10+ Conspiracy Theories That Turned Out to be True

Beginning in the mid-2000s, reports trickled in of car airbags exploding and spraying drivers with sharp metal pieces. Victims and safety advocates suspected a deadly flaw. The maker, Japan’s Takata, called them rare, isolated problems. Its own test data told a darker story.

Takata eventually admitted it had faked test results to hide the danger for years. Its airbags were linked to dozens of deaths worldwide, triggering the biggest car recall in history, with over 100 million airbags. The company pleaded guilty, paid $1 billion, and went bankrupt.