Although conspiracy theories are not a new concept, the internet has given them new life. We’ve seen more than our fair share of false information online, some of it anchored in the past and some of it inspired by fear, even in recent years. Here are the five wackiest conspiracies that people have genuinely bought into over the years, ranging from the existence of an Earth within Earth to Prince Charles’ covert vampire lifestyle.
The moon landing was fake
The conspiracy theory contends that Neil Armstrong did not make the first “leap for mankind” on the moon in 1969. The flag waving in the wind, the absence of any stars, and the misaligned shadows have been suggested, and conspiracy theorists have maintained for years that NASA staged the landing and the CIA has been guarding the information ever since.
Prince Charles is a Vampire
The Prince of Wales is a descendant of Vlad the Impaler, the model for Dracula in Bram Stoker’s novel, and other royals in Charles’s family were known to suffer from the condition porphyria, an iron deficiency disease that makes people sensitive to sunlight. This propagated the rumour of him being a vampire.
The Titanic didn’t sink
Over the years, there have been numerous conspiracy theories surrounding this sad incident, one of which claims that the Olympic, not the Titanic, was the ocean liner that collided with the iceberg. However, one tragic fact still stands: a ship did sink, and about 1,500 passengers perished.
Queen Elizabeth I was a man
Some people believe that Queen Elizabeth I was replaced by a young boy after she passed away as a child in order to preserve the royal line. This theory is put forth to explain why the ruler remained chaste during her tenure.
COVID-19 was engineered
Some people say that the virus is a hoax that was engineered by the media and global elite to control the population. Some also believe that the introduction of the virus was purely intentional, leading to a biological war among the global economies.