6 Mind-Blowingly Ridiculous Conspiracy Theories Surrounding The Boston Bombing

The tragic bombing in Boston a week ago has set off speculation and claims of conspiracy from a variety of sites.

By
Andrew Kaczynski
by Andrew Kaczynski

BuzzFeed News Reporter

6. The Bomb Squad Knew of the Attack in Advance

One rumor that has been floating around the internet in a variety of forms is that bomb squads at the Boston Marathon knew about an attack in advance. Alex Jones, of the conspiracy website Infowars, has said that it coincided with a bomb squad drill. Mike Adams, of the website NaturalNews and the Centre for Research on Globalization speculated that the "bomb squad carried out the bombing as a false flag operation to achieve a political goal (unleashing TSA on the streets, blaming right wingers, increasing the bomb squad budget, etc.)."

5. Navy SEALs/Craft International/Blackwater Spotted at the Marathon Finish

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According to websites like Infowars, BlogDogCicle, Before It's News, Dexus Nexus, and dozens of YouTube accounts, internet "sleuthing" has discovered that there were "individuals spotted wearing backpacks, a similar cap, and similar pants (and boots) at the Boston Marathon." The sites speculate that these men were part of a group called "Craft International," a private defense company founded by deceased former Navy SEAL Chris Kyle. The conspiracy sites say the men appear unfazed by the bombing and have backpacks similar to those used in the explosion. The video above is a C-SPAN caller over the weekend bringing up the claims.

4. The Facebook Page Created Before the Bombing

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One theory that has been popularized by the YouTube channel "StormCloudsGathering" is that a Facebook page was created before the bombing. This has been being used as proof that it was part of some sort of conspiracy — but in reality, you can change Facebook group names after they have been created.

3. The Sandy Hook Principal Was at the Boston Bombing

Sandy Hook principal Dawn Hochsprung heroically saved the lives of children when she rushed at shooter Adam Lanza during the elementary school shooting in December. Now a photo popularized by website TheCount has gone viral on conspiracy forums, YouTube, Facebook, and other websites claiming she was seen at the Boston marathon bombing.

BuzzFeed reviewed Fox News footage on closed captioning and was unable to find this particular screenshot.

Conspiracy theorists previously speculated Hochsprung was interviewed at the scene of the Newtown shooting and that she survived as proof of a conspiracy.

2. The Tsarnaev Brothers Were Double Agents

This conspiracy theory alleges that the Tsarnaev brothers "were double agents, hired by U.S. and Saudi intelligence to penetrate the Wahhabi jihadist networks which, helped by Saudi financial institutions, had spread across the restive Russian Caucasian." The theory was run as an "exclusive" on the website DEBKAfile and has made traction around the internet on the usual conspiracy swamps.

The website says that the brothers betrayed their mission to the U.S. and then became terrorists themselves.

1. The Saudi National Who's Being Deported/Ties to al-Qaeda/Michelle Obama Visited

There have been many reports surrounding the Saudi national. He was in fact questioned by police at the hospital and never suspected of taking part in the Boston bombing after his apartment was searched by police in conjunction with the FBI and other government agencies. He is NOT being deported.

Glenn Beck's news network The Blaze, however, had reported a false rumor citing its own sources saying that the Saudi student who was questioned after the Boston bombing was being deported. The conservative host has been urging his radio listeners to spread it on social media.

Other sites have claimed he has ties to al-Qaeda.

The conspiracy website WorldNetDaily cited a paper from Saudi Arabia saying that Michelle Obama had met with the Saudi student at the hospital.

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