The wide array of results that come up for the search ‘Jim Carrey new face’, often comparing older photos of the celebrity and more receRecently, my for-you page has been filled with conspiracy theorists talking about Jim Carrey. They say the actor was not the same at the Cesare Awards, and that another person entirely assumed his identity for the show. While one of Carrey’s representatives has come forward and said it was the real Jim Carrey, Grace Acevedo (10), displayed her belief in that theory, stating, “I believe in the theory. 100 million percent. If someone who looked like Jim Carrey came up to me right now and said that the guy at the award show was fake, I would believe him.” Whether you believe them or not, there’s no denying that conspiracy theories like these are interesting to read about.

So what is a conspiracy theory? Merriam-Webster defines them as “a theory that explains an event or set of circumstances as the result of a secret plot by usually powerful conspirators“. The most pointed to ‘conspirators’ happen to be the government, like an example of a conspiracy theory Aracely Martinez (10) gave me: “The government is watching our phones. The government tracks everything about you through them”. Others supposedly link back to other culprits, and here are a few examples of those.

1. The Dead Internet Theory

The Dead Internet Theory claims that the internet ‘died’ a long time ago (2016-2017), and everything we’ve seen on the internet since then–posts, comments, replies–has been the result of bots and AI. These bots are used to make viral content to improve ad revenue, and generate money for the humans running them.

Bots do account for over half of internet traffic–but that still leaves a large chunk of traffic for humans. I mean, you’re here right now, aren’t you? Leave a comment to prove bots aren’t taking over the internet!

2. Subliminal Advertising

The subliminal advertising theory advocates for the use of an appeal to a person’s subconscious to encourage them to buy a product. Basically, hidden messages are hidden in normal advertisements so when you see them, your brain subconsciously picks up on the message. Then you’ve got the message in your mind, and while you may not be aware of it, the idea is that it’s still impacting your purchasing decisions. Numerous movies and books, such as Wilson Bryan Key’s “Subliminal Seduction” and Vance Packard’s “The Hidden Persuaders“, go more in detail about this theory and the psychology behind it.

However, studies have proven that while a person may be affected by subliminal advertising, it’ll do very little in the long-run. A split second frame or a hidden message may encourage a person to check out a product, but it won’t be enough to convince them to buy it.

3. The Dead Celebrity Theory

Jim Carrey has recently been called into question at the Cesare Awards. While the accusations were simply that he was replaced at this award show, some conspiracy theorists go a step further and claim celebrities have been dead and replaced for years. Avril Lavigne is one notable example of this.

In her case, people speculated that she’d been killed sometime in 2003 and her company had replaced her with a body double named Melissa Vandella. This was because the company didn’t want to let Avril’s stardom shine out after her death, and wanted to continue using her name for profits. The original poster has come clean and admitted they only spread the theory to prove how contagious fake news is.

4. The Disney Frozen Theory

This theory centers around the speculated freezing of Walt Disney after his death. The reason for the cryogenic freezing has been most commonly cited as to revive him once science has progressed enough. His living family members dismiss the claim, but some people have theorized that the movie ‘Frozen’ was made as a way to cover up search results containing the words ‘Disney’ and ‘frozen’.

Some other variations of the theory involve only his head or his body being frozen, and his body being stored under the Disneyland Pirates of the Caribbean ride.

Now that you’ve read through a few, do you believe in any of these theories?