A conspiracy theory is an attempt to explain events or situations with the help of a conspiracy allegedly created by an influential political or financial group, even if there is an official and confirmed version of events. The term has a negative connotation, and the phenomenon of conspiracy theories has become more important, especially in the context of Russia's war against Ukraine.

One of the conspiracy theories that is now emerging within the framework of Russian propaganda is the “new world order” theory. The phrase “world government” or “global government” indicates the use of the “new world order” theory, as they are the more popular name for the theory. It is not new and originated in the United States in the twentieth century. The theory acquired its modern forms in the 90s, when it became the basis for the work of American right-wing radical and conservative Christian forces. The theory of the “new world order” acquired a new scope at the turn of the 20th and 21st centuries, when it penetrated into popular culture, thanks to which it became widespread.

The theory has a number of branches, but in this article we will focus on the apocalyptic direction. According to it, the world is led by an allegedly totalitarian global government that wants to either destroy the world completely or leave only the “golden billion” on it. That is, a billion people who have passed all the tests. According to propagandists, the war against Ukraine is one of those tests. In the case of this theory, “stages” are important, because according to the position of conspiracy theorists, the “world government” destroys humanity gradually. For example, on anonymous telegram channels spreading pro-Russian rhetoric, one can see messages that the war in Ukraine is just a new stage in the “world government” plan to destroy humanity. Its echo could also be heard from the lips of the parishioners of the UOC-MP. Representatives of the confession often say that Western elites are destroying Ukraine.

Also, over time, opinions about who is in the “world government” have changed. The following versions are popular among conspiracy theorists:

the world government is the UN and the EU (in particular, black helicopters are considered one of the symbols of this theory in Western culture, since, according to conspiracy theorists, the world government is preparing to seize the territory of the United States (or any other country, given the target audience of the source)) with the help of UN peacekeepers arriving on them);

it is a corporation that includes the richest people on the planet;

this is a satanic force led by the Antichrist and bringing the end of the world closer (according to conspiracy theorists, the role of the Antichrist can be played by the last Pope, the President of the EU, the Secretary General of the UN, one of the heads of a Muslim state, the head of an international corporation, etc.).

In addition, the “world government” can be made up of Illuminati (Illuminati branch), Masonic (Masonic branch) or Jews (Zionist branch).

The theory has received a lot of criticism from Christians in the West because they believe it cultivates a “spirit of fear” and is not backed up by biblical texts.

Propagandists use it in their rhetoric to cause panic among people and doubts about what is happening around. In fact, in this way they want to “hush” the information space and shift the responsibility for the actions of the aggressor to a third force. Like, Russia has nothing to do with it, these are all the tricks of the “world government” that wants to destroy everyone. In the countries of the post-Soviet space, conspiracy theories associated with politics work even better, considering the lack of public access to information about political processes in the past.

Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, propagandists have begun to explain more and more things using conspiracy theories. As a consequence, even the smartest people can be questioned by conspiracy theories in today's turbulent world. That is why, in this new section,  Detector Media will briefly explain the history and essence of individual conspiracy theories. We will talk on how and for what purpose they use them in Russian propaganda.