The conspiracy theory that birthed them all: A secret cult of powerful overlords known as the Illuminati, who supposedly control everything from pop culture to politics, remains one of the most enduring conspiracy theories of our time and the subject of online shouting matches, Youtube videos and facebook pages to this day. Fascination with the Illuminati can be traced back to the 18th century, when a real secret society of intellectuals started by a German law professor in Europe became the focus of conservative backlash in the aftermath of the French Revolution.

The group was primarily interested in promoting Enlightenment ideals like reason, philanthropy, and self-rule among elite members of society so that they could eventually seep into the political arena when these new individuals came to power. The problem is, the group only lasted about a decade in pursuit of these ideals and grew to about 650 – 2.5k members, at their height before they were ultimately disbanded in 1785. Historians have dismissed the influence they were able to exert on politics in their short tenure as minimal.

But their disbandment is precisely when conspiracy theories about the group started running wild: Accusations that the Illuminati was behind the French Revolution and had fully infiltrated the Freemasons started circulating among conservative thinkers and politicians who were disturbed by the changing political tides in the 18th century. These early ideas, along with public denunciations by US presidents and ironic parodies of the conspiracy over the years have continued to stoke the flames of suspicion and keep the theory alive. Conspiracy theorists point to symbols like the floating eye on the USD bill and hip hop artist Jay-Z’s generous use of the triangle symbol as some of the many hidden messages in politics and pop culture that prove the continued control this secretive group wields over the world.

Then there’s those who believe in the New World Order: This theory follows a similar line of thinking that makes the case that a shadowy group of establishment individuals drawn from governments, central banks and think tanks around the globe are slowly working towards world domination and establishing a single government entity. The theory has also floated the idea that somewhere below the Denver International Airport (which is twice the size of Manhattan) is where the group’s meetings take place. The idea first emerged in 1966 after the publication of a book, The Profound Revolution, which posited the existence of the group. It continued to pick up traction through subsequent publications released by people adjacent to some of these power structures in the US. By the late 90s and early 2000s as globalization kicked into high gear, followers of this idea started to get especially spooked, pointing to the diminishing importance of borders and nations as proof that the New World Order is around the corner.

A long running suspicion adjusted for the internet age: QAnon is the wide reaching internet conspiracy theory that claims a group of cannibalistic devil worshipping elites running a global child [redacted] trafficking ring are in control of American media and politics. People who believe in this conspiracy claim figures like Hillary Clinton, media icons like Oprah Winfrey and bnaire George Soros as some of the members of this group. The conspiracy reached mainstream infamy around the same time as the 2020 US presidential elections, but originates in a 2017 4chan post by a self-proclaimed government insider known as Q, who claimed that then president Donald Trump was waging a war on these elites from within. They also believed that there would be a day of reckoning led by Trump around the time of the elections.

How many people believe this? Some 17 percent of Americans believed in QAnon’s central claim of Satan-worshiping elites running the US, according to a December 2020 NPR poll, with the New York Times estimating the number of people who believe in the conspiracy to number in the mns. Some social media platforms had membership in QAnon linked groups running in the hnds of thnds but Facebook and Twitter have since decided to remove QAnon content from their platforms.

How significant is this theory? People who believed in the QAnon conspiracy theory were so sold on the idea that they spurred many of the rallies claiming that the US presidential election was fraudulently stolen from then incumbent president Donald Trump. The conspiracy theory reached its peak around the time of the US election, online activity from “Q” has since grown way less frequent — offering little explanation for why the fantasy of Trump saving the US from the satanic government ring never fully materialized.

The car crash that led to Princess Diana and her Egyptian boyfriend’s death: On a smaller scale we have conspiracies that allege the car accident in Paris in 1997 that caused the 36 year old British Princess and her boyfriend Dodi El Fayed’s death was in fact orchestrated by the British Royal Family to prevent her from marrying a Muslim. El Fayed’s father, the wealthy businessman Mohamed El Fayed has since vocally accused the Royal Family of organizing the conspiracy alongside prince Philip, prince Charles, former Prime Minister Tony Blair, MI6, the CIA and some London police chiefs. Investigations by French and British authorities have since come up empty handed in terms of evidence of wrongdoing related to the accident, but some lingering curiosities about the absence of surveillance footage from the tunnel, and an allegedly uninvestigated car that may have intercepted their vehicle before the crash, ensure the theory continues to hold sway over public imagination.