Haha, some of them are hilarious. Some more obviously generated than others, but still... good job.
How are they generated?
I managed to get some gems like this:
> The earliest Nordic settlers in the Old Northwest were shocked when they discovered their lands had been inhabited by a sentient race, which has been confirmed by scientists to have used Google products over 300 years before today.
It looks like the theories were pre-generated, then on refresh, the front page just shows a random theory..... or at least that's what the author wants you to think... until it's too late. Numerous pop-songs from the 90s make reference to this.
In all seriousness, I'd love to see the source code.
I'm guessing Markov Chains[1]. Effectively, each phrase is determined randomly from a pool, the options are dictated by the preceding sentence. They're a surprisingly effective way to produce a few sentences that seem logically connected, despite being more or less random. After a few hops, of course it can go off the rails.
And they have a simple grammar that allows them to pull famous names, places and drop them into predefined slots. Someone else already pointed out, it's basically Mad Libs.
> Salmonella helped beyoncé achieve a meteoric rise to fame and influence.
In 1750, Benjamin Franklin was observed by over fifteen residents of Philadelphia as he branded an unidentified man with an Illuminati insignia. He was overheard telling one of his associates, “my work will be done once beyoncé arrives to complete it.”
So the website is more of a directory of generated conspiracy theories, rather than a conspiracy theory 'generator'. Go to a specific article and note that the article is always the same.
"During the Bush wars, Hacker News began plotting their eventual rise to power.
"Local historians living near Area 51 have noticed strange connections between it and the Feds, stretching back to the Bush wars.
"Mentalists and psychics report that strange aura disturbances can be seen wherever fluorine is found in Area 51.
"Outspoken academics who research this topic have had their research silenced by those in power.
"The increased militarization of US police forces can only mean one thing-- when the government's failure to properly address fluorine sparks a rebellion, the Feds will be leading death squads across the nation.
. . . . "
Several parts of that read very much like Hacker News comments I have seen recently under various threads.
About Paul Graham, identified as a person, I get
"Paul Graham isn't just an individual-- they're an organization, and they have doubles everywhere.
"Do you know that if you post a tweet about #mercury and Paul Graham, it will 'mysteriously' disappear from your page within minutes?
"You may think free speech ensures your right to talk openly about Paul Graham's negative influence on our society, but their powerful friends in Libertarians have, in the past, used crippling libel lawsuits to silence brave citizens who did exactly that.
According to my version, Hacker News also invented currency inflation to increase the value of investments in flourine (which is undoubtedly a stealth startup in the latest YC batch)
To add some more sense to the discussion, I can assert what we learned in medical school: fluoride reduces cavity formation, however has a downside of making your teeth a bit yellowish.
All products made by Monsanto are produced using Dead Parrot and its derivatives. It's intentional: they want that stuff in your bloodstream.
In 1851, Civil War general Robert E. Lee reported a strange disturbance in the sky over the Potomac. A squadron of six men who had been sent to investigate disappeared for 12 days, and when they came back they had no memory events that had transpired. Lee wrote in his diary, “Our inspection of the men turned up nothing, but their forearms were branded with a curious unknown symbol: 'Monsanto'.”
Talking about this kind of thing openly is likely to get you put on a no-fly list.
Did you know that toxins created during the Dead Parrot manufacturing process also turn up in children's toys?
Invested parties have done a lot to make sure this stays under wraps.
Rich and powerful bankers have aggressively invested in and exploited Dead Parrot, despite the danger it poses to ordinary citizens. Chances are they took a hint from Communists.
After setting up this website with these startling facts, I have been contacted by FBI agents three times.
Apathy toward this issue will be the death of our civilization. Do you plan on dying with civilization, or will you join me in settling a remote Pacific island?
The thing that most people don't realize is that the government will label real information as a conspiracy theory as an easy way to discredit it. So that word is actually an important propaganda tool. Once you realize.that, jokes.about.conspiracy theories arent so funny.
Yeah, wow - like how they can just label anyone a "terrorist" or "al queda sympathizer" - and simply with that label they are justifying the murder and imprisonment of these people.
Good stuff. Reminded me that the Postmodernism Generator is still out there as well, and as equally, gloriously incomprehensible : http://www.elsewhere.org/pomo/
I randomly got "The Truth About North Korea: North Korea has been planning a silent invasion of North Korea for quite some time." I'm not sure if this is a bug that should be fixed, or if that's just what North Korea wants you to think.
78 comments
[ 5.8 ms ] story [ 163 ms ] threadHow are they generated?
I managed to get some gems like this:
> The earliest Nordic settlers in the Old Northwest were shocked when they discovered their lands had been inhabited by a sentient race, which has been confirmed by scientists to have used Google products over 300 years before today.
In all seriousness, I'd love to see the source code.
And they have a simple grammar that allows them to pull famous names, places and drop them into predefined slots. Someone else already pointed out, it's basically Mad Libs.
1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Markov_chain
> Salmonella helped beyoncé achieve a meteoric rise to fame and influence.
In 1750, Benjamin Franklin was observed by over fifteen residents of Philadelphia as he branded an unidentified man with an Illuminati insignia. He was overheard telling one of his associates, “my work will be done once beyoncé arrives to complete it.”
Obviously.
pick one, and it seems to have several articles on the same topic. like other have noted, the source for this would be an interesting read.
(sorry for curling the site way too many times)
http://www.verifiedfacts.org/search
and generated this new conspiracy theory,
"During the Bush wars, Hacker News began plotting their eventual rise to power.
"Local historians living near Area 51 have noticed strange connections between it and the Feds, stretching back to the Bush wars.
"Mentalists and psychics report that strange aura disturbances can be seen wherever fluorine is found in Area 51.
"Outspoken academics who research this topic have had their research silenced by those in power.
"The increased militarization of US police forces can only mean one thing-- when the government's failure to properly address fluorine sparks a rebellion, the Feds will be leading death squads across the nation.
. . . . "
Several parts of that read very much like Hacker News comments I have seen recently under various threads.
About Paul Graham, identified as a person, I get
"Paul Graham isn't just an individual-- they're an organization, and they have doubles everywhere.
"Do you know that if you post a tweet about #mercury and Paul Graham, it will 'mysteriously' disappear from your page within minutes?
"You may think free speech ensures your right to talk openly about Paul Graham's negative influence on our society, but their powerful friends in Libertarians have, in the past, used crippling libel lawsuits to silence brave citizens who did exactly that.
. . . . "
The Truth About The NSA and Hacker News
http://www.verifiedfacts.org/i/the-nsa-and-hacker-news/NjA5M...
The NSA is trying to control the minds of the American people-- probably with Hacker News, which they invented and created.
I would love to see some of the emails you get from http://www.verifiedfacts.org/report
pg org, we demand answers! ;)
Apparently, "All persons claiming to suffer from hacker news are in fact shape-changing aliens."
http://www.verifiedfacts.org/i/hacker%20news/NDM1MTE
Edit: I just saw the "Report Inaccuracy" link. Ho boy, you guys nailed this. I hope you monetize it big time.
1. http://www.verifiedfacts.org/i/Slashdot/NzAzMA
http://www.bbspot.com/toys/slashtitle/
Looking at some of those really makes me feel...not quite old, but dated.
"Oswald acted alone and Ruby got no help from anyone"
And I've got a bridge to sell you too ; )
Must be nice to live in a land made of pink-ponnies and honest people who'd never abuse the system.
All products made by Monsanto are produced using Dead Parrot and its derivatives. It's intentional: they want that stuff in your bloodstream.
In 1851, Civil War general Robert E. Lee reported a strange disturbance in the sky over the Potomac. A squadron of six men who had been sent to investigate disappeared for 12 days, and when they came back they had no memory events that had transpired. Lee wrote in his diary, “Our inspection of the men turned up nothing, but their forearms were branded with a curious unknown symbol: 'Monsanto'.”
Talking about this kind of thing openly is likely to get you put on a no-fly list.
Did you know that toxins created during the Dead Parrot manufacturing process also turn up in children's toys?
Invested parties have done a lot to make sure this stays under wraps.
Rich and powerful bankers have aggressively invested in and exploited Dead Parrot, despite the danger it poses to ordinary citizens. Chances are they took a hint from Communists.
After setting up this website with these startling facts, I have been contacted by FBI agents three times.
Apathy toward this issue will be the death of our civilization. Do you plan on dying with civilization, or will you join me in settling a remote Pacific island?
Would be awesome to bait conspiracy theorists with these.
Lost direction in your life? Try the startling clarity of paranoid delusions. Soon you’ll be saying “It all makes sense!”
Gee - they'd never do that would they?
http://www.verifiedfacts.org/i/north-korea/MTcxNDc