All language subtitles for Forbidden.History.S05E06.Secret.Societies.World.Domination.1080p.UKTV.WEB-DL.AAC2.0.H.264-BTN_track3_[eng]

Behind me is the
Palace of Westminster,

better known as the
Houses of Parliament.

It's the place where the people
who govern this country meet,

creating laws,
directing foreign policy,

and collecting tax for the good
of the nation and the wider world.

But are our democratically-elected
governments really in control?

Or are we governed by a
shadowy elite who have a

far more sinister agenda?

In short,

who really does rule the world?

There's always been
secret societies.

I mean, this is not a
modern phenomenon.

They go back, probably,
thousands of years.

These could be societies that bring
together the rich and powerful or

certain sections of the rich and
powerful to talk secretly behind

the backs of the rest of us.

It might be a church within a
church, like Opus Dei for example.

They are out there, but they're
shadowy and very sensitive to

any kind of light being
shown on their dealings.

Members of secret societies over
the centuries and still today

are alleged and believed
to work behind the scenes

to rule the world.

There are secret societies.

But it's more complicated than that.

There are the ones we know of,

and there are undoubtedly
the ones we don't know of.

For centuries now, one group seems
to have attracted more conspiracy

theories than any other.

Their UK headquarters

is in this building behind
me in Central London.

I'm of course talking
about the Freemasons.

Now, past members have included
powerful figures such

as Benjamin Franklin,
George Washington,

and even Winston Churchill.

And the group's secrecy and
arcane rituals have led many

to question their true intentions.

One of the most interesting
so-called secret societies

is the Freemasons.

In its day, your kings were members.

Anyone who believed in God,

it didn't matter what religion
you were, could be a member.

But it was sort of the
elite of society.

Today, Freemasons are
policemen, taxi drivers,

anybody who wants to join can join.

And when you meet another member
from another lodge and you find out

they're a Freemason,
there's that instant trust,

so you can kind of see where
there's a history of favouritism.

Men will always want
money and power,

and one way of getting it
is to bond together

with other people who have money
and power to further their aims

and very largely keep it
from other people.

Hence a secret society.

We have different levels of secrecy.

Obviously, the Rosicrucians,
the Illuminati.

I've never met somebody
who calls himself a

Rosicrucian or an Illuminati,

so they're entirely secret,

But some secret societies
will have websites.

You know, the Freemasons, Opus Dei,

but you'll never get into
one of their meetings.

So, you've got different levels
of secrecy and you have to ask

yourself what are they
talking about.

Conspiracy theories about
the Freemasons

are clearly nothing new.

But to find out what actually goes
on behind closed doors,

I'm going to meet a
Freemason for myself.

This is the Andaz Hotel next
to Liverpool Street Station

in Central London.

It looks like one of
any number of hotels,

but during a refurbishment
in the 1990s,

a very interesting room
was uncovered.

Professor Robert Lomax
is a Freemason and author

of the international bestseller
The Hiram Key,

which opened the lid
on their secret goings on.

He's agreed to show me the
room and reveal what the

Freemasons get up to.

Look at this.

It's not what I was
expecting at all.

Look at these doors.

Ah, well, we've got to
keep out all-comers

and intruders to Freemasonry.

And can we go in?

Well, we'll have to tell
them we're here first.

Ah, should I tell them
you're here or me? Ah, both.

I'll tell them you first.

And then I'll tell them I'm here.

That was a proper Masonic knock.

I couldn't possibly comment.

HE LAUGHS

Oh, my goodness, look at this!

Oh, wow.

That's extraordinary!

It's impressive, isn't it?

And no-one knew that this was here?

Not for about 50-odd years.

It got closed during the wars
and it was only found

when they refurbished
the Great Eastern Hotel...

..in about 1990.

There's a lot of marble.

A lot of marble,
some black, some white.

So, how old is this?

About 130 years.

And this is a...

Masonic lodge room.
Masonic lodge room.

Yes. Or a temple.

A Masonic temple.

And so, what goes on in
a room like this?

Our lodges hold meetings
in here. OK.

Now, if we were to meet for
the first time, do we...

Would we do a sort of
special handshake?

Only if we were doing it
formally in the lodge.

But I don't mind shaking your hand.
Right, OK.

LAUGHTER

How would you know if
I was a Freemason?

How would I know if you were one?

Well, you'd have to give
me a Masonic grip.

How's that?

Well, there's a different
Masonic grip for every degree,

so I know about 15 different ones.

I'll give you one. OK.

Is that a Masonic grip
you're doing now?

That's a Masonic grip I'm
giving you. All right, OK.

Now, you give it to me back.

That grip demands a word.
Give me that word.

Um...

You're going to have to help me out.

I'm afraid you're not a Freemason.

You were stubbornly wrong anyway.
Oh, was I?

What about the kind of
rolled-up trouser leg?

Oh, we only do that when we
bring them in for the first time.

We don't do it every time. OK.

Secret societies are,
not surprisingly, secret.

They don't publish their
list of members.

So, for members to identify
themselves to other members,

there's a sign, there's a gesture.

In Freemasonry, it was always
a special handshake.

Today, you know, the Illuminati,
is that a secret society?

I don't know.

But you do see a high propensity
of media figures, politicians,

and artists doing the
sign of the horn.

Is that how we communicate today?

It's always been
something like that.

So, talk me through the
initiation ceremony, Robert.

As an initiate, you're brought in
in a state of darkness.

You're blindfolded.

Right. You'll be dressed in
a most peculiar manner,

which I'm sure you wouldn't
want to be seen in public in. OK.

And you would then be paraded
around the lodge like that.

So, let's parade around.
OK. I'll close my eyes,

imagine I'm blindfolded. I'll give
you an impression of what it's like.

Imagine I've got my outfit.
Ready? Left foot first. OK.

So, we're going to step.

And you'd be guided by a deacon
who would take you right

round the lodge. Right.

And we would stop at the corner,

and we would turn. OK.

It's quite disconcerting.
Is this part of it to try and...

You're intending to be disconcerted.

I want you to be nervous and afraid.

I am nervous. That's for certain.

You're going to trust me to guide
you. I fully trust you, Robert.

I fully trust you.

You can open your eyes now. OK.

You couldn't if you
were an initiate.

You would've had various
parts of your anatomy

displayed to view.

Not just your leg, but your
naked left breast as well.

Really? Yeah. And one of your arms.

W-Why is that?

To prove that you are not a
slave and are a free man.

So, the Freemasons have made
a big deal about opening up

in recent years.

But then you have to ask why bother
to be a Freemason if there isn't

a degree of secrecy about it.

And they've admitted that
there are secret handshakes,

they've admitted that there are
secret signs between them.

I mean, the whole purpose of a
society like this is to bring

together people for
their mutual aid,

mutual protection, mutual interest.

And by their very nature,

they're going to be secret.

It sounds like there's quite a
lot of procedure involved.

There's an awful lot of
procedural ritual. Right.

That's why you couldn't identify
yourself as a Mason. No.

There was a whole series of six
or seven questions we would've

had to go through.

But where's the kind
of entertainment value?

I mean, where, why...

Where's the...? It's not
about entertainment. No.

It's about self-improvement. OK.

It's the oldest philosophical
self-improvement society

in the world.

And it's 600 years old.

And that's what, essentially,
being a Mason is all about?

It's all about learning
about yourself.

The first degree teaches
you to face up to your fears.

You come in blindfolded, you have
to trust the lodge to guide you.

Right. The second degree teaches
you to develop your mind

and your intellect and
study the hidden mysteries

of nature and science.

And the third degree
teaches you about death.

You're going to die.
Right. Live with it.

Because of the secrecy of the
whole thing to do with masonry,

it's bound to attract
conspiracy theories.

I mean, it seems to be,

"It's sinister, it's pagan,"

and the big one of course
is you're sworn to secrecy,

absolutely sworn to secrecy,

and because of that we...

If there's nothing wrong with it,

why do you have to be
sworn to secrecy?

And of course, one of the one of
the early symbols of Freemasonry

is that you actually draw your

right hand across your throat,

which is actually symbolising
that if I ever tell the secrets

of Freemasonry,

I will have my throat cut.

Despite the Freemasons having
official buildings and even websites

for all to see,

there are still the strict rituals
and cryptic symbols that surround

them which cloak this society
in a degree of secrecy.

David Barrett is a journalist
who has written a book

about secret societies,
in which the Freemasons feature.

So, David, what is it that the
Freemasons actually do?

When they get together,
it's basically a gentlemen's club.

It's middle-aged,
middle class,

mainly white men without
their womenfolk,

having fun, doing rituals...

Rituals are always fun to do.

And the circle is a bit weird,

and then going for a good meal
and a few drinks afterwards.

Most of us would think
it's quite strange -

the arcane rituals, the dressing up,
the symbolism.

Why do they do that?

I've been told that it's

the importance of initiation,
of joining something,

of passing from the
old man to the new man.

And part of symbolism is
a block of stone,

a very rough block of stone
called the "rough ashlar".

And through becoming a Mason,

that block of stone is
then smoothed out,

and then you have the
smooth ashlar,

which is clean cut, polished
and it's symbolic of the change

from the old man to the new man.

Why do you have to go through all
of these different degrees?

And, of course, reaching
the third degree.

It all sounds sinister and I think
the problem we have is that

so many people have joined
Masons, Illuminati,

and all these other secret societies
is because they do genuinely believe

they are going to get
something extra out of it.

Conspiracy theorists say that
there is another level,

a secret level to Freemasonry which
has nothing to do with any form

of worship or reverence
for a divine being.

And, basically, is about
ruling the world.

It's an interesting theory for which
there is actually no evidence.

It might be true.

But if we're talking evidence,
we can't go much further than that.

So to you, David, the idea that
there is some kind of dark,

hidden conspiracy is
completely nonsense?

Yeah. I've heard so many books
claim that Freemasons is Satanic.

It's incredibly corrupt,

it's got fingers in all
sorts of pies everywhere.

Yeah, I'm sure it does in some ways,

but if you've got people in
judicial and in the police,

you'll, at some point, get a
bit of fiddling going on

if there's corruption going on,

but the whole Satanic conspiracy
thing is rubbish.

Even if the Freemasons aren't
a satanic-worshipping,

world-domination focused society,

they have been associated
with some shadowy incidents.

In the 1980s, an unexplained death
and the apparent Masonic symbolism

surrounding it added fuel
to the conspiracy theories.

In June 1982, Roberto Calvi,

the former chairman of
Italy's largest private bank,

was found hanging here
under Blackfriars Bridge.

Now, the police initially ruled
that the death was a suicide,

but later reopened the inquiry
as a murder investigation.

But they never found the killer.

And what made this mystery even
more intriguing was the symbolism

surrounding the way in
which he was hanged,

and Calvi's ties to several
shadowy organisations.

Roberto Calvi was one of
the Vatican's most

trusted financial advisers.

His links with the Catholic state
were so close that Roberto Calvi

was known as "God's Banker".

But behind the facade
of respectability,

Calvi had become entangled in
a web of evil and corruption.

I think he was murdered because
he was in charge of the huge

Italian bank, which had
gone bankrupt.

And he and the bank were
involved in money laundering

for the mafia.

And the mafia lost a lot of money.

It's interesting that they had
to be so public about the killing

because the whole idea of the
Freemasons and all these other

societies is secrecy.

So, surely, kill him
somewhere, burn the body,

get rid of it, he's gone.

I think it's all down to the
power of the thing.

These people believe
themselves all powerful

and they're giving a
message to other people -

"Don't mess with us."

P2 came to public knowledge through
the death of Roberto Calvi,

and it immediately became apparent
when investigations began

that he was closely linked
with P2, with the Vatican Bank,

with the Mafia, and with a
rather unwholesome money trail.

Investigations, subsequent
many investigations,

haven't got to the bottom
of what happened and why

Calvi was murdered,

but the P2 lodge, on all accounts,

was heavily implicated.

The problem with looking at
what happened to P2, yes,

officially it was closed down,

but many of its members actually
went on to do big things.

Silvio Berlusconi was
a member of P2

And, you know, it hasn't harmed him.

To this day, it's still unclear
whether P2 had any involvement

in Calvi's death.

And many unanswered questions
surround this secret organisation.

Some say they were a shadow
government with direct influence

over Italian politics.

And others, that they were just
a group of people intent

on furthering their careers
and gaining power and wealth.

Either way,

could such secret meetings
actually go unnoticed today?

We live in the modern era
of smartphones,

with cameras, instant communication,
and social media.

And so, the idea that the elite
of the world meet behind closed

doors to discuss the issues of
the day seems hard to imagine.

I mean, wouldn't we know about it?

Well, in fact, we do.

Because once a year,
there is indeed a gathering

of a group of the world's
most powerful individuals

from the spheres of politics,
banking and multinational companies

It is known as the Bilderberg Group.

The Bilderberg Group was
created in 1954 to strengthen

the relationship between
Europe and the United States.

It's still alive today and while
it's mostly secret in today's world

of the media and the Internet,
it's not so secret.

We know that sometimes
celebrities go.

Hillary Clinton, for instance,
is known to have gone,

and they meet once a year
for a standard meeting.

So, while we don't have a
list of its members,

we are aware of the kinds of people,

the politicians, the celebrities,

the bankers, the CEOs of
Fortune 100 companies.

Those are the kinds of people who
belong to the Bilderberg Group.

Now, what they talk about,
what's their influence,

that remains a mystery.

There are a great many societies
and of course the most successful

secret society will be the
one that nobody's ever heard

about because it's secret.

The less secret successful secret
societies one does hear about,

and there are some that are
downright flamboyant.

They like dressing up in their
rituals and the whole thing,

and the usual idea of the
Masons is boys dressing up

and having a few drinks,

and, you know, a bit of ritual
and funny handshakes,

and basically networking
for business.

Due to the secrecy
surrounding the meetings,

it's pretty much impossible to
find out what was said in them.

And this, plus the nature
of the people involved,

have led to the group attracting
so much speculation,

that they've even been
brought up in Parliament.

One person who has
researched the group

is Professor Andrew Kakabadse,

co-author of the book
Bilderberg People.

What's the point of the
Bilderberg Group?

What is it that they're
trying to achieve?

What it is is a meeting.

It's three days a year and it
brings together the elites from

finance, business, media, education,
health, security services,

and they discuss issues and
their issues are to discuss

and enlighten each other
and to form relationships.

And one of the original intentions
is to form relationships

so that we don't need to
have international conflict.

If you read through a list
of the delegates at the

2016 Bilderberg meeting,
they're not household names.

Many of them are CEOs and chief
executives of very large companies,

not necessarily in the
limelight as individuals,

but these are people with an immense
amount of reach and influence.

And at their meetings,
which takes place in a different

location each year,

they discuss under
Chatham House rules.

In other words, there can be no
discussion outside of the group

for topics that interest them.

They can talk openly about anything,
so it could be terrorism,

it could be financial crisis,

it could be trade unions
or whatever.

They can talk about it there and
they know that what they say

doesn't get out of the room,

and since the mid-1950s when
this organisation was set up,

nothing has leaked out.

Why the secrecy surrounding
the Bilderberg Group?

It's not secrecy, it's privacy.

You need people to build
trust with each other.

You need people to feel free
to talk to each other,

and people do sign an agreement that

they won't talk to the
press afterwards.

But that is to maintain trust.

The security part is because
you have elites there,

so it's privacy and security which
makes it feel like secrecy,

but it's not.

It's just like any top team,
any board of any company

going away for a two-day strategy
meeting and they want to discuss

behind closed doors.

Of all these secret
shadowy organisations,

the Bilderberg Group is perhaps one
that worries the public the most.

And in a world of
transparency, allegedly,

of the Freedom of Information Act,

and the internet and
everything being democratised,

in theory, it seems like
a bit of an anomaly.

And the press are kept out. They
really don't want people peering in.

And I think that's why it
generates so much mystery,

because if they're there to do good,

why not tell the world about it?

It is a secret forum.

I mean, they will admit that they
hold their meetings in secret.

But it's almost become a place
where future world leaders are

vetted before they become
a world leader.

So, Tony Blair was invited there.

Bill Clinton was invited there.

And it's interesting that one of
its most leading members,

Denis Healey, who was a major
politician in the 1970s,

when asked is the
Bilderberg Group aiming

to create a one-world government,

he said that's not a wholly
unfair supposition.

And that's from a member
of the Bilderberg Group.

How influential are they?

For me, the number one group
in the world. Really?

Yeah, absolutely. But do you think
that things that were discussed

in the Bilderberg Group
would influence, say,

American foreign policy or...?

I would've said completely.
Really? Completely, as a basis.

So, if you get a number
of people together,

we've had Clinton, who's been there,
we've had Bush, who's been,

so a Democrat and Republican
has been there.

Please tell me the difference
between the foreign policy

that Clinton pushed, Bush pushed,

Obama pushed, and now
Trump is pushing.

It's exactly the same.

Now, is that by accident?

I don't think so.

It's a way of thinking that what
you believe as President is

the right way to think.

This is the American freedoms,
these are the American values,

this is what we're trying
to do to police the world.

And you've accepted it.
It's just like a philosophy.

So, if the Bilderbergers
are anything,

they're more like a church.

It's a way of thinking,
a set of values, an approach,

but they stop there.

They don't put any of
that into practice

because at the end of the day,
it's just a three day meeting.

But the Bilderberg Group isn't
the only annual get together

of the world's elite.

Each year in mid-July,
there's another gathering.

This time, a two-week
encampment deep within the

Redwood Forests of California.

It's known as Bohemian Grove.

And what makes these meetings even
more intriguing is the utterly

bizarre rituals that go on there.

Bohemian Grove is a fascinating
all-men private club that could very

well be the biggest secret
society on the globe today.

They meet once a year in California
in a really big outdoor,

sort of nature park that has the
most pagan sculptures imaginable.

You know, owl statues of all sorts
of weird people and regalia.

And figureheads go there.

Politicians go there.

If those rituals and those kind of
events are actually happening,

then, you know,
that's pretty dark indeed.

Bohemian Grove, once again,
has a guest list that includes

ex-US presidents, prominent business
leaders, senior media executives,

and other members of the elite.

Only this time,
they're all male.

Secret societies are nothing new.

You had them in
Ancient Mesopotamia.

You had them in Medieval England.

You had them in Nazi Germany
and we continue to have them today.

And I think in one sense,
it's about empowerment,

it's about the sense of breaking
away from the mainstream and

feeling a sense of belonging.

But also it's about advancing
particular agendas,

about self-importance as well,
but also about pursuing

what could potentially
be sinister agendas,

but which may be completely
benevolent and we just don't know

because they are so secretive.

Secrecy is quite a damaging idea
and the fact that nobody knows

what is discussed at these meetings
means that people will endlessly

speculate about the contents and
it doesn't take long for people

to assume that they must
be up to no good.

The goings-on at Bohemian Grove
do seem incredibly strange,

but perhaps one explanation is that
the United States has much more

of a culture of secret societies
and fraternities,

especially at universities.

So, perhaps these strange
ceremonies are simply a throwback

to their student days,
albeit on a far bigger budget.

One of the most infamous
university secret societies is

Skull and Bones at Yale.

Ceremonies take place in the "Tomb",

an almost windowless
brownstone hall.

And there'd been stories that
screams can be heard coming from it

during the initiation ceremonies,

that men lie naked in coffins,

and that its members worship skulls.

And once again, it has a
prestigious membership list,

including three former
US presidents.

Once again, I'm meeting David
Barrett to find out if this really

can all be just a coincidence.

So, what are the benefits
of being part

of one of these secretive
organisations?

I think a lot of it is just simply,

"I'm in a club that
nobody else is in." Yeah.

15 people a year...

15 students a year,
of the whole of the Yale,

belong to Skull and Bones.

So,

in the entirety of its
existence, since 1832,

there have only been a few
thousand members. Right.

15 a year doesn't amount
up to that many.

There are only a few hundred
members alive at any time.

But they do tend to be
quite influential people.

Very little is known about them,
to be quite honest with you,

because they are so secret.

But they have ceremonies
inside the Tomb,

a red velvet room with
skulls and bones in it.

The initiates, every year,
go through the most ridiculous

ceremonies of mock murder,

they have to lie naked in a coffin.

But the whole thing, I believe,
is quite sinister.

And I do genuinely believe that
the Skull and Bones Society

is a society, like the Illuminati
and various others,

that are really looking
for world domination.

Is there anything sinister
about these secret

groups in society?

In a way, you could maybe
say so in that...

..President Bush Senior,

surrounded himself with
Bones members. Right.

With um...

The current members are
known as "Knights". Right.

Past members are called
"Patriarchs",

and Bush surrounded himself
in his administration

with patriarchs of Skull and Bones.

So, it was jobs for the boys?

It was jobs for the boys, his mates,
people he could trust

because they'd been in
the same club as him.

These societies are elitists.

There is a lot of wining and dining
and quaffing champagne and all that

kind of stuff and networking,

but essentially the secrecy comes
from their perception, at least,

that they are important.

And the sort of things that
are being discussed could have

consequences and some key
players from the global arena

like politicians and merchants
and financials are all together

in a way that could very easily be
portrayed as some sort of unholy

alliance of diabolical parliaments.

So, they try to avoid that because
that's not good publicity.

But at the same time, yes, they are
elitist and they probably

don't want that to be out
in the open either.

So is that the answer then?

The great force that is
shaping our world is money

and the people you know.

Do the conspiracy theorists'
claims stand up at all?

In recent years, there have been
scientific studies to test

whether conspiracy theories
could be accurate by looking

at whether the deception could
really be kept under wraps

by the people involved.

Something physicist Dr David Grimes
knows plenty about.

Often, people get frustrated
by conspiracy theorists

because they're frustrated
with their refusal to look

at the established evidence.

Is there not a way in
which you can disprove

a conspiracy theory?

In science, there's no way
to prove a negative.

I can never tell you anything
with exact certainty is a "no".

I can tell you it's very,
very, very, very, very unlikely.

One of the reasons I did my little
bit of research on the plausibility

of different conspiracy theories
holding for a long time is that

I kind of wanted to
play devil's advocate.

I do understand people's
suspicions and needs.

I wanted to understand,
"OK, look let's take all that,

"let's pretend there
is a conspiracy.

"Let's see how long it will
be likely to last.

"Let's see how hard it would
be to keep it a secret."

And when you put the numbers in,

it is really difficult to
keep secrets for a long time.

It's gotten even harder to keep
a secret in the Information Age.

And yet, we still kind of
have a romantic belief of we

think people can keep
secrets like that,

and they really can't.

It's always easy to be tempted
to look for conspiracies

because we know secret
societies exist.

"Do they rule the world?"

I'm tempted to say, in some ways,
they must do,

because most people are
so bloody apathetic,

that anybody who has the nous
to get together and say

"Look, we want to change it
this way and that way,"

and, you know, be it for their own
good or the other people's good,

like the Masons originally,

and say we're doing it because we
perceive this is the way society

should go and we're going
to make it go that way.

One of the most enduring conspiracy
theories is that we're, in some way,

governed by some shadowy cabal that
governs the way we live our lives.

Why are we fascinated by
those kind of stories?

Because I think when really powerful
people get together in a group,

that is fascinating.

I'm fascinated by it.

I don't necessarily believe that
they're up to sinister machinations

or nefarious plotting,

but the fact that they're doing that
and that we don't know about it

means that we're going
to fill in that gap.

I do think it's fascinating
in isolation.

And I see why people who have this
kind of new world order view

of the world would think that's
where the power centre is.

It's also putting a
narrative on things.

This event happens and we want
to connect this event to everything

in the world that this
is being, you know,

we're like puppets
being dictated to.

And I think that's very
easy to subscribe to.

And I think it's quite alluring.

It kind of gives everything
a sense of meaning.

It's perhaps the wrong meaning and

people have inferred the
wrong thing from it,

but it's understandable
why people do.

There's been a huge revival of
interest and belief in

secret societies and brotherhoods
and conspiracies running the world.

I mean, it's incredible.

You get people who believe there's
a deep state that is running

our political reality.

You get people who believe the
Illuminati and the Knights Templar

are running our society and
really pulling the strings.

So, a massive revival in belief,

but also, you know, there
are still secret societies.

They do exist.

It's really being able to
discern between what is fiction

and what is fact.

One of the most recent secret
societies to come under

the spotlight is Opus Dei,

popularised by Dan Brown's
The Da Vinci Code.

Conspiracy theorists claim that
they are an elitist secretive

cult-like group who maintain an
extremely high level of control

over its members.

Opus Dei was founded in Spain
as a fairly hardline conservative

Catholic organization and one
of the most notable things

about it is that membership
is by invitation-only.

So, naturally, there are questions
about what is Opus Dei,

what is its mission and
what does it do.

No-one is quite sure the
reality of what they do.

There's about 100,000 members today.

And on one hand, we're led to
believe they're hired assassins

for the Vatican, and the other hand,
we're told they're a pious,

monk-like, self-flagellation,
doing pertinence,

but no-one's really sure.

All we know for certain is that
they appear to be quite dark.

For some people, they're just a
charitable Vatican organization,

but for others, they're a
much more sinister band

of religious zealots
whose end is unclear.

But again, because they're
cloaked in secrecy,

that is kind of a fertile breeding
ground for all sorts of conspiracies

and rumours to swirl
and embrace them.

I think because they are
a very stern, strict,

and also brainwashing organization,

and people who've left Opus Dei
have talked about the way

in which that they've been
worked over psychologically,

they've also opened themselves up
to all manner of accusations

about being a hit squad,
about being the enforcers,

bumping people off or whatever.

I think some of this we have
to say is fanciful.

But Opus Dei does itself no favours
by the way that it operates,

and by the fact that people
who leave the organization

come back to us with such
grim testimonies.

Just how secret and influential
Opus Dei and other groups

are is questionable.

It seems like it's very difficult
to keep conspiracies quiet.

And so, perhaps we should be less
concerned with some shadowy group

that lurks behind the scenes
and rather focus on the elite

who govern in front of
our very eyes,

in a world where money can
still mean power.

And that's not the only problem.

During the 2016 US
presidential election campaign,

the news stories that people
engaged with most on social media

were not written by
the major media outlets.

They were totally fictional.

For many people, the decision
as important as who should be

the next president of the
United States was quite

possibly based on information
that simply wasn't true.

But where did these news
stories come from?

Political campaigning has changed
dramatically over the last 20 years.

A case of going out and kissing
a few babies in a photo shoot,

to just hundreds of years ago to
just buying a few extra beers

to the guys in the local inn,

to this day, of course,
with social media being what it is,

you can now reach millions
of people with just a tweet.

Who knows how many of us have
shadowy beings that might be pulling

the strings and how many
deals have been done?

"I'll give you this in exchange
for that," and how when it seems

as though the course of politics
is already decided via elections

and politicians being frank
about their intentions,

in fact, there are these
unseen debts of obligation

that need to be serviced,

otherwise these individuals
might be ruined.

In 2017,

the term for such false news stories
was added to the dictionary -

Fake News.

It's not actually a
modern phenomenon,

but the age of the internet
and social media has meant such

stories reach a far wider audience,

and ascertaining what is
real or fake is becoming

increasingly more difficult.

Will Moy is the director
of Full Fact,

an organization that checks
the facts in today's

government and newspapers.

And with so-called
"fake news" on the rise,

he has his work cut out.

What does "fake news" mean to you?

Fake news is, more
than anything else,

it's a label that politicians
who want to avoid questions

throw at the media.

It's actually a really
dangerous thing.

You hear presidents, prime ministers
and ministers on the TV,

on the radio saying,
"Oh, that's fake news,"

because they don't want
to answer questions.

That's a really dangerous thing.

But actually, there's a whole set
of questions which include

why are there governments
trying to push

inaccurate information online.

We know that's something,
for example,

the Russian government's been
trying to do in a concerted way.

There are questions about how
inaccurate information spreads

online and you can share
it on your social media.

And there's no easy way of knowing
whether what you're sharing is true

or false at the speed
you're sharing at.

So, there are lots of issues about
how information spreads now

and how we know what to trust,

but, actually, that label,
"fake news", is just dangerous.

Fake news is basically being
created by people who are probably

jealous of somebody else,
or want to control it in a way.

And there's nothing better than
creating something true or false

because once it's been in a
newspaper or on the internet,

then, guys, it's in print
and it's fact, it's real,

and I'm afraid no matter what
people say, once they've read it,

they believe it and
you can bring down people,

you can bring down organisations,

you can bring down governments
literally by creating fake news,

and with the internet as it is,
fake news is on the rise big time.

How is it possible in today's age
to believe what we read online?

I think that's the thing that's
becoming difficult for all of us.

Actually, the easiest thing
is to shut down and say,

"Well, it's all lies,
so I won't bother,"

but, actually, there's important
things you want to know.

So, the question is how do you find
them and how do you pick them out

from around all the mess.

For us, it's about finding claims
that you think are important

and then tracing them back and be
able to find sources you can trust.

So, we're quite lucky to have
official statistics that

are broadly pretty trustworthy,

and are independently scrutinised

that you can go back to.

So, that's one area where you
can find information you trust.

Now, not everyone has time to listen
to a politician and trace everything

all the way back and that's
what fact checkers do.

So, we're a short cut, if you like,
for letting people not just hear

claims that seem important,

but actually have all
of that paper trail

all the way back that you
can judge for yourself.

The power of the shadowman
is completely changed.

I mean, it's no more these guys
with umbrellas, bowler hats,

and...the bank.

It's changed. The most powerful
people now in the world

are the people that control
Amazon and Google and Facebook

and they are the new movers
and shakers of the world.

We're only ever a few
clicks away from

coming across groups of people
who believe that the government

is somehow controlled by some
dark and secretive organization,

some kind of cabal.

Is there any evidence to suggest
that this is the case?

Well, I and my colleagues at
Full Fact have spent the last seven

years on the outside of government,
staring in in minute detail,

and, frankly, the idea of it as
controlled at all is looking a bit

thin at the moment.

We've had three years with two
general elections, a referendum,

but I'm pretty sure it didn't go the
way the powers that be expected.

The idea that there's a lot
of control is beginning

to look farfetched.

So, no, I don't think there's
magical control happening somewhere.

Sometimes it doesn't seem like
there's that much control

happening anywhere, but what we
have seen, I think, in the last sort

of seven years while
we've been operating,

is they're that much more exposed
to outside scrutiny

than perhaps we thought
they were when we started.

It's difficult to know
what to believe.

And while there is evidence of
secret societies existing

and having meetings
behind closed doors,

we still don't really know what's
discussed and what effect, if any,

it has on society.

What we do know is there are
enough fanciful claims of rituals,

assassinations and global domination
that have fuelled

conspiracy theories for centuries.

There have been secret societies
since the dawn of time and these

exist across the world.

In Asia, there are the
Yakuza and the Triads.

In Italy, we have the
Camorra and the Mafia

and Opus Dei.

There are any number of
secret societies.

It's unarguable the
Illuminati were real.

What's interesting is

what people assume
that they're up to.

Some of them I'm sure are
absolutely benign,

but when one looks at events like
the murder of Roberto Calvi,

some of them are not benign.

You know, the idea is that you have
these societies that have secrets

that they are willing to pass
on to initiates under great

secret circumstances.

Yeah. That presupposes that the
secrets are worth having.

And, actually, I just have come
to the conclusion that just

because something is secret,

it's not necessarily right
or worth having.

It's really tough to say if
there is demonstrable

impact of secret societies today.

You know what,
I suspect there is,

but I don't think it's any
society that we're aware of.

It's not the Skull and Bones.

It's not Bilderberg.

It's not the Freemasons.

It's going to be some nameless group
of puppet masters who we'll never

know about, but who are probably
influencing everything

from the world economy
to the weather.

We started with a question...

Are our democratically elected
governments really in control?

Well, the conspiracy theories
are perhaps just that - theories.

Whenever something goes on
behind closed doors,

there's going to be speculation.

By their nature,
they can't be proved.

You either believe them
or you don't.

And so rather than being concerned
with the idea of a shadowy elite

manipulating our governments,
maybe we should be thinking

about the nature of the elites and
governments that we have right

in front of us.

We live in a world where money
can still buy you power

and where what we read to inform our
opinions may not be true at all.

And maybe that's the
real conspiracy.

I'll see you next time.

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