Denver International Airport Illuminati Conspiracy Theory

About

The Denver International Airport Illuminati Conspiracy Theory is related to the airport's mix of bold public art, unusual architecture, infamous construction problems and internet-fueled rumors that include Nazi runways, remote locations hidden inside the facilities, underground bunkers, aliens and artistic depictions of the apocalypse. Although Google search interest dates back to 2007, the conspiracy theories surrounding the airport were present since its opening in February 1995. In mid-2012 the theories reached a peak in interest on social media like Facebook and Twitter.

Origin

The Denver International Airport^[1], locally known as DIA, is an international airport in the Western United States that opened on February 28th, 1995. From the beginning of its construction, people from nearby regions have theorized about the airport having secret tunnels and connections to secret societies. The bizarre public artwork around the Denver hub is also a widely discussed topic.

One of the first online mentions of conspiracy theories dates back to August 31st, 2007, posted by the blog Boing Boing.^[2] The post describes the "fame" of the airport amongst conspiracies theorists, "who say that deep beneath the airport exists a massive complex of buildings six stories underground designed to house a cultish shadow government and the super-rich elite in case of natural or man-made disaster." The article also mentions the murals on DIA facilities depicting things such as a Gestapo officer wearing a gas mask impaling a dove with his saber and three dead women in coffins.

Spread

American politician and actor Jesse Ventura helped popularize the conspiracy theories about DIA with episodes of his TV show Conspiracy Theory in 2010^[3] and 2012.^[4] The actor commented about the airport on March 12th, 2010, during a WNYC interview in which he was promoting his book American Conspiracies: Lies, Lies, and More Dirty Lies. A video of the interview was uploaded on YouTube^[5] (seen below) and garnered 431,876 views and 4,700 likes in 13 years.

The Denver Airport Illuminati allegations started to be discussed on social media in 2010. For instance, Facebook^[6] user @princess.farhana posted on June 10th, her preoccupations with arriving at the DIA airport saying "Denver here I come! Unless, of course, I get kidnapped by The Illuminati." The post received 15 likes and 13 comments in 13 years. (seen below)

On Twitter,^[7] the bizarre murals inside DIA are posted with comments relating them to the Illuminati. For example, @Lex__Go shared on August 11th, 2014, a picture of the mural featuring the Gestapo officer impaling a dove, describing it as a "creepy ass mural on the wall of the Denver airport." The tweet received 5 likes in nine years (seen below).

Denver Aiport Embracing Conspiracy Theories

The Denver Airport marketing team decided to embrace^[8] the conspiracy theories in October 2016, featuring a museum-style (seen below) exhibition of the most notable theories.

The airport also saw an opportunity to use some renovations being done at the facility to add banners with the most famous theories. On October 27th, 2018, CBS Mornings posted a YouTube^[9] video of the story behind this marketing strategy. The video (seen below) garnered 1 million views and 10,000 likes in six years.

In early-2021, the conspiracy theory banners received attention on TikTok. On March 17th, 2021, TikToker^[10] samlister222 posted a video (seen below, left) showing some of the banners he spotted at the airport that earned roughly 1.1 million plays and 131,400 likes in two years. On April 17th, 2021, TikToker^[11] shelseaochoa posted a video of a gargoyle statue inside the airport. The video earned roughly 587,600 plays and 52,000 likes in a year (seen below, right).

The many theories surrounding DIA continue to draw interest in TikTok going into 2023.

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References