Probably not. Although reported by respected papers like The Guardian and The Scotsman, the poll was conducted online as part of a viral marketing campaign for the new X Files movie I Want To Believe. Although one might argue that fans of X Files are more inclined to be conspiracy minded, thus skewing the results of the poll, one wonders if perhaps this poll inadvertenly gives a metric of the top conspiracy theories amongst the credulous.

Of course, one wonders if the recent spate of news stories promoting Apollo astronaut Edgar Mitchell’s beliefs in a U.S. government coverup of alien contact aren’t also part of the viral marketing campaign for the new X Files movie. Now that’s a conspiracy theory I could buy into.

Here’s the top 10 conspiracy theories as identified by the poll…

• Area 51 exists to investigate aliens (48%)
• 9/11 was orchestrated by the US government (38%)
• Apollo landing was a hoax (35%)
• Diana and Dodi were murdered (32%)
• The Illuminati secret society and masons are trying to take over the world (25%)
• Scientologists rule Hollywood (17% )
• Barcodes are really intended to control people (7%)
• Microsoft sends messages via Wingdings (6%)
• US let Pearl Harbour happen (5%)
• The world is run by dinosaur-like reptiles (3%)

Tip o’ th’ hat to Liberal England for the links.