Long before the internet machine was a thing, people shared stories of dubious origin. Caveman newsletters with headlines like, "Here's the story Ogg doesn't want you to know!" We call them conspiracy theories and here in the Midwest, we're kinda all locked on one in particular.

Minnesota, Iowa, and Wisconsin Share A Favorite Conspiracy Theory

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A recent story on USDirect.com listed the most searched conspiracy theories by state, and Minnesota, Iowa, and Wisconsin have synched up. Is it because we've been living so close for so long? Not sure, but that's as good a reason as any.

USDirect set out on a serious mission to uncover which conspiracy theories keep a hefty number of each state’s citizens up at night. We combed through the mothership of all intrigue databases, Reddit, for each state’s most-searched conspiracy theories and ended up with 9 mind-boggling topics. (source)

The 9 "Mind-Boggling Topics" of Conspiracy Theories in the USA

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  1. The New World Order
  2. New Coke
  3. Chemtrails
  4. Black Helicopters
  5. Flat Earth
  6. Lizard People
  7. Tupac Is Alive
  8. Deepwater Horizon
  9. Moon Landing Was Fake

Are they really "mind-boggling"? Not in 2023. More like, "mind huh-ing." So which one of the 9 finds fertile ground in the hearts and minds of The Conspiracy Triad?

The Conspiracy Theory Most Searched in Iowa, Minnesota, and Wisconsin (IMaW)

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The IMaW's most searched conspiracy theory is one that's hugely popular across the United States (it's Michigan's #1, too..and remember Michigan and Wisconsin are connected)...The New World Order (NWO).

Wikipedia describes the NWO this way,

The New World Order (NWO) is a conspiracy theory that hypothesizes a secretly emerging totalitarian world government.

It's said the origins can be found in the USA between 1947 and 1957, also known as the "Second Red Scare." As US Government leaders were searching for communists (or to increase their wealth/social status/fame, you decide) the idea being pushed was that Freemasons, the Illuminati, and Jews were behind it all, trying to make the world one big communist state was being

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Time moves on and so do the participants, perpetrators, etc. That's how conspiracy theories work. There's still now and probably always will be the concern for a one-world state, where individual freedoms won't be allowed.

Are All Conspiracy Theories False?

Prohibition Raid
circa 1925: A raid on a basement, in Mulberry Street, New York, where a group of Orientals were suspected of making hooch during Prohibition. (Photo by Keystone/Getty Images)
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Not at all. Some have turned out to be true. For instance, during prohibition, there was a conspiracy theory that said the government poisoned alcohol to keep people from drinking...and it was kinda true.

A Reader's Digest story lays out 12 conspiracy theories that were actually true, and they said the booze manufacturers were already adding dangerous chemicals to their products,

...but between 1926 and 1933, the federal government pushed manufacturers to use stronger poisons to discourage bootleggers from turning the alcohol into moonshine.

That didn’t stop the bootleggers or their customers, and by the end of Prohibition, more than 10,000 Americans had been killed by tainted booze. (Click to read more from RD)

The Rock World has its own special kind of conspiracy theories!

10 of Rock + Metal's Most Bizarre Conspiracy Theories

As always, if you have a comment, complaint, or concern about something I wrote here, please let me know: james.rabe@townsquaremedia.com

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