User:Ivygate21/sandbox

= IvyGate Conspiracy Theory =

Overview
The IvyGate Conspiracy Theory has emerged in recent years, in what many conspiratologists believe is a direct response to the polarization of the elite in the US as well as the increasingly competitive nature of college admissions. The IvyGate conspiracy theory first emerged around 2015, when Joshua Smith began posting compiled evidence about supposed connections between Ivy League schools and the government on his blog Only Great In Disguise. The site became moderately popular over intervening years, primarily among lower-class users who self-identify as being suspicious of colleges, the government, and the elite. The blog attracted some attention from prevalent conspiracy theorists including Alex Jones, who mentioned the IvyGate conspiracy theory during an episode of his radio show in January 2018. Traffic on the site experienced a sharp spike after the Varsity Blues college admissions scandal in 2019, and Smith’s post claiming that Operation Varsity Blues was a coverup is one of the blog’s most popular posts.

Central Beliefs
The central belief of the IvyGate conspiracy theory is that the eight schools in the Ivy League (Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Columbia, Brown, Dartmouth, Cornell, University of Pennsylvania) serve as a recruiting and experimental ground for a small group of elite Americans (the “Novus Ordo Society”) who secretly control the entire government. According to believers in the IvyGate theory, the Novus Ordo Society is composed of primarily wealthy, white men, many of whom come from families who have been involved with the Novus Ordo group for decades or centuries. Various organizations within the respective Ivy League schools, such as Princeton’s eating clubs or Yale’s secret societies, serve as recruiting organizations for the Novus Ordo Society. Most members of the Novus Ordo are recruited based on family connections, but unconnected students who fit the criteria of Novus Ordo are also investigated and, in some cases, tapped to join. Even if students have family connections to Novus Ordo, the nature of the society is such that only the members are allowed to know about it, and thus the recruiting of individuals comes as a surprise to them during their time at the various Ivy Leagues. Recruitment occurs generally during the student’s sophomore or junior years.

While still in college, the chosen students begin their initiation into Novus Ordo. A series of tunnels that connect the Ivy League schools and Washington, D.C. serve as locations for secret meetings between the chosen students and Novus Ordo. Students are taught about the history and policies of Novus Ordo, and in some cases may begin working on the experiments that Novus Ordo is conducting. These experiments include technological developments, bio-pharmaceutical research, psychological experiments, and more. Believers of the IvyGate conspiracy theory claim that these research projects are attempts to control the US population (i.e. through technological monitoring such as bar codes, drugs, or mind control). Students at all Ivy League schools use the coverup of investment banking or finance internships or jobs to explain their work with the Novus Ordo Society. Believers theorize that the financial companies that these students claim to work for are also involved with the Novus Ordo, because of their ties to the Ivy League.

History
The IvyGate conspiracy theory appears to have originated on the blog Only Great In Disguise, when Joshua Smith published his first blog post in November, 2015. As such, Joshua Smith, the supposed owner and writer of the blog, is credited with creating the IvyGate conspiracy theory. The conspiracy theory is widely viewed as ridiculous, especially among educated circles, but has become fairly prevalent among certain right wing or conspiracy groups, including QAnon and Proud Boys (both groups have referred to the conspiracy theory multiple times across their various information channels).

According to his blog, Smith was born in 1996 and raised in Friendship, South Carolina. After graduating from high school with high honors and hopes of getting accepted into multiple Ivy League schools in 2014, he was rejected from every school he applied to and ultimately enrolled in the local Marion Community College. He remains in Friendship, working as a bartender and living with his family. Throughout high school, Smith developed an Internet presence, spending time on gaming sites or conspiracy websites like Conspiracy Planet. His blog, which he credits inspiration to websites like Conspiracy Planet, was started in 2015.

Media Coverage
Conspiracy theorist and radio host Alex Jones mentioned the IvyGate conspiracy theory on a show in 2018, stating, “The very colleges that everyone in the US and their mother wants their kids to go to are actually filled with corruption and greed. These schools--except you can’t even call them schools anymore! They don’t teach anything, they just brainwash your children into being brainless mindless government robots! But my friend Joshua Smith has been brave enough to tell the dreadful truth about the wicked liars in the college admissions field and especially the Ivy League. Even though the government and the Ivy League has done all they can to do stop him--I’m talking black helicopters and secret gunmen here, folks--he’s got evidence that even they will have to admit shows that they’re all guilty and lying to us. They’re trying to take this country from you, take it and never give it back, but we won’t let them!”

In 2019, Smith’s blog post discussing the Varsity Blues admissions scandal received hundreds of thousands of views and was shared widely across Twitter and Facebook, mostly among right-wing and conspiracy theory groups.

Response by Universities
None of the government organizations referenced in Smith’s blog have issued a public response to the IvyGate conspiracy theory. Similarly, none of the Ivy League schools have issued public responses specifically addressing the IvyGate conspiracy theory. However, after the college admissions scandal, most Ivy League schools released statements saying that their admissions process was in no way compromised, contrary to what conspiracy theorists may say (thus, indirectly rejecting the IvyGate conspiracy theories). Many professors are not aware of the conspiracy theory, and those that are dismiss it as a response to the feeling of elitism that the Ivy League colleges inspire, combined with the conspiracist attitude prevalent in the US.

Current Status
In the wake of the January 6th storming of the capita l, the Only Great in Disguise blog, along with multiple other inflammatory conspiracy theory sites, was removed from the Internet under the premise that he “incited imminent lawless action” and thus posed a treasonous threat to the US government. Since then, Joshua Smith has remained off-grid, but a few of his followers have created a new Only Great in Disguise blog where they are currently working to repost Smith’s most relevant blog posts from over the years. Though the original site’s nonexistence means that it is more challenging to get a sense of Smith’s viewpoint and the discussion on the issue, the new Only Great in Disguise blog showcases the most important of Smith’s arguments and allows for analysis of Smith’s claims and the discourse surrounding the issue.