Have you ever heard of the Mandela Effect? It is a psychological phenomena where a large group of people all misremember a certain detail or event. It was named after Nelson Mandela due to the amount of people that believed he passed away in prison in 1980 even though he lived for nearly thirty years after that. There are other common examples such as song lyrics, movie quotes, and brand names being different than people believe. You may even have experienced the Mandela Effect in your own life. 

There are some people who believe the Mandela Effect is a government conspiracy or proof of mind control, but there are actual psychological explanations behind large groups of people misremembering the same information. One of the simplest explanations to understand is the misinformation effect. This is the tendency for people to believe or imagine something that is not real. This can come from false memories due to active imaginations, or from priming which is exposure to stimulus that influences a certain response. 

The Mandela Effect can also be a product of conformity. When large groups of people believe one way, you are more inclined to go along with them as to not feel left out. Over time, you may experience a source memory error and believe that you always felt the same way as the group. In any case, there are many explanations to the Mandela Effect that rule out government conspiracy. To avoid it in your own life, make sure to analyze your memories critically and fact check your information to ensure you are not falling victim to conformity.