Page 70 - March 2019 - v1_june_july_2009.qxd

70 The Strangest Conspiracy Theories

The strangest conspiracy

theories: from Diana and

Elvis to Meghan Markle

Continued from Page 69

Finland doesn't exist

The nation of Finland is actually part of the
Baltic Sea and people who claim to live there are
really from eastern Sweden, western Russia or
northern Estonia, according to a theory born on
Reddit in 2016. What began as a joke quickly
gained traction online, spawning numerous
subreddits and websites explaining why Russia
and Japan made up the fictional country in 1918.
Christ as matters of historical fact, there remain cement the US’s place as the top global power or
“The notion goes that the two nations
some aspects of his life that are highly to secure the oil reserves in the Middle East.
created Finland so that Japan could fish the sea
contentious. Central among these is the Another theory is that the building’s
that truly exists there without any environmental
personage of Mary Magdalene. Discovered in owners were responsible for the event (they
complaints or repercussions,” explains Vice.
1945, and still disputed by religious scholars, the stood to gain $500m in insurance profits).
“The fish that are caught are then shipped via the
Gospel of Phillip refers to Magdalene as Jesus’s
Trans-Siberian railway (the real reason it was
koinonos, a Greek term for ”companion“ or Mass shootings are staged by the
built by the way) from the Eastern Russian coast
”partner“. government
to Japan under the disguise of Nokia products.”
While there is scant evidence elsewhere
But surely other countries would have
in the scriptures to support the claim that Jesus
cottoned on to this by now? Yes, they have, While the latest Parkland school massacre has
and Magdalene were married, this has not
according to theorists, but they’ve agreed to sparked a nationwide debate and increased calls
stopped a host of theories springing up.
keep it a secret and allow “Finland” to serve as for tighter gun controls, some believe mass
Most famous of these is undoubtedly
a model for a better world. “No real country shootings are actually orchestrated by the
Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci code which also
could so consistently place first in education, government as an excuse to restrict the sale of
wraps in conspiracy shibboleths like The
healthcare, gender equality, literacy rates, firearms.
Illuminati, Opus Dei and the Knights Templar
national stability, the least corrupt government Many of the Parkland survivors have
for good measure.
in the world, freedom of the press,” reads the been vocal about gun control, leading to
Yet, dismissed as a mostly-fictional
theory. “It’s a concept for countries and people accusations they are not really students at all.
thriller, it could be that Brown was nearer to the
to aspire to.” Memes and videos on YouTube claim some of
truth than even he knew after a 1,500 year-old
the students are “actors” working for anti-gun
manuscript was recently unearthed at the British
Meghan Markle is a robot groups who travel around the country to the sites
Library which appears to reveal Jesus not only
of mass shootings.
married the prostitute Mary Magdalene but had
This one has been doing the rounds on the Earlier this week, a video alleging
two children with her.
internet ever since a clip emerged in June Parkland survivor David Hogg, 17, was a “crisis
Dubbed ‘The Lost Gospel’, it also made
apparently showing Meghan Markle and Prince actor” who’s been “coached” on anti-gun talking
the startling claim that the original Virgin Mary
Harry at the finale of Britain’s Got Talent. points, was one of the top trending videos on
was Jesus’ wife and not his mother.
The clip, which has since gone viral, YouTube.
shows the royal couple sitting in the audience In response, Hogg thanked all the
Area 51
and applauding, while their faces remain conspiracy theorists and detractors he believes
motionless, not even blinking. have helped amplify his real message.
In 1947 claims that an ”alien spacecraft“ had “These people that have been attacking
It sparked wild speculation that the Duke
landed in Roswell, New Mexico, were dismissed me on social media, they’ve been great
and Duchess of Sussex are robots, or at least
by the US military, which said the alien craft advertisers. Ever since they started attacking me,
have android doubles they use for royal
was merely a weather balloon. my Twitter followers are now a quarter of a
engagements.
Ufologists believe the spacecraft was million people. People have continued to cover
In fact, the creepy royal cameo was a
taken into Area 51 – a division of Edwards Air us in the media. They’ve done a great job of that,
stunt to promote the new Live Figures exhibit at
Force Base – and the US government has been and for that, I honestly thank them,” Hogg told
Madame Tussauds London, the company
researching alien technology and life forms on
revealed on its official website. CNN’s Brian Stelter.
The new feature, which is expected to the site ever since. Yet effort by social media companies to
Video footage of an alleged ”alien crack down on false stories claiming teenage
include other famous celebrities in the Madame
autopsy“ has been shown to be fake, but Area 51 survivors are actors hired to promote gun control
Tussauds collection, will allow visitors to view
is known to be a secretive and heavily guarded “shines a light on a seemingly intractable
and interact with the royals’ wax clones much
base. The reasons, however, may be more problem of the modern conspiracy theory
more closely than usual.
earthly than the conspiracy theories suggest: the epidemic: that censoring the content can
Harper’s Bazaar says “it appears the
U-2 spy plane, and several other top-secret reinforce and enhance false beliefs and that there
‘Harry and Meghan’ in the viral video were just
aircraft, were developed and tested here. is no easy way to change the mind of a
two audience members wearing masks of the
royals’ faces”. conspiracy theorist”, says The Guardian.
9/11
Jesus married Mary Magdalene (Continued on Page 71)
On 11 September 2001, four planes were
hijacked by al-Qaeda and two of them were CHECK OUT
Sometimes the best conspiracy theories are the
flown into the twin towers of the World Trade THE ‘X’ ZONE TV CHANNEL
oldest – and prove they existed well before the
Center in New York, killing 2,996 people. “Searching For Answers,
invention of the internet.
However, some believe that the attack Demanding The Truth”
For those who take the stories of Jesus
was an inside job, orchestrated in order to The ‘X’ Zone TV Channel