The seven most sinister conspiracy theories on the internet

Tinfoil hats on standby.

1. George HW Bush was a Nazi sent to destroy America.

According to internet folklore George Bush Sr was really a Nazi stooge on a mission to destroy the US - which is one explanation for his presidency. George Scherff, as he was known then, is said to have been adopted by Prescott Bush as a teen shortly before World War II. The rest is... well not quite history, because that would imply that it was in some way accurate.

2. Michael Jackson was killed by Iran.

Michael Jackson's death: a tragic accident or something more sinister? For those who see conspiracy everywhere they look it was the latter, with some speculating the king of pop was actually murdered by the Iranian government to distract from protests against the then president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. The evidence: "Michael Jackson RIP" replaced "#iranelection" as the top Twitter trend immediately after his death in June 2009. Case closed.

3. America is on the brink of a Second Civil War and the government knows all about it.

4. World War II was staged.

As with most global events, World War II was staged by the illuminati and the media to terrify us all into submission. Or so says David Richards who argues "the official story of WW2 collapses like a house of cards" under minimal scrutiny, although he offers no explanation as to why thousands of GCSE history students have failed to reach the same conclusion.

5. We live in a Time Cube.

The principle behind time cube is disarmingly simple: every day is really four days occurring simultaneously. The 8,000 word explanation for why this has been hidden from us, featured on Gene Ray's www.timecube.com is unfortunately not so straightforward. Ray, a former electrician, describes himself as the "wisest human" on earth, so we'll have to take his word for it.

6. The Earth is hollow.

Everything you think you know about geology is wrong: the Earth is really hollow and host to a hidden civilisation. As the above picture demonstrates, it can be accessed through entrances in the North and South Pole. According to Hollow Earthers, all aliens are just visitors from the subterranean cities at the centre of our planet. One slight variation of this theory is that the centre of the earth is populated by the Nazis, who fled there after World War II. It's hard to say which idea is more believable.

7.Denver International Airport is the headquarters of the New World Order.

Denver International was named America's best run airport by Time magazine in 2002. It is also - according to some - the headquarters of the New World Order; because if you were a member of a secretive elite aiming to create a global government, you'd probably want your lair to be close to a travel hub. Artist Leo Tanguma and his (admittedly quite terrifying) murals are at the centre of this conspiracy, with many claiming the work Peace and Harmony With Nature actually foreshadows the destruction of all civilisation. According to Anomalies Unlimited it represents "taking over the world and mind control". Or it's just bad art.

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