D66 entries

• D.B. CooperA man who bought a ticket as Dan Cooper hijacked a flight in 1971, collected $200,000 in ransom, and disappeared. Years later, a boy found part of the ransom on the banks of the Columbia River.
• Dancing Israelis IncidentPolice detained five Israeli nationals in New Jersey on September 11, 2001, after a witness reported their behavior as they photographed the burning World Trade Center.
• DÄNIKEN, Erich vonErich von Däniken turned ancient monuments into evidence for extraterrestrial visitors in his 1968 bestseller Chariots of the Gods? Archaeologists have found no evidence for his interpretation.
• DanitesThe Danites organized among Latter-day Saints in Missouri in 1838. Their activities during that conflict gave rise to later stories about a secret enforcement organization in Utah.
• DARBY, John NelsonJohn Nelson Darby helped shape the Plymouth Brethren and developed a way of reading biblical prophecy that influenced modern teachings about the Rapture.
• Data Harvesting ConspiracyCompanies collect personal data for advertising and other purposes. Documented abuses have fueled broader claims about covert collection and government coordination.
• DAVIS, EricPhysicist Eric Davis has worked on propulsion research and says he briefed Pentagon officials about purported recovered material. No released sample independently corroborates his account.
• DAY, KevinNavy air intercept controller Kevin Day was aboard USS Princeton during the 2004 encounters that became known as the Tic Tac incident. His account describes what the ship’s radar operators saw.
• Dead Internet TheoryThe dead internet theory claims that bots have displaced most human activity online. Its proponents usually date the shift to 2016 or 2017.
• Dealey PlazaPresident John F. Kennedy was shot as his motorcade passed through Dealey Plaza in Dallas in 1963. The site’s streets, buildings, and sightlines became central to the investigation.
• Death of Bruce LeeBruce Lee died in Hong Kong in 1973. The inquest attributed his death to brain swelling following a reaction to medication.
• Death of Dag HammarskjoldUN Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjöld died in a plane crash in 1961 while traveling to negotiate a cease-fire in the Congo. Later UN inquiries found that outside interference remained plausible.
• Death of Danny CasolaroDanny Casolaro was researching connections he called the Octopus when he was found dead in a West Virginia hotel in 1991. Authorities ruled his death a suicide.
• Death of David KellyBritish weapons scientist David Kelly died in 2003 after he was identified as a BBC source in a dispute about Iraq’s weapons. The inquiry into his death concluded that he died by suicide.
• Death of Diana, Princess of WalesDiana, Princess of Wales, died after a car crash in Paris in 1997. Investigators traced the crash to the circumstances of the drive and examined claims that it had been planned.
• Death of Dorothy KilgallenColumnist Dorothy Kilgallen covered the Kennedy assassination and interviewed Jack Ruby. Her death in 1965 prompted speculation about what her reporting might have uncovered.
• Death of Frank OlsonArmy biochemist Frank Olson died after falling from a New York hotel window in 1953. The CIA had given him LSD without his knowledge nine days earlier.
• Death of Gary WebbGary Webb investigated links between Contra supporters and the drug trade. When he died in 2004, the coroner ruled his death a suicide, and his earlier reporting became part of the speculation that followed.
• Death of James ForrestalJames Forrestal, the first U.S. secretary of defense, died in a fall at Bethesda Naval Hospital in 1949. Rumors about his death persisted after the Navy investigated it.
• Death of Jeffrey EpsteinJeffrey Epstein died in federal custody while awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges in 2019. The medical examiner ruled his death a suicide, and a later investigation documented serious jail failures.
• Death of Karen SilkwoodKaren Silkwood raised safety concerns at a plutonium plant in Oklahoma. She died in a car crash in 1974 while on her way to meet a reporter.
• Death of Kurt CobainKurt Cobain died in Seattle in 1994. Authorities ruled his death a suicide, and later claims of murder drew mainly on competing interpretations of the scene and his final days.
• Death of Lin BiaoLin Biao, Mao Zedong’s designated successor, died in a plane crash in Mongolia in 1971. Chinese authorities said he was fleeing after a failed plot, an account historians have questioned.
• Death of Marilyn MonroeMarilyn Monroe was found dead at her Los Angeles home in 1962. The coroner ruled her death a probable suicide, and later accounts promoted theories involving the Kennedys.
• Death of Michael HastingsInvestigative reporter Michael Hastings died in a Los Angeles car crash in 2013. Authorities ruled it an accident, while his work became the basis for claims of foul play.
• Death of Michael JacksonMichael Jackson died in 2009 after receiving propofol from his personal physician, Conrad Murray. A jury later convicted Murray of involuntary manslaughter.
• Death of Omar TorrijosPanamanian leader Omar Torrijos died in a plane crash in 1981. The crash prompted claims of foreign intelligence involvement that have remained unproven.
• Death of Phil SchneiderPhil Schneider spoke publicly about purported secret underground bases before his death in 1996. His family challenged the official suicide ruling.
• Death of Pope John Paul IPope John Paul I died in 1978 after 33 days in office. Questions about the Vatican’s initial account gave rise to theories linking his death to financial scandals.
• Death of Robert MaxwellRobert Maxwell was found dead at sea near his yacht in 1991. The financial collapse that followed exposed a shortfall in his companies’ pension funds.
• Death of Vincent FosterWhite House lawyer Vincent Foster was found dead in a Virginia park in 1993. Successive investigations concluded that he died by suicide.
• Death of Whitney HoustonWhitney Houston was found dead in a hotel bathtub in 2012. The coroner ruled the death an accidental drowning and identified contributing medical factors.
• Death of William ColbyFormer CIA director William Colby disappeared while canoeing in Maryland in 1996. Investigators concluded that he had drowned accidentally.
• Deep Throat Identity MysteryFor three decades, readers speculated about the source Bob Woodward called Deep Throat. Former FBI official Mark Felt revealed himself in 2005.
• Deepfake Manipulation FearsSynthetic recordings can make public figures appear to say or do things they never did. Their use has raised questions about how campaigns, journalists, and courts verify evidence.
• DeepfakesDeepfakes use artificial intelligence to fabricate or alter a person’s likeness or voice in a recording.
• DeflategateThe NFL investigated the New England Patriots after the Indianapolis Colts raised concerns about football pressure during the AFC Championship Game in January 2015.
• DEMEO, JamesJames DeMeo continued Wilhelm Reich’s research into a supposed energy called orgone, publishing field studies that he argued supported its existence.
• Denver International Airport ConspiracyDenver International Airport’s construction, public art, and underground infrastructure became the raw material for stories about a hidden installation beneath the airport.
• Deplatforming Conspiracy TheoryPublic disputes over social media bans and government contacts with platforms have fueled claims of a coordinated campaign to silence particular viewpoints.
• DI MAMBRO, JosephJoseph Di Mambro co-founded the Order of the Solar Temple with Luc Jouret. The group became the focus of investigations after a series of deaths began in 1994.
• Digital ID Conspiracy TheoriesGovernments use digital identification to verify people’s identities. Critics have raised privacy concerns, and some claim the systems are intended to control the population.
• Digital Identity and Deepfake Conspiracy TheoriesTools for fabricating voices, faces, and records have prompted claims that powerful institutions are working together to manipulate what people accept as real.
• Disappearance of Jimmy HoffaFormer Teamsters president Jimmy Hoffa disappeared in July 1975. Investigators have pursued leads involving organized crime for decades without establishing what happened to him.
• Disclosure MovementUFO disclosure advocates press governments to release records and explain what officials know about unidentified sightings and purported secret programs.
• Disclosure ProjectPhysician Steven Greer’s Disclosure Project brought former military and government personnel to a Washington press conference in 2001 to give accounts of UFO-related events.
• DMT Hyperspace Entities TheorySome people who have taken DMT describe encounters with beings that seem independent of them. The reports have prompted speculation about what the experiences represent.
• DogmanMichigan’s Dogman stories describe a canine creature walking upright. Reports of similar figures have also circulated outside the state.
• Dogon and Sirius B Knowledge ClaimTwo French anthropologists reported that Dogon informants described a companion to Sirius. Later fieldwork challenged the finding and the claim that it reflected ancient astronomical knowledge.
• DOLAN, RichardIn UFOs and the National Security State, Richard Dolan examined military UFO reports and government secrecy. He later popularized the idea of a technologically advanced breakaway civilization.
• Dominion Voting Systems ConspiracyAfter the 2020 U.S. election, false claims accused Dominion Voting Systems of switching votes. The accusations became the subject of defamation lawsuits.
• DONAGHY, TimNBA referee Tim Donaghy pleaded guilty in 2007 to federal charges arising from his role in a betting scheme involving games he officiated.
• DONATION OF CONSTANTINE FORGERYThe Donation of Constantine purported to grant the pope authority from a Roman emperor. Renaissance scholar Lorenzo Valla used the document’s own language to expose its later origins.
• DONNELLY, IgnatiusIn 1882, former congressman Ignatius Donnelly argued that Atlantis had been a real civilization. His book helped shape later searches for the island.
• Doolittle ReportIn 1954, a panel led by James Doolittle reviewed CIA covert operations for President Dwight Eisenhower. Its classified report urged the United States to take a more aggressive approach.
• Doomsday ClockThe Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists introduced a clock in 1947 to express how close it believed the world was to catastrophe. Midnight represents the danger it wants readers to consider.
• Dover DemonTeenagers in Dover, Massachusetts, reported seeing a small, strange figure in 1977. Their descriptions became the basis of the Dover Demon legend.
• DOWNARD, James ShelbyJames Shelby Downard read place names and public events as signs of hidden ritual. He applied that approach to the Kennedy assassination in his best-known essay.
• Dragons in FolkloreDragon stories appear in many cultures, where serpentlike beings can guard treasure, rule waters, or threaten communities.
• DRAKE, ThomasThomas Drake worked at the National Security Agency and raised concerns about its surveillance and contracting. A federal prosecution later made him a prominent whistleblower.
• DreamlandDreamland brought UFO reports, paranormal investigations, and fringe science to a syndicated radio audience beginning in the 1990s.
• Drexel Burnham LambertDrexel Burnham Lambert turned high-yield bonds into a major source of Wall Street financing. A securities investigation and financial distress preceded its collapse in 1990.
• Dreyfus AffairA French military court convicted Jewish officer Alfred Dreyfus of treason in 1894. Evidence against another officer helped turn the case into a public fight over antisemitism and military authority.
• Dropa StonesStories about the Dropa stones describe inscribed discs supposedly found in Chinese caves. No verified objects or excavation records support the account.
• DUTROUX AFFAIRThe investigation of Belgian kidnapper and murderer Marc Dutroux exposed police failures. The case also sparked claims that a wider network had protected him.
• DYER, JayJay Dyer interprets Hollywood films and popular culture through theories about occult symbolism and elite influence.