10个"正确"的阴谋论(上)

Oftentimes, conspiracy theories are outright dismissed as paranoia or the ramblings of fringe dwellers or quacks. Perhaps, this is usually the case. But some theories were frighteningly correct.

阴谋论通常被认为是妄想症或边缘性人群、江湖骗子等的胡言乱语，但有些“阴谋论”其实是正确的。

CIA Controlled Journalists And The Media

10.中情局控制记者和媒体

Nowadays, there are few things quite so polarizing as the media and the possibility of "fake news." Journalists are often seen as either dedicated truth seekers or partisans trying to push an agenda with little to no room in-between. There seems to be no question, however, that the media was controlled as a tool by political operatives at one time (at least).

如今各大媒体的对立非常严重，“假新闻”也常常出现。记者常被看作是真理的追求者，同时也是推动议程的党羽。然而，毫无疑问，媒体曾一度沦为政治操纵者的工具。

The first account of a Central Intelligence Agency initiative called "Operation Mockingbird" was a claim in a 1979 biography of Washington Post owner Katharine Graham. Allegedly, the program paid or threatened movers and shakers of many, if not all, of the most popular news outlets in America as a response to the Soviet Union engaging in similar practices with the European media.

1979年华盛顿邮报老板凯瑟琳·格雷厄姆在传记中首度提及中央情报局的“嘲鸟”行动。据称，这个行动收买或威胁美国新闻业绝大多数具有影响力的人物，来应对苏联与欧洲媒体类似的做法。

While the specific existence of Operation Mockingbird remains a mystery, it has been confirmed that the CIA did (and possibly still does) engage in these types of activities.

“嘲鸟”行动的具体情况仍然是一个谜，但经证实，中央情报局确实曾（也可能会继续）从事这类活动。

rettes Cause Cancer

9.吸烟致癌

Today, it's common knowledge that tobacco products are deadly. For many, it seems outlandish that there was ever a time that cigarettes were not considered extremely hazardous to the health of smokers and those around them or that smoking was actually thought to be good for you.

如今大家都知道烟草制品对人体有致命伤害。但是历史上曾经有段时间，人们认为吸烟对健康没有坏处，甚至对健康有益。

Tobacco companies began to truly grasp the scale of the problem in the 1950s. Researchers had suggested the possibility for decades but were more or less dismissed. "Big Tobacco," as the largest tobacco companies would come to be known, launched a cover-up that would go on for nearly half a century.

在上世纪50年代，烟草公司开始控制舆论。研究人员抗争了几十年，告知人们吸烟可能致命，但是大家都不怎么当回事。当时最大的烟草公司“Big Tobacco”，发起了长达近半个世纪的掩盖活动，企图隐瞒吸烟的危害。

The four biggest tobacco companies would finally apparently admit defeat in 1998 with the Tobacco Master settlement Agreement—a legal settlement between the companies and 46 US states. The other four states were involved in separate settlements.

最终在1998年，四大烟草公司败诉，与控告它们的美国46个洲签订了烟草大和解协议，其余的四个洲则签署了单独协议。

Department Of Defense Paid For Patriotic Acts

8.美国国防部为爱国行为付出代价

Depending on the country, many, if not most, acts of patriotism in nations around the world are genuine. People are proud of their countries and like to show their support. However, many people have also found some of the more organized and epic displays to be forced, possibly even fake. In 2015, Arizona Senators John McCain and Jeff Flake published a report saying that these worries may be well-founded in the US.

在大多数国家，爱国主义行为都是真诚的，人们为自己的国家感到自豪，也乐于表现他们对国家的支持。但是也有人发现，一些更具组织性和史诗性的爱国行为是被迫的，甚至可能是虚假的。2015年，亚利桑那州参议员约翰·麦凯恩和杰夫·弗雷克发表了一份报告说，在美国，这些担忧是有根据的。

Their report concluded that the Department of Defense had spent millions of dollars to have various sports organizations put on enormous shows of love of country at times. This included several teams in the National Football League, Major League Baseball, the National Basketball Association, the National Hockey League, and Major League Soccer. NASCAR and the athletic departments of several universities also participated.

他们的报告总结说，国防部花了数百万美元，让各种体育组织不时地表现出对国家的热爱，包括国家橄榄球联盟、美国职业棒球大联盟、美国职业篮球联赛、国家冰球联盟和美国足球大联盟的几支队伍。全国汽车比赛协会和几所高校的体育部门也有所参与。

In theory, these overwhelming displays of American pride would drive up military recruiting. But nothing has definitely shown that this worked. The NFL also agreed to refund much of the money used for activities unrelated to recruiting.

从理论上讲，这些势不可挡的美国自豪感将推动军事招募，但是没有任何东西能确切地表明这种做法有效。国家橄榄球联盟还同意退还与招募无关的活动所使用的大部分资金。

rah's Testimony Was False

7.娜依丽发表虚假证词

One of the most iconic events leading up to the Gulf War was the testimony by a girl identified simply as "Nayirah" before the Congressional Human Rights Caucus in 1990. The stories she told about the treatment of Kuwaitis by the invading Iraqis horrified members of Congress and many Americans in general. This included the terrible deaths of newborn babies.

1990年在国会人权问题核心小组面前，一个名叫“娜依丽”的女孩发表了一篇证词，成为导致波斯湾战争最具标志性的事件之一。她说入侵的伊拉克人虐待科威特人，许多新生儿被残忍杀害，这吓坏了国会议员和许多美国民众。

Although many people (including newborn babies) did die horrifically following Iraq's invasion of Kuwait, Nayirah's testimony, which was not given under oath, was made up. In fact, the young girl was really the daughter of the Kuwaiti ambassador to the United States. The event was set up as part of a public relations campaign called Citizens for a Free Kuwait that was run by an American consulting company then known as Hill & Knowlton.

虽然伊拉克入侵科威特后确实杀害了许多人（包括新生儿），但娜依丽的证词其实是她编造的。事实上，这个年轻女孩是科威特驻美国大使的女儿，该事件是“解放科威特”公共运动的一部分，由美国伟达公众关系顾问有限公司操控。

rnational Elite Gather Together Regularly

6.国际领袖经常聚会

The idea of world power players gathering together behind closed doors to discuss how to run the world is perhaps considered the most outrageous of all conspiracy theories. Except that it really happens every year, at least among American and European leaders. Known as the Bilderberg meetings, the event actually has an official website.

所有阴谋论中最令人发指的大概是：世界强国的领导人会聚到一起闭门讨论如何管理世界。其实这是真的，至少美国和欧洲的领导人每年都会“聚一聚”，这个会议称为彼尔德伯格会议，它还有一个官方网站。

The first event of this kind took place in 1954 at the Hotel de Bilderberg in The Netherlands. Although the guest lists for these meetings are typically not a secret, the discussions that take place are. Past guests have included monarchs, high-ranking politicians, senior military officials, economic leaders, and powerful journalists.

他们的首次会议于1954年举行，地点是荷兰彼尔德伯格酒店。虽然与会人员名单通常不是秘密，但他们讨论的内容都是秘密。之前的与会人员包括君主、高级政客、高级军事官员、经济领袖及有权力的记者。