“The X-Files,” a science fiction TV series, reminds us that “the truth is out there,” but truth is hard to find amid government coverups and propaganda. 

In the quest to separate truth from falsehoods, Americans should take conspiracy theories more seriously. After all, a conspiracy theory is simply the idea that secretive and powerful groups censor information harmful to their narrative.

Before the Jeffrey Epstein files were released, the idea that Epstein was involved in an elite network of prostitution and moneyed influence was often dismissed as just another conspiracy theory. Now, heavily redacted documents show that Epstein, at the very least, engaged in a secret social network, his connections ranging from current President Donald Trump to the former Prince Andrew. 

Newly released files reveal Epstein’s connections with foreign policy figures within the Russian Kremlin, photos of sex-trafficked victims, and his own interest in transhumanism and eugenics — he supported “designer-baby” projects and even planned to “seed” children with his own DNA. 

The revelation of Epstein’s vast social network is the latest in a history full of coverups, intrigue, and outrageous theories that turn out to be at least partially true. 

Members of government and the elite have knowingly committed some of the most shocking things imaginable, and they have the resources to clean up the evidence. Whistleblowers reveal illusory demagogues and secretive agencies that live by standards different from everyone else’s.

The CIA was behind MK Ultra, a series of mind-altering, abusive experiments conducted during the 1950s and ’60s that sound like something out of a Nazi concentration camp. According to later journalistic and congressional investigations, the program hoped to find a way to erase memory and control the human mind as a combat tactic. 

Many of the MK Ultra documents remain redacted and classified, but those released have revealed the use of the experimental psychedelic drug LSD and electroshock on unwitting participants — a reality that many might call a baseless conspiracy were it not thanks to the efforts of dogged investigators. 

Those united against the dominant cultural narrative may end up walking a dangerous line between inquiry and madness. It isn’t easy to stay sane in a world full of injustice. But if journalists and researchers were not willing to dig past the surface and question the accepted narrative, the public wouldn’t know about Epstein’s crimes and the violence of MK Ultra. 

Some conspiracy theories are simply absurd. But now that we have seen the Epstein files — exposing a network of powerful individuals mired in corruption, abuse, and lies — more people might doubt false narratives the elite uphold as reality. We must ask hard questions, even if many are unable to find the truth. 

 

Sophia Mandt is a junior studying Sociology & Social Thought.