system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ELI5: What is the Illuminati and what is the big deal surrounding them?

I've googled this but none of the answers are making sense to me. Can someone help me out?
gpt
The Illuminati, contrary to the current top comment, are not a fictional group of people.  Whether they still exist today is debatable, but they were at one point a very real, and semi-secretive group of men (lead by Adam Weishaupt) who formed an order of sorts with the stated intent of bringing "Illumination" to the world through the control of corporation and government, with the eventual goal being the formation of a one world government.

They thought of themselves as enlightened thinkers - free from the rigid control of the Catholic Church and for this they earned themselves the reputation of being evil.

Anything you hear about the Illuminati beyond this is theory - some of which can be substantiated, most of which cannot.  Considering the revelations that we've been privy to the past few months, courtesy of Edward Snowden; I'd say just about anything is within the realm of possibility when speaking about shadow organizations who run/manipulate world politics, behind the scenes.