Conspiracy Theories

The murder/suicide of over 900 people sent shockwaves through the world. It generated enormous public support for the anti-cult and counter-cult movements. As with many major political assassinations or mass murders, Jonestown has spawned a number of conspiracy theories which attempt to explain this remarkable occurrence:

	Some people believe that the People's Temple was an experimental laboratory operated for or by the CIA in order to perfect mind-control techniques. They speculate that Leo Ryan uncovered this information and that he and over 900 of Jones' followers had to be assassinated in order to maintain secrecy. We have not been able to uncover any hard evidence that would support this belief. U.S. government records relating to the mass deaths have never been made public. This contributes to the conspiracy theory. "In 1980, the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence announced that there was 'no evidence' of CIA involvement at Jonestown." 11
	Some have suggested that Jones worked closely with the communist governments of Cuba and the USSR in the hopes of eventually moving the Temple to the USSR.
	The anti-cult movement also cites mind-control techniques by Jim Jones and his officials as the cause of the disaster. It is often claimed that the Jonestown disaster was a mass suicide made possible by mind-control. The many victims who were shot or forcibly injected with poison are ignored. Some surviving members claim that they were exposed to mind-control methods. However, others claim that living there was the best experience of their life.
	Some claim that Jonestown was a spectacularly successful grass-roots demonstration of what people could accomplish if they break free of capitalism and join in a common cause. They speculate that the U.S. government assassinated the people at Jonestown because they could not tolerate its success. 12
	Some in the academic community view the disaster as having been primarily caused by the hounding of Jonestown by anti-cult groups, news reporters and federal investigative agencies. If this theory is true, then the mass death at Jonestown was a self-fulfilling prophecy. 1,2,3,4