Conspiracy theories about tech have proliferated in recent years, spurred by opacity and a general lack of public knowledge about how big tech companies like Apple, Facebook, and Google operate.

Most of the major conspiracy theories circulating about big tech are demonstrably false, but a few of them have kernels of truth.

These theories highlight a bigger problem that Silicon Valley is grappling with: Widespread mistrust on the part of the general public.

Has your iPhone ever started malfunctioning right after a new model was announced? Have you found yourself talking about something out loud and then noticed a Facebook ad about the same topic? Was it just a coincidence, or is there something else going on?

A well-documented side effect of the internet era — with its proliferation of forums for discussion outside of mainstream outlets — has been the proliferation of conspiracy theories.

Fittingly, a number of these conspiracy theories scrutinize social media and emerging tech itself.

It's easy to see why: our daily lives are increasingly impacted by a handful of Silicon Valley tech companies whose practices are largely opaque. And in many cases, their business models rely on gathering data about users while keeping them in the dark about what that data is being used for.

Most of the major conspiracy theories circulating about big tech are either demonstrably false or unsubstantiated. However, a few of them have kernels of truth, or were proven true in ways people didn't initially expect.

Here's a rundown of the most pernicious tech conspiracy theories and what we know about them.