Photo from YouTube.com
By Bonnie Lynch
Contributing Writer
The internet has always been the breeding ground for various political ideas. It is thanks to the internet that we have groups like the Alt-Right, but it is also thanks to the internet that we have seen a rise in socialism and LGBT activism. Sadly, however, with the power to spread information about politics comes the realm of conspiracy, and when you delve into the realm of conspiracy, it is not difficult to end up with some completely outrageous theories.
1. The Government is Run by Lizard People
This example is the poster boy for crazy internet conspiracies. Simply put, people who believe in this theory think that a cult of shape-shifting reptiles who have infiltrated our society run the government. This group of humanoid reptiles is also supposedly responsible for a multitude of major historical events like 9/11 and the Holocaust. The entire theory is completely ridiculous and has become a well-known inside joke among the internet community.
2. Crisis Actors
This theory got a lot of attention from mainstream media when it first started being spread around the Alt-Right community. This theory is deeply associated with the Radio Show host Alex Jones. It claims that many of the survivors of shootings and tragedies, such as the Boston Bombing and various school shootings, are just actors paid by Democrats to go on television and claim to be a survivor in order to promote gun-control legislation. This theory is often used by those who believe that many of our recent school shootings are fake and believing in such a ridiculous notion is morally despicable.
3. The Earth is Flat
Similar to the Crisis Actors theory, the theory of the flat Earth has become widely known because of its wide influence and because of attention it has received by the mainstream media. Essentially, these people believe that the Earth is flat, not round, and that NASA and the government are lying about the shape of the Earth for nefarious reasons. Although believers formed the “Flat Earth Society” in the 50s, it has only recently gained traction and media attention thanks to the internet. Some members of the group even go as far as to make models of what the flat Earth might look like and they have conventions to share their ideas. Even celebrities like B.o.B. and Shaquille O’Neal have somehow gotten tricked into believing this theory to be true and these celebrities have also contributed to the theory’s growth.
4. Red Pill Theory
The Red Pill Theory is another theory that can be credited to the Alt-Right movement. The pill is mildly based off of the movie the Matrix, but the theory seems to be mainly in title only. To these people, you fall under the “blue pill” if you are a man who listens to women and treats them with respect, otherwise known as a normal person. They instead chose to “take the red pill,” which to them means that you believe that women want to be objectified and want to be “dominated” like they were before the feminist movement began. Yes, these men believe that women want to be under the rule of men, that they wish to exist to make men happy and lie when they say they want to be equal. A completely sexist theory sounds like something the Alt-Right would make.
5. Transvestigations
Last but certainly not least, we have the Transvestigation community and their crazy theory. What this community believes, essentially, is that all major celebrities, historical figures and government officials are secretly post-transition trans people who worship a multi-gender god and seek to control our society in order to turn everyone transgender. Most of where this theory comes from is the widely spread theory that Michelle Obama is secretly a trans-woman and that Joan Rivers was killed because she knew the truth. These people have their own secret community on Youtube where they make videos trying to prove their theory in the only way they know how, looking at pictures of celebrities and looking any flaws they have on their bodies that they can use to claim that they were not born as their respective gender. This can include a thick neck on a woman or any curves on a man’s body. This movement is incredibly transphobic and insulting to trans and cis people alike, but luckily it has not gained any major traction or attention on the internet. and hopefully, it stays that way.