How conspiracy theories have changed since the 1990s
Another “Lesser 30” video where we look at how the culture of conspiracy theories and urban legends has changed since 1993. A look at how entertainment, technology, and politics have been affected by the rising tide of beliefs in mysterious and strange stories.
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@JJMcCullough
October 12, 2026 at 9:05 pm
What “Lesser 30” realm of culture would you like to see me analyze next?
@SilkySkillsUnited
October 12, 2026 at 9:05 pm
The human race collectively broke its brain when we realised that, of all things, pizza gate was actually a credible conspiracy theory…I mean, it’s debatable, but thousands of emails sent between known pedophiles and associated of Jeffrey Epstein containing references to pizza was admittedly pretty shocking to see.
@phimusic44
October 12, 2026 at 9:05 pm
20:30 there ya go
@phimusic44
October 12, 2026 at 9:05 pm
20:07 that is so cute sweet boy
@BoonBasler-g3h
October 12, 2026 at 9:05 pm
I think conspiracies feel like they're more prominent because of the internet. Allowing these tall tales to spread like a virus. People have always believed some pretty weird shit.
@ertyiopp
October 12, 2026 at 9:05 pm
1:00 not to be that guy, but since then CIA declassified a bunch of documents, that confirmed that they indeed did sinister and unethical things. One that shocked me personally and explained where some urban legends got their roots is CIA non-consensually experimenting on mental health patients trying to change their memories using tape recordings. It resulted in at least one death and relatives only found out the truth about what happened 40 years later then documents were declassified.
@TecTrent
October 12, 2026 at 9:05 pm
How about not opening your videos with “hello friends”? If you decide to go back in the future, any videos made before then will be liminal objects from the time you experimented with your intro.
@kingsofwrestlingpicfed
October 12, 2026 at 9:05 pm
okay i know this isnt really a big deal for people who dont know much about wrestling, but in the end credit part, there is a Chris Benoit. Anyone who watches wrestling is aware of the 2007 incident with Chris Benoit and why he is no longer mentioned in WWE. He suffered from CTE after taking too many chair shots to the head and ended up murdering his wife and son, as well as himself. It was a huge tragedy and I would personally recommend you look out next time to see if somebody is using that name because they are 100% trying to make it seem like you're endorsing his actions
@WizWerd-o4y
October 12, 2026 at 9:05 pm
trump is a puppet. controlled opposition
@jasmineschmitz559
October 12, 2026 at 9:05 pm
The sex ring evidence has been produced 🫣
@RealConstantinusMagnus
October 12, 2026 at 9:05 pm
The Great Replacement is 100% real and provable with basic research. Historically white countries are becoming less and less white due to mass migration and low white birth rates. Coincidentally, the media and many governments are promoting things like contraception, antinatalism, and multiculturalism almost exclusively for white people, while major NGOs, charities, and civil rights groups actively facilitate mass migration into western countries, with governments either doing nothing to stop them or even working hand in hand with them. It’s gotten so bad that London, one of the largest cities in Europe and capital of perhaps the most influential European nation from the Seven Years' War to World War II, is not even majority ethnic British anymore. As far as I’m concerned, anyone denying the Great Replacement at this point is either delusional or speaking out of bad faith.
Sorry for the essay, but it needed to be said.
@LCassidy-tl1tn
October 12, 2026 at 9:05 pm
Hmm… Epstein anyone?
@matthews1794
October 12, 2026 at 9:05 pm
Where is the clip at 1:32 from?
@Fummy007
October 12, 2026 at 9:05 pm
You forgot "Flat Earth" the biggest conspiracy theory in the world. They call it the mother of all conspiracies because if you believe it you basically have to believe in all the other nonsense conspiracies.
@FrederickLeland
October 12, 2026 at 9:05 pm
I don't think I can take anything in this video seriously when one of the statements of fact is that J6 was somehow more violent than the Oklahoma city bombing.
@TurtleMarcus
October 12, 2026 at 9:05 pm
I think American politics always has had a conspiratorial streak to it, that we haven't seen in other countries. For example, in the Antebellum Era, fear of Masonic or Catholic takeover of the US was prominent. There was even an Anti-Masonic Party (yep, that was their name), and the staunchly anti-Catholic Know Nothing Party.
@BobBombBrick
October 12, 2026 at 9:05 pm
Do You Like The Red Room?
@jacksontrout8600
October 12, 2026 at 9:05 pm
JFK was 1991
@GoofusPlays
October 12, 2026 at 9:05 pm
Do a collab with Nick Fuentes or something lmao
@acrossley
October 12, 2026 at 9:05 pm
What’s this boot you keep talking about? I don’t see a boot anywhere..
@1mag1nat1vename
October 12, 2026 at 9:05 pm
The American Tall Tale is making a comeback with the power of the internet?
J.J. You always know how to cheer me up.
Thank you for your videos, and never stop creating
@dougontheotherchannel3078
October 12, 2026 at 9:05 pm
We aren't knocking Wendigoon, right? Ole son is a legend
@CarsunGeorge
October 12, 2026 at 9:05 pm
Great video but You are mistaken when you say there are much more republican believers of government conspiracy theories. The most worrying and prevalent conspiracy theories today penetrate the left just as much as the right. It’s all of America being duped, and it’s growing very very fast. Definitely not a partisan thing.
@briansinger5258
October 12, 2026 at 9:05 pm
Well, when you have conspiracies presented as declassified documents available for reading, and the governments around the world collectively do stuff out of science fiction novels, the layman can be forgiven for considering weird stuff.
Anyone remember the year we were locked down because the air is poisonous but there were legal race riots encouraged by politicians and journalists alike?
… Epstein at least?
@mestillme1855
October 12, 2026 at 9:05 pm
Your work is genuinely so incredible. It is tremendously impressive, original, and analytical—in an entertaining way, too. I love it, even if I get annoyed on occasion with some of your middle class topics 😂
@LauraRessinger-kx5xp
October 12, 2026 at 9:05 pm
The "Lesser 30" are so boring compared to the "Great 30"!
@dummy2227
October 12, 2026 at 9:05 pm
Sadly, I feel like it’s not just American culture that’s gotten used to conspiracy theories, but ever more so in the general west too and honestly the world as well, with it being largely thanks to mass spread of such theories through the internet which travels to several different countries as well. If you want to see an example of conspiracy culture outside of the US J.J, I suggest checking out the video “Balkan conspiracies” by Living Ironically in Europe as a good insight into conspiracy culture in another part of the world too. Plus there’s the whole “lizard people” conspiracy which was started by a British, David Icke, who had a similar underground following his country similar to Alex Jones in the US, as another big example of European conspiracy culture.
Edit: hell, now that I think about it, I think making a history of western conspiracy theories would be very interesting, since Europe has a looooong history with that (with a ton of antisemitic, anti-Masonic, illuminati level stuff all there).
@brianbetz7030
October 12, 2026 at 9:05 pm
Man, you have an ugly moustache. Also, your voice is grating. In fact, this whole show is like an assault on my senses. The set is waaayy too busy. Your jump cuts are not an acceptable alternative to changing camera angles or using MEANINGFUL cutaways. You must have something that is entertaining, educational and interesting or you wouldn't have the sub base and views but jarring does not equate to innovation. Get your face off the screen and get a nice dramatic voice. Content rules, bells and whistles are for fools.
@HorrorHabit-h7x
October 12, 2026 at 9:05 pm
I've heard it said (somewhere, by someone,) that we used to believe ideas. Now we entertain ideas.
@richardronaldharrison842
October 12, 2026 at 9:05 pm
Take about American conspiracy theories.The Liberal left- Wing in the USA have the own untrue conspiracy theories.🫣😬😮 ….”RussiaGate “Anyone🤔🧐🤔🤫.
@frankdecron1306
October 12, 2026 at 9:05 pm
10:19 The master from fallout 1
@vanleeuwenhoek
October 12, 2026 at 9:05 pm
"Look honey! A non-physics Carl Sagan!"
@Gertrudesdiddy
October 12, 2026 at 9:05 pm
5:27 Nasa chimps and microchips 🙉🙈🙊.
@slidymctuesday5711
October 12, 2026 at 9:05 pm
10:56 the Mel Gibson movie “Conspiracy Theory” is also explicitly titled. It’s about MK-ultra and it’s gained something of a cult following.
@trevormillar1576
October 12, 2026 at 9:05 pm
Mu fave conspiracy theory?
"Prince Andrew " died in 1995 from AIDS and was replaced by a doppelganger, a Navy officer who agreed to have plastic surgery. The Royal Fsmily did this because they feared that if the British public found out, they would storm Buck House and the Windsors woukd go thr same way as the Romanovs.
@tempest6027
October 12, 2026 at 9:05 pm
i suggest using the Once Upon a Katamari level where you roll up Yokai as a framing device for a video about japanese yokai
@eriknervik9003
October 12, 2026 at 9:05 pm
6:30
I don’t know if anyone else heard of this but when I was a pre teen to teenager there was always the claim that there were Russian video games or at least games marked with Cyrillic letters for game consoles that would drive one mad if seen.
@eriknervik9003
October 12, 2026 at 9:05 pm
Well I don’t know that you can dismiss claims of surveillance from before the mass internet. The FBI had large numbers of student groups and civil rights advocates wiretapped for example. According to a biographer for MLK there is FBI wiretaps of MLK laughing about a woman being raped for example.,
It is certainly true that if you were prominent politically you were probably being survieled by the FBI. Even the sourcing of the watergate scandal came from an FBI assitant director who was pissed about not being promoted after Hoover died and so chose to leak the dirty laundry.