A supposedly satanic Metaverse ad, a CIA agent disguised as a Hillsdale College student, and nefarious AIDS vaccine experiments were among some conspiracy theories a few Hillsdale students were bold enough to recently share.
Although they talked about different theories and even different understandings of the term “conspiracy theory” itself, all were eager to offer their opinions on popular conspiracy theories and to buck some of the negative stereotypes often attached to such theories.
Senior Kamdyn Shaeffer was one such student who risked being called “crazy,” in his own words, and agreed to share some of his favorite opinions.
“All of my pet theories come under the umbrella of ‘America’s elites are trying to ruin our lives,’” Shaeffer said.
Such a sentiment fit perfectly with the definition of conspiracy theory Shaeffer gave.
“A conspiracy theory is a theory regarding events that happen and there’s something inexplicable unless described by a group of people working behind the scenes to pull strings,” Shaeffer said. “It’s called a conspiracy theory because usually those people work to make it so that other people can’t figure out what they’re doing.”
Shaeffer believes the mask and vaccine requirements resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic were a prime example of this. He said he holds the opinion that these are tools to condition people to be more easily persuaded.
Shaeffer said he believes Anthony Fauci may have orchestrated suspicious AIDS vaccine experiments while first serving as director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases in the 1980s.
“Under enormous public pressure, the FDA’s review of AZT [azidothymidine, the first generation AIDS vaccine] was fast tracked – some say at the expense of patients,” a 2017 Time article reports.
“Fauci convinced the public that AIDS could be spread through any physical contact,” Shaeffer said.
Sophomore Michael Bachmann shared a similar opinion regarding AIDS vaccine experiments on vulnerable foster-care children in New York in the 1990s, as well as a dislike for the “god-hero” Fauci. Bachmann said he learned of this experiment perpetrated by Fauci’s NIAID and New York City’s Child Protection Services from the BBC documentary “Guinea Pig Kids.”
“It’s an undeniable fact,” Bachmann said. “But most people don’t know it. If they heard you, they won’t believe you, so they label you a conspiracy theorist. In a sense, I don’t believe in conspiracy theories. I believe in things that are true and that people don’t know about, and that people call you crazy for knowing about.”
Bachmann elaborated on his understanding of the term “conspiracy theory.”
“There’s a difference between conspiracy theories as the general population thinks about them and how certain people within the population think about them,” Bachmann said. “I think most people think of conspiracy theories as things that are completely outlandish and not true, whereas I and other people who know a lot about things that are happening in the world, count actual events that other people simply do not know about as conspiracy theories, which is why people assume we’re crazy.”
Although he could not point to one particular person or entity, Bachmann further theorized that there is a concerted effort to give conspiracy theories a bad reputation.
“I do think there is an effort to undermine genuine conspiracy theories that espouse truth so that they seem like they’re fake,” he said.
Recently, Bachmann has been preoccupied with Facebook’s Metaverse ad, which he believes is packed with Zoroastrian satanic imagery.
According to him, “there’s this weird, very dissident, grotesque picture of a tiger attacking a buffalo,” which pauses before attempting to lure a group of students into “the world of imagination,” a fantastical garden complete with serpents hanging from trees.
Bachmann said he learned that the tiger often symbolized a devil figure in Zoroastrianism. Additionally, he said the hexograms and the planet Saturn which appeared in the ad also featured prominently in the ancient religion.
“It made me feel like the tiger is inviting the people to basically partake in satanic activity,” Bachmann said.
Shaeffer also expressed a fascination with a theory of a spiritual nature, which he discovered from the same platform that first introduced him to the world of conspiracy theories.
“Basically there’s this long theory about aliens just being demons,” he said. “And supposed alien or UFO sightings are actually like demonic influence or possession.”
Professor of history David Stewart said his favorite conspiracy is about Area 51, the federal air base that some believe may have possessed hidden evidence of UFOs and aliens.
Stewart, who regularly teaches a course on conspiracy theories “as a fun way to examine various logical fallacies as they occur in the real world,” said that along with Atlantis and the Loch Ness Monster, he liked the conspiracy theory surrounding Area 51 since his father worked there.
“He denies he saw anything strange,” Stewart said.
According to a theory of sophomore Truman Kjos, the feds may have infiltrated much closer to home: the Hillsdale College campus.
“A theory I hold is that there is a federal agent somewhere on this campus disguised as a student,” Kjos said. “Just in terms of probability, I feel like the CIA or the FBI would likely have agents at different notable colleges, and I feel like Hillsdale distinguishes itself.”
Kjos declined to disclose the identity of the student he believes to be a secret agent.
Although Kjos said that he believed there was a high probability that we live in a simulation similar to that in the film “The Matrix,” he also said that he thought most things could be explained according to Occam’s Razor, or in the simplest manner likely.
“I think a lot of people are trying to find some sort of meaning in their lives and so if they can just say, ‘oh, everything in my life is caused by x organization,’ that’ll help them make sense of their lives,” Kjos said. “And I’m fine with living in a world where some chaos happens.” sometimes.”