Samantha Bee Takes on Tragedy Conspiracy Theories and the Twisted Myth of Crisis Actors
In reality, as Bee puts it, the term "crisis actor" simply translates to "a victim of a mass shooting who I'd rather not feel sorry for."
Read MoreWhy People Are Freaking out About Melania Trump Being “Missing”
The first lady has not been seen in public for more than 20 days, and all sorts of strange events and conspiracy theories have sprung up in the wake of her "vanishing."
Read MoreDear GOP, Please Tell Me How to Get Into This Well-Paying Business of ‘Accusing Men’
There are no financial or professional gains to be made by accusing men, let alone powerful men, of assault. There is only danger and detriment. But I sure would love to live in this GOP fantasty world where that's not the case.
Read MoreStephen Colbert Calls out the Ridiculous and Horrific “Crisis Actor” Conspiracies
"It's hard not to be inspired by these kids, but some people have managed to do it."
Read MoreAdam Ruins Everything Explains Why the Moon Landing Couldn’t Have Been Faked
One of the most persistent conspiracy theories is that the U.S. didn't actually reach the moon in 1969, but simply filmed a scene in order to deceive the entire world.
Read MoreWhat Do Flat-Earthers Think of Today’s Big Solar Eclipse?
"It's very hard to figure stuff out on your own if that stuff is the universe."
Read MoreBust Out Your Tin Foil Hats: Stranger Things Has The US Dept. of Energy Either Scared…Or Totally Messing With Us
We knew it was coming. Once Netflix's hit show Stranger Things started poking the bear by having the US Department of Energy as their Big Bad (you know, along with the Demogorgon), the DoE was bound to poke back. Although in this case, it wouldn't have happened had someone not started sniffing around for documents about the Upside-Down.
Read MoreBilly Corgan Chats About “Social Justice Warriors,” Equates Them With Ku Klux Klan Members
Billy Corgan was on conspiracy theorist Alex Jones' InfoWars.com radio show to chat about conspiracies and social justice warriors–you know, like you do.
Read MoreNo, There Is No “Previously Classified Moon Music”
That's no Moon (music).
Remember yesterday, when everyone was excited about some "recently declassified music" that Apollo 11 astronauts heard on the far side of the Moon back in 1969? Well, allow me to rain on your parade. (Despite the Moon having no atmosphere! Conspiracy!) There's essentially no such thing.
Read MoreMath Predicts Large-Scale Conspiracies Would Fall Apart, Is Probably LIES Anyway so Whatever
FAKE.
Hey, you know how the entire scientific community has conspired to fool you into thinking vaccines don't kill you, genetically modified food is safe, and we landed on the Moon? Well it's no wonder that we found those lying liars out, because a mathematical model has predicted that all these massive cover-ups will eventually collapse under their own weight.
Read MoreNeil deGrasse Tyson Corrects the Science of … a Rapper’s Flat Earth Theories
No art form is safe from scientific critique.
What they taught you in school was a lie! ... If we're talking about "people stopped believing the Earth was flat 200 years ago," because apparently some people still believe it. Neil deGrasse Tyson to the rescue!
Read MoreCreationist Sylvia Allen Appointed to Head of Arizona Senate Committee on Education Legislation
Ladies, Gentlemen, and non-binary people of Arizona, listen up! This is, Sylvia Allen, aka the woman who has just been appointed to lead the Arizona State Senate committee that oversees education legislation.
Read MoreThe Geek Girl’s Guide to Antigravity Conspiracies: The Stories of The Women Who Believe
Or, how to build a believable (and perhaps even useful) conspiracy theory using our friend, mainstream science.
Guess where geek girls are under-represented? Old joke: everywhere! Anyway, there’s one aspect of geek culture where very few forays have been made by women: antigravity and its associated conspiracy theories. It’s a shame too; four of the biggest and most respectable figures in the field are women.
Read MoreInterview With Matty Beckerman, Director Of IFC Midnight’s Alien Abduction
I want to believe.
When I sat down to talk with Matty Beckerman, director of IFC Midnight's new horror movie Alien Abduction, I honestly wasn't expecting him to be such a firm believer in visitors from outer space. But Matty has personal experience with the Brown Mountain Lights--a bizarre phenomenon in North Carolina that he says is "bigger than Area 51."
Read MoreNo. The Snow Outside Isn’t a Plastic Nanobot Government Chemtrail Conspiracy, Dummies. Let Us Explain
This is a real conversation we have to have? Seriously?
Before you post that video of yourself "burning" that "chemtrail snow" outside to prove your insane conspiracy theory -- stop. Don't. Read this first and learn how snow works, lest you run the risk of looking like a stupid person on the Internet. That burning snow outside? Yeah. That's just regular snow.
Read MoreOrson Scott Card Compares Obama to Hitler, Napoleon, Ceasar, Worried He’ll Use Urban Youths as Secret Police
Somewhere, the press team for Ender's Game weeping openly, begging Card to just stop with the talking thing.
You know that feeling when you read something so ridiculous you think it's a really funny parody, followed by that sinking sensation when it turns out its writer was serious? Orson Scott Card's "Unlikely Events" on why Obama is already a dictator, controlling literally all the things and all the people is like that.
Read More“Mars Rat” is Just a Rock on Mars, Not a Rat, Because Apparently People Need to Hear That
Just because a rock looks like an animal doesn't mean that there's a rat on Mars, so everybody relax.
I've seen this story popping up a few places, and it's been getting on my nerves. What you see in that picture is not some kind of Martian rat or lizard. It is a rock. It's not even a rock that looks that much like a rat or a lizard. Our brains are wired for us to recognize familiar shapes and see faces. That's all this is.
Read MoreBoston Marathon Domain Registered by Man With No Interest in Hearing Conspiracy Theories
Of course we couldn't get through 12 hours after yesterday's tragic bombing in Boston without people bandying about wild-eyed conspiracy theories about "false flag" operations designed to steal away our civil liberties or what the hell ever. In a pretty unexpected and heartening turn of events, though, the recently registered website bostonmarathonconspiracy.com is not actually a haven for conspiracy theorists. Quite the opposite in fact -- the site was registered by someone to keep a real conspiracy theorist from registering it. Which is a pretty forward thinking move, really.
Read MoreSweden Grants $59 Million in Aid to Cambodia After They Agree to Deport Pirate Bay Founder
Correlation is obviously not causation. That said, the suspicious series of events surrounding the arrest of Gottfrid Svartholm, one of the founders of popular torrent site The Pirate Bay, does give room to speculation. After his arrest, Sweden wanted to deport the man from Cambodia, but there's no standing extradition treaty between the two countries. The two apparently came to some kind of agreement, as Cambodia has since agreed to deport Svartholm. Fresh on the heels of this news, it's been announced that Sweden will provide a $59 million aid package to Cambodia for "causes of democratic development, human rights, education, and climate change for two years."
Today in B.S.: U.S. Chrononauts Claim to Have Met Barack Obama on Mars
In celebration of the impending destruction of the Earth because some Mayan dude couldn't be bothered to extend his calendar a little further, Wired has reintroduced Tinfoil Hat Tuesdays to celebrate the best conspiracy theorists have to offer. Today's is a real gem. I'd write my own lede, but I think it's best to let the source speak for itself. Let me assure you, it is pure gold. From Exopolitics:
Two former participants in the CIA’s Mars visitation program of the early 1980’s have confirmed that U.S. President Barack H. Obama was enrolled in their Mars training class in 1980 and was among the young Americans from the program who they later encountered on the Martian surface after reaching Mars via “jump room.”Emphasis ours, to help note when your eyes should jump out of your head. Read More
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