When it comes to terrifying cover-ups, truth can be stranger than fiction. Here are 11 stunning conspiracies that turned out to be true.
MK-Ultra: A CIA program that involved administering drugs, including LSD, to American citizens without their consent in an attempt to develop mind control techniques.
Operation Northwoods: A proposed false flag operation by the U.S. government in the 1960s that involved staging terrorist attacks on U.S. soil and blaming it on Cuba as a pretext for invading the country.
COINTELPRO: A series of covert and illegal FBI programs designed to disrupt and neutralize political organizations and individuals considered a threat to national security.
Iran-Contra Affair: A political scandal in the United States where members of President Ronald Reagan’s administration secretly facilitated the sale of arms to Iran and diverted the proceeds to support Contra rebels in Nicaragua.
The Gulf of Tonkin Incident: A disputed event that led to the escalation of the Vietnam War when the U.S. government claimed that North Vietnamese patrol boats had attacked American warships in the Gulf of Tonkin.
Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment: A study conducted by the U.S. government from 1932 to 1972 where African American men with syphilis were left untreated, even after penicillin became available, in order to study the natural progression of the disease.
The Manhattan Project: A top-secret government program during World War II that developed the first atomic bomb.
Operation Paperclip: A classified program that brought Nazi scientists to the United States after World War II to work on various projects, including the space program.
The Business Plot: A conspiracy by wealthy businessmen and retired military leaders in the United States in 1933 to overthrow President Franklin D. Roosevelt and establish a fascist government.
The Assassination of JFK: The assassination of President John F. Kennedy in 1963 remains controversial, with many conspiracy theories suggesting that it was not carried out by Lee Harvey Oswald acting alone.
The CIA and Cocaine Trafficking: There is evidence that the CIA was involved in cocaine trafficking in the 1980s to fund the Contra rebels in Nicaragua.
Watergate Scandal: A political scandal in the United States where President Richard Nixon’s administration was caught breaking into the Democratic National Committee headquarters in 1972.