Covenant Conspiracy Theories

When details regarding the attacks on Harvest were first released to the general public, some found the idea of an alien invasion too outrageous to believe. This was especially true in the outer colonies, where decades or even centuries of tension and neglect had resulted in many developing a cynical distrust in the UNSC. The UNSC's attempts to quarantine the Covenant threat on Harvest was misconstrued as an attempt to keep what "really was going on" a secret.

The Insurrectionists fed of these conspiracy theories, using them to rally support, though as more colonies fell to the Covenant and people realized the Covenant was in fact real, the distrust began to shift over to the rebels instead, ultimately crippling them.

Political Plot
The most popular Covenant conspiracy theory was that the UNSC had engineered the Harvest attacks and subsequent military campaign as part of an elaborate plot to further it's own political agenda. The Insurrection had fueled allegations of UNSC Fascism in the Outer Colonies, and the UNSC's emergency disbanding of the UEG and CMA seemed overly convenient. The UEG limited the UNSC's authority, and the CMA's rebel sympathies interfered with the UNSC's military capacity in the Outer Colonies. With these organizations out of the way, the UNSC was able to utilize its military power with little to no restriction.

Military Experimentation
A less popular theory claimed that the UNSC was experimenting with devastating new weaponry on Harvest. This theory accepted some parts of the UNSC reports, mostly those confirmed by those who had been evacuated from the system, while discarding others. There was much less evidence to support this, circumstantial or otherwise, but many people were convinced by leaked information regarding "seven-foot-tall armored cyborgs" on Harvest.