10 Conspiracies That Ruined People's Lives

McMartin Preschool Trial

Maybe you’ve heard about the so-called “Satanic panic” of the 1980s, which caused mass hysteria. That paranoia had vast societal ripple effects over the course of the decade, and one of the most notable examples was the 1983 McMartin preschool case. The McMartin family of Manhattan Beach, California, was accused of truly heinous crimes against minors by Judy Johnson, one of their students’ mothers. The resulting interviews of the children, conducted by the Children’s Institute International, were widely criticized for asking leading, suggestive questions, which led to claims of supernatural events and the presence of actor Chuck Norris. Despite the lack of credible evidence, McMartin family member Ray Buckey was imprisoned for five years while never having been charged with a crime.

Lavender Scare

This entry won’t be the last time you hear about Senator Joseph McCarthy in our video today. Think of this infamous “witch hunt” as part of the lead-up to McCarthy’s baseless targeting of individuals he deemed “communists” in the 1950s. Although it sounds ludicrous to our 21st century ears, McCarthy and his ilk believed that people in the LGBTQ+ community were “subversives,” or risks to national security; they were of the opinion that gay men were somehow more susceptible to blackmail or corruption by foreign actors. Deeming them “sexual misfits,” LGBTQ+ members of the government were systematically targeted and removed from their positions, which trickled down and fueled inaccurate, homophobic beliefs into the modern day.

Sandy Hook

The unthinkable events of December 14, 2012 will forever live in tragic infamy. 20-year-old Adam Lanza opened fire on the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, taking his own life as well as those of 20 students and six staff members. Although conspiracy theories tend to pop up around any such large-scale loss of life, those surrounding Sandy Hook took on an unfortunate life of their own. Propped up by fringe figures like far-right radio host and noted conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, proponents of such conspiracies claimed that the shooting was faked, and that everyone involved was a “crisis actor.” The point was, apparently, to allow the U.S. government to enact stricter gun laws.

QAnon

If you’ve been active on the Internet in the past decade or so, then chances are you’re at least somewhat familiar with QAnon. For the uninitiated: the “QAnon” conspiracy theory asserts that a deep-running cabal of Satan worshippers have infiltrated the American government, with the explicit goal of undermining President Donald Trump. “Q,” the still-unidentified head of the conspiracy, would post cryptic “drops” on the online imageboard 8chan, long noted for its ties to the American far-right and neo-Nazism. While many lost family members to the QAnon rabbit hole, its impact was most pronounced in the January 6th, 2021 Capitol riots that saw 1500 people brought up on federal charges. That is, before President Trump unequivocally pardoned them in 2025.

Dreyfus Affair

Unlike many of the other entries in our video today, this is one conspiracy that kind of has a happy ending. In December 1894, 35-year-old French artilleryman Alfred Dreyfus was accused of selling out his country’s military by providing the German Empire with top-secret intel. Dreyfus, who was of Jewish descent, was sentenced to life in prison at a penal colony in French Guiana. Evidence that would have cleared Dreyfus’s name came out in 1896, but was suppressed by the French military, who were found to have openly persecuted Dreyfus because of his Jewish heritage. Increasing public backlash led to the officer’s exoneration in 1906, after which he was reinstated and served as a lieutenant colonel in World War I.

McCarthyism & the Second Red Scare

In the aftermath of World War II and Allied victory, a new war was slowly beginning to creep into the American public eye: the Cold War. Fears of communism being sowed in the United States led Wisconsin senator Joseph McCarthy to spearhead efforts to root it out. McCarthy led the House Un-American Activities Committee, which baselessly targeted government officials, entertainment industry professionals, left-wing politicians, and more. Tens of thousands are suspected to have had their lives and livelihoods ruined by the allegations — which was made all the more heartbreaking when it was revealed that most of McCarthy’s accusations were false, or at the very least, trumped up.

Watergate

President Richard Nixon fought for years to reach the White House, having even considered early retirement after losing the 1960 presidential election and 1962 California gubernatorial election. However, that political momentum came to a screeching halt in 1973, when a group of burglars were caught attempting to plant wiretaps at the Democratic National Committee office in Washington, D.C. In an example of pulling on a loose thread resulting in the whole sweater falling apart, the tireless work of Washington Post journalists Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward revealed that the conspiracy went all the way up to the top. The fallout from the explosive scandal resulted in Nixon becoming the only commander-in-chief to resign from the presidency.

Tuskegee Syphilis Study

Brace yourself: the Tuskegee Experiment (as it’s sometimes referred to) is one of the most disturbing chapters in American history. Conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as well as the Public Health Service, the experiments were carried out in part by Tuskegee University, a historically Black learning institute. Initially set to last just six months, the study lasted for four decades, and followed the effects of untreated syphilis on a test group of Black sharecroppers from Alabama. The problem? The men in the test group were never informed of their syphilis diagnosis, a major ethics breach that found 28 patients dying directly of syphilis, and 100 more from complications related to syphilis.

MKUltra

For 20 years, the Central Intelligence Agency carried out grotesque medical experiments on unwitting human test subjects. In the early 1950s, the CIA purchased the entire existing supply of LSD to employ on — as they put it — “people who could not fight back.” These included prisoners, people with substance use disorders, and sex workers. They later recruited Scottish psychiatrist Donald Ewen Cameron to carry out these experiments at the Allan Memorial Institute of Montreal’s McGill University. Those subject to these experiments came in suffering from routine maladies like anxiety disorders, and left the study with permanent psychological damage. In 2012, the family of U.S. Army biochemist Frank Olson, who died after being given LSD without his consent, led a failed attempt to sue the government.

COINTELPRO

Not only did this one conspiracy theory turn out to be true, but its existence was well-documented. So much so that upon its discovery through a press leak in 1971, it was immediately shut down and its activities discontinued (well, at least on paper). This covert FBI program began operations in 1956, with the explicit goal of targeting individuals and organizations that the bureau deemed to be “subversive.” These included Martin Luther King Jr., the Black Panther Party, anti-Vietnam War activists, and more. In fact, COINTELPRO’s explicit goal was to ruin people’s lives. Through methods like illegal surveillance, psychological warfare, and undermining public opinion, the FBI waged war with American citizens on U.S. soil.


Which conspiracy shocked you the most? Are there any we missed? Be sure to let us know in the comments below!