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The SUN Staff’s Picks: Favorite Conspiracies

Sarah: Tupac is still alive 

Photo Courtesy of BBC

It’s a scientific fact that if you share a birthday with someone, you are given cognitive access to a bit more about them than anyone else is. I, as rapper and actor Tupac (2Pac) Shakur’s birthday twin, know for a fact that the lyrical genius lives on. However, the Masses would not believe my intuition, so I will provide some evidence regarding the livelihood of 2Pac that can placate those born before or after June 16th. The media would have you believe that 2Pac did not survive the four gunshots he sustained on September 7th, 1996, in Las Vegas. Years following, the rapper’s bodyguard that claimed to have helped 2Pac fake his death was declared deceased in 2018. Just one year later, that man, Michael Nice, came back from the dead to reveal how he faked his death and thus add merit to his ability to help 2Pac do the same. Just last year, several people claimed they sited 2Pac in South Africa. Los Angeles filmmaker Rick Boss intends to reveal the story of how the artist eventually relocated to New Mexico and sought protection from the Navajo Nation in 2Pac: The Great Escape From UMC. Just last year, several people claimed they sited 2Pac in South Africa. Wherever that legend is, I predict his return within the next two decades. I expect that I will be organizing a combined birthday party for us upon his arrival. 

Sofia: We are living in a simulation

Elon Musk says we may live in a simulation. Here's how we might ...
Photo courtesy of NBC News

“There’s a billion to one chance we’re living in base reality,” Tesla CEO Elon Musk said. “If you assume any rate of improvement at all then games will become indistinguishable from reality. Even if that rate of advancement drops by a thousand from what it is now, let’s just imagine it’s 10,000 years in the future, which is nothing on the evolutionary scale.” As technology growth increases rapidly and people become tethered to their devices, this conspiracy becomes more and more realistic. Movies like The Matrix and The Truman Show have encouraged the masses to believe that what we believe to be reality is not, in fact, real. There are many different adaptations of this conspiracy, as some believe that AI has taken over and we are currently in a simulation, or that we are getting very close in our technological advancements to creating one. Along with this theory comes discussions regarding parallel universes and the spiritual world in relation to the reality of our existence. “Either we’re going to create simulations that are indistinguishable from reality, or civilization will cease to exist,” Musk said. 

Chloe: Queen Elizabeth I was replaced by a boy 

Elizabeth I - Wikipedia
Photo courtesy of Wikipedia

Popularized by Bram Stoker, this conspiracy theory is a testament to its time period. Stoker attests in his 1910 novel Famous Impostors that Queen Elizabeth I died of plague after being sent to a small English village. When Stoker visited the village of Bisley, he found a May Day parade tradition in which young boys would dress in Elizabethan attire and act as the queen. This only strengthened his conspiracy. Stoker explains that Elizabeth was sent to Bisley to escape the threat of plague, but she died of a mysterious illness. Her father King Henry VIII planned to visit his favorite daughter, so Elizabeth’s caretakers dressed a small boy in her clothing and passed him off as the young princess. The young boy grew and eventually returned to rule England after King Henry’s death. Elizabeth is famous for high neckline dresses (this era is where the Elizabethan collar became prominent, hence the name), heavy makeup, and large wigs — all to hide a supposedly pockmarked and ugly countenance. But what if it was to hide the physique of a man? As well, Queen Elizabeth never took a husband. The Virgin Queen famously stated that her husband was England, and she remained loyal to her country first and foremost. The queen used her virginity as a powerful tool against other monarchs, and never married throughout her career. Queen Elizabeth was also rumored to be infertile. All of these point towards one idea: Queen Elizabeth was really a man.

Colin: Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 Disappearance 

Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 - Wikipedia
Photo courtesy of Wikipedia

The disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 has sparked much intrigue across the world. Originally, it was believed that the flight was lost due to bad weather, but in the past few years, it was discovered that before contact was lost, the pilot had ended communications with homebase purposefully. In addition, there had been a manual rerouting of the plane’s intended course. These circumstances have led many to believe that the disappearance of the plane was no accident and was a planned operation by some third-party to utilize the plane for some mysterious plan. The plane was never found and everyone onboard is presumed dead.

Prisha: AI Takeover

As technology progresses into a new world of complexity, many fear the consequences of artificial intelligence. Humans, in a variety of fields, have lost their jobs to newly developed robots. Self-driving cars have been responsible for a number of killings, and bots can manipulate elections. As AI gains opportunities to exercise its abilities, citizens fear that the technology may begin overstepping its boundaries. Amazon Alexa users reported that the device laughed randomly under odd circumstances, and others feared the AI stored data from conversations. If AI were to evolve into superhuman intelligence, theorists predict that the aftermaths would be catastrophic. AI could pit humans against each other in a civil war, or outwit humans in a battle for resources. Either way, overly-advanced softwares continue to raise red flags for Americans. 

Devina: Bill Gates: Center of Latest COVID-19 Conspiracy Theories

Bill Gates, Bogeyman of Coronavirus Conspiracy Theorists | NDTV ...
Photo courtesy of NDTV Gadgets 360


Bill Gates, the founder of Microsoft, has been in the public eye more than usual since the pandemic took root in global society. Gates, holding a net worth of 106.5 billion USD according to Forbes, has donated graciously towards helping fund a coronavirus vaccine. Though Gates has donated to multiple charities including The Lunchbox Fund and Comic Relief, his $250 million put towards pandemic prevention seemed a bit over the top to Adam Fannin, a controversial Florida preacher. Fanin released a video back in February accusing Gates of taking unethical measures to implement a vaccine. Some of these measures include using ‘quantum dot tattoos’ to pick out people with the virus in addition to lacing vaccine trials with ‘aborted fetuses’. Fanin’s proof for these statements? During his TED Talk in 2015, Gates explained just how deadly viruses were, comparing a novel virus’ risk to humanity to a nuclear bomb. Since the beginning of current COVID-19-ridden times, the video has gone viral, and multiple conservatives have used it to back up claims that Gates himself is responsible for the virus; according to Fanin and others, this is Gates’ ultimate plan to take over the world. Now, according to a recent poll referenced by multiple news outlets, 40% of Republicans believe Fanin’s assertions. Do you?

Leyana: Kennedy family curse

Why We're Still Obsessed With the Kennedys - ABC News
Photo courtesy of ABC News

The esteemed and influential Kennedy family has an unusual pattern of early deaths causing many to believe they carry a curse. While the most notable death in the family is President John F. Kennedy, the trend of untimely deaths began in 1944 and 1948 when JFK’S brother Joseph Jr. and sister Kathleen both passed away during separate plane crashes. Five years after JFK’s death his brother Robert who was attorney general at the time was also assassinated. In 1984, Robert’s son died of a drug overdose and his other son passed during a skiing accident in 1997. Senator Ted Kennedy, the youngest brother of John and Robert, drove the car that crashed and caused the death of passenger and campaign worker Mary Jo Kopechne. These are only a couple of the unfortunate deaths and accidents which have convinced many something sinister lurks within the family. While the history that follows the family is peculiar, for now it is regarded as tragic coincidences.

Roxy: William Shakespeare was really a team of writers. 

Shakespeare authorship question - Wikipedia
Photo courtesy of Wikipedia

For centuries, William Shakespeare has been thought of as the greatest writer in the English language. He has produced seventeen comedies, more than forty plays, one hundred and fifty-four sonnets, and many other highly successful works in his career. It is hard to believe that one individual could create so much successful material in a lifetime which leads many to believe that “William Shakespeare” was really a team of writers working together to enhance English literature. On many of his works, Shakespeare’s name was inconsistently spelled, hinting at the idea that different authors wrote different pieces acclaimed to his surname. During this time period, fictional descriptive names and pseudonyms were often written with hyphens in literary works (for example, “Master Shoe-tie” and “Tom Tell-truth”). In some of Shakespeare’s pieces, his name is written as “Shake-spear” suggesting that the name Shakespeare was a pseudonym for one or more writers.

Ro’aa: Major corporations are behind “this man”, the recurring figure in everyone’s dreams.

EVER DREAM THIS MAN? – every night throughout the world hundreds ...
Photo courtesy of This Man

In 2006, a well-known psychiatrist had his patient draw a portrait of a man that keeps appearing in her dreams. Although the woman had no recollection of meeting the man in real life, he was a recurring figure that had shown up in her dreams several times giving her advice about her private life. The physiatrist left the drawing on his table, and when another one of his patients, with absolutely no ties with the person who drew up the picture, claimed that they had seen that man in their dreams before as well. This patient also said that although he’s never seen the man in real life, he has made many appearances in his dreams. The psychiatrist then proceeded to show the drawing to his colleagues that also have patients with recurring dreams in search of answers. Four of his colleague’s patients claimed they’ve also dreamt about the man in the picture before. The figure came to be known as “This Man”, and upon the public release of his image, thousands of people from all around the world have come forward saying that he has appeared in their dreams several times before. This sparked many theories about the reason behind all these people dreaming about a man no one has ever seen in real life, and many believe that behind “this man” there is a mental conditioning plan developed by a major corporation. With all the people who have dreamt about him having access to the internet, it would be easy for a giant corporation with a considerable amount of money to be able to reach out to them and physiologically manipulate them. Our subconscious runs the dream world, and accessing someone’s subconscious mind, could potentially allow for a complete takeover of their conscious self. Many companies around the world seem to be impossibly powerful, as they basically have control over many economies around the world. In order to reach such power, many measures would have to have been taken, and there seems to be no reason to rule out psychological manipulation. 

Cameron: The main protagonist of the Pokémon TV series was in a coma

Why Ash from Pokémon Isn't Dead Yet
Photo courtesy of Kotaku

  The franchise started as a video game (Pokémon Red and Green) in Feb 1996 for the original Gameboy handheld system by Nintendo based in Kyoto, Japan. It later expanded to be the highest-grossing media franchise, second-best-selling video game franchise and produced a hit anime television series; earning millions of enthusiasts worldwide. The ongoing animated series has been around since 1997; broadcasting 22 seasons of fun-filled adventure to many viewers. It introduces Ash Ketchum as a determined 10-year old traveling around the Pokémon universe with Pikachu, Ash’s first Pokémon to become the greatest Pokémon master in the world. Despite being on air for more than 2 decades, the main protagonist has not aged since 1997. (Talk about a baby-face!) Popularized by a user on Creepypasta wiki, the user claims the reason for Ash’s lack of growth in age was because his comatose state at the start of the series and his adventures were his subconscious attempting to escape reality. In the first episode (Pokémon, I choose you!),  Ash was struck by lightning as he was riding a bicycle during a thunderstorm resulting in the need to go to the hospital. Further evidence comes from the realization that even though his journeys take him vast distances, he never usually travels by bike due to having developed a phobia of them.

Dash: Hawaii Missile alert of 2018

I love conspiracy theories and hearing all the weird things that people try and explain with events. One of my personal favorites is about the Hawaii missile alert in 2018. As most people know there was a text sent out to all residents of Hawaii saying that a nuclear missile was inbound and to seek shelter. This caused massive panic obviously and people were losing their minds after about 30 min another message was sent out saying that it was a false alarm. The theory is that the U.S government actually did detect a missile launch but were able to prevent it from reentering the atmosphere. they sent out there alert just in case they didn’t stop the warhead. The U.S had planned on how to destroy missiles in the ’80s and said that it was a canceled program but who’s to say that with modern increased spending that they didn’t start the program back up.

Written by Sofia Minich

Sofia Minich is a senior and Co-Editor in Chief of the MC SUN. She spends her time driving aimlessly and listening to 90s alt-rock or watching Dazed & Confused.

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