This BBC article says that the Illuminati conspiracy theory was the result of an elaborate literary prank https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20170809-the-accide

This BBC article says that the Illuminati conspiracy theory was the result of an elaborate literary prank https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20170809-the-accidental-invention-of-the-illuminati-conspiracy https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20170809-the-accidental-i...