Could you imagine a world in which lizard-aliens were disguised as the most distinguished members of human society? Barack Obama, Madonna, Katy Perry, Bill Clinton, Angelina Jolie, and more of your favorite celebrities are not humans, but lizards from outer space that rule over the masses. Well, possibly millions of Americans champion this idea posited by the reptilian conspiracy theory.

Back in April 2013, Public Policy Polling (PPP) surveyed 1,247 registered voters on their beliefs regarding various conspiracy theories. PPP found that four percent of the participants believed shape-shifting reptiles ruled the world by adapting a human form and gaining power. The result of the survey was applied to the 2013 U.S. population, and presented the answer of a whopping 12 million Americans that believed in the theory. Likely millions of Americans back the reptilian conspiracy theory, but how did it rise to such prominence? 

Former BBC sports reporter David Icke advocated the theory in 1998 after publishing The Biggest Secret, his first book which contained interviews from two Brits who claimed the royal family were reptiles with crowns. Icke claimed that the lizards’ claws have gripped humankind since ancient times. He even named the lizards as the masterminds of secret societies such as the Freemasons and the Illuminati.

The reptilian conspiracy theory garnered popularity thanks to social media such as YouTube. On March 19, 2013, a YouTube video was posted with shots of American President Obama’s secret service agents, claiming they were lizards. The video, showing footage recorded during Obama’s March 4, 2013 speech to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), was viewed over three million times. 

Theories differ on how to identify a lizard person. According to some theorists, certain qualities distinguish a lizard person from a real person. Green eyes, satisfactory eyesight and hearing, red hair, a love of space, and low blood pressure are all tell-tale signs. Can you relate to any of these traits? If so, you might just be a cold-blooded lizard person, bent on world domination!