24 Facts About Crazy Conspiracy Theories That Turned Out To Be True
Conspiracy Theories That Turned Out To Be True
In a world saturated with conflicting information from swarms of separate sources and the spectre of “fake news,” it's no wonder that conspiracy theories take root and spread like viruses. But not everything we hear is completely untrue, either. During the Prohibition, the U.S. government engaged in a rather twisted approach to law enforcement—and sadly, over 100,000 people perished as a result. The rumors you may have heard about this one have more truth than we thought.
"The general population doesn't know what's happening, and it doesn't even know that it doesn't know."—Noam Chomsky
1. Apple's Admission of Guilt
For years, users of Apple products claimed that older models of iPhones were deliberately slowed down by the corporation as a means of nudging consumers into purchasing new phones.
Well, in 2017 Apple finally admitted as much—although claiming the slow-down was a mere “misunderstanding” and offering its customers a complementary $29 battery replacement as penance.
Unsurprisingly, class action lawsuits against the tech behemoth have already been initiated as a result of these admissions.
2. Lance Armstrong's Downfall
American cyclist Lance Armstrong faced numerous accusations that he was using illicit performance enhancing substances during his reign of seven consecutive Tour De France victories.
For years, these accusations were published almost exclusively in the French press and were written off by many in the United States as conspiracy theorizing driven by little more than anti-American jealousy.
It was not until 2012 that the United States Anti Doping Agency confirmed that Armstrong had engaged in “the most sophisticated, professionalized and successful doping program that sport has ever seen” and he was stripped of all seven Tour de France titles.
Soon after in a televised special on Oprah Winfrey’s show Armstrong confessed to the allegations, stating that his “mythic, perfect story” was in fact “one big lie".
This was, of course, after he had denied them for years and had even personally berated people that spoke out against him.
3. In The Name Of Research
Would you believe that the CIA tested psychedelic substances on unwitting persons as part of multi-decade research program into finding a "mind-control" drug to use on communist spies? Well, this is one wacky conspiracy theory that turned out to be 100% true.
The CIA program was called MKUltra, and was initiated after reports that the North Koreans had developed a mind control drug that was being used on captured Americans during the Korean War.
The experiments resulted in at least one fatality when biochemist Frank Olsen, who was covertly dosed with psychedelics, mysteriously plunged to his demise from his 13 story window (as covered in the Netflix documentary Wormwood).
4.Big Brother Is Watching After All
It’s a mainstay of conspiracy theorists that the government is watching and listening to everything you do, but in 2013, former CIA employee Edward Snowden revealed that this was, in fact, the case.
Snowden’s disclosures established that several Western governments (including the US, UK, Australia and Canada) are engaged in a vast global surveillance program of both foreign and domestic citizens in cooperation with the major telecommunications companies.
