What is a conspiracy theory?

Do you believe? Can you think of any famous conspiracy theories or cover ups? Do you think that newspapers and / or governments cover up events? Why (not)? When might keeping secrets be a good thing? Who ‘s job is it to uncover conspiracy theories and expose cover ups?

Conspiracy #1 The 9/11 terrorist attacks on the USA (2001) were planned by the American government

What’s the story? Many conspiracy theories claim that President George W. Bush and/or individuals in his administration knew about the attacks beforehand and purposefully allowed them to occur because the attacks would generate public support for militarization, expansion of the police state, and other intrusive foreign and domestic policies by which they would benefit.

Conspiracy #2 A crashed UFO was discovered in Roswell, New Mexico in 1947.

What’s the story? The Roswell UFO Incident involved the recovery of materials near Roswell, New Mexico, USA, in July 1947. By the early 1990s, UFO researchers had interviewed several hundred people [11] who had, or claimed to have had, a connection with the events at Roswell in 1947 and hundreds of documents were also obtained. Their conclusions were that at least one alien craft had crashed in the Roswell vicinity, that aliens, some possibly still alive, were recovered, and that a massive cover-up of any knowledge of the incident was put in place.

Conspiracy #3 On November 22, 1963, President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas. Theorists claim that the US government released false reports to cover up the whole affair.

What‘s the story? Theorists claim that there was more than one shooter and that Lee Harvey Oswald was not responsible for the sole killing of the President. Some believe that Oswald was either a patsy or worked for the FBI, KGB or the mafia. To this day the debate continues about how many shooters there were, where the shooters were and who was really behind the assassination of President Kennedy.

Conspiracy #4 William Shakespeare, the playwright responsible for penning a number of plays such as Romeo and Juliet, did not write any of his own work.

What’s the story? Since there is very little historical information about Shakespeare, conspiracy theorists believe that he could not have possibly written the plays, but was used as the author to cover up the true identity of the brilliant poet. Many believe that Shakespeare himself could not have had the education to write such profound work. The most plausible authors include Christopher Marlowe, Ben Johnson, Francis Bacon or Sir Walter Raleigh.

Conspiracy #5 The Holocaust, the annahilation of approximately 6 million Jews during WWII, did not happen.

What’s the story? Believe it or not there are many theorists out there who believe that the Holocaust is a hoax. Conspiracy theories claim that the Nazis never murdered over 6 million Jews during World War II but claims of the Holocaust was conspired by the Jews to advance their own interests and to justify the creation of Israel. The deniers claim that any deaths which occurred in concentration camps were from starvation or disease and not because of Nazi policy to exterminate the Jews. The Diary of Anne Frank the conspiracy theorists believe is a forgery.

Create a Conspiracy Using the story your group will receive, try to create a conspiracy theory to explain the mystery described. Make sure your theory is believable and based only on the information you have been given.

Sources: http://listverse.com/2007/08/21/top-10-conspiracy-theories/ http://guardianlv.com/2014/03/the-worlds-top-15-conspiracy-theories-of-all-time/ http://busyteacher.org/20566-conspiracy-theory-universal-activity-creativity.html