Arizona, Is the Truth Out There? Flat Earth and Alien Conspiracy Theories

“Just because you’re paranoid doesn’t mean they aren’t after you.” – Joseph Heller

I just looked up quotes on paranoia. I thought I'd get the one by Joseph Heller. I wanted to make sure I was attributing the quote to the right fellow and quoting him properly. Boy, was I surprised to get a website with 70 (SEVENTY!!) Paranoid Quotes and Sayings. We've been suspicious of our fellow humans for a long time.

It's possible Philip K Dick was right when he observed in Through a Scanner Darkly: “Strange how paranoia can link up with reality now and then.” Now, I don't know what to believe.

I was inspired by a headline I found about a guy who believes the refrigerators at Walgreens are evidence the New World Order used COVID-19 to implant chips in our hands and is now plotting the end times.

The website Politifact counters, the Cooler Screens, and Walgreens high-tech refrigerator doors, are being used for something far less nefarious: producing targeted advertising to customers who linger near the fridge doors.

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A post on Facebook from two years ago reads, "Walgreens refrigerators are scanning shoppers’ hands and foreheads for “the mark of the beast,” and that “if you don’t have the mark later on, you won’t be able to buy.”

“The paranoid is never entirely mistaken.”- Sigmund Freud

I've heard a wide range of conspiracy theories for years. Everything from 9/11 being a government conspiracy to the "magic bullet" theory surrounding the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.

I was curious about what my fellow Arizonans believe, so I asked the question: Tell us about a Conspiracy Theory you’ve heard of. Do you believe it could be true?

I got a wide range of answers.

Kathy reminded us about the conspiracy theory surrounding the Beatles:

"Paul McCartney died and was replaced by a look alike. It fascinates me!
The ‘Paul Is Dead’ myth began in 1969 and alleged that Paul McCartney died in 1966. The Beatles are said to have covered up the death, despite inserting a series of clues into their songs and artwork."

I've heard this one many times, and I began to wonder if the last living Beatle would be so kind as to confirm or dispel this myth. It could happen.

A lot of conspiracy theories discuss the idea that the earth is flat. Facebook posters even added diagrams and animation as "proof."

“Hire paranoids. Even though they have a high false alarm rate, they discover all plots.”- Herman Kahn

Here's a brief list of Conspiracy Theories we talked about in the Facebook post:

• That bigfoot and UFOs are real, and they're the same thing.
• UFOs exist, the government knows, and it's all being covered up.
• COVID was created to control the world.
• The earth is flat. The science that "proves" otherwise is false.
• Someone posted a picture of the Space Shuttle Challenger crew with "recent" photos of the [allegedly] deceased astronauts, implying they're all alive.
• Cancer has been cured, but big pharma is covering it up.

And if we weren't sure if we should believe any of these conspiracies, someone else posted the quote: "We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." - William J. Casey, CIA Director (1981)

Now I don't know what to believe! As our Facebook follower Ryan observed, "Is it still a conspiracy theory if it's true?"