Editing Order of the Solar Temple (section)

=== Conspiracy theories ===
Due in part due to the difficulty of explaining many aspects of the OTS, conspiracy theories were common.{{sfn|Chryssides|2006|p=119}} One former member claimed that the evidence of murder had been fabricated by the [[Sûreté du Québec]];{{sfn|Palmer|1996|p=304}} another claimed that the murders were actually a CIA operation to cover up a deal [[Jimmy Carter]] had supposedly made with a group of aliens living in an underground laboratory in Nevada.{{sfn|Chryssides|2006|p=119}}{{sfn|Palmer|1996|p=304}} In 1996, a documentary was in production that claimed that Jouret was actually still alive.{{sfn|Palmer|1996|p=304}} According to [[Susan J. Palmer]], "false or unverifiable trails have been laid: secondhand testimonies are traded by journalists, ghost-written apostate memoirs are in progress and conspiracy theories abound."{{sfn|Palmer|1996|p=304}} It was seen as suspicious that the members of a cult were affluent and respected members of society, not fitting the typical idea of a brainwashing victim.{{sfn|Introvigne|2000|pp=154–155}} Narratives then shifted to a conspiratorial one, in which the OTS was not actually a cult but a front for something else entirely.{{sfn|Introvigne|2000|pp=154–155}}{{sfn|Introvigne|Mayer|2002|p=176}} 

The specifics of this narrative vary; some have involved the far-right, terrorism, [[organized crime]], money-laundering, and the secret services of several countries.{{sfn|Introvigne|2000|pp=154–155}}{{sfn|Introvigne|Mayer|2002|p=176}} The claims that the OTS had 93 million dollars in their accounts was found to have resulted from a misreading of a [[fax]], and there was no evidence ever found of money laundering. The accusations nevertheless fueled conspiracy theories and press speculation.{{sfn|Hall|Schuyler|2000|p=142}}{{sfn|Introvigne|Mayer|2002|p=176}} In one  theory, commentators alleged connections between the OTS and various political scandals, citing alleged links between Jouret and members of [[Operation Gladio|Gladio]].{{sfn|Bédat|Bouleau|Nicolas|2000|p=357}} While some neo-Templar movements to which the OTS was a successor had ties to the right-wing [[Service d'Action Civique]], there were no known ties to the OTS itself; through the claimed association with the SAC the OTS was implicated in a variety of political scandals.{{sfn|Introvigne|Mayer|2002|p=177}} 

Many books have been written by journalists promoting different conspiracy theories, but no significant evidence of them has ever surfaced, and they were dismissed by investigators in both Canada and Switzerland.{{sfn|Introvigne|2000|pp=154–155}} Other conspiracies linked the OTS to famous people and events, although none of these claims have been substantiated.{{sfn|Mayer|2014|pp=51–52}} In one example, David Cohen, in his 2004 book ''[[Diana: Death of a Goddess]]'', attempted to link the OTS to both Princess of Monaco [[Grace Kelly]] and then-[[Prince Charles]]. The theory was based on testimony by a well-known Swiss fraudster and does not align with known facts about the OTS.{{sfn|Mayer|2014|pp=51–52}}{{sfn|Introvigne|2000|p=144}}