Reddit Users Share What Conspiracy Theories They Actually Believe In

The Netflix Conspiracy

  1. u/KevTheGreat48

    Netflix marketing team releases memes about shows to give off the appearance that everyone is watching said show. Since people have FOMO they watch the shows to understand the memes until everyone eventually does watch it.

This doesn't sound all too crazy when you consider that social media has been a powerful tool for companies for more than a decade. Using apps like Instagram and Twitter and spreading the word about their shows through memes sounds like a very smart marketing strategy. If this conspiracy theory is not true, it should be.

The Facebook Conspiracy

  1. u/casey_the_evil_snail

    I think the trend where you show a picture of yourself now versus 10 years ago was promoted if not invented by Facebook owned social media companies in order to train artificial intelligence to be able to recognize and analyze how faces age.

This theory has been going around for a while, and many people seem to believe it. The thing is that it seems pretty plausible. Although there is no real proof to back this theory up, the fact that it seems realistic has made many people believe it. And who knows, maybe eventually we'll learn whether it's true or not.

The Area 51 Conspiracy

  1. u/Samm092

    Area 51 was a conspiracy theory started by the US government to lead The Soviet Union into falsely believing that the US had alien technology during the Cold War

This is not so hard to believe when you consider that Area 51 has been a mystery for decades and, so far, no proof of alien life has ever been brought to light. It's all starting to look like it was a smokescreen from the beginning and that Area 51 is actually being used for other secret projects. They probably never had alien stuff in the first place!

The Killer Clown Conspiracy

  1. u/Evouru

    That the killer clowns of 2016 was originally a promotion for It, but it got out of hand.

    Edit: For those of you who don't know what I mean, I'm taking about the movie"It". With the clown that lives in the sewers.

Indeed, this is more of a fact than a theory. It started as a marketing strategy for a movie called Gags the Clown, and then it spiraled out of control and became a trend. Many people saw this as an opportunity to dress up as clowns and terrorize their neighbors, and it soon became an actual issue. Good thing that this trend died down quickly!

The High School Football Conspiracy

  1. u/colin

    The US government funded the expansion of the NFL to get football more popular and get highschool aged men conditioned for the military. The Pro Football saw it’s biggest expansion in the early 60s with the creation of the AFL which was in perfect time for kids growing up with football to join the military during Vietnam.

This conspiracy theory is not as popular as others, but it is still very widespread. It is an interesting coincidence that high-school football expanded just as a war was going on, right?

The Meme Conspiracy

  1. u/jman857

    The air pod meme when air pods were released was a marketing gimmick by Apple to sell and promote AirPods.I don’t know if it was ever confirmed, but I fully believe that Netflix did the same thing with Bird Box.

This is very similar to the Netflix theory. It seems that many people believe that big companies are taking advantage of social media and memes to promote their products. It honestly sounds too realistic to be considered a conspiracy.

The Wheel Of Fortune Conspiracy

  1. u/Iamdog14

    My mom has a theory that whenever a contestant on 'Wheel of Fortune' gets greedy and spins, when the puzzle is clearly easily solvable, they manipulate the wheel to land on "bankrupt". Also whenever there is a good looking girl on, she believes they manipulate the game so that girl wins

This theory does make sense, especially when you realize that these types of TV shows exist to be entertaining and not to just give away money. In fact, networks would probably want to do everything they can to give away as little money as possible so that their profits are larger. If the game was easy to win, they'd end up losing money.

The Laundry Detergent Conspiracy

  1. u/Buffasippi

    The measuring lines on your detergent container are way more than you actually need so you use it faster and buy more detergent.If your towels smell musty after you wash and dry them it is because of all the excess soap that didn’t rinse out.

This theory is most probably true. The easiest way to test it is just using less detergent and checking whether the clothes are clean or not. Most people claim that using less soap is much better, as the clothes are just as clean and you save some money.

The Human Cloning Conspiracy

  1. u/MrSexyPizza3

    Human cloning has already been done or attempted. We cloned a sheep named Dolly in 1996, and humans aren't that much different from sheep in their early blastocyst or embryonic development. Some government agency has probably cloned a human and is watching over that person right now.

This is a very scary thought, but it does make sense. If scientists were able to clone sheep, why wouldn't they be able to clone humans by now? The implications of cloning humans could be dangerous though, so that's probably why this is kept under wraps.

The Frozen Conspiracy

  1. u/unklethan

    I don't believe that Walt Disney's body or brain is cryogenically frozen.

    I do believe the Disney company intentionally named the Anna & Elsa movie as "Frozen" so that when you search "Disney frozen", you don't find conspiracy theories on the front page.

This theory is very entertaining and interesting but, as the people in the comments pointed out, it's not really plausible. If you really want to find information on Walt Disney's body, you can easily do so on Google.

The Toothpaste Conspiracy

  1. u/jchristsproctologist

    Toothpaste companies show more toothpaste than necessary on toothbrushes on tv commercials to make you think you need more of it in each brush, thus taking away your money faster.

This is not really a conspiracy theory; this is actually true. Same goes for shampoo: we only need a small amount to get everything clean and yet, commercials make it seem as though you need all this product to get the job done. Try using less shampoo and toothpaste next time.

The Justin Trudeau Conspiracy

  1. u/SMcArthur

    Fidel Castro is Justin Trudeau's father. It's silly enough to sound ridiculous at first glance. But the deeper you dig into the actual facts, it's actually plausible.

OK, this theory has been officially debunked, but we can't help finding it fascinating. Also, let’s not beat around the bush: they totally look alike. And there’s pictures of Fidel holding Trudeau as a baby. Such a crazy coincidence!

The Mattress Store Conspiracy

  1. u/Darmok47

    The one about mattress stores being money laundering fronts, even though they're not really cash businesses.

    It is strange that you'll see two or three giant mattress stores all near each other, yet how often does the average person buy a mattress? Once a decade?

    I guess the more conventional explanation is that the markup on mattresses is so insanely high that you only need to sell a few per week to make money. I still think there's something fishy going on in those stores though...

This does make sense, but still doesn't answer this question: why are there so many mattress stores everywhere? How many people could possibly need to buy a mattress in a single town? There's no way all those stores are needed.

The Work Scanner Conspiracy

  1. u/Cream-Boat

    he scanner at work that scans my badge to clock me in and out skips to the next minute whenever I scan in so that I don't get paid for the like 30 seconds or whatever it is when I actually scan in.I swear the clock will be at like 7:54 and change to 7:55 during the brief amount of time it takes to scan my badge EVERY SINGLE MORNING. I mean after a while all those seconds I'm not getting paid for could add up to minutes.

Everyone knows that companies don't really look after their employees. If anything, they're always trying to find ways to pay them less and less. This theory does not sound crazy at all, and many companies are probably doing this.

The Spy Conspiracy

  1. u/Key-Big-1220

    We have all met or bumped into at least one spy in our lifetime. Whether it be CIA, foreign intelligence, a private company, etc.

    The job requires them to perfectly blend in with their environment. If they’re half-way decent, you would never know who they really are. There is no way to definitively disprove the claim that someone you’ve known isn’t who they appeared to be.

    I don’t mean that in a paranoid kind of way though. Lord knows the Red Scare did a lot of damage. It’s just an idea that I find super interesting. With the amount of people we meet in our lifetime, it’s definitely possible. Especially with the older generations who lived through the Cold War.

This sounds like the plot of a sci-fi movie but, at the same time, it does make sense. We've all come across shady people in our lives and, who knows... maybe some of them were actual spies!

The Village People Conspiracy

  1. u/synaptogenesis

    That the Village People were a covert operation by the US government to cheer everyone up during the recessions and oil crises of the 1970s.

    So what if you lost your job and have to stay at the YMCA? It's fun to stay at the YMCA! Or what about the Navy? You can sail the seven seas! After that it kind of got out of hand.

This is one of those theories that are probably not true and yet, we wish they were. It just sounds too perfect, but sadly, there's no proof to back this up. The Village People were just trying to make good music, that's all!

The Reddit Conspiracy

  1. u/ElectricalPotato21

    Big companies use Reddit and other social media to normalize shady behavior. It seems every time news breaks about a company doing something shady, the top comments on Reddit are always along the lines of: “Well duh! We've known this for years!” So instead of outrage, the news are met with apathy, and there's a feeling that you can't change the system anyway.

This is another one of those conspiracy theories that sound plausible but there's no way to prove them. It could also just be true that some people already knew about these things and you just didn't figure it out at the same time as they did.

The Eco-Friendly Conspiracy

  1. u/Foohberry

    Everyone I tell about this tells me I'm overreacting and it's just a conspiracy. But I strongly believe large companies who use eco friendly products around customers only do it to make themselves look good, and to make the customer feel like pollution is their fault when they use for example, plastic straws. When in reality using eco friendly straws barely dents the amount of pollution the company itself makes behind the scenes.

As people in the comments pointed out, this is actually true to some degree. While it's great to see some companies doing work for the environment, it's not enough. It's up to big corporations to make an actual change, and switching to paper straws doesn't really help much in the grand scheme of things.

The Lost History Conspiracy

  1. u/waawftutki

    There are big chapters of human history missing because of past cataclysms that destroyed said civilization.There's already discovered structures like Gobekli Tepe dated to be around 12,000 years ago, before even things like pottery, yet featuring 20 tons+ 20-foot tall columns with detailed sculptures and geometric precision. I think many sites like the pyramids might also be older than we think.

This is actually a true fact. There have been many civilizations who got lost in history, either because of war, a natural disaster, or some other unknown event. Some were even pretty advanced for their time but sadly, all their knowledge got lost with them.

The Information Mining Conspiracy

  1. u/sinbysilence

    All that stuff shared on Facebook is just a way for people to mine your information for forgotten passwords resets and stuff.Things like "Bet no one remembers the street they grew up on. I'll wait."Or "What would your name be if you took your mom's name instead of your dad's".

Just like many conspiracy theories, this one has some truth to it. The smartest approach to social media is not to share too much about yourself. Once something is on the internet, it's almost impossible to remove completely, and anyone can do whatever they want with your information.

The Tissue Conspiracy

  1. u/griceylipper

    This is the smallest conspiracy ever, but - you know how when you pull a tissue out of a box, there's this dust that comes out from the tissue when it scrapes the perforated edge? I swear it's designed like that so that the dust makes you sneeze. And then suddenly you need more tissues...

    Rise up against BIG TISSUE!

This sounds very interesting, and it's one of those things that you don't notice until someone points them out. Switching to cotton handkerchiefs is also better for the environment, but having to wash them seems very inconvenient.

The Hall Of Presidents Conspiracy

  1. u/Friend-Beast

    That Disney was confident that Clinton would win the 2016 election so they had already completed the animatronic for the Hall of Presidents.But then Trump won so they sloppily altered the Clinton animatronic to look sort of like him. Be the judge for yourself.

This sounds ridiculous until you actually see the picture. Donald Trump is not the best-looking man in the world, but c'mon, he doesn't look anything like this monstrosity! The more you look at it, the more sense this theory makes.

The Cosmo Magazine Conspiracy

  1. u/fareven

    Cosmo Magazine gives women bad relationship advice on purpose, because people who are looking for a new relationship spend more money on their advertiser's products (makeup, diet plans, etc.) than people who are in a relationship.

Many people seem to believe that magazines just give bad advice on purpose so that they keep buying more magazines. It doesn't sound too crazy, but there's no way this can be proven.

The iPhone Conspiracy

  1. u/deleted

    Call me crazy… I honestly believe that Apple has the ability to turn our phones into garbage once the new iPhones become available, forcing us to spend money on the newer version.

    . My 5s was wonderful until the 6 came out, now it won't stay charged for a few hours and it freezes constantly. I've kept it in mighty fine condition as well. Beyond that, the number of people complaining about phone problems since the new model was rolled out has increased. I know I sound crazy…

This is actually not crazy at all. It's a concept known as 'planned obsolescence', which happens when a company purposefully ensures that their products become outdated within a known time period so that they can keep releasing new stuff.

The Taylor Swift Conspiracy

  1. u/dontbthatguy

    That in Taylor Swifts song Blank Space when she says "got a long list of ex lovers" it is purposely made to sound like "Starbucks lovers."

    Think about it, how many girls blast that song in their cars, then subliminally hear "Starbucks," and all of a sudden have a craving for an iced latte.

    Seriously, I swear I don't work for Starbucks by the way. I swear.

After reading the comments, we can all conclude that this is not a conspiracy theory but rather a case of people mishearing the lyrics. The real issue is Taylor Swift's inability to enunciate words properly.

The Restaurant Conspiracy

  1. u/it-must-be-orange

    That many restaurants are in fact fronts for some hidden shady business.

    There is a restaurant close to where I live and I often see various staff going outside/sitting outside taking a break or smoking. But I have never, as in never, in 8+ years seen a single customer walking in the restaurant or sitting inside.

    Boggles the mind really.

Pretty much every town in every country of the world has a shady restaurant like that. You always see it open and yet, there's never any customers. How do they not go out of business?

The Starbucks Conspiracy

  1. u/LS0

    Starbucks tells their employees to intentionally spell people's names wrong on coffee cups.This is done so people will take photos of their drinks and post them on social media. Free marketing!

This is an interesting theory. However, one could also argue that Starbucks employees are so overworked that they cannot focus when it's time to write somebody's name on a cup. We'll need an actual Starbucks worker to clear this up.

The Coca-Cola Conspiracy

  1. u/Akihirohowlett

    Coke has two different recipes. One for most of the year, and the second one that is similar but tastes better for around December. They use the Santa/polar bear ad campaign and the better tasting recipe to boost sales in that time.

Redditors seem to be split on this one. Does Coke taste better around Christmas time or is it just an illusion that we create in our heads because everything surrounding Christmas is different from the rest of the year? Sadly, we'll probably never know.

The Orange Marshmallow Peanuts Conspiracy

  1. u/Taman_Should

    Whatever the company is that makes those godawful orange marshmallow peanuts just has to be a shell or a front for something. No one buys those. No one. And yet they are somehow in every gas station convenience store, and every other place trash-tier candy is found.

    There are balance sheets for these things. Somewhere, there's an inventory for these abominations. People can't be getting paid to make them, they just can't. It's all got to be some sort of elaborate money-laundering scheme.

Here's the thing: just because you don't like something it doesn't mean other people dislike it as well. Many people love these candy peanuts and that's probably why you see them everywhere. Still, this conspiracy theory is hilarious.

The Jeffrey Epstein Conspiracy

  1. u/robhol

    Epstein didn't kill himself.There is basically zero chance that he just happened to have incriminating information on a lot of rich, powerful people, and that he just happened to off himself just as the security footage just happened to get deleted by a "technical error", etc.

At the moment, this is still just a conspiracy theory, and a very popular one at that. People have been claiming this since the moment it happened, and we can't help but wonder whether there's more to the official story.