30 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

 

Agreed, fringe conspiracies like flat earth or moon landing denial are largely harmless - mostly relegated to online nonsense.

 

But...  anti-vaccine conspiracies are a whole different beast. They weaponise half-truths and emotional manipulation to convince people to reject life-saving science.

 

The anti-vax movement distorts facts, exploits fears, and spreads outright lies about vaccine safety, resulting in preventable diseases reemerging and harming / killing vulnerable people.

 

These aren’t just misguided beliefs - they are public health threats. The consequences ripple through society, endangering communities that depend on herd immunity to stay safe.

 

This isn’t just a personal choice - it’s reckless, dangerous, and criminal...  I don't think they should be ignored.

 

I disagree.  First off, let's stop calling them theories. They are  intentional efforts to cause civil disorder and to erode national social cohesion. In effect sabotage. Some people thing it is funny to manipulate and get people upset. Others wish to promote a political agenda. And unfortunately, the majority  originate with foreign agents (Iran, Russia, China) who want there to be  social problems and disruption in western economies. 

 

Almost all are not theories, because they lack factual evidence. Our greatest scientific advances came from theories, and many challenged conventions of the day. They relied on  evidence and honest proof.  Most of the conspiracy claims lack credible factual evidence.  A credible theorist takes ownership of their claim and is willing to defend  it in the appropriate forum. The people who promote the conspiracies almost always hide their identities and refuse to take responsibility  for the damage they cause when they are exposed.

 

The western promoters of the questionable claims almost always have a financial interest in their false claims. Alex Jones who pushed the  false  claims about the  mass murder of children at Sandy Hook school made his money from sales of  dooms day  preparations, and  "health" supplments that he sold to his podcast listeners.  RFK Jr. made his income from filing personal injury lawsuits for people who had false or dubious claims of  vaccine injury.  Others are mentally ill. They are possessed by their obsessions. The mental illness is obvious. Instead of encouraging them, their sabotage and civil  vandalism needs to be terminated.

 

Secondly, the false claims cause serious damage. This is shown by the refusal of some  communities to vaccinate against preventative childhood diseases. The end result is that  everyone else suffers. They prey upon people with limited education and lower than normal intelligence levels. Society punishes those who seek to exploit the intellectually impaired through commercial transactions  , and yet the conspiracy claim promoters take advantage of legal loopholes to do just that. 

7 minutes ago, Patong2021 said:

 

I disagree.  First off, let's stop calling them theories. They are  intentional efforts to cause civil disorder and to erode national social cohesion. In effect sabotage. Some people thing it is funny to manipulate and get people upset. Others wish to promote a political agenda. And unfortunately, the majority  originate with foreign agents (Iran, Russia, China) who want there to be  social problems and disruption in western economies. 

 

Almost all are not theories, because they lack factual evidence. Our greatest scientific advances came from theories, and many challenged conventions of the day. They relied on  evidence and honest proof.  Most of the conspiracy claims lack credible factual evidence.  A credible theorist takes ownership of their claim and is willing to defend  it in the appropriate forum. The people who promote the conspiracies almost always hide their identities and refuse to take responsibility  for the damage they cause when they are exposed.

 

The western promoters of the questionable claims almost always have a financial interest in their false claims. Alex Jones who pushed the  false  claims about the  mass murder of children at Sandy Hook school made his money from sales of  dooms day  preparations, and  "health" supplments that he sold to his podcast listeners.  RFK Jr. made his income from filing personal injury lawsuits for people who had false or dubious claims of  vaccine injury.  Others are mentally ill. They are possessed by their obsessions. The mental illness is obvious. Instead of encouraging them, their sabotage and civil  vandalism needs to be terminated.

 

Secondly, the false claims cause serious damage. This is shown by the refusal of some  communities to vaccinate against preventative childhood diseases. The end result is that  everyone else suffers. They prey upon people with limited education and lower than normal intelligence levels. Society punishes those who seek to exploit the intellectually impaired through commercial transactions  , and yet the conspiracy claim promoters take advantage of legal loopholes to do just that. 

 

I agree.. I'm not sure why you disagreed with me, we singing from a similar hym sheet.... 

 

 

On 4/19/2025 at 2:52 AM, EVENKEEL said:

Never gave the moon landing a thought till recently.  Was it faked?

And did the Titanic sink?

1 hour ago, Tigger01 said:

And did the Titanic sink?

Some say no.

On 4/19/2025 at 2:52 AM, EVENKEEL said:

Never gave the moon landing a thought till recently.  Was it faked?

best you don't think too much!

On 4/18/2025 at 4:58 PM, ukrules said:

Why act at all? Who cares what someone else believes?

 

You might not realise it but many people are completely and utterly incapable of thinking for themselves, they repeat what they hear - like parrots.

Don't listen to the parrots and leave them to it.

 

Like 'safe and effective' and 'two weeks to flatten the curve'?  Where's my 'winter of death' that Joe Biden promised us?  Plenty of people are dropping like flies from aggressive forms of cancer. Guess what they have in common.  They believe what the government and media tells them.

 

  Why is it only now that US food manufacturers are removing toxic artificial colouring from their products?  It isn't because you believers suddenly developed a healthy sense of skepticism when the 'facts' are being dispensed by your betters. 

1 hour ago, flaming dragon said:

 

Like 'safe and effective' and 'two weeks to flatten the curve'?  Where's my 'winter of death' that Joe Biden promised us?  Plenty of people are dropping like flies from aggressive forms of cancer. Guess what they have in common.  They believe what the government and media tells them.

 

  Why is it only now that US food manufacturers are removing toxic artificial colouring from their products?  It isn't because you believers suddenly developed a healthy sense of skepticism when the 'facts' are being dispensed by your betters. 

Who's a pretty boy, then?

Let freedom reign/rain/ring.

To the title ...

 

... may want to start listening to them.  I'm never wrong  😎

On 4/28/2025 at 2:01 AM, rattlesnake said:

 

I'm a bigger conspiracy theorist than people think:

 

 

Perhaps..    How many of these would you go for ?

 

QAnon – Trump secretly fights a global satanic paedophile cabal.

The Deep State – Unelected officials secretly control the US government.

FEMA Camps – FEMA built concentration camps for future martial law.

Chemtrails – Planes spray chemicals to control minds or the weather.

HAARP – A US project manipulates weather or causes earthquakes.

Roswell & Area 51 – The US hides aliens and UFO technology.

Reptilian Overlords – Shape-shifting lizards secretly rule the world.

Secret Space Programme – Hidden colonies exist on Mars or the Moon.

Time Travel Projects (Project Pegasus) – The government has time-travel tech.

Anti-Vax / Microchip Theory – Vaccines implant tracking chips or alter DNA.

Flat Earth – NASA fakes space photos to hide that Earth is flat.

5G Mind Control – 5G towers spread disease or control thoughts.

Big Pharma Cancer Cure – Corporations suppress cheap cancer cures.

New World Order (NWO) – A global elite plans one-world government.

George Soros Puppet-Master – Soros funds movements to control societies.

Election Fraud 24/7 – Every unwanted election result is “rigged.”

JFK Assassination Cover-Up – The CIA or others killed Kennedy.

Moon Landing Hoax – Apollo missions were filmed on Earth / we never went to the moon.

9/11 Was an Inside Job – The US staged or allowed 9/11 for power.

Satanic Panic Revival – Secret cults abuse children in the shadows.

Mandela Effect – False memories prove alternate timelines exist.

Denver Airport Illuminati Base – The airport hides an underground Illuminati HQ.

 

 

 

11 hours ago, richard_smith237 said:

FEMA Camps – FEMA built concentration camps for future martial law.

 

Yeah, I remember that.

I almost believed it for a while. I admit I got suckered. That was fear-mongering. 

 

Well, here's another conspiracy for you. What if the govt actually infiltrates the conspiracy movement by putting its own guys there? And deliberately to make up fake conspiracies. 

 

And sometimes even absurd conspiracies. So then the fake conspiracies are mixed in with the real conspiracies and no one knows what to believe. 

 

Or some conspiracies are so absurd that people think all conspiracies are absurd. 

 

Some conspiracies have some truth to them, some not. 

It's not black or white. 

You really need to analyze each one separately. 

 

11 hours ago, richard_smith237 said:

Perhaps..    How many of these would you go for ?

 

There was also the "Georgia Guidestones" conspiracy.

 

It was written "to keep humanity under 500 million people" on them, so it spiralled into a conspiracy that the ruling class was planning to eliminate the majority of people on the planet. 

These things actually existed and were eventually destroyed. They were like the Stonehenge in UK. 

 

No one knows how they got there.

It could have been a "major prank" of some kind.

 

 

31 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

The Deep State – Unelected officials secretly control the US government.

Check

31 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

FEMA Camps – FEMA built concentration camps for future martial law.

Check

31 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

Chemtrails – Planes spray chemicals to control minds or the weather.

Check  'climate change'

31 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

HAARP – A US project manipulates weather or causes earthquakes.

Check

31 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

Roswell & Area 51 – The US hides aliens and UFO technology.

Check

31 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

Reptilian Overlords – Shape-shifting lizards secretly rule the world.

Possibly

31 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

Secret Space Programme – Hidden colonies exist on Mars or the Moon.

perhaps

31 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

Time Travel Projects (Project Pegasus) – The government has time-travel tech.

"Safe and effective"   how else would they know ?

31 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

Anti-Vax / Microchip Theory – Vaccines implant tracking chips or alter DNA.

perhaps  DNA

31 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

Flat Earth – NASA fakes space photos to hide that Earth is flat.

I doubt that but who the heck know these days

31 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

5G Mind Control – 5G towers spread disease or control thoughts.

I have my tinfoil hat so should be safe 😋  but who knows these days

 

31 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

Big Pharma Cancer Cure – Corporations suppress cheap cancer cures.

Check   Ivermectin

31 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

New World Order (NWO) – A global elite plans one-world government.

Check  WEF 

31 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

George Soros Puppet-Master – Soros funds movements to control societies.

Check  WEF  IMF  WHO  etc etc

31 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

Election Fraud 24/7 – Every unwanted election result is “rigged.”

Check

31 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

JFK Assassination Cover-Up – The CIA or others killed Kennedy.

Check he wanted to get rid of the CIA

31 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

Moon Landing Hoax – Apollo missions were filmed on Earth / we never went to the moon.

probably  why not back for 50 + years

31 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

9/11 Was an Inside Job – The US staged or allowed 9/11 for power.

Check and double check and then triple check

31 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

Satanic Panic Revival – Secret cults abuse children in the shadows.

Probably 

31 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

Mandela Effect – False memories prove alternate timelines exist.

never heard of it

31 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

Denver Airport Illuminati Base – The airport hides an underground Illuminati HQ.

never heard of it

 

 

42 minutes ago, save the frogs said:

These things actually existed and were eventually destroyed.

Yes they were partially blown up by some 'terrorist' action then  totally demolished by the 'authorities'   never to be spoken about again,  a very strange case  to do with the "new world order"

"you will own nothing and be happy"   maniacs if I remember correctly.

4 minutes ago, johng said:

Check

Check

Check  'climate change'

Check

Check

Possibly

perhaps

"Safe and effective"   how else would they know ?

perhaps  DNA

I doubt that but who the heck know these days

I have my tinfoil hat so should be safe 😋  but who knows these days

 

Check   Ivermectin

Check  WEF 

Check  WEF  IMF  WHO  etc etc

Check

Check he wanted to get rid of the CIA

probably  why not back for 50 + years

Check and double check and then triple check

Probably 

never heard of it

never heard of it

 

 

 

Tell me you’re from the United States without telling me you are from the United States … Alright, so.... many of the conspiracy claims above originate from the U.S.,.... but that also because, per capita, the country harbours more conspiracists than anywhere else !!!  So many nutter !!! 

 

As for the Mandela Effect, it might actually be real - but not for the usual, sensational reasons. More plausibly, it arises from widespread miscommunication, often tied to imagery that sticks in the mind...

 

Reason its called the Mandela effect: 

- False memory: Many people recall Nelson Mandela dying in prison in the 1980s.

- Reality: He was released in 1990 and died in 2013.

 

Examples: 

- Star Wars: “Luke, I am your father.”

- False memory: Almost everyone quotes it this way.

- Reality: The line is actually, “No, I am your father.”

 

Many more examples here: 

https://www.watchmojo.com/articles/top-20-mind-blowing-examples-of-the-mandela-effect/lucy-has-some-splainin-to-do

 

 

Moon landings & 9/11 👌🏻

I don't know enough about JFK, but possibly

Some people need to learn about Dunning Kruger...The Dunning–Kruger effect describes a cognitive bias where people with low knowledge or skill overestimate their competence. This is particularly visible among conspiracy theorists, who often lack the expertise to evaluate evidence but remain supremely confident in their conclusions. Ironically, their ignorance protects them from recognising their own errors — making them too uninformed to know they’re uninformed.
Conspiracy believers typically see themselves as independent thinkers or “truth seekers,” but their reasoning often relies on selective anecdotes, pseudo-experts, and an assumption that all mainstream information is false. They fail to understand that the world of science and critical thinking totally dwarfs them. The less they understand, the more they interpret complexity as evidence of a cover-up.
Their language is remarkably consistent:
“Do your own research.”
“Wake up, sheeple.”
“They don’t want you to know.”
“It’s all connected.”
“Follow the money.”
“The mainstream media won’t tell you this.”
“There are no coincidences.”
“If you knew what I know…”
Central to it all is the mysterious “They” — a catch-all enemy representing governments, corporations, elites, or shadowy powers supposedly pulling the strings behind every event. Conveniently undefined, “They” can never be proven wrong — only expanded to fit the next theory.
Remember the plural of anecdote is not data and 
Healthy scepticism asks questions; conspiracy thinking assumes the answers.
 

5 hours ago, richard_smith237 said:

QAnon – Trump secretly fights a global satanic paedophile cabal.

 

 

QAnon is not an entity and is in fact a portmanteau invented by the media. There is Q, an entity which made a number of posts on the 4chan forum during Trump's first term, and there are the so-called "Anons", who are the individuals who parsed and deciphered those posts. No Q posts posits that "Trump secretly fights a global satanic paedophile cabal. If I were to summarise it in a nutshell, I would say it is a decentralised intel op.

 

5 hours ago, richard_smith237 said:

The Deep State – Unelected officials secretly control the US government.

 

The term was coined by Peter Dale Scott in his book The American Deep State: Wall Street, Big Oil, and the Attack on U.S. Democracy, published in 1997. I read it a few years ago and though it is a tedious read, it does provide valuable insight into the covert networks which underlie and, to a significant degree, control American politics. Particularly interesting was the fact that part of the US Deep State actually supported Trump. You see, that's the interesting thing about Trump, he has to accept the environment as it exists.

 

5 hours ago, richard_smith237 said:

FEMA Camps – FEMA built concentration camps for future martial law

 

Yes.

Interim Operational Considerations for Implementing the Shielding Approach to Prevent COVID-19 Infections in Humanitarian Settings
The shielding approach aims to reduce the number of severe COVID-19 cases by limiting contact between individuals at higher risk of developing severe disease (“high-risk”) and the general population (“low-risk”). High-risk individuals would be temporarily relocated to safe or “green zones” established at the household, neighborhood, camp/sector or community level depending on the context and setting.
See Guidance for the prevention of COVID-19 infections among high-risk individuals in low-resource, displaced and camp and camp-like settings 1,2 for full details.
https://web.archive.org/web/20200728203549/https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/global-covid-19/shielding-approach-humanitarian.html

 

I will stop there, but the only ones I will point out as obviously false are the reptilian one, the 5G Mind Control one (though 5G is definitely problematic) and the Denver Airport Illuminati HQ – and that's part of the problem, ridiculous claims are often conflated with valid ones in order to discredit all refutations of official narratives.

24 minutes ago, rattlesnake said:

I will stop there, but the only ones I will point out as obviously false are the reptilian one, the 5G Mind Control one (though 5G is definitely problematic) and the Denver Airport Illuminati HQ – and that's part of the problem, ridiculous claims are often conflated with valid ones in order to discredit all refutations of official narratives.

 

That is a valid point – we cannot place every conspiracy claim on the same level as genuinely substantiated conspiracies. To do so would be to flatten nuance and ignore the weight of evidence. For example, the Watergate scandal and the exposure of COINTELPRO are well-documented conspiracies with undeniable proof and lasting societal impact. In contrast, the anti-vaccine movement often cherry-picks “shreds” of valid information - such as a tiny, statistically rare number of adverse reactions - and inflates it into the notion of a vast, malevolent conspiracy. Meanwhile, the overwhelming rhetoric of many anti-vaxxers is no more rational than the claims of Moon-landing deniers or flat earthers, built on selective evidence, fear-mongering, and willful misinterpretation. Recognising this distinction allows us to critically evaluate information, separate fact from fantasy, and approach skepticism with both rigor and discernment.

On 4/18/2025 at 9:57 PM, kwilco said:

Why Wild Ideas Are Thriving (And How to Push Back)

Twenty years ago, flat Earth, fake moon landings, anti-vax fear, and fringe politics were laughed off. Now? They're everywhere. Why?

No more gatekeepers. Anyone can post anything, and shock spreads faster than truth.

Social media rewards outrage, not accuracy.

People have lost trust in institutions after wars, recessions, and pandemics.

Echo chambers reinforce beliefs, no matter how wild.

Simple lies beat complex truths. It's easier to blame a conspiracy than understand science.

Identity politics. Beliefs become tribal, not logical.

How to fight back?

Stay calm. Mockery fuels their fire.

Ask questions. Get people thinking, not defending.

Share sources they might trust—not just "mainstream."

Most importantly: build trust. No one listens to someone they think looks down on them.

It’s not about winning arguments. It’s about planting seeds.

What to do about them? Keep them out of governments and make sure they are not elected or given powerful positions ? 

 

Or maybe to late?

Remember  - Buy one and the rest come free!

On 4/19/2025 at 2:57 AM, kwilco said:

Why Wild Ideas Are Thriving (And How to Push Back)

Twenty years ago, flat Earth, fake moon landings, anti-vax fear, and fringe politics were laughed off. Now? They're everywhere. Why?

No more gatekeepers. Anyone can post anything, and shock spreads faster than truth.

Social media rewards outrage, not accuracy.

People have lost trust in institutions after wars, recessions, and pandemics.

Echo chambers reinforce beliefs, no matter how wild.

Simple lies beat complex truths. It's easier to blame a conspiracy than understand science.

Identity politics. Beliefs become tribal, not logical.

How to fight back?

Stay calm. Mockery fuels their fire.

Ask questions. Get people thinking, not defending.

Share sources they might trust—not just "mainstream."

Most importantly: build trust. No one listens to someone they think looks down on them.

It’s not about winning arguments. It’s about planting seeds.

.....or simply put, "I don't like what you're saying so I'll demean what you're saying by calling you a "Conspiracy Theorist."  

2 hours ago, connda said:

.....or simply put, "I don't like what you're saying so I'll demean what you're saying by calling you a "Conspiracy Theorist."  

 

 

That’s not it at all. Calling out conspiracy thinking isn’t “demeaning” — it’s describing a pattern of how bad ideas spread and harden.

No one’s being attacked for having questions; it’s about what happens when questions turn into dogma.
People who cling to conspiracy theories aren’t being “dismissed”—they’re dismissing evidence, logic, and expertise themselves.

Trying to justify conspiracy thinking isn’t open-mindedness; it’s just lowering the bar for what counts as truth.
It’s not about liking or disliking someone’s opinion — it’s about recognising when thought has been replaced by reflex.

On 4/28/2025 at 1:37 PM, Tigger01 said:

And did the Titanic sink?

Don't think the Titanic sank. Don't think there were ever humans on the moon.

 

When Buss Lightyear was cornered about walking on the moon's surface; he lashed out. Obviously angry at being put in such a position for the rest of his life.

59 minutes ago, Stiddle Mump said:

Don't think the Titanic sank. Don't think there were ever humans on the moon.

 

When Buss Lightyear was cornered about walking on the moon's surface; he lashed out. Obviously angry at being put in such a position for the rest of his life.

 

 

So let’s get this straight — you think 400,000 people across NASA, 20,000 contractors, and dozens of universities all kept a perfect secret for over 50 years... and not one slipped?

Any conspiracy that size would’ve leaked within four years max.

That’s the problem with this “buy one, get all the rest free” mindset: once you swallow one wild claim, critical thinking goes out the window. Suddenly the moon, the Titanic, and probably gravity itself are all “fake.”

1 hour ago, Stiddle Mump said:

Don't think the Titanic sank. Don't think there were ever humans on the moon.

 

can you offer an alternative explanation as to why??

12 hours ago, kwilco said:

can you offer an alternative explanation as to why??

Sure can. It wasn't the 'Titanic' that sunk. It was a ship named the 'Olympic'. Dressed up to impersonate the Titanic. Big insurance fraud.

 

Sorry to mislead you in the original post regarding the moon landings Sir. It wasn't Buss Lightyear who went on the moon mission. It was Buzz Aldrin.

8 hours ago, Stiddle Mump said:

Sure can. It wasn't the 'Titanic' that sunk. It was a ship named the 'Olympic'. Dressed up to impersonate the Titanic. Big insurance fraud.

 

Sorry to mislead you in the original post regarding the moon landings Sir. It wasn't Buss Lightyear who went on the moon mission. It was Buzz Aldrin.

yoOh dear you need to learn how to research, not just search or cherry pick - RMS Olympic and HMHS Britannic, the other two vessels in the Olympic-class trio built by the White Star Line. The Olympic had a long and successful career, while the Britannic was converted to a hospital ship during World War I and sank after hitting a mine.

26 minutes ago, kwilco said:

yoOh dear you need to learn how to research, not just search or cherry pick - RMS Olympic and HMHS Britannic, the other two vessels in the Olympic-class trio built by the White Star Line. The Olympic had a long and successful career, while the Britannic was converted to a hospital ship during World War I and sank after hitting a mine.

Been Googling have we Sir?

 

John Hamer tells a different story.

On 10/29/2025 at 9:19 AM, Stiddle Mump said:

Been Googling have we Sir?

 

John Hamer tells a different story.

you realise that Google is not a source it's a search engine - you need tpo learn how to use it.