't. A paper published in JAMA Internal Medicine revealed that they had been padding the studies since the 1960s.
© Shutterstock
14 / 29 Fotos
It's not really Hitler’s skull - Tests performed in 2009 revealed that what was supposedly Hitler's skull was actually that of a young woman.
© Shutterstock
15 / 29 Fotos
Top secret heart attack gun
- The CIA developed a secret weapon that shot a poisoned dart that consequently caused a heart attack. Victims were left with just a red dot on the skin, making it untraceable.
© Getty Images
16 / 29 Fotos
U.S. government planned to fabricate acts of terrorism and blame Cuba - Operation Northwoods was meant to commit acts of terrorism on U.S. soil to gain public support in the war against Cuba. Luckily then-President John F. Kennedy put a stop to the operation.
© Shutterstock
17 / 29 Fotos
World leaders gather yearly at a campground in California - Every year, some of the world's richest and most powerful men gather for two weeks at Bohemian Grove.
© Shutterstock
18 / 29 Fotos
The U.S. government paid for patriotic displays - The U.S. Department of Defense spent millions of dollars to have sports organizations such as the NFL, MLB, NBA, and NHL, put on shows to display American pride.
© Shutterstock
19 / 29 Fotos
The government can manipulate the weather - Operation Popeye was a U.S. government weather modification program that used a technique called cloud seeding to increase precipitation over North Vietnam.
© Shutterstock
20 / 29 Fotos
The CIA controlled U.S. media - Operation Mockingbird spied on members of the Washington press corps and paid journalists to publish CIA propaganda. It also funded student and cultural organizations and magazines.
© Shutterstock
21 / 29 Fotos
The U.S. government's mind control program - Project MKUltra was the name given to the CIA program that tested LSD on U.S. citizens without their knowledge. Unfortunately record have been destroyed.
© Shutterstock
22 / 29 Fotos
The U.S. government poisoned alcohol during prohibition - The government added toxins to alcohol to stop people from drinking during prohibition in the 1920s. Around 10,000 people died as a result.
© Shutterstock
23 / 29 Fotos
The Gulf of Tonkin incident didn't happen - According to the U.S. Naval Institute, the Gulf of Tonkin incident on August 2, 1964, was faked in order to gain American support for the Vietnam War.
© Public Domain
24 / 29 Fotos
The U.S. Government employed Nazi scientists - Operation Paperclip sent 1,600 Nazi scientists to work in the U.S. after World War II.
© Public Domain
25 / 29 Fotos
The First Lady acted as U.S. President - In 1919, U.S. First Lady Edith Wilson began making decisions on behalf of President Woodrow Wilson after he suffered a stroke.
© Getty Images
26 / 29 Fotos
Smoking kills - It wasn't until the late 1990s that Philip Morris admitted that smoking could be deadly. In 2006 a judge found tobacco companies liable.
© Shutterstock
27 / 29 Fotos
Playing football can cause brain damage
- A study found there was a link between brain damage and playing football.
© Shutterstock
28 / 29 Fotos
© Shutterstock/Getty Images
0 / 29 Fotos
The Dalai Lama works for the CIA - According to declassified intelligence documents, the Dalai Lama earned US$180,000 in connection with the CIA’s funding of the Tibetan Resistance in the 1960s. The aim was to disrupt China.
© Shutterstock
1 / 29 Fotos
There was a "gay bomb" - The U.S. Air Force did consider using pheromones as a weapon. The "gay bomb" was supposed to infuse enemy troops with female pheromones, making them sexually attracted to each other and disrupting troops' morale. However the weapon was never made.
© Shutterstock
2 / 29 Fotos
John Lennon was under surveillance - In 1971, the FBI and CIA put John Lennon under surveillance due to his anti-war songs.
© Getty Images
3 / 29 Fotos
Water changes frogs' sex - Radio host and conspiracy theorist Alex Jones claimed that chemicals in water are turning frogs gay. While the chemicals won't change a frog's sexual orientation, a study shows that exposure to a certain pesticide can actually change frogs' sex. Estrogen in suburban lakes can have the same effect.
© Shutterstock
4 / 29 Fotos
The Canadian government built a "gaydar" machine - In the 1950s, the Canadian government developed the "fruit machine" to test for homosexuality in federal employees. The testing was done by exposing subjects to same-sex intimate images and analyzing pupil dilatation response. Many employees lost their jobs.
© Shutterstock
5 / 29 Fotos
U.S. government investigating UFOs - The Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program investigated UFO sightings and other UFO-related events.
© Shutterstock
6 / 29 Fotos
Black men died of treatable syphilis
- The Tuskegee Study of Untreated Syphilis in the Negro Male was a study conducted in 1932. 600 poor black men were mislead to participate in the study. They were left untreated, as the aim of the study was to determine from autopsies what the disease does to the human body.
© Shutterstock
7 / 29 Fotos
Illuminati and the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) - There is actually a link between the supposedly secret organization that rules the world and the NSA, albeit just a hyperlink. Just type Illuminati backwards (Itanimulli) into a web browser, and it will take you to the NSA website.
© Shutterstock
8 / 29 Fotos
The government spies on your internet use - In 2005 it was revealed that the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) had been intercepting phone calls and internet communications. Many companies and government agencies continue to do so today without your knowledge.
© Shutterstock
9 / 29 Fotos
The U.S. government used dead babies for radioactive testing - 'Project Sunshine' tested radioactive strontium-90 on body parts of newly deceased children. This was done without the parents’ knowledge or consent.
© Shutterstock
10 / 29 Fotos
Osama bin Laden was captured through a fake vaccination program
- The CIA ran a fake vaccination program, and they had Bin Laden’s DNA on file thanks to his sister who lived in the U.S. A Pakistani doctor then identified his children's DNA in the area where he was hiding, and this information led to his capture.
© Getty Images
11 / 29 Fotos
Polio vaccine caused cancer - In 1960 it was revealed that some of the cells used to make the polio vaccine could cause cancer. Between 1955 and 1963, nearly 100 million children were given this vaccine.
© Shutterstock
12 / 29 Fotos
False testimony lead up to the Gulf War
- A young girl, identified as Nayirah, falsely testified on Iraq's invasion of Kuwait before the Congressional Human Rights Caucus in 1990. It turns out Nayirah was actually the daughter of the Kuwaiti ambassador to the U.S. and her testimony was part of a campaign called Citizens for a Free Kuwait, run by Hill & Knowlton, a PR firm.
© Getty Images
13 / 29 Fotos
Sugar industry funded research underplaying risks of sugar consumption - Studies funded by the National Confectioner’s Association and Coca-Cola made shocking claims, such as children who ate candy generally weighed less than those who didn't. A paper published in JAMA Internal Medicine revealed that they had been padding the studies since the 1960s.
© Shutterstock
14 / 29 Fotos
It's not really Hitler’s skull - Tests performed in 2009 revealed that what was supposedly Hitler's skull was actually that of a young woman.
© Shutterstock
15 / 29 Fotos
Top secret heart attack gun
- The CIA developed a secret weapon that shot a poisoned dart that consequently caused a heart attack. Victims were left with just a red dot on the skin, making it untraceable.
© Getty Images
16 / 29 Fotos
U.S. government planned to fabricate acts of terrorism and blame Cuba - Operation Northwoods was meant to commit acts of terrorism on U.S. soil to gain public support in the war against Cuba. Luckily then-President John F. Kennedy put a stop to the operation.
© Shutterstock
17 / 29 Fotos
World leaders gather yearly at a campground in California - Every year, some of the world's richest and most powerful men gather for two weeks at Bohemian Grove.
© Shutterstock
18 / 29 Fotos
The U.S. government paid for patriotic displays - The U.S. Department of Defense spent millions of dollars to have sports organizations such as the NFL, MLB, NBA, and NHL, put on shows to display American pride.
© Shutterstock
19 / 29 Fotos
The government can manipulate the weather - Operation Popeye was a U.S. government weather modification program that used a technique called cloud seeding to increase precipitation over North Vietnam.
© Shutterstock
20 / 29 Fotos
The CIA controlled U.S. media - Operation Mockingbird spied on members of the Washington press corps and paid journalists to publish CIA propaganda. It also funded student and cultural organizations and magazines.
© Shutterstock
21 / 29 Fotos
The U.S. government's mind control program - Project MKUltra was the name given to the CIA program that tested LSD on U.S. citizens without their knowledge. Unfortunately record have been destroyed.
© Shutterstock
22 / 29 Fotos
The U.S. government poisoned alcohol during prohibition - The government added toxins to alcohol to stop people from drinking during prohibition in the 1920s. Around 10,000 people died as a result.
© Shutterstock
23 / 29 Fotos
The Gulf of Tonkin incident didn't happen - According to the U.S. Naval Institute, the Gulf of Tonkin incident on August 2, 1964, was faked in order to gain American support for the Vietnam War.
© Public Domain
24 / 29 Fotos
The U.S. Government employed Nazi scientists - Operation Paperclip sent 1,600 Nazi scientists to work in the U.S. after World War II.
© Public Domain
25 / 29 Fotos
The First Lady acted as U.S. President - In 1919, U.S. First Lady Edith Wilson began making decisions on behalf of President Woodrow Wilson after he suffered a stroke.
© Getty Images
26 / 29 Fotos
Smoking kills - It wasn't until the late 1990s that Philip Morris admitted that smoking could be deadly. In 2006 a judge found tobacco companies liable.
© Shutterstock
27 / 29 Fotos
Playing football can cause brain damage
- A study found there was a link between brain damage and playing football.
© Shutterstock
28 / 29 Fotos
Conspiracy theories that turned out to be true
In 1945, German scientists were brought to the US as part of "Operation Paperclip"
© Shutterstock
The internet is full of conspiracy theories. While some might sound like complete nonsense, others actually turned out to be true. Whether more conspiracy theories will turn out to be true in the future is up for debate. For now, get to know the ones that did.
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