Here Come the Wacky Conspiracy Theories

The fish had barely begun to nibble on Osama bin Laden before wild conspiracy theories about his demise—or lack of—began to circulate. The US government is considering releasing photos and video of the dead al-Qaeda kingpin, but in the meantime, conspiracy theorists are having a field day:

• Radio host Alex Jones, who has long insisted that the US government was behind the 9/11 attacks, believes the government "had Osama bin Laden frozen for years," Politico reports.
• Anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan, meanwhile, is among those who think bin Laden may be still alive and kicking. "I am sorry, but if you believe the newest death of OBL, you're stupid. Just think to yourself—they paraded Saddam's dead sons around to prove they were dead—why do you suppose they hastily buried this version of OBL at sea?" she asked.

• Other conspiracy theorists find the timing of the announcement suspect, believing that President Obama was trying to boost his re-election chances or even one-up George. W. Bush on the eighth anniversary of the latter's so-called "Mission Accomplished" speech, a professor of communications tells LiveScience.
• Bin Laden was identified using a DNA test that reportedly compared his DNA against a sample from the brain of his dead sister, notes the Washington Post, which wonders "Is it just a coincidence that yesterday was the beginning of Zombie Awareness Month?"—and decides "yes."

(More conspiracy theory stories.)