In the purgatorial phase of Summer — the time after my academics end and before my internship begins — I find myself in a rather uncomfortable place. I am still recovering from the bodily and emotional toll that the semester has wreaked upon me, so I do not want to do much of anything involving my brain. However, I am also fresh out of ideas, so I do not know what to do.
Playing video games can grow old rather quickly, so I decided to embark upon a quest. What is the most outlandish conspiracy theory I could find on YouTube?
I discovered the secret cloning of celebrities, the cabal that controls the world's economy (that happens to be shape-shifting Lizard people), the Illuminati that attempts to convince the world that the Earth is round, and others. Surprisingly, all of these Truths are located on YouTube!
Although I did not intend to, I learned quite a few things from this experience.
No, not in that way. I mean I learned quite a bit about the way conspiracy theorists think, and why so many outlandish and quite hilarious beliefs can appear so logical to so many.
Several of these videos, for example, have incredibly powerful Christian undertones. One channel, TruthUnveiled777, goes to the same lengths as other conspiracy theorists to explain the patterns he has "unearthed," but goes one step further; he will tie a pattern back to Christianity, and how it is the product of some demonic force that ultimately controls us all. For it is only through the acceptance of this truth and Jesus that we shall be free from their demonic grasp.
Yet not all conspiracies necessarily relate to Christianity, or any other religion. In fact, the conspiracy videos on Youtube are quite diverse. Some YouTubers will fit their spirituality into their model conspiracy, whereas others will analyze religion as a means to further control the masses.
Aside from religion, I began to uncover the conspiracy theorist belief that everything is evidence of a conspiracy, even when there is a lack of evidence. See, evidence of a conspiracy is clearly evidence that supports their claim. However, the conspiracy theorist takes comfort in the opposite idea. "They" might lead you astray with a lack of evidence for the conspiracy; thus, this possibility signifies evidence for the conspiracy.
And this is what connects each and every conspiracy theory. "They." The group that controls everything, that pulls the strings, an almost omnipotent and omniscient group that exists only to purport their single agenda through a variety of methods. This cabal has taken many names - the Freemasons, the Illuminati, the U.S. government, Reptilian overlords - but they are, in reality, representative of the same thing.
Moreover, this is, for me, the appeal of each conspiracy theory. The idea that there is no randomness in the world. Everything, including the tragedies, have been orchestrated for some greater agenda. There is some comfort in that, no? That everything is controlled by someone. It makes life's uncertainties just a little bit less terrifying, and a little less unsettling. If only one could find those precious patterns, the ones that can predict what this malicious group is intending on doing next, then they would be able to virtually predict the future.
If we could figure out what "they" were planning next, life would fail to be so random. And this attracts many otherwise rationally-thinking individuals to these theories.
