Fringe science

Inquiries far outside of mainstream science

Part of a series on the

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Related

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* Argument from ignorance
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* Bandwagon effect
* Begging the question
* Cognitive dissonance
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* Fallacy
* Falsifiability
* Fringe science
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* Hypnosis
* Junk science
* Protoscience
* Pseudoscience
* Scientific evidence
* Scientific method
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* Uncertainty
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* v
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* e

Fringe science refers to ideas whose attributes include being highly speculative or relying on premises already refuted.[1] The chance of ideas rejected by editors and published outside the mainstream being correct is remote.[2]: 58 [3] When the general public does not distinguish between science and imitators, it risks exploitation,[2]: 173 and in some cases, a "yearning to believe or a generalized suspicion of experts is a very potent incentive to accepting some pseudoscientific claims".[2]: 176

The term "fringe science" covers everything from novel hypotheses, which can be tested utilizing the scientific method, to wild ad hoc hypotheses and mumbo jumbo. This has resulted in a tendency to dismiss all fringe science as the domain of pseudoscientists, hobbyists, and quacks.[4]

A concept that was once accepted by the mainstream scientific community may become fringe science because of a later evaluation of previous research.[5] For example, focal infection theory, which held that focal infections of the tonsils or teeth are a primary cause of systemic disease, was once considered to be medical fact. It has since been dismissed because of a lack of evidence.

## Description

[edit]

The boundary between fringe science and pseudoscience is disputed. Friedlander writes that there is no widespread understanding of what separates science from nonscience or pseudoscience.[2]: 183 Pseudoscience, however, is something that is not scientific but is incorrectly characterised as science.

The term may be considered pejorative. For example, Lyell D. Henry Jr. wrote, "Fringe science [is] a term also suggesting kookiness."[6]

Continental drift was rejected for decades lacking conclusive evidence before plate tectonics was accepted.[2]: 5

> The confusion between science and pseudoscience, between honest scientific error and genuine scientific discovery, is not new, and it is a permanent feature of the scientific landscape .... Acceptance of new science can come slowly.[2]: 161

## Examples

[edit]

### Historical

[edit]

Some historical ideas that are considered to have been refuted by mainstream science are:

* Wilhelm Reich's work with orgone, a physical energy he claimed to have discovered, contributed to his alienation from the psychiatric community. He was eventually sentenced to two years in a federal prison, where he died.[7] At that time and continuing today, scientists disputed his claim that he had scientific evidence for the existence of orgone.[8][9] Nevertheless, amateurs and a few fringe researchers continued to believe that orgone is real.[10][11][12]
* Focal infection theory (FIT), as the primary cause of systemic disease, rapidly became accepted by mainstream dentistry and medicine after World War I. This acceptance was largely based upon what later turned out to be fundamentally flawed studies. As a result, millions of people were subjected to needless dental extractions and surgeries.[13] The original studies supporting FIT began falling out of favor in the 1930s. By the late 1950s, it was regarded as a fringe theory.
* The Clovis First theory held that the Clovis culture was the first culture in North America. It was long regarded as a mainstream theory until mounting evidence of a pre-Clovis culture discredited it.[14][15][16]

### Modern

[edit]

Relatively recent fringe sciences include:

* Aubrey de Grey, featured in a 2006 60 Minutes special report, is studying human longevity.[17] He calls his work "strategies for engineered negligible senescence" (SENS). Many mainstream scientists[18] believe his research is fringe science (especially his view of the importance of nuclear epimutations and his timeline for antiaging therapeutics). In a 2005 article in Technology Review (part of a larger series), it was stated that "SENS is highly speculative. Many of its proposals have not been reproduced, nor could they be reproduced with today's scientific knowledge and technology. Echoing Myhrvold, we might charitably say that de Grey's proposals exist in a kind of antechamber of science, where they wait (possibly in vain) for independent verification. SENS does not compel the assent of many knowledgeable scientists; but neither is it demonstrably wrong."[19]
* A nuclear fusion reaction called cold fusion, which occurs near room temperature and pressure, was reported by chemists Martin Fleischmann and Stanley Pons in March 1989. Numerous research efforts at the time were unable to replicate their results.[20] Subsequently, several scientists have worked on cold fusion or have participated in international conferences on it. In 2004, the United States Department of Energy commissioned a panel on cold fusion to reexamine the concept. They wanted to determine whether their policies should be altered because of new evidence.
* The theory of abiogenic petroleum origin holds that petroleum was formed from deep carbon deposits, perhaps dating to the formation of the Earth. The ubiquity of hydrocarbons in the Solar System may be evidence that there may be more petroleum on Earth than commonly thought and that petroleum may originate from carbon-bearing fluids that migrate upward from the Earth's mantle. Abiogenic hypotheses saw a revival in the last half of the twentieth century by Russian and Ukrainian scientists. More interest was generated in the West after the 1999 publication by Thomas Gold of The Deep Hot Biosphere[broken anchor]. Gold's version of the theory is partly based on the existence of a biosphere composed of thermophile bacteria in the Earth's crust, which might explain the existence of specific biomarkers in extracted petroleum.

### Accepted as mainstream

[edit]

Some theories that were once rejected as fringe science but were eventually accepted as mainstream science include:

* Plate tectonics[21][22]
* The existence of Troy[23][24]
* Heliocentrism[25]
* Norse colonization of the Americas
* The Big Bang theory[26]
* Helicobacter pylori bacteria as the causative agent of peptic ulcer disease[27]
* The germ theory of disease[28]
* Neanderthal-Homo sapiens hybridization

## Responding to fringe science

[edit]

Michael W. Friedlander has suggested some guidelines for responding to fringe science, which, he argues, is a more difficult problem[2]: 174 than scientific misconduct. His suggested methods include impeccable accuracy, checking cited sources, not overstating orthodox science, thorough understanding of the Wegener continental drift example, examples of orthodox science investigating radical proposals, and prepared examples of errors from fringe scientists.[2]: 178-9

Friedlander suggests that fringe science is necessary so mainstream science will not atrophy. Scientists must evaluate the plausibility of each new fringe claim, and certain fringe discoveries "will later graduate into the ranks of accepted" — while others "will never receive confirmation".[2]: 173

Margaret Wertheim profiled many "outsider scientists" in her book Physics on the Fringe, who receive little or no attention from professional scientists. She describes all of them as trying to make sense of the world using the scientific method but in the face of being unable to understand modern science's complex theories. She also finds it fair that credentialed scientists do not bother spending a lot of time learning about and explaining problems with the fringe theories of uncredentialed scientists since the authors of those theories have not taken the time to understand the mainstream theories they aim to disprove.[29]

### Controversies

[edit]

As Donald E. Simanek asserts, "Too often speculative and tentative hypotheses of cutting edge science are treated as if they were scientific truths, and so accepted by a public eager for answers." However, the public is ignorant that "As science progresses from ignorance to understanding it must pass through a transitional phase of confusion and uncertainty."[30]

The media also play a role in propagating the belief that certain fields of science are controversial. In their 2003 paper "Optimising Public Understanding of Science and Technology in Europe: A Comparative Perspective", Jan Nolin et al. write that "From a media perspective it is evident that controversial science sells, not only because of its dramatic value, but also since it is often connected to high-stake societal issues."[31]

## See also

[edit]

* Cargo cult science – 1985 autobiographical book by Richard FeynmanPages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets
* Epistemology – Philosophical study of knowledge
* Fringe theory – Idea which departs from accepted scholarship in the field
* Homeopathy – Pseudoscientific system of alternative medicine
* Journal of Scientific Exploration – American body to study fringe sciencePages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets
* Junk science – Scientific data considered to be spurious or fraudulent
* List of fringe science organizations
* List of topics characterized as pseudoscience
* Paradigm shift – Fundamental change in ideas and practices within a scientific discipline
* Pathological science – Area of research which persists despite being widely discredited
* Science, technology and society – Academic fieldPages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets (STS)
* Scientific misconduct – Violation of codes of scholarly conduct and ethical behavior in scientific research
* Sociology of scientific knowledge – Study of science as a social activity (SSK)
* Superseded scientific theories – Obsolete theories in natural history and natural philosophyPages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets
* Transhumanism – Philosophical movement
* Voodoo science – 2000 book by Robert L. ParkPages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets

Books

* 13 Things That Don't Make Sense (a book by Michael Brooks)
* The Structure of Scientific Revolutions (a book by Thomas S. Kuhn)

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Dutch, Steven I (January 1982). "Notes on the nature of fringe science". Journal of Geological Education. 30 (1): 6–13\. Bibcode:1982JGeoE..30....6D. doi:10.5408/0022-1368-30.1.6. ISSN 0022-1368. OCLC 427103550. ERIC EJ260409.
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Friedlander, Michael W. (1995). At the Fringes of Science. OCLC 42309381.
3. ^ Isaac Asimov (1980). Left Hand of the Electron. Bantam Books. ISBN 978-0-440-94717-2.
4. ^ David Bell (December 1999). "Secret science". Science and Public Policy. 26 (6): 450. doi:10.1093/spp/26.6.450.
5. ^ Beyerstein, Barry L. (July 1995). "Distinguishing Science from Pseudoscience" (PDF). INFOMED - Red de Salud de Cuba.
6. ^ Henry Lyell D. (1981). "Unorthodox science as a popular activity". The Journal of American Culture. 4 (2): 1–22\. doi:10.1111/j.1542-734X.1981.0402_1.x.
7. ^ "Two Scientists Jailed; Pair Sentenced in Maine in Sale of 'Accumulators'". The New York Times. 12 March 1957. Retrieved 31 March 2015.
8. ^ Williams, William F. (2000). Encyclopedia of Pseudoscience: From Alien Abductions to Zone Therapy. Facts on File. pp. 36, 55, 68, 248–249, 298–299\. ISBN 081603351X.
9. ^ Gordin, Michael D. (2012). The Pseudoscience Wars: Immanuel Velikovsky and the Birth of the Modern Fringe. University of Chicago Press. pp. 158–159\. ISBN 978-0226101729.
10. ^ Klee, Gerald D. (2005). "THE RESURRECTION OF WILHELM REICH AND ORGONE THERAPY". The Scientific Review of Mental Health Practice. 4 (1).
11. ^ Simon, Matt (26 November 2014). "Fantastically Wrong: Why Is the Sky Blue? It's Packed With Sexy Energy, of Course". Wired. Retrieved 31 March 2015.
12. ^ "Orgone Energy". Zephyr Technology. Archived from the original on 13 July 2017. Retrieved 31 March 2015.
13. ^ Pallasch, TJ (March 2000). "The focal infection theory: appraisal and reappraisal". Journal of the California Dental Association. 28 (3): 194–200\. doi:10.1080/19424396.2000.12223068. PMID 11326533. S2CID 42277199.
14. ^ Whitley, David S. (2009) Cave paintings and the human spirit p. 98
15. ^ Waters, Michael (25 March 2011). "The Buttermilk Creek Complex and the Origins of Clovis at the Debra L. Friedkin Site, Texas". Science. 331 (6024): 1599–1603\. Bibcode:2011Sci...331.1599W. doi:10.1126/science.1201855. PMID 21436451. S2CID 206531951.
16. ^ Wilford, John (2011-03-24). "Arrowheads Found in Texas Dial Back Arrival of Humans in America". The New York Times. Retrieved 2011-03-27.
17. ^ "The quest for immortality: Want to live 500 years? One scientist says it may be possible one day". CBS News. 2005-12-28.
18. ^ Warner, H.; Anderson, J.; Austad, S.; Bergamini, E.; Bredesen, D.; Butler, R.; Carnes, B. A.; Clark, B. F. C.; Cristofalo, V.; Faulkner, J.; Guarente, L.; Harrison, D. E.; Kirkwood, T.; Lithgow, G.; Martin, G.; Masoro, E.; Melov, S.; Miller, R. A.; Olshansky, S. J.; Partridge, L.; Pereira-Smith, O.; Perls, T.; Richardson, A.; Smith, J.; Von Zglinicki, T.; Wang, E.; Wei, J. Y.; Williams, T. F. (Nov 2005). "Science fact and the SENS agenda. What can we reasonably expect from ageing research?". EMBO Reports. 6 (11): 1006–1008\. doi:10.1038/sj.embor.7400555. ISSN 1469-221X. PMC 1371037. PMID 16264422.
19. ^ Pontin, Jason (2006-07-11). "Is defeating aging only a dream?". Technology Review. Archived from the original on 2012-09-11. Retrieved 2007-04-25. (includes June 9, 2006 critiques and rebuttals)
20. ^ "A report from the American Physical Society spring meeting – 1–2 May 1989 Baltimore, MD Special session on cold fusion". Retrieved 2009-04-14.
21. ^ Bell, David, 2005, Science, Technology and Culture, Open University Press, p. 134, ISBN 978-0-335-21326-9
22. ^ Oreskes, Naomi (2003), Plate tectonics: an insider's history of the modern theory of the Earth p. 72
23. ^ Conklin, Wendy (2005) Mysteries in History: Ancient History p. 39
24. ^ Hunt, Patrick (2007) Ten Discoveries That Rewrote History
25. ^ JDobrzycki J Editor (1973) The reception of Copernicus' heliocentric theory p. 311
26. ^ Lemonick, Michael D. (2003) Echo of the Big Bang Princeton University Press p. 7
27. ^ Beyerstein, Barry L. (July 1995). "Distinguishing science from pseudoscience" (PDF). www.sld.cu. p. 17. Retrieved 27 September 2017.
28. ^ Velasquez-Manoff, Moises (2013). An Epidemic of Absence: A New Way of Understanding Allergies and Autoimmune Diseases. Simon and Schuster. p. 40\. ISBN 9781439199398. Retrieved 27 September 2017.
29. ^ NPR Podcast
30. ^ Simanek, Donald. "Cutting edge science". Archived from the original on 2008-03-19. Retrieved 2008-04-01.
31. ^ Nolin, Jan; et al. "Optimising public understanding of science: A comparative perspective" (PDF). p. 632\. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2008-09-12.

## Bibliography

[edit]

* Ben-Yehuda, Nachman (1990). The politics and morality of deviance: moral panics, drug abuse, deviant science, and reversed stigmatization. SUNY series in deviance and social control. Albany: State University of New York Press. OCLC 19128625.
* Brante, Thomas; Fuller, Steve; Lynch, William (1993). Controversial science: from content to contention. Albany, New York: State University of New York Press. OCLC 26096166.
* Brooks, M. (2008). 13 Things That Don't Make Sense. New York: Doubleday. OCLC 213480209.
* 
- (31 March 2009). "Why science doesn't make sense". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 2009-04-04. Retrieved 2 April 2009.
* Brown, George E. Jr. (23 October 1996). Environmental science under siege: fringe science and the 104th Congress. Washington, D.C.: Democratic Caucus of the Committee on Science, U.S. House of Representatives. OCLC 57343997.
* Cooke, R. M. (1991). Experts in uncertainty: opinion and subjective probability in science. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-506465-8. OCLC 22710786.
* CSICOP On-line: Scientifically Investigating Paranormal and Fringe Science Claims Archived 2014-03-16 at the Wayback Machine—Committee for Skeptical Inquiry
* de Jager, Cornelis (March 1990). "Science, fringe science and pseudo-science". Quarterly Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society. 31 (1): 31–45\. Bibcode:1990QJRAS..31...31D. ISSN 0035-8738.
* Dutch, Steven I. (January 1982). "Notes on the nature of fringe science". Journal of Geological Education. 30 (1): 6–13\. Bibcode:1982JGeoE..30....6D. doi:10.5408/0022-1368-30.1.6. ISSN 0022-1368. OCLC 92686827.
* Frazier, Kendrick (1981). Paranormal borderlands of science. Buffalo, New York: Prometheus Books. ISBN 0-87975-148-7. OCLC 251487947.
* Friedlander, Michael W. (February 1995). At the Fringes of Science. Boulder, Colorado: Westview Press. ISBN 0-8133-2200-6. OCLC 31046052.
* Friedman, Sharon M; Dunwoody, Sharon; Rogers, Carol L, eds. (1998). Communicating uncertainty: Media coverage of new and controversial science. Mahwah, New Jersey; London: Lawrence Erlbaum. ISBN 0-8058-2727-7. OCLC 263560777.
* Mauskopf, SH (1979). The reception of unconventional science. Boulder, Colorado: Westview Press. ISBN 0-89158-297-5. OCLC 4495634.
* Mousseau, Marie-Catherine (2003). "Parapsychology: Science or Pseudo-Science?" (PDF). Journal of Scientific Exploration. 17 (2): 271–282\. ISSN 0892-3310. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2009-11-27.
* Truzzi, Marcello (1998). "The Perspective of Anomalistics". Anomalistics. Center for Scientific Anomalies Research. Archived from the original on February 6, 2009. Retrieved 2009-04-14.

## External links

[edit]

* Media related to Fringe science at Wikimedia Commons

* v
* t
* e

Pseudoscience

List of topics characterized as pseudoscience

Terminology|

* Cargo cult science
* Charlatan
* Crank
* Fringe theory
* Fringe science
* Pseudoarchaeology
* Pseudohistory
* Pseudomathematics
* Junk science
* Paranormal
* Pathological science
* Quackery
* Snake oil
* Superseded scientific theory
* True-believer syndrome
* Voodoo Science

Topics
characterized as
pseudoscience|

| Medicine|

* Acupuncture
* Aromatherapy
* Adrenal fatigue
* Alternative medicine
* Anthroposophic medicine
* Applied kinesiology
* Ayurveda
* Bates method
* Biorhythms
* Bloodletting
* Body memory
* Chiropractic
* Chromotherapy
* Correactology
* Cryonics
* Crystal healing
* Cupping
* Detoxification
* Colon cleansing
* Doctrine of signatures
* Doktor Koster's Antigaspills
* Ear candling
* Electromagnetic hypersensitivity
* Energy medicine
* Fad diet
* FasciaBlaster
* Germ theory denialism
* HIV/AIDS denialism
* Homeopathy
* Humorism
* Iridology
* Leaky gut syndrome
* LGBTQ chemicals conspiracy theory
* Lunar effect
* Macrobiotic diet
* Magnet therapy
* Miracle Mineral Supplement
* Naturopathy
* Palmistry
* Panchagavya
* Patent medicine
* Phrenology
* Primal therapy
* Radionics
* Reiki
* Traditional medicine
* Traditional Chinese medicine
* Trepanning
* Vertebral subluxation
* Wind turbine syndrome
* Young blood transfusion

|

Social science|

* 2012 phenomenon
* Ancient astronauts
* Arabian Judah theory
* Catastrophism
* Conspiracy theory
* 5G conspiracy
* 9/11 conspiracy theories
* Chemtrail conspiracy theory
* Climate change denial
* COVID-19 misinformation
* Moon landing conspiracy theories
* Opposition to water fluoridation
* Conversion therapy
* Expanding Earth Theory
* Generational theory
* Generationism
* Strauss–Howe generational theory
* Hollow Earth theory
* Indigo children
* Japhetic theory
* Mediumship
* Nazi archaeology
* Nibiru cataclysm
* Parapsychology
* Pseudoarchaeology
* Pseudohistory
* Genocide denial
* Historical negationism
* Holocaust denial
* Tartarian Empire
* Pseudolaw
* Recovered-memory therapy
* Past life regression
* Scientific racism
* Aryan race
* Melanin theory
* Myers–Briggs Type Indicator
* Enneagram of Personality

Physics|

* Anti-gravity
* Cold fusion
* Faster-than-light travel
* Perpetual motion
* Quantum mysticism
* Reactionless drive
* Dean drive
* EMDrive
* Teleportation
* Tractor beam
* Water-fueled car

Other|

* Alchemy
* Aquatic ape hypothesis
* Astrology
* Biodynamic agriculture
* Biological transmutation
* Creation science
* Cryptozoology
* Dianetics
* Auditing
* Dowsing
* Electronic voice phenomenon
* Eugenics
* Facilitated communication
* Feng shui
* Flat Earth theory
* Modern flat Earth beliefs
* Graphology
* Intelligent design
* Laundry ball
* Law of attraction
* Levitation
* Lysenkoism
* Numerology
* Orgone
* Polygraph
* Pseudoscientific metrology
* Rapid prompting method
* Statement analysis
* Ufology
* Voice stress analysis
* Water memory

Promoters of
pseudoscience|

* Sucharit Bhakdi
* Del Bigtree
* Igor and Grichka Bogdanoff
* Brigitte Boisselier
* Rhonda Byrne
* Robert Charroux
* Deepak Chopra
* Clonaid
* Vernon Coleman
* Michael Crichton
* Ignatius L. Donnelly
* Gaia, Inc.
* Max Gerson
* Nicholas Gonzalez
* Goop (company)
* Graham Hancock
* David Icke
* William Donald Kelley
* Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
* Corentin Louis Kervran
* The Light (newspaper)
* Mike Lindell
* Jenny McCarthy
* Joseph Mercola
* Judy Mikovits
* Ministry of Ayush
* Theodor Morell
* Hans Alfred Nieper
* Mehmet Oz
* Raël (Claude Vorilhon)
* Robby Starbuck
* Randolph Stone
* Paul Joseph Watson
* Andrew Wakefield

Related topics|

* Bogdanov affair
* Bourgeois pseudoscience
* Demarcation problem
* Scientific method
* Suppressed research in the Soviet Union

Resources|

* Committee for Skeptical Inquiry
* Cults of Unreason
* An Encyclopedia of Claims, Frauds, and Hoaxes of the Occult and Supernatural
* Fads and Fallacies in the Name of Science
* Fortean Times
* James Randi Educational Foundation
* Quackwatch
* Skeptical Inquirer
* The Demon-Haunted World
* The Natural History of Quackery
* The Psychology of the Occult
* The Ragged Edge of Science
* The Skeptic Encyclopedia of Pseudoscience
* The Skeptic's Dictionary

* v
* t
* e

Conspiracy theories

List of conspiracy theories

Overview

| Core topics|

* Antiscience
* Cabals
* deep state
* éminence grise
* power behind the throne
* Civil / Criminal / Political conspiracies
* Conspiracy
* Crisis actors
* Deception
* Dystopia
* Espionage
* Global catastrophe scenarios
* Hidden message
* Pseudohistory
* Pseudoscience
* Secrecy
* Secret societies
* Urban legends and myths

|

Psychology|

* Attitude polarization
* Cognitive dissonance
* Communal reinforcement
* Confirmation bias
* Denialism
* Locus of control
* Manipulation
* Mass psychogenic illness
* moral panics
* Paranoia
* Psychological projection

Astronomy and outer space

* 2012 phenomenon
* Nibiru cataclysm
* Ancient astronauts
* Apollo Moon landings
* Flat Earth
* Hollow Earth
* Hollow Moon
* Reptilians

| UFOs|

* Alien abduction
* Area 51
* Black Knight satellite
* Cryptoterrestrial / Extraterrestrial / Interdimensional hypothesis
* Dulce Base
* Estimate of the Situation (1948)
* Lake Michigan Triangle
* MJ-12
* Men in black
* Nazi UFOs
* Die Glocke
* Project Serpo

| Hoaxes|

* Dundy County (1884)
* Maury Island (1947)
* Roswell (1947)
* Twin Falls (1947)
* Aztec, New Mexico (1949)
* Southern England (1967)
* Ilkley Moor (1987)
* Gulf Breeze (1987–88)
* Alien autopsy (1995)
* Morristown (2009)

|

Deaths and disappearances

| Assassination /
suicide theories|

* Zachary Taylor (1850)
* Louis Le Prince (1890)
* Lord Kitchener (1916)
* Tom Thomson (1917)
* Władysław Sikorski (1943)
* Benito Mussolini (1945)
* Adolf Hitler (1945)
* Subhas Chandra Bose (1945)
* Johnny Stompanato (1958)
* Marilyn Monroe (1962)
* John F. Kennedy (1963)
* Lee Harvey Oswald (1963)
* Lal Bahadur Shastri (1966)
* Harold Holt (1967)
* Martin Luther King Jr. (1968)
* Robert F. Kennedy (1968)
* Salvador Allende (1973)
* Aldo Moro (1978)
* Renny Ottolina (1978)
* Pope John Paul I (1978)
* Airey Neave (1979)
* Olof Palme (1986)
* Zia-ul-Haq (1988)
* GEC-Marconi scientists (1980s–90s)
* Turgut Özal (1993)
* Vince Foster (1993)
* Kurt Cobain (1994)
* Yitzhak Rabin (1995)
* Diana, Princess of Wales (1997)
* Vatican murders (1998)
* Nepalese royal family (2001)
* Yasser Arafat (2004)
* Benazir Bhutto (2007)
* Osama bin Laden (2011)
* Hugo Chávez (2013)
* Seth Rich (2016)
* Alejandro Castro (2018)
* Jeffrey Epstein (2019)
* Chan Yin-lam (2019)
* Sushant Singh Rajput (2020)
* John McAfee (2021)

|

Accidents / disasters|

* Mary Celeste (1872)
* RMS Titanic (1912)
* Great Kantō earthquake (1923)
* Lynmouth Flood (1952)
* Dyatlov Pass (1959)
* Lost Cosmonauts (1950s–60s)
* JAT Flight 367 (1972)
* United Air Lines Flight 553 (1972)
* Itavia Flight 870 (1980)
* South African Airways Flight 295 (1987)
* Khamar-Daban (1993)
* MS Estonia (1994)
* TWA Flight 800 (1996)
* EgyptAir Flight 990 (1999)
* Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 (2014)

Other cases|

* Joan of Arc (1431)
* Yemenite children (1948–54)
* Elvis Presley (1977)
* Jonestown (1978)

Body double hoax|

* Paul McCartney
* Avril Lavigne
* Vladimir Putin
* Melania Trump

Energy, environment

* Agenda 21
* California drought manipulation
* Climate change denial
* false theories
* Free energy suppression
* HAARP
* Red mercury

False flag allegations

* USS Maine (1898)
* RMS Lusitania (1915)
* Reichstag fire (1933)
* Pearl Harbor (1941)
* USS Liberty (1967)
* Lufthansa Flight 615 (1972)
* Widerøe Flight 933 (1982)
* KAL Flight 007 (1983)
* Mozambican presidential jet (1986)
* Pan Am Flight 103 (1988)
* Oklahoma City bombing (1995)
* 9/11 attacks (2001)
* advance knowledge
* WTC collapse
* Madrid train bombing (2004)
* London bombings (2005)
* Smolensk air disaster (2010)
* Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 (2014)
* Denial of the 7 October attacks (2023)

Gender and sexuality

* Alpha/beta males
* Anti-LGBTQ
* Anti-gender movement
* Chemicals
* Drag panic
* Gay agenda
* Gay Nazis myth
* HIV/AIDS stigma
* United States
* Homintern
* Lavender Scare
* Recruitment
* Grooming
* Litter box hoax
* Transvestigation
* Finger pinching
* Gamergate
* Ideology in incel communities
* Larries / Gaylors
* Satanic panic
* Soy and masculinity

Health

* 5G misinformation
* Anti-vaccination
* Autism
* MMR
* Thiomersal
* In chiropractic
* Misinformation
* Aspartame
* Big Pharma
* Chemtrails
* COVID-19
* Ivermectin
* Lab leak
* Vaccines
* Turbo cancer
* In Canada / Philippines / United States
* Ebola
* Electronic harassment
* Germ theory denialism
* GMOs
* HIV/AIDS denialism
* Origins theories
* Oral polio AIDS hypothesis
* Lepers' plot
* Medbeds
* SARS (2003)
* Water fluoridation
* Pont-Saint-Esprit mass poisoning

Race, religion and/or ethnicity

* Bhagwa Love Trap
* CERN ritual hoax
* COVID-19 and xenophobia
* Freemasons
* French Revolution
* Gas chambers for Poles in Warsaw (1940s)
* German POWs post-WWII
* Priory of Sion
* Product labeling
* Halal
* Kosher
* Tartarian Empire
* War against Islam
* White genocide

| Antisemitic|

* Andinia Plan
* Blood libel
* Cohen Plan
* Doctors' plot
* During the Black Death
* Epsilon Team
* George Soros
* Holocaust denial
* Trivialization
* International Jewish conspiracy
* Committee of 300
* Cultural Bolshevism / Jewish Bolshevism
* Żydokomuna
* Judeo-Masonic plot
* The Protocols of the Elders of Zion
* World War II
* Z.O.G.
* Judeopolonia
* Killing of Jesus
* Kalergi Plan
* New World Order
* Rothschilds
* Stab-in-the-back myth

|

Christian / Anti-Christian|

* Anti-Catholic
* Jesuits
* Popish Plot
* Vatican
* Bible
* Giuseppe Siri

Islamophobic|

* Counter-jihad
* Bihar human sacrifice
* Eurabia
* Great Replacement
* Love jihad
* Proposed "Islamo-leftism" inquiry
* Trojan Horse scandal

Genocide denial /
Denial of mass killings|

* Armenian
* Assyrian
* Bangladesh
* Bosnian
* Cambodian
* The Holocaust
* Holodomor
* Nanjing
* Rwandan
* Serbs during WWII

Regional

| Asia|

* India
* Cow vigilante violence
* Pakistan
* Jinnahpur
* Philippines
* Tallano gold
* South Korea
* Finger-pinching
* Thailand
* Finland Plot

|

Americas
(outside the United States)|

* Argentina
* Andinia Plan
* Canada
* Avro Arrow cancellation
* Leuchter report
* Peru
* Casa Matusita
* Venezuela
* Daktari Ranch affair
* Golpe Azul

Middle East / North Africa|

* In the Arab world
* 10 agorot
* Cairo fire
* Kissinger Plan in Lebanon
* Israel-related animal theories
* Iran
* Western-backed Iranian Revolution
* Israel
* Pallywood

Russia|

* Alaska payment
* Dulles' Plan
* Golden billion
* Petrograd Military Organization
* Rasputin
* Ukraine bioweapons

Turkey|

* 2016 coup attempt
* Ergenekon
* Operation Sledgehammer
* Gezi Park protests
* Sèvres syndrome
* Üst akıl

Other European|

* Euromyth
* Georgia
* Global War Party
* Ireland
* German Plot
* Lithuania
* Statesmen
* Roman Republic
* First Catilinarian conspiracy
* Spain
* Mano Negra affair
* Sweden
* Lilla Saltsjöbadsavtalet
* UK
* Clockwork Orange plot
* Elm Guest House
* Harold Wilson
* Voting pencil

United States|

* Barack Obama
* Citizenship
* Religion
* Parentage
* "Obamagate" / Spygate
* Biden–Ukraine
* Black helicopters
* CIA and JFK
* CIA assistance to bin Laden
* Clinton body count
* Cultural Marxism
* Election denial movement
* FBI secret society
* FEMA camps
* Georgia Guidestones
* Jade Helm 15
* Montauk Project
* Philadelphia Experiment
* Pizzagate
* The Plan
* Project Azorian
* QAnon
* Pastel
* Incidents
* Saddam–al-Qaeda
* Sandy Hook (2012)
* Springfield pet-eating hoax
* Trump–Ukraine
* "Vast right-wing conspiracy"
* Vietnam War
* POW/MIA issue / Stab-in-the-back myth

| 2020 election|

* Italygate
* "Pence Card"
* Maricopa County ballot audit
* Stop the Steal

|

Other

* Dead Internet theory
* NESARA/GESARA
* New Coke
* Phantom time / New chronology
* Shadow government claims
* Bilderberg
* Illuminati
* synarchism
* Shakespearean authorship

| Pseudolaw|

* Admiralty law
* Freeman on the land movement
* Redemption movement
* Sovereign citizens
* Strawman theory
* Tax protesters

|

Satirical|

* Acre
* Bielefeld
* Birds Aren't Real
* Li's field
* Ted Cruz–Zodiac Killer meme

See also

* Argument from ignorance
* Conspiracy Encyclopedia
* Conspiracy fiction
* Conspirituality
* Dogma
* pseudoskepticism
* Falsifiability
* Fringe science
* Historical negationism
* Online youth radicalization
* Paranormal
* Prejudice
* Hate speech
* Radicalization
* Science by press conference
* Superstition

Authority control databases: National |

* Germany

|

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