By Evridiki Fatolia,
We have all heard, at least once in our lives, a theory explaining how mankind hasn’t actually stepped foot on the moon, how COVID-19 is a way for rich people to manipulate the population and, of course, that something is going wrong with all these planes in the sky. Below, we can find some popular conspiracy theories with truths and myths about them:
One of the most recent theories that has been developed is about COVID-19. Sars-CoV-2 is said to be used as a method to decrease the global population. The “population control” theory is a more “traditional” conspiracy theory. It is an expression of technophobia and mistrust towards politicians and science in particular. The widespread adoption of these views has been aided by the mainstream media, particularly the Internet. Then, theories were created about the new vaccines. COVID-19 vaccines are not safe because they were developed too quickly, they change DNA, they include a tracking system, etc.. In reality, according to the scientific community, the vaccines against COVID-19 are safe and effective, and were developed in record time thanks to unprecedented global collaboration and funding. They do not contain a live virus, but only the “instruction” for our cells to synthesize the “spike protein”. This “instruction” in the form of mRNA never enters the cell’s nucleus, where our DNA resides, and is broken down immediately after its mission is completed. No vaccine includes a tracking device.
Another theory is the airplanes that spray us. It is said that governments and other global organizations spray unexplained harmful substances into the atmosphere using commercial and non-commercial planes. Population sterilisation, reduced life expectancy, mind or weather control are all possible goals. The scientific way to explain and shut down this theory is the fact that high-altitude aircraft exhaust creates these linear clouds known as contrails. Once they are in the extremely cold environment, where aircrafts travel, the hot water vapour and soot particles in the exhaust gases function as condensation nuclei for the water vapour, generating small ice crystals and the distinctive cloud lines we see in the sky.
The Flat Earth theory talks about Earth being a flat motionless disc, centered on the North Pole and located in the centre of the cosmos. Eratosthenes, in the third century B.C., was the first to precisely determine the radius of the spherical Earth. In the sixteenth century, European navigators circumnavigated the globe on a continuous eastward route. Of course, photographs from space provide all the irrefutable visual verification we may need.
The scam of landing on the moon; Astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin made history in July 1969, when they set foot on the moon, or did they? The main tenet of the conspiracy theory is that Area 51 in Nevada is where the footage of the astronauts walking on the Moon, which was broadcasted live to hundreds of millions of viewers, was actually shot.
In regards to Area 51, it is a military outpost in the Nevada desert. However, because it is not included on any map or official website, the base soon gained notoriety as the most secret military location in the world, inspiring conspiracy theories among some. Some people think that Area 51 studies and tests extraterrestrial life and their spacecraft. Some people think it was a faked moon landing. In response, the Government stated that the facility is utilised for military experimental aircraft testing.
Reference
- Conspiracy theory. Merriam Webster. Available here
