Conspiracy theories can get really complex and involved - not to mention distracting (distraction is actually a conspiracy technique or a component of many conspiracy plans), and there are different types of conspiracy and graduating levels of deception involved with conspiracies.
One specific type of conspiracy is called "False Flag" and it is a series of covert deceptions asserted and performed to distract people away from the target concern.
A False Flag operation works something like this:
Government "X" puts forth reports that Enemy Institution "Y" is at the core of, say, nuclear bomb testing somewhere in the Sahara Desert - even though a general public was polled and said "DO NOT TEST THESE WEAPONS."
In reality, in a false flag operation, Government "X" is actually the one testing the nuclear weapons in the Sahara while pointing a finger at a different "Y" institution or group of people.
It is believed that one of the purposes for a false flag operation is to be able to move into a position to "rescue" the general public or to appear like the authority a general public can trust to deal with a situation that threatens or is disturbing to the general public. In reality, the perpetrators of something the public doesn't like AND the authorities who aim to fix the something the public doesn't like are usually one and the same.
Another way to explain:
A False Flag Operation is one designed to deceive the public into thinking that operations/actions are being done by someone other than the one/group that is really doing the actions/operations.
The term "False Flag" comes from (surprise, surprise - NOT!) military lingo and situations whereby a different country's flag other than one's own might be raised to fool a perceived enemy into thinking that different country inhabits and controls a geographical region. The military technique is known as "false colours" or "flying false colours."
Here's some not-so nice news: false flag operations can occur on land in the air or at sea and are NOT limited to times of war. False Colours were/are also asserted on land, by air or sea and are also not limited to just during war times.
