Have there been any ‘conspiracy theories’ that were widely considered so for a time, but then turned out actually to be true(I’m thinking along the lines of the fake Cuban terrorism plot, thought of course that never came to fruition)?
Could the Iran/Contra affair have been considered thus?
If so, is there a possibility that any current conspiracy theories could actually be true?
[sub]Didn’t know what forum to post this in - GQ, IMHO? Stuck in GD in case people start shouting at each other.[/sub]
Some African-Americans fervently believed that the CIA was flooding the inner city with drugs. I think most people found that theory to be rather kooky at best. Since then I do believe they’ve discovered that the CIA did in fact have a hand in bringing drugs to the United States to fund some of their activities.
Several years ago, an article in the loony, right wing American Spectator claimed that there was some sort of a sex scandal back in Arkansas involving Bill clinton and a woman named, “Paula.” This isn’t really a “conspiracy,” although presumbly there was an alleged conspiracy to cover up the scandal.
Perhaps we can restate the OP as “Are there any stories that broke in the tabloid press and were dismissed by the mainstream media only to be reported on later?” I can only think of one - the marraige of Lisa Presley and Michael Jackson.
If I remember correctly, and I’m not sure I do, revolutionary groups in Tsarist Russia often blamed their woes on penetration by Tsarist operatives.
Turns out, many of those revolutionary groups were run by Tsarist operatives. With a little bit of work this weekend I think I can offer some examples.
There was a lot of resistance to the idea that Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were part of the “Atomic Spy Ring.” As Soviet documents continue to be released, it is increasingly apparent that their conspiracy was all to true.
Soviet allegations of reconaissance overflights in the late 50’s/early 60’s were largely dismissed as propaganda–until Gary Powers’ U2 was shot down.
Paula Jones’ accusations have not been proven true. And “presumably” and “alleged” won’t cut it for a conspiracy that:
One conspiracy involving Paula Jones that fits the OP is the fact that at least two of the Arkansas police troopers who had claimed to know of many such “encounters” involving Clinton, were in fact paid for their stories by a member of Richard Mellon Scaife’s “Arkansas Project”, as several loony, left-wing publications had claimed. The star trooper witness, Danny Ferguson, later recanted. Cite 1, Cite 2
I think a lot of J. Edgar Hoover’s activities as FBI director would qualify. When he was still in power, he was able to dismiss stories that he manipulated crime statistics and local law enforcement, bungled WWII counter-intelligence and organized crime cases, targeted political enemies, harassed people whose social agendas he opposed, and used illegal means to carry out his programs. Since his death, it’s been proven that most of these accusations were true.
