Top 10 Conspiracy Theories

Below are some of the best conspiracy theories that just won't die. These are the Top 10 conspiracy theories in terms of popularity, endurance, and how many believers exist.

They run the gamut from assassination conspiracy theories including JFK conspiracy theories, moon landing conspiracy theories and other government conspiracy theories, alien conspiracy theories, the Illuminati and the New World Order, and other events in history that just don't seem to add up in the public's eyes.

Do I personally believe any of the following conspiracy theories? Well, I'm not going to say which ones, but yes, I do believe, at least in part, a few of these popular conspiracy theories.

Most people believe something crashed in Roswell, New Mexico during the summer of 1947. Air Force authorities initially said it was a type of flying saucer, but then quickly changed their minds.  Later official reports claim that it was a weather balloon.  Today, it is thought that what crashed at Roswell was a top secret military spy balloon.  Talk of a conspiracy did not come about until decades later, however.

This alien conspiracy theory suggests that crashed flying saucers, including the one from Roswell, are stored and studied at a top secret location known as Area 51.  Some believe that even aliens are kept there, both living and dead.

The death of John F. Kennedy, the 35th American president, has brought about many JFK conspiracy theories.  In 1963, Kennedy was shot and killed in Dallas, Texas in front of many spectators.  Most people agree that Lee Harvey Oswald was the person that shot Kennedy.  But some people believe that there was more than one killer.  The infamous grassy knoll is the location where many think the second shooter was hidden.

There also are many JFK conspiracy theories as to who hired or commanded Oswald to kill Kennedy.  The Mafia, CIA, FBI, Fidel Castro, Lyndon B. Johnson, or the KGB are all suspects to conspiracy theorists.

The Warren Commission concluded that Oswald did indeed act alone.  But a report in 1979 by the House Select Committee on Assassinations decided that there was an assassination conspiracy to kill JFK, and that there probably was more than one shooter.

Since Lee Harvey Oswald was killed by Jack Ruby just days after Oswald was arrested, this is a conspiracy theory that will probably never be answered for sure.

Another very popular government conspiracy theory is that the United States, NASA, and possibly the CIA faked the 1969 Apollo moon landing.  Some of the reasons given for supporting the Apollo moon landing conspiracy theory are: the flag that was on the Moon was flapping when there would be no wind, the astronauts could not have survived the radiation exposure, the photos show no stars, and the film could not have survived the surface temperature of the Moon.

The death of Princess Diana also spawned assassination conspiracy theories.  Princess Diana and a companion, Dodi Al-Fayed, were both killed in Paris in 1997. The car accident occurred in a highway tunnel while trying to escape from  papparazzi.  Many feel that it was it was not an accident, but instead an assassination.

A couple of reasons given for believing it was an assassination are that Princess Diana was pregnant or that she was going to convert to Islam.  It was thought that she was embarrassing the Royal Family.

Some of the groups thought to be responsible for Diana's death are the IRA, British intelligence, the CIA, enemies of the Fayed family, and the British Royal Family themselves.

October Surprise is the name given to a conspiracy theory involving President Reagan and the Tehran hostages. Conspiracy theorists suggest that Ronald Reagan representatives negotiated with Iran terrorists. The America conspiracy theory goes that they made a deal to not release the hostages during Jimmy Carter's administration. This would virtually guarantee the election for Reagan. Adding fuel to this America conspiracy theory fire is the fact that the hostages were indeed released just minutes after Reagan's inauguration. They had been held captive for over a year.

The reason it is called October Surprise is because any big news events that happen in October can influence voters during the presidential election in November.

The latest and perhaps the biggest conspiracy theory involves the attacks by terrorists on September 11, 2001 in the USA. Some of the 911 conspiracy claims are: United States government planned the attacks themselves to generate support for the military and policies which would invade personal privacy. Others don't go so far as to say the United States government was behind the terrorist plans, but instead believe that the US government had information ahead of time concerning the 9/11 attacks and intentionally did nothing to stop it.

Some of the reasons given for believing the 911 conspiracy theory are because many say the collapse of the World Trade Center Twin Towers looked like a professional demolition, because the Pentagon was hit in a section that had just been built, because of the flights being in the air for more than 30 minutes with no military intervention, and the fact that many of the buildings were made of steel and should have held up under a fire.

Elvis Presley is so beloved that fans don't want to let him die. Although he died in 1977 at his home, he has has been reported being seen around the world to this day. People who believe the Elvis conspiracy theory think that Elvis faked his death so that he could live the rest of his life in peace, without mobs everywhere he went.

The next conspiracy theory is very similar to the 911 conspiracy theory. It involves Pearl Harbor. The belief is that President Roosevelt knew about the Pearl Harbor attack beforehand and did nothing to stop it. It is believed that he was warned by at least one foreign government about the pending attack by the Japanese. It was thought that he did this to get the American public support for United States to enter the world war.

A conspiracy theory that quite a few people believe is that a secret society influences world government. Sometimes it is referred to as the Illuminati or the New World Order. The Illuminati are thought to have existed for hundreds of years. Some believe the Freemasons are behind the New World Order.

Supposedly this top secret society influences and controls world leaders around the globe. Many think that the society's intention is to create a police state world government so that they can control policies, industries, and raw materials worldwide.

The last conspiracy theory is that alternative energy sources and technology are being blocked by people and corporations which profit from oil and gas consumption. Links to the New World Order above are also associated with this conspiracy theory.

Some who believe this point to how government regulations and costs make it virtually impossible for average consumers to attempt to use alternative energy sources. Also mentioned are previous inventions which were huge energy savers and basically made extinct by government.