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The internet hosts a multitude of technologically-focused fabricated narratives.(Image credit: Arkadiusz Warguła via Getty Images)Jump to category:
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From governmental surveillance initiatives to minuscule chips allegedly embedded in vaccines, technology-related conspiracy theories have proliferated during the digital era, supplementing existing widely-held unfounded beliefs.
While many of these notions may appear absurd to those with technical expertise, some have gained immense traction and exerted considerable real-world influence. And although the majority are entirely fictional, a few do contain a germ of truth – while others have proven startlingly accurate. Below is a compilation of some of the most detrimental technology-based conspiracy theories.
The Large Hadron Collider is opening a portal to hell
Verdict: Not True
The Large Hadron Collider, managed by the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) in Switzerland, has been a focal point for conspiracy theorists virtually since its inauguration in 2008. The organization has found it necessary to dedicate a section of its website to addressing some of the more far-fetched assertions.
One of the most enduring apprehensions is that the apparatus could generate a black hole that might engulf the Earth or breach openings into alternate dimensions. In their most extreme forms, these theories posit that scientists are intentionally unsealing the gates of Hades to commune with infernal entities.
Unsurprisingly, the scientific community has swiftly refuted these hypotheses. The collider employs magnetic fields to accelerate protons to extraordinary velocities before colliding them to generate subatomic particles. The objective is to identify novel elementary particles that could aid in validating cosmological models.
Generating even a microscopic black hole or a traversable wormhole would necessitate an accelerator on the scale of the entire cosmos, according to researchers. Furthermore, it would disintegrate in a mere fraction of a second due to Hawking radiation, a phenomenon causing black holes to diminish in mass and eventually vanish. Even if such a black hole were stable, which current physics suggests is impossible, it would take three trillion years to consume merely one kilogram of matter.
Tracking microchips in COVID-19 vaccines
Verdict: Not True
As the COVID-19 pandemic commenced in early 2020, governments enacted unparalleled measures to curb its proliferation, including quarantines and mandatory vaccinations. This provided fertile ground for new conspiracy theories, including the improbable assertion that authorities were surreptitiously inserting microchips into vaccines for the purpose of tracking individuals.
The genesis of this theory can be traced back to March 2020, when Bill Gates engaged in a Reddit discourse concerning digital health credentials. A Swedish biohacking publication misinterpreted his remarks and published an article suggesting the tech mogul intended to utilize microchip implants to combat the pandemic.
Through a process akin to a distorted game of telephone, this gradually evolved into the notion that the government was employing the vaccine to implant citizens with tracking devices. It goes without saying that this theory is baseless. There is no evidence to suggest that any of the billions of individuals inoculated against COVID-19 have received tracking hardware implants.
However, by January 2021, one in ten adults in the United States had embraced this theory. More concerningly, a survey indicated that one in four Americans expressed uncertainty regarding whether vaccines contained microchips. This conspiracy theory was built upon years of anti-vaccination misinformation and further exacerbated the vaccine hesitancy that hindered pandemic control efforts.
5G networks spread COVID-19
A prominent conspiracy theory during the COVID-19 pandemic posited that 5G networks facilitated the transmission of the virus.
(Image credit: AerialPerspective Images/Getty Images)
Verdict: Not True
Another conspiracy theory linked to COVID-19 that gained considerable momentum suggested that the contagion was being propagated by recently established 5G cellular networks. This theory became so prevalent that mobile towers were set ablaze in multiple nations, compelling social media platforms to actively counter its dissemination.
This notion is definitively disproven by the overwhelming evidence indicating that COVID-19 is caused by a communicable virus. Crucially, the virus spread rapidly in regions entirely lacking 5G coverage. Nevertheless, the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency felt obligated to issue a statement affirming that 5G technology does not cause coronavirus, while U.K. government officials dismissed it as a “crackpot theory.”
The anxieties likely stemmed from pre-existing concerns regarding the health implications of radiation emitted by cellphone towers. However, there is no substantiated evidence suggesting that current technologies pose health risks, and 5G should raise even fewer apprehensions. The radio frequency waves utilized by these networks constitute a form of non-ionizing radiation, implying they lack the energy to inflict damage on DNA or cells in a manner that could lead to illness. High-band 5G employs millimetre wave frequencies that are incapable of penetrating human skin.
The dead internet theory
Verdict: Partially True
The dead internet theory postulates that the web is now largely populated by bots interacting amongst themselves with minimal human participation. This concept has been circulating for several years but has been further amplified by the recent proliferation of artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots and agents.
The conspiracy first emerged in 2021 on the Agora Road’s Macintosh Cafe forum, within a thread titled “Dead Internet Theory: Most Of The Internet Is Fake.” The premise is that automated systems are employed to generate content engineered to elicit engagement and yield advertising revenue. However, the theory contends that even those interacting with this content are, in fact, bots.
While the extent to which this is accurate remains debatable, there is a verifiable element of truth to the theory. Studies indicate that bot traffic accounted for 51% of all internet activity in 2024, marking the first instance where bots surpassed human engagement. Furthermore, since the introduction of ChatGPT, AI-generated content has surged, with another study revealing that 13.1% of websites now feature such material.
This situation is fueling concerns that the internet is rapidly becoming inundated with low-quality “AI slop,” potentially diminishing its utility over time. Considering that OpenAI CEO Sam Altman recently lent credence to the theory, this may be one to approach with increased seriousness. The evolution of this idea, driven by AI, could permanently alter how we utilize the internet in the coming years.
Governments can control the weather
Verdict: Partially True
Following the devastating hurricanes Helene and Milton in 2024, speculation arose that they were the consequence of governmental weather manipulation programs. U.S. Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene was a notable proponent of the theory, tweeting “Yes they can control the weather” to her 1.2 million followers shortly before Hurricane Milton made landfall.
While these particular assertions are demonstrably false, they, like many compelling conspiracy theories, contain a kernel of truth. The U.S. government exhibited an interest in weather modification as early as 1891 and operated a significant “weather weapons” initiative known as Operation Popeye between 1967 and 1972 during the Vietnam War. Such practices were subsequently prohibited by the Environmental Modification Treaty in 1977.
Basic forms of weather modification are also currently employed, most notably cloud seeding. This process involves dispersing substances like silver iodide into clouds, which can slightly augment rainfall. Nations such as China and Saudi Arabia utilize this method to support agricultural activities. China notably leveraged this technology to ensure favorable weather conditions for the 2008 Olympic Games.
Proposals for combating climate change through solar geoengineering have also contributed to the proliferation of conspiracy theories. This would entail releasing minute particles into the upper atmosphere to reflect solar radiation. However, these approaches fall far short of the sophisticated, weaponized weather control envisioned by conspiracists.
Phones eavesdrop on you for ad targeting
Is it possible that smartphones are secretly listening to us?
(Image credit: tim scott via Getty Images)
Verdict: Partially True
Many individuals have experienced the peculiar phenomenon of seeing advertisements for items shortly after discussing them offline. This has fostered a persistent conviction that smartphones covertly capture our conversations for advertising purposes.
This rumor has persisted for decades, yet Instagram head Adam Mosseri recently found it necessary to address it directly, asserting that the company does not utilize microphones in this manner and characterizing it as a “gross violation of privacy.” Numerous studies have also failed to uncover any evidence of clandestine audio recording, and several factors render it impractical.
For one, continuous audio recording would rapidly deplete phone batteries and trigger visible indicators on device displays. More significantly, unauthorized recording would expose those involved to substantial legal repercussions.
However, there may be a more unsettling explanation behind this phenomenon. Online platforms, advertisers, and data brokers persistently gather, curate, and resell every minute piece of information they can extract from our online and offline activities. This enables them to construct remarkably accurate user profiles, facilitating eerily pertinent and timely product recommendations.
Planned obsolescence
Verdict: Partially True
From apparel to consumer electronics and even vehicles, people increasingly lament that products are not as durable as they once were. The theory of Planned Obsolescence suggests that this is intentional, with companies deliberately designing items with limited lifespans to compel repeat purchases.
This notion has been circulating for a considerable duration and possesses a degree of validity. Historical evidence indicates that companies have indeed employed obsolescence as a strategy. For instance, in the 1920s, major light bulb manufacturers collaborated to form the “Phoebus cartel,” which conspired to limit bulb lifespans to merely 1,000 hours. General Motors also pioneered the practice of annual model updates to encourage customers to acquire newer vehicles, establishing a precedent that other sectors emulated. Technology providers are particularly implicated – consider smartphones with batteries that degrade significantly within a few years or cease receiving software updates.
However, the practice may not solely be aimed at tricking consumers into excessive purchasing. Rapid product turnover contributes to lower manufacturing costs. In the realm of technology, specifically, consumers often prefer to pay less upfront for devices they anticipate replacing soon to access novel features. Enhanced durability also comes at a cost, so consumers are frequently content with more affordable products that may have a shorter lifespan – for example, children’s clothing that will be outgrown.
Government-sponsored mind control programs
Verdict: True
A wide array of conspiracy theories speculate that governments employ technology and pharmaceuticals for mind manipulation. A prominent recent instance involves the assertion that the U.S. military’s High-frequency Active Auroral Research Program (HAARP) covertly utilizes radio waves to influence human thoughts.
While that specific claim has been definitively refuted, the concept of the U.S. government attempting to control minds is not entirely far-fetched. In 1953, CIA Director Allen Dulles initiated a highly classified program named MKUltra, which aimed to develop precisely such capabilities. The agency contracted out 162 projects to various universities, research foundations, and institutions to investigate how psychoactive drugs, hypnosis, electroshock therapy, sensory deprivation, and different forms of torture could be utilized to manipulate individuals’ mental states.
Experiments were conducted on both willing participants and unsuspecting individuals, including prisoners, sex workers, soldiers, and children. By the mid-1960s, the project’s proponents concluded that while dismantling a human mind was feasible, achieving subsequent control over it was beyond their reach, and research was consequently terminated in 1964.
Investigative reporting by The New York Times exposed the project in 1974, leading to a series of congressional inquiries. However, the majority of documents pertaining to the project had been destroyed the preceding year, leaving the full scope of the program shrouded in mystery.
Widespread digital surveillance
Verdict: True
Apprehension regarding the government’s capacity to monitor our phone calls or online communications is a characteristic element of numerous conspiracy theories. However, in June 2013, former CIA contractor Edward Snowden leaked a significant collection of classified documents to journalists, substantiating many of these fears.
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The revelations brought to light a mass surveillance network operated by U.S. intelligence agencies and their international counterparts, tasked with collecting phone records and monitoring internet activity globally. Most notably, it exposed the PRISM program, managed by the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA), which utilized clandestine court orders to obtain internet communication data from technology firms.
The U.K.’s Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) was also found to be intercepting communications from 200 fiber-optic cables worldwide, enabling the monitoring of up to 600 million daily communications.
These reports triggered widespread public outcry due to the surveillance targeting not only suspected terrorists and criminals but also ordinary citizens, journalists, corporations, and 35 foreign leaders – most significantly, the phone of the then-German Chancellor, Angela Merkel. Despite an initial public outcry, Congress renewed many of these surveillance programs in 2018 with minimal deliberation, suggesting that extensive government surveillance remains prevalent.
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