The 10 Most Conspiracy-Filled Events in History

Top 10 Historical Events With the Most Conspiracy Theories

Welcome to WatchMojo, and today were counting down our picks for the moments in history that inspired the most fringe beliefs and off-the-wall explanations.

#10: Sinking of the Titanic

Possibly the most famous marine disaster in history, the sinking of this luxurious ship has sparked many bizarre theories over the years. Some believe that the Titanic was intentionally sunk by either J.P. Morgan or the Rothschilds using explosives. Their motivation was supposedly to kill off rich people who opposed the establishment of the Federal Reserve. Others say that it was actually Titanics sister ship, the Olympic, that sank, but the owners claimed it was the Titanic to cash in on an insurance scam. Still others including the Washington Post have suggested that a mummys curse caused the ship to sink. None of these ideas have stood up to scrutiny.

#9: Disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370

In 2014, this plane vanished with 239 people on board while on its way from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. Theorists have blamed different governments and intelligence agencies, including China, Russia, and the U.S., for hijacking the plane to get their hands on valuable cargo or bring supposed Chinese hackers to justice. Others have suggested that the disappearance was part of a terrorist attack that was covered up. More outlandish ideas include alien abduction or the plane being hidden in remote locations like the Taklamakan Desert or even North Korea. The lack of evidence and real answers has turned Flight MH370 into a hotbed of speculation.

#8: The AIDS Crisis

When this devastating disease turned into an epidemic in the 1980s, theories about its origins immediately took off. A shocking number of people believed that it was created in a lab in order to reduce or eliminate members of marginalized groups, including Black, Latino, and gay communities. Others thought it was intended as a means of broader population control. The KGB spread propaganda claiming that the U.S. created AIDS as a bio-weapon. Many people still believe that HIV doesnt cause AIDS, with some arguing that vaccines are the real cause. If all of this sounds familiar, its probably because many of these exact conspiracy theories have sprung up around COVID-19. Sometimes a comforting lie is easier to face than a scary truth.

#7: Death of Marilyn Monroe

The famously troubled star had a history of substance use disorder, and her death in 1962 was caused by an overdose. That didnt stop people from spreading rumors that shed actually been murdered or, at least, that her real cause of death was covered up. It was believed that shed had an affair with one or both of the Kennedy brothers, and that one of them or the CIA had had her killed. Some proposed that shed died as a result of medical malpractice, and that her own doctors had covered it up. Sudden celebrity deaths always seem to fuel conspiracy theories. When Princess Diana died in a car crash, there was immediate speculation that shed been murdered by MI6 or even by Prince Charles.

#6: The Pyramids

Thanks to the so-called History Channel, youve probably heard the theory that various ancient civilizations were visited by aliens, and that they helped the Egyptians build the pyramids. But thats just one fringe hypothesis connected to these incredible structures. Some people have claimed that the Egyptians must have had access to some advanced technology, possibly provided by a lost civilization like Atlantis. The really out-there theories say that they used magic to build the pyramids. Proponents of pseudoscience have also latched onto these monuments, claiming that they have special cosmological or numerical significance, or even that they harness energy or cosmic vibrations.

#5: Hitlers Death

On April 30, 1945, when it became clear that the Allies were going to win the war and the downfall of Nazi Germany was inevitable, Hitler and his wife, Eva Braun, took their own lives. But rumors immediately began swirling that he was still alive, thanks in part to the Soviet Union. In June of 1945, Joseph Stalin ordered his military leaders to spread the claim that Hitler had actually escaped Germany alive. Some said he was living in South America or Europe, or even a secret Nazi base in Antarctica. Then there are those who said he died long before the war ended, and Nazi leaders replaced him with a body double.

#4: Roswell Crash

Most people know that the town of Roswell, New Mexico, is associated with numerous conspiracy theories about aliens, but you might not know that the U.S. military is to blame. In the summer of 1947, Americans became obsessed with flying saucers. It started with a pilot who claimed he saw nine shiny discs flying near Mount Rainier. At this time, the U.S. had thousands of secret spy balloons circulating to detect Soviet nuclear tests. When one crashed near Roswell, the military initially announced that it was a flying disc, causing a media frenzy. They then retracted this statement and said the debris was from a weather balloon. Of course, this led many people to believe the government was hiding evidence of aliens.

#3: Moon Landing

The belief that humans have never actually landed on the moon mainly stems from a 1976 book self-published by former U.S. Naval officer Bill Kaysing. It was expanded in 1980 by the Flat Earth Society, which introduced the idea that Hollywood elites funded by Disney, including director Stanley Kubrick, faked the videos of the moon landings. The motivations for the supposed hoax vary, from beating the U.S.S.R. in the space race to distracting the public from the Vietnam War. Considering that more than 400,000 people worked on the Apollo program over the course of 10 years, it would probably be impossible to keep it a secret if the landings actually were staged.

#2: 9/11

Did Bush know about the September 11 terrorist attacks before they happened? Was it an inside job? Was the Pentagon actually hit by a missile, not a plane? These are just a few of the many, many conspiracy theories surrounding this massive tragedy. Some people think the buildings were brought down by controlled demolitions, and the planes were just a coverup or there werent actually any planes involved at all. Others claim that the attacks were real, but they werent perpetrated by al-Qaeda, and that the Israeli government or some other country is responsible.

#1: Assassination of John F. Kennedy

Maybe the CIA killed JFK. Maybe it was the Mafia, or Cubans, or even the vice president. Maybe Lee Harvey Oswald was a patsy who took the fall for someone else. Or perhaps he really did shoot the president, but someone put him up to it. There might have been a second gunman on the grassy knoll. George H.W. Bush could have had something to do with it, or the government of Israel, or Russia. Heck, maybe even Ted Cruzs dad did it. There are so many theories surrounding the assassination of the 35th president, we cant even begin to list them all. Most can be easily debunked, but that doesnt stop people from speculating about it more than 60 years later.

Do you believe any of these conspiracy theories, or are they all ridiculous? Let us know in the comments below.