Conspiracy theories in United States politics

Conspiracy theories in United States politics are typically defined by a common theme in which a small powerful group strives to hide secretive, destructive information, harm another rival group, or undermine society in general.

Such theories play off of actual conspiracies, which include a similar concept, a few individuals working together in secret to unravel a larger system.^[1][2][3] Often, the struggle between a real conspiracy theory and a misconception of one leads to conflict, creates polarization in elections, disperses distrust in government, and worsens racial and political divisions.^[1][4]

Many political conspiracies begin and spread from politically-charged circumstances, individuals' partisan affiliations, and online platforms that form echo chambers with like-minded individuals.^[1][5] Belief in American political conspiracy theories applies to all parties, ideologies, races, ethnicities, socioeconomic levels, and genders.^[6][7][8]

Contributions[]

Circumstantial fear[]

Conspiracy theories arise quite often during new political or social circumstances in which one group of people feels threatened by another set of actors that is politically, religiously, ethnically, racially, or economically different.^[1][8][9][4] Theories have begun as early as when Europeans began to colonize the United States and deemed Natives Americans as threatening actors.^[10] As a result, many colonizers, including Cotton Mather, speculated that Native Americans were controlled by the devil.^[1] Some even believed in the "myth of the super-chief" in which every Indigenous attack was orchestrated by a tribal chief, who controlled thousands of Indian soldiers, which strived to wipe out the whites.^[1]

Theories also arose in response to the counterculture, feminist, and anti-war era of the 1960s.^[1] Many conservatives felt threatened and began to believe that the movements had been formed with Communism motivations to undermine the US government.^[1] During the 1990s, many right-wing conspiracy theorists also feared that the Clintons were involved in drug cartels and assassinations.^[1] Some have theorized that the government is planting drugs in predominately-black neighborhoods to breed a greater rate of incarceration and crime in the community.^[1][9][7][2] In 2020, conspiracy theories spread out during the coronavirus pandemic partly because of the increased anxiety, larger number of people staying at home, and greater focus on the Internet and social media outlets.^[11][12] One such conspiracy that proliferated from the 2020 Presidential election is QAnon.^[13][14][11]

Conspiracy theories exist because of the fear of the other or a frustration with one's own disenfranchisement.^[9][8] They also come from an increase in social, political, or economical change and are responses to rationalize anxiety about the events, and they bring them into context with the country's ideals and laws.^[2][1] To elaborate,, Frank Donner, a 1980s civil liberties lawyer, claimed:

Especially in times of stress, exaggerated febrile explanations of unwelcome reality come to the surface of American life and attract support. [The new conspiratorial movements] illuminate a striking contrast between our claims to superiority, indeed our mission as a redeemer nation to bring a new world order, and the extraordinary fragility of our confidence in our institutions. [That] has led some observers to conclude that we are, subconsciously, quite insecure about the value and permanence of our society.^[1]

Conspiracy theories arise among all races and parties because of the fear of a society and a country destabilizing, and how that would affect one's own life.^[1][6][9] Conspiracy theories, according to Benedictine University Professor of Psychology James Davis, come about from three related reasons:

A recent review proposes three categories of motivations underlying belief in conspiracy theories.... The motivation people have to seek causal explanations to reduce uncertainty... and to feel in control and safe in their lives.... A third motivation for conspiracy theory endorsement is the desire for individuals to see themselves and their group in a more positive light.^[2]

Class structures and lack of trust in government[]

Class structure is also likely to predict one's belief in a political conspiracy theory. One who has a low income, a lack of higher education, or a lack of secure employment is more likely to believe in a conspiracy because of a general feeling of helplessness.^[8][15] The lack of control is correlated with class: individuals from have been proven to feel more in control with their lives, employment, education, and standard of living.^[8][15] A low socioeconomic status can generate political and economical anxiety and a desire to explain the dire circumstances. That helplessness would lead several to find a psychologically-soothing explanation: the idea that a group of government actors is plotting against them.^[8]

That is not to say that those with higher education or a higher IQ level will believe in no conspiracy theories. To understand them, many conspiracy theories require substantial mental effort.^[6] Believers are defined by more than just their class but also engage in the psychological phenomenon of confirmation bias in which they accept information validating their belief and reject information that is inconsistent with the theory.^[6][16]

Many individuals also live in positions in which specific government policies may cause economic distress. For example, many Americans believe that the government is forcing health industries to hide the cure for or the cause of cancer;^[1][17] they also have been intaking drugs that are not approved by the Food and Drug Administration approved because they do not trust the medical industry.^[1] That likely stems from a fear of and frustration with current US policies on public health. Several ill Americans cannot afford healthcare and may look to sources that blame the medical industry, including conspiracies.^[8][1] It may also originate from a history of fear about the government's lack of transparency or truth in terms of medication since American doctors once approved of mercury, radioactive material, and cigarettes and falsely deemed them to be healthy.^[1][18][19]

Partisan affiliations[]

The blue donkey and the red elephant are the symbols for the two main political parties.

Partisan affiliations sometimes determine a belief in conspiracy theories, but belief usually depends on the theory.^[3] There is a correlation between political parties and beliefs in the "birther" conspiracy, the Kennedy assassination conspiracy, the "truther" conspiracy, the "levee branch" theory, and the "death panel" conspiracy. Partisanship loyalty affects beliefs in some theories, and "conspiratorial thinking," a general paranoia about the government, ^[20] determines others. Conspiracies directly affiliated with the Obama administration (e.g. the "birthers" and "death panel" conspiracies) leaned politically to the right,^[21] and Democrats were more unlikely to believe in theories that lobbied against Obama and his policies.^[3] As for the "levee branch," "truther," and Kennedy assassination conspiracy theories, both political parties had a similar number of people believing in them.^[3]In dividuals who believed in those specific theories also had a previous affinity for conspiratorial thinking or questioning the credibility of governmental actors.^[20] However, it has also been studied that conspiratorial thinkers may be more focused on an anti-governmental mindset because of their lack of trust for higher authority, rather than a specific theory or party.^[20]

Each partisan group is partial to believe in conspiracies that target the opposite party because of it disbelieves the other party's ideologies and policies.^[3][22][21] Therefore, conspiracies can come from both political affiliations.^[6][3] In fact, the University of Miami political scientist Joseph Uscinski stated that "both sides are equally conspiratorial in their thinking.... No one has a monopoly."^[6]

Intuitionists and rationalists[]

Political parties are not alone in determining the cause of conspiratorial thinking. Rather, intuitionism and rationalism are two psychological patterns of thought that can determine specific conspiracies and perhaps even catalyze partisan divisions.^[16] Intuitionism is individuals relying on their emotional responses to current events and then using heuristics to create an explanation for why the events are happening. Rationalists instead determine the causes and effects of events based on quantitative evidence.^[16] Both intuitionists and rationalists believe in conspiracies, but intuitionists more commonly associate themselves with conspiracies for their association with more qualitative emotional data stemming from anxiety about society.^[16]

Polarization[]

The current polarization occurs because of increasingly far-right and far-left thinking and may also come from the conflict between intuitionists and rationalists.^[16] Because both have different ways of thinking, if an intuitionist conservative argues with a rational liberal or vice versa, disagreement arises.^[16] Over the course of history, the right wing has become increasingly intuitionist by often using Biblical or Christian reasoning for justification behind political beliefs^[23] or trust in conspiracies.^[16] The left wing has been commonly associated with basing belief on quantitative thought, rather than religious affiliation.^[24] Conspiratorial belief may increase because of misinterpretation of numerical data.^[16]

Often, political parties engage in the "us versus them" mentality in understanding theories and believe that the opposite party has started the conspiracy.^[4] By defining specific theories to one's political affiliation, many party members become polarized.^[4] In fact, Steven Smallpage, Adam Enders, and Joseph Uscinski, all of whom political research writers of Research and Politics, explained:

Although conspiracy theories are often attributed to cognitive hiccups, psychological traits, or psychopathologies, they actually follow the contours of more familiar partisan battles in the age of polarization.... Many conspiracy theories function more like associative partisan attitudes than markers of an alienated psychology.^[4]

Conspiracy theories do not arise just because of one's psychology but exist usually because of divisions in society. Once conspiracies increase, political divisions only grow with them.^{[4][5][11][25]}

Political ignorance[]

A lack of awareness about political issues may also perpetuate belief in conspiracy theories.^[22] Often, because individuals engage in the mindset that they have "just one vote" that has little impact, there is little motivation to look at politics objectively or to discover credible information about current events.^[22] Because individuals may have apathy towards politics, some may rather remain ignorant about issues. As voters latch onto ignorance and apathy, some may have little care as to whether political information is biased or sometimes even true.^[22] When there is a lack of knowledge about how political systems function or even a lack of information about a political candidate, people are much more likely to believe in extreme or false claims, such as conspiracy theories.^[22]

Echo chambers and spread[]

Conspiracy theories have evolved with the always-increasing developments of the media. Google YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, and other social media sites use algorithms to bring up posts, videos, and news that correlate with past searches and interests. Conservative users commonly receive conservative information, liberal users usually receive liberal news, and every opinion in between likely receives likewise.^[5][26] Social media is a key element in creating echo chambers for conspiracy theorists to express their opinions.

Alex Jones, the creator of InfoWars.

One example of conspiracy theorists using echo chambers is Alex Jones, the talkshow host of InfoWars. A far-right host who discusses and analyzes political issues, Jones has frequently brought up information that was deemed extreme and sometimes even false, several times with little evidence to back up his claims.^[5][27] Because of the abilities of YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and other social media platforms to contact individuals that think and believe similarly,^[26] Infowars and its community grew quickly, and several like-minded individuals were given extreme information that they were more likely to believe because of their political affiliations.^[5]

Nationalism and multiculturalism[]

The fear of a divided nation, or the definition of what it means to be "American" also causes several conspiracies. Often, whenever a nationality, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or gender differs from specific identities with which someone already affiliates, fear of national overthrow, oppression by a separate group, or attack on one's own way of life form a distinct "us versus them" mentality.^[1] As such fears and mentalities proliferate within like-minded groups, conspiracy theories form on the opposing party to justify the group's existence and beliefs.^{[5][22][28][9][3]}

For example, conspiracies have been perpetuated in the African-American community that the US government instigated AIDS or cocaine into the population, which follows the fear of one group oppressing another (in this case, white Americans).^{[9][2][1][29][30]} Conspiracies have also been created concerning Native Americans that either argue against or advocate for them.^[10]

Robert Alan Goldberg, a University of Utah professor on history, also states that both stigmatized and more privileged groups struggle with conspiracy theories about the other:

"Recall a uniquely American word – Un-American. There are no unFrench, or UnSwedish, or UnIsraeli counterparts. Americans harbor this suspicion, the danger of betrayal from within...."^[31]

Americans are afraid of having their identity as "Americans," comprised by the "other" group that is different from them culturally, ethnically, racially, or religiously.^[31] Thus, several conspiracies have affected the social life of the Indigenous]], blacks, and whites.^[1][7][10]

Impacts[]

Elections[]

Several conspiracies have been generated out of elections; one election-specific conspiracy is the belief in election fraud. The fear that ballots may have been faked or cast incorrectly spans political parties, genders, and races.^[25] Partisan affiliations and conspiratorial thinking are both to blame.^[3] Commonly, before the election, a belief in widespread voter fraud influencing the election outcomes is likely to come from conspiratorial thinking and a distrust in higher authority.^[25] After the election, a belief in fraud is likely to come from partisan affiliations and usually originates from the losing party.^[32] Democrats and Republicans, while both believing in election fraud, generally accept differing methods of fraud. Republicans often fear that Democrats will cast illegal ballots such as from noncitizens, and Democrats worry that their supporters will be prevented from voting by voter suppression.^[25] Conspiracy theories, the fear of an opposite party, and their influence as a result may also drive citizens to vote and influences the outcomes of an election.^[4]

2016[]

During the 2016 presidential election between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, many conspiracy theories developed and spread on social media about the opposite candidate, particularly theories against Clinton or Trump's other opponents.^[33] As a result, social media, especially Facebook, came under fire for fanning the flames of fake news.^[34] Because 44% of Americans receive their news from Facebook, some claim that if Facebook does not filter disinformation in extreme posts, the conspiracies could be dangerous.^[34] Many also argue about the potential conflicts censorship has with the First Amendment.^[35]

2020[]

Symbol of QAnon

In response to the 2020 presidential election from fears generated out of whether Trump or Joe Biden would win, several conspiracies have spread around social media, particularly Facebook and Twitter.^[36] The QAnon conspiracy theory originated in the US and alleges that Trump is fighting against a [deeep state in the United States|deep state]] cabal of child sex-abusing and Satan-worshipping Democrats.^{[36][37][38][39][40][41]} QAnon is a conspiracy with a massive following and has generated over 100 million comments and likes on Facebook in the year 2020 alone.^[11]

The number of QAnon adherents is unclear,^[37][38][42] but the group maintains a large online following.^[37][38] Many have expressed the fear that QAnon's influence and its beliefs in Donald Trump as the current savior of the world make it support Trump's threats to prevent a peaceful transfer of power.^[11] Since the Associated Press declared Biden the winner of the 2020 presidential election,^[43] however, QAnon followers have experienced a crisis of faith or been in denial and believr that Trump is working behind the scenes to defeat the "shadowy forces" that determined Biden's win.^[44]

Facebook has banned over 790 QAnon-related groups, 100 pages, and 1,500 advertisements in an attempt to dispel it.^[45] [Instagram]] has also taken action by restricting over 10.000 accounts for which QAnon could have an effect on the population and the election.^[11][45] To avoid the creation of echo-chambers and further political polarization, Facebook prevents QAnon groups from forming but allows individuals to post their support occasionally. Facebook has also prevented followers from organizing fundraisers and selling merchandise to raise money for the organization.^[45] After Trump lost the election to Biden, updates from Q declined dramatically, with the last post by Q made in December 2020.^[46] QAnon beliefs became a part of attempts to overturn the election and culminated in Trump supporters attacking the United States Capitol. That has led to a further crackdown on QAnon-related content on social media.^{[36][47][48][49][50]}

List of conspiracy theories[]

• AIDS and the African American community: Statements promoting that the AIDS epidemic was actually started by the US government to disenfranchise and weaken the African American community.^[2] These ideas have been promoted through mainstream Black media and celebrities, furthering conspiratorial beliefs. Some of the theories stretch as far as to believe that there is already a cure for the disease, but pharmaceutical companies are withholding it from the general public.^[2] Some attribute the popularity of the conspiracy theory to the historically-consistent mistreatment of the African American community and that such mistreatment has led to a mass anxiety and distrust of American governmental systems.^[9][29][30]
• Vaccine hesitancy is the hesitancy and often refusal to vaccinate oneself or one's children. The reasoning behind such thought comes from fear of rare vaccination complications and often encouragement of conspiracy theories. One of the beliefs is that there is a link between vaccines and autism. That claim has been widely disproven, but false information continues to be circulated and to found such claims on conspiracy.^[51] Opposition to vaccination was named one of the top ten threats to public health in 2019 by the World Health Organization and its popularity is increasing.^[51]
• Area 51, also known as Dreamland and Paradise Ranch, is a US Air Force base located within the Nevada Test and Training Range, about 120 miles northwest of Las Vegas. Originally created for the purposes of surveillance development, Area 51 has become a hotbed of conspiracy. Many believe it to be a center for testing crashed alien spacecraft and a meeting center for extraterrestrials.^[52] Though d

Such theories have been disproved and explained by the US military, its real purpose is still unclear as it remains a domain shrouded in secrecy.^[52]

• Barack Obama citizenship conspiracy theories: The term "birther" refers to someone who subscribes to the conspiracy theory that former President Barack Obama was not born in the United States. The false allegation was initially made in 2004 by Andy Martin, who claimed that that Obama was a hidden Muslim rather than a Protestant Christian, as he publicly stated.^[21] The theory was amplified by Donald Trump in 2011 amid speculation about a presidential run, when he claimed that there was something wrong with Obama's birth certificate.^[28] Obams later publicly released his birth certificate, which showd that he was actually born in Honolulu, Hawaii. Though the evidence shows that the conspiracy theory is just a conspiracy theory,some still doubted Barack Obama's birthplace before the release.^{[21][53][28][54]}
• The Biden–Ukraine conspiracy theory stems from an April 2015 email to Hunter Biden from Vadym Pozharskyi, an adviser to a Ukrainian privately-owned energy company, to thank Hunter Biden for inviting him to meet his father, Joe Biden, who was then serving as US Vice-President. Joe Biden has been accused of participating in corrupt activities involving Ukraine as well as influence-peddling to serve his son's career.^[55] Donald Trump and some of his conservative supporters pointed to that conspiracy theory in the hopes of derailing Biden's 2020 presidential campaign.^[55]
• COVID-19 misinformation: After the COVID-19 pandemic started in early 2020, false information regarding the virus's place of origin, treatment, diagnosis, etc. has been widely spread through social media, news outlets, and political biases. That caused an "infodemic," as dubbed by the World Health Organization.^[56] The numerous false claims regarding the treatment of the virus have caused harm on various fronts in the fight to subdue it.^[12][56]
• Deep state: The term "deep state]]" refers to US intelligence agencies such as the CIA and the FBI, an conspiracy theories rely on the belief that thise agencies control US policy, instead of the nation's elected officials.
• Death panel: First coined by the former Alaska Governor and the 2008 Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin, "death panel" refers to the politically-charged theory that government healthcare will lead to government control and ultimately result in panels of politicians and doctors to decide the fates of America's elderly, disabled, and physically vulnerable.^[57] No change or implementation of policy then or since has factually proved any such claims to be true.^[57]
• False flags: The term "false flag" originated with pirate ships flying literal false flags with the colors of recognized nations to convince merchant ships into thinking that they were safe in interacting with them.^[58] Since then, the term has been adopted to describe an operation that is carried out by one nation or people and then attributed to another to deflect or hide blame. Documented false flag operations have been carried out by numerous nations in different eras of war. Many such instances have been proved to be real, some believe certain occurrences are actually the work of the US government under the guise of a false flag operation; example: 9/11 conspiracy theories.^[58]

The Moon landing is one of the most commonly-known conspiracy theories. It theorizes that the government staged the landing.

• FEMA camps conspiracy theory: The belief that the Federal Emergency Management Agency]] is preparing concentration camps around the United States to hold its citizens once martial law is declared. Such ideas first emerged in a 1982 newsletter sponsored by a far-right group that believed that the most patriotic citizens are most at risk to be imprisoned, tortured, and even killed.^[59] Conspiracy theories involving FEMA still persist in chatrooms and social media of today's ultraconservatives.^[59]
• Death of Jeffrey Epstein: Jeffrey Epstein was a convicted sex offender, sex trafficker, and financial broker.^[60] Shortly after his New York arrest and sentencing, he was taken and placed in the Metropolitan Correctional Center, in Lower Manhattan. On August 10, 2019, he was found in his cell with significant neck bruising. Unconscious and in cardiac arrest, Epstein was taken to the New York Downtown Hospital, where he was later pronounced dead by suicide.^[60] Epstein was well-connected among the political, cultural, and fiscal elites and had friends and enemies in high places, which is many to believe that he did not take his own life.^[61] The conspiracy theories surrounding his death have been attributed to both the Clinton family and Donald Trump. It was supposedly motivated by information that Epstein might have been harmful to the powerful figures' careers and lives.^[60] Multiple investigations have been launched by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Bureau of Prisons into the death of Epstein, but no definitive conclusion has been reached.^[60]
• John F. Kennedy assassination conspiracy theories: On November 22, 1963, USPresident John F. Kennedy was shot in the head on a campaigning trip in Dallas, Texas. He died at 1:00 pm that afternoon at the Parkland Memorial Hospital. The conspiracy theories surrounding Kennedy's death have ranged from the involvement of the Cuban government to that of Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson.^[62]
• Malcolm X assassination: Malcolm X, a black nationalist leader and prominent member of the Nation of Islam (NOI), was assassinated on February 21, 1965 while he was giving a speech in Manhattan. His killer has yet to be identified, which fuels the conspiracy theories surrounding his death. The most prominent one is that his death was sponsored by the Nation of Islam since he had a dispute with it. His family members are still actively searching for answers to his untimely death.^[63][64]
• Martin Luther King Jr. assassination conspiracy theories: On April 4, 1968, the civil rights activist and leader Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated. There have been numerous conspiracies concerning his death, some even involving the US government.^[65] The King family openly opposed the sentencing of the supposed assassin, James Earl Ray, and believes that King's death was caused by "mightier forces."^[65] His wife, Coretta Scott King, strongly maintained that his death was wrapped in "high-level conspiracy" that possibly involved the American Mafia and the US government.^[65]
• Moon landing conspiracy theories: On June 20, 1969, the astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first human beings to set foot on the moon. Over 530 million people watched one of the greatest human achievements occur. In the following years, some Americans came to believe that the entire event had been a very expensive hoax created by the US government. Conspiracy theories regarding the moon landing began were popularized in the mid-1970s after numerous demonstrations of governmental dishonesty such as the Pentagon Papers and the Watergate scandal. Many of the claims of the moon landing being faked have to do with various "errors" in the photographs and video taken during the event. One theory, based on the depiction of space in his 1968 film 2001: A Space Odyssey, is that the famed director Stanley Kubrick actually staged and filmed the moon landing. Sucb claims have since been debunked by various experts but they continue to live in American cinema, popular culture, and websites.^[66]
• October Surprise conspiracy theory: The term "October surprise" was coined by the during the tumultuous 1980 election. Minutes after the completion of Reagan's inaugural address, the Islamic Republic of Iran released the 66 Americans whom it had been holding hostage since November 4, 1979. That incredible timing of that release made many believe that the Reagan administration had worked out a deal with the Iranian government to hold off on releasing the hostages until after the inauguration. Since that episode, the term "October surprise" has been used to describe attention-grabbing information and events that occur in the final days prior to a presidential election like Hillary Clinton being affected by Wikileaks releasing her Wall Street speeches and Donald Trump being affected by la video coming out in which he brags about sexually assaulting women.^[67]
• Pizzagate conspiracy theory: A month before the 2016 presidential election, some far-right followers of Donald Trump used a Reddit forum and 4chan message board to pour through a hacked email account of John Podesta, Hillary Clinton’s former campaign chairman, in search of a potential scandal. What they found was correspondence about a dinner between Podesta and his brother, with language involving pizza. The conservative devotees connected the phrase "cheese pizza" with "c.p." for child pornography, an abbreviation often-used in pedophile chatrooms.^[5] The connection between Podesta and James Alefantis, the owner of Comet Ping Pong, a Washington, DC, pizza restaurant, quickly led internet users to start conspiracy theories about a child sex trafficking ring involving Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, and other high-profile Democrats.^[68] Other theories involved underground tunnels, kill rooms, satanism, and even cannibalism.^[68] On December 4, 2016, a 28-year-old man, Edgar M. Welch, drove from North Carolina with a military-style gun in the hope of freeing the child sex slaves he supposed were being held captive in the Washington restaurant. He was quickly apprehended and arrested after he had fired a shot but injured no one.^[5] The restaurant was searched, and evidence of such a sex trafficking ring was not found, but #Pizzagate theories still persist on social media.^[68]
• QAnon is a conspiracy theory created by far-right devotees of Donald Trump. QAnon followers believe that the western world is being run by a group of elite "deep state" Satan-worshipping pedophiles and that it is Trump's charge to defeat them, which he will supposedly do on a day dubbed "The Storm".^[13] The term "QAnon" stemmed from an anonymous 4chan user "Q," who claimed to be a government insider with high-level "Q" clearance and special information involving the Trump administration. Millions now subscribe to the QAnon theory including some politicians, celebrities, and many mothers.^[14][13]
• Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting conspiracy theories: On December 4, 2012, a man named Adam Lanza shot and killed his own mother as well as 20 Sandy Hook Elementary School students, six staff members, and then himself.^[69] Almost immediately after the tragedy occurred, conspiracy theories started to circulated about the cause of the attack. Fueled by far-right conspiracy theorists like Alex Jones, many subscribed idea that the entire event had been orchestrated by the US government to promote the enforcement and strengthening of gun laws. After he was sued by many of the victims' parents, Jones retracted his previous statements.^[69] Such conspiracy theories, though disputed, continue to hurt the lives of the Sandy Hook victims.^[69]
• Illuminati: The Illuminati, also known as the New World Order, is the supposed group of elites that secretly controls the entire world. The term was at first the name of a free thought group for secularist thinkers in [[Bavaria. It was eventually shut down by the Catholic Church, but many believe that it merely went into hiding and that it eventually evolved into today's New World Order. Supporters of such conspiracy theories believe that certain symbols often used in American imagery are secret communication used by the Illuminati like the Eye of Horus on the US dollar. Another belief is that specific celebrities (Beyoncé, Jay-Z, Eminem, etc.) have been killed and replaced with clones to brainwash society.^[70] None of those claims is grounded in fact, but the Illuminati conspiracy theory has continued to be one of the most popular ones in America.^[70]
• Trump-Ukraine affiliations: The Trump-Ukraine conspiracy theory refers to Trump and associates attributing voter fraud in the 2016 UA presidential election to Ukraine rather than Russia against opinion and evidence from various historically-reliable sources.^[71] In conjunction with those theories are accusations of Joe Biden and his son, Hunter Biden, in affiliation with Ukraine. In August 2019, a CIA officer turned whistleblower filed a complaint that Trump was soliciting for foreign electoral intervention in the 2020 US presidential election.^[71] A formal inquiry was then made by the US House of Representatives, and Trump was later impeached and put on trial. No evidence of Ukraine's interference in the 2016 election has been found and Trump was acquitted.^[71]
• 9/11 conspiracy theories: On September 11, 2001, almost 3,000 Americans died in the wake of terorist attacks on the World Trade Center and The Pentagon. Four commercial planes were hijacked by Islamic extremists, crashed into the Pentagon, a Pennsylvania field, and the Twin Towers, which changed New York City's skyline forever. Shortly after that tragic event, conspiracy theories formed and spread. Many believe that al-Qaeda was not entirely to blame for the attacks and that the US government was partly responsible by not acting on advanced information that it had received regarding the attacks. One of the most popular theories is that the plane crashes were used to cover up controlled demolitions inside the buildings.^[72]

References[]