Conspiracy

Absurd conspiracy theory claims that the Roman Empire is a hoax

By T.K. Randall
December 2, 2021

Image: Roman Legionnaire
Credit: Rennett Stowe / CC BY 2.0 (adapted) We've seen a fair few conspiracy theories on this site over the last two decades, which have ranged from the more mainstream (i.e. that the Moon landings were a hoax) to the downright absurd (i.e. the Earth is flat or, as claimed more recently, the Internet is 'fake'.)

This latest one, however, which claims that the Roman Empire never actually existed, pretty much takes the biscuit as one of the weirdest conspiracy theories we've come across to date.

This rather strange claim comes courtesy of TikTok history enthusiast @momllennial_ whose conspiracy theories have proven to be somewhat divisive, to say the least, on social media.The route of her 'Rome denialism' lies in the (false) claim that Roman archaeological sites are misinterpreted and that Rome was in fact a hoax perpetrated by the Spanish Inquisition.

Most of these claims have already been thoroughly debunked by historians, however as is the case with those who remain adamant that the Earth is flat, expertise and hard facts don't seem to carry much weight with those who remain convinced that they are right and everyone else is wrong.

If anything, such conspiracies represent something of a quirk of the Internet age - ideas that, despite holding no weight, seem to endure and spread - picking up more followers as they go along.

It remains to be seen what other weird conspiracies will arise thanks to social media over the next few years.

Source: Daily Dot

Tags: Rome