5 Crazy Election Theories From The Deep, Dark Depths Of The Internet

With less than a week to go before Reckoning Day arrives — whoops, and by that I mean Election Day, of course — conspiracy theorists are having a heyday as they spread their latest, wackiest theories online. If you've been wondering why your high school classmate is posting weird things about Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton's body doubles or Republican nominee Donald Trump's Illuminati ties, don't worry — I've collected the five craziest election theories for you here.

Even early on in the election cycle, there were rumors circulating: When Trump first started clashing with his own party, some suggested that he was actually on Team Clinton and self-sabotaging so she would win the election. ("If Donald Trump were a Democratic mole placed in the Republican Party to disrupt things, how would his behavior be any different?" asked political commentator and Washington Post writer George Will in July 2015.)

Another popular theory proposed that Clinton stole the primary election from her Democratic opponent, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders. Supporters of this theory urged people to look at the early exit polls, in which Sanders did much better than he did in the actual Democratic election, and many hold their stance to this day.

However, time has passed, and many new conspiracy theories have popped up to speculate about Clinton, Trump, and what will happen on Nov. 8.

Obama Is Going To Cancel The 2016 Election

Never mind the fact that President Obama has joked about the grey hairs the presidency has given him or what he plans to do after retiring from the White House — some people believe Obama plans to straight-up cancel the 2016 election.

"While the world political elites have been meeting in secret to stop conservative businessman Donald J. Trump’s presidential campaign, it’s clear that he likely already won the Republican nomination and perhaps the Presidency," one writer, Kosar, claimed on The Political Insider. "The incredible backlash a Trump nomination could cause among the political establishment is so great, many are speculating Obama is ready to declare martial law and postpone the election!"

Others suggest that if Clinton's email scandal forced her out of her candidacy, Obama would postpone the election until the Democratic National Committee selected a new nominee.

Clinton Uses Body Doubles

After Clinton left a memorial service on Sept. 11, overheated and suffering from pneumonia, conspiracy theorists across the internet claimed Clinton was replaced by a body double. Some even believe Clinton passed away (either after the memorial service or earlier) and has now been replaced by a permanent body double.

"I seriously think Hillary Clinton is dead," wrote Twitter user Mikayla in October. "That's definitely a body double. I can tell fx makeup from a mile away."

Extra points go to those who believe Clinton is a lizard person (or reptilian humanoid) in disguise, looking to take control of humans.

Trump Is An Illuminati Puppet

Where there are conspiracy theories, there are Illuminati, of course. One theory proposes that Trump is part of the Illuminati, and that the mysterious group will rig the elections to put him in power. YouTube user David Vose uploaded an explainer video, according to The Daily Star, explaining in its description:

If you care about our future, under the American constitution, our liberty and our rights, as free citizens of the world. Then you must acknowledge the confession of Donald Trump by his hand signs. The blatant pride he shows in his open acknowledgement of his secret society affiliation with the Illuminati.

Mind you, Vose also claims that Clinton is part of the Illuminati, as well. Not Libertarian nominee Gary Johnson, however: "At this point it appears he has not and is not part of the Elite," wrote Vose.

Google Is Suppressing Negative Clinton Stories

A SourceFed video published in June alleged that Google was suppressing any auto-complete phrases that painted Clinton in a negative light, such as "Hillary Clinton crime."

A Google spokesperson denied the allegations in an email to The Washington Times, writing, "Claims to the contrary simply misunderstand how Autocomplete works. Our Autocomplete algorithm will not show a predicted query that is offensive or disparaging when displayed in conjunction with a person’s name."

The Election Is Rigged

This one comes from the Republican candidate himself. During an interview with Bill O'Reilly in October, Trump explained why he believes the election will be rigged. "There are 1.8 million people who are dead who are registered to vote," he said, according to Vanity Fair. "And some of those people vote. So I wonder how that happens."

There are plenty of other theories out there for those who want to dive further down the rabbit hole. However, may I suggest instead taking a look at the candidates' policies on issues that affect voters' day-to-day lives, instead. The likelihood that Americans will have to live with candidates' views on health care or education is much higher than the chance that they'll end up controlled by a lizard queen or an Illuminati overlord, after all.