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Sean Cate
Sean Cate
September 15, 2024 ·  9 min read

Seventeen “Conspiracy Theories” That Turned Out To Be Completely True

We’ve all heard our fair share of conspiracy theories, ranging from the outlandish to the downright bizarre. From claims of a secret cabal controlling the government to theories about birds not being real, it’s easy to dismiss these ideas as the ramblings of cranks. However, sometimes these theories turn out to be true, revealing shocking revelations about government operations and covert activities. In this article, we will explore seven conspiracy theories that are accurate by evidence and documents. These conspiracies shed light on dark chapters in history and force us to question the official narratives presented to us. So, put on your skeptical thinking cap and delve into these mind-boggling tales of truth hidden behind the veil of secrecy.

1. The Government Wants to Beam Secret Messages into Your Brain

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The notion of the government beaming secret messages into people’s brains to control their thoughts may sound like the stuff of science fiction or the ravings of a paranoid mind. However, a declassified Pentagon report titled “Bioeffects of Selected Non-Lethal Weapons” confirms the existence of technologies that can produce sensations like buzzing, ticking, hissing, or knocking sounds directly within or behind a person’s head. “Microwave hearing” is a phenomenon for distracting individuals or even communicating with hostages. The report also reveals designs for weapons that could cause seizures or fevers to incapacitate individuals. While the technology is concerning, the report does mention that shielding with conductive barriers like metal can counteract its effects. So, that tin foil hat might not be as foolish as it seems.1

2. The CIA Secretly Dosed Americans in the Search for Mind Control Drugs

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The CIA’s MK-Ultra program, conducted during the 1950s and 1960s, involved administering mind-altering drugs like LSD to unsuspecting individuals. The objective was to explore the potential effects of these substances on human consciousness and develop techniques for mind control. The program not only failed to achieve its goals but also resulted in severe and lasting negative effects on many participants. The CIA’s involvement with LSD experiments played a significant role in popularizing the drug during the countercultural movement of the 1960s. The revelations surrounding MK-Ultra shed light on the unethical and dangerous experimentation conducted by intelligence agencies.2

3. Free Healthcare Is a Trick to Let the Government Poison You!

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In most contexts, a statement like this would be false, but for many Black Americans, the distrust of the government and medical establishment regarding healthcare has deep historical roots. One such example is the infamous Tuskegee Experiment. From 1932 to 1972, the US Public Health Service conducted a study in which they withheld treatment for syphilis from African-American men. Even after penicillin became widely available in the late 1940s, the researchers denied the participants access to this life-saving medication. The study took place without the participants’ consent and took many lives, as well as spread a disease to spouses and children. This heinous experiment exemplifies how communities are privy to betrayal and exploitation in the name of medical research.1

4. There Are Hundreds of ETs Under New Mexico!

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The Roswell incident, one of the most famous UFO conspiracy theories, suggests that extraterrestrial beings crashed in Roswell, New Mexico, in 1947. While the official explanation attributed the incident to a weather balloon, conspiracy theorists argue that there was a government cover-up. The truth lies in a different direction. The incident was related to Project Mogul, a top-secret project that used high-altitude balloons to detect sound waves from Soviet nuclear tests during the Cold War. The classified nature of the project fueled speculation, giving rise to the Roswell UFO myth.

5. “Gaydar”

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During the 1960s, the Canadian government hired Carleton University professor Frank Robert Wake to create a device called the “fruit machine.” This machine was intended to detect and identify gay men in an effort to purge them from government positions, falsely associating homosexuality with national security risks. Over 400 people lost their jobs, and 9,000 more were kept on a list of “suspects.” The machine supposedly operated by measuring pupillary dilation in response to imagery. This discriminatory program reflects the historical mistreatment of the LGBTQ+ community and the misuse of pseudoscience to perpetuate prejudice.

6. The Gulf of Tonkin Incident

New York, USA - May 28, 2018: Vietnam Veterans salutes during meeting on Memory Day on New York Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
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The Gulf of Tonkin incident, which occurred on August 2, 1964, played a significant role in escalating US involvement in the Vietnam War. The USS Maddox reported being attacked by North Vietnamese torpedo boats, leading to a retaliatory strike. However, declassified documents and testimonies later revealed that the attack was misreported, and the alleged targets did not actually exist. President Johnson’s initial claim that the North Vietnamese fired first was debunked. The incident, whether intentionally fabricated or a result of misperception, demonstrated how misinformation could sway public opinion and lead to devastating consequences.

7. The Conspiracy to Kill Abraham Lincoln

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While the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln by actor John Wilkes Booth is a well-known historical event, fewer people are aware of the broader conspiracy that unfolded. Booth conspired with nine other individuals in a plot to assassinate not only Lincoln but also Vice President Andrew Johnson and Secretary of State William Seward. This conspiracy involved attempted assassinations and attacks on multiple targets. Co-conspirators’ involvement highlights the plot’s complexity and extent, which aimed to destabilize the US government during a critical period in history.

Read More: People provide ‘evidence’ that one of the biggest events in human history was staged

8. First Lady as De Facto President

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In a surprising turn of events in 1919, when President Woodrow Wilson suffered a debilitating stroke, it was his first lady, Edith Wilson, who assumed the role of de facto president. Edith Wilson took charge by making critical decisions on behalf of her ailing husband and effectively concealing the true extent of his condition from the public eye. For approximately a year and five months, she steered the ship of state, a fact that remained largely hidden from the American populace. This episode in U.S. history showcased the remarkable influence one individual, even outside the official presidential office, could wield during a time of crisis.

9. Football Linked to Brain Damage

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In the world of sports, the NFL long faced accusations of concealing a critical truth—the link between playing football and brain damage. For years, the NFL disputed such claims, even as forensic pathologist Bennet Omalu’s 2002 findings pointed to football-related brain damage in players like Mike Webster. It wasn’t until seven years later that the NFL finally acknowledged this connection, leading to Dr. Omalu’s recognition by the American Medical Association and the release of the movie “Concussion,” starring Will Smith, which shed further light on this issue.

10. Government’s UFO Investigations

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While these revelations unfolded, whispers of the U.S. government’s involvement in secret UFO investigations became more pronounced. The existence of the Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program came to light, revealing that the government had allocated substantial funding between 2008 and 2011 to explore unidentified aerial phenomena. The program’s objective was not only to investigate these phenomena but also to assess potential physiological effects on civilians and military personnel who claimed encounters with mysterious aerial entities. The secrecy surrounding these endeavors only fueled speculation about what the government truly knew about UFOs.

11. Contaminated Polio Vaccines

Vaccination for booster shot for Polio IPV Inactivated poliomyelitis Virus in the child population. Doctor with vial of the doses vaccine and syringe for Polio IPV Inactivated poliomyelitis Virus
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Another startling revelation emerged in 1960 when it was discovered that the widely administered Salk polio vaccine contained cancer-causing agents. This discovery sent shockwaves through the medical community and the public at large, raising concerns about the safety of millions of children who had received the vaccine between 1955 and 1963. The revelation underscored the importance of stringent safety measures and scrutiny in the development and distribution of vaccines, emphasizing the potential risks associated with medical interventions on a massive scale.

12. Weather Manipulation

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Conspiracy theories about weather manipulation took hold, with claims that the U.S. government possessed the capability to control atmospheric conditions. Operation Popeye, a project during the Vietnam War, lent some credence to these allegations. This covert operation involved cloud seeding to increase precipitation during the rainy seasons over North Vietnam’s vital supply routes. The program’s intent was to hinder the movement of enemy troops and supplies. While the true extent of the government’s weather-altering capabilities remains a subject of debate, Operation Popeye served as a testament to the lengths to which some believed authorities would go to gain an advantage in wartime.

Read More: What is the Mysterious ‘Global Hum’?

13. ”Paid Patriotism” in Sports

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Closer to home, a scandal involving the Department of Defense and the world of sports unfolded. Reports in 2015 exposed that the department had allocated millions to sports organizations for elaborate patriotic displays designed to boost military recruitment efforts. These displays often included large-scale shows during major sporting events across the NFL, MLB, NBA, and NHL, among others. The revelation sparked outrage, raising questions about the integrity of such displays and whether they were driven by genuine patriotism or purely as recruitment tools.

14. Operation Northwoods

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A chilling conspiracy theory from the early 1960s claimed that the U.S. government had devised plans for domestic terrorism to justify a war against Cuba. The operation, known as Operation Northwoods, was endorsed by the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the CIA. It proposed fabricating acts of terrorism on American soil, including staging bombings and hijacking planes, all with the intent of blaming Cuba. Fortunately, these sinister plans never came to fruition, as President John F. Kennedy halted the operation, averting a potential crisis of immense proportions.

15. Nayirah’s False Testimony

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During the build-up to the Gulf War, a shocking revelation emerged about the testimony of a young girl known only as “Nayirah.” She had provided harrowing accounts of the inhumane treatment of Kuwaitis by Iraqi forces before the Congressional Human Rights Caucus in 1990. However, it was later exposed that “Nayirah” was, in fact, the daughter of the Kuwaiti ambassador to the U.S. Her testimony was part of a calculated public relations campaign led by Hill & Knowlton, a prominent PR firm. The aim was to sway public opinion and garner support for U.S. military intervention in the Gulf War. This revelation shed light on the manipulation of public sentiment during times of conflict.

16. Hitler’s Skull

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In a twist of historical intrigue, questions arose regarding the fate of Adolf Hitler after World War II. For decades, it was widely believed that Hitler had taken his own life. Allegedly, his skull was in the custody of the Russian government. However, in 2009, tests conducted on the alleged skull raised doubts about this narrative. The analysis revealed that the skull in question belonged to a young woman, casting uncertainty over the circumstances of Hitler’s demise and whether he had truly met his end as historically accepted.

17. Capture of Osama bin Laden

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In a modern-day espionage tale, the CIA employed an unconventional tactic to track down and capture Osama bin Laden. They initiated a fake vaccination program in Pakistan to collect DNA samples from relatives living near bin Laden’s compound. This covert operation eventually provided the crucial DNA evidence that confirmed bin Laden’s presence at the compound and ultimately led to his capture in 2011. This episode underscored the lengths to which intelligence agencies were willing to go in their pursuit of high-value targets.

These seventeen conspiracy theories turned out to be true, reminding us that truth can be stranger than fiction. As we navigate an era of fake news and misinformation, it is crucial to approach conspiracy theories with skepticism while acknowledging that some conspiracies have indeed occurred. By critically examining evidence and seeking reliable sources, we can separate baseless claims from genuine conspiracies supported by verifiable facts. History has shown that beneath the realm of conspiracy, the truth sometimes lurks in unexpected places.

Read More: Are Chemtrails Real? Here’s What Experts Say

Sources

  1. Four “Conspiracy Theories” That Turned Out To Be Completely True.” IFL Science. Dr. Katie Spalding. December 30, 2022.
  2. 6 wild conspiracy theories that actually turned out to be true.” Upworthy. Leo Shvedsky. March 6, 2023.
  3. 5 US national security-related conspiracy theories that turned out to be true.” Business Insider. Paul Szoldra, We Are The Mighty. June 16, 2015
  4. “25 Conspiracy Theories That Turned Out to Be True” Best Life December 20, 2018