system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ELI5: What is the illuminati?

Have been wondering the answer to this question for years, but I can never come across a straight answer.
gpt
A shadowy organization which controls the world according to various conspiracy theories. Any details beyond that vary depending on which conspiracy theory you believe.

The Illuminati was a real 18th century organization which embraced Enlightenment values. That is, the sort of democratic values we now take for granted. This was considered very leftist in the 18th century, so the rightist conspiracy theorists of the 18th century blamed the Illuminati for the French Revolution. After that, it was blamed for other disliked leftist movements. After a 200-year-long game of "telephone", it finally ended up as a generic evil organization.