“Birds aren’t real”: Birds against conspiracy myths

Birds no longer exist because the US government has replaced them with drones to monitor citizens. A young American came up with this story. He uses them as a weapon against conspiracy myths.

Everyone has probably seen birds sitting on a power line and wondered why are they doing that? The answer is simple and not because they can. But because they have to. How else would these surveillance drones used by the US government be able to recharge their batteries inconspicuously in public?

What sounds like a completely insane theory is supposed to be just that. The American Peter McIndoe triggered it more or less unintentionally in 2017 when he observed participants in a pro-Trump demo in Memphis demonstrating against a march for women’s rights.

Media jumped on the story

McIndoe found the situation so absurd that he wanted to do something, he says during a talk at the South by Southwest futurology fair in Austin, Texas. So he grabbed a sign and wrote the first three words that came to mind on the back: Birds aren’t real. Translated: Birds are not real.

McIndoe joined the pro-Trump protesters and yelled “birds aren’t real”. A participant took notice and filmed McIndoe. He asked him what he meant. McIndoe replied: Every single bird in the sky is a drone and itself is part of a counter-movement that has existed for 50 years.

The video went viral on social media. Local news networks quickly took notice and reported seriously on the conspiracy theory that all birds in the US were wiped out by surveillance drones and all real birds between 1959 and 2001.

Conspiracy theories were commonplace

McIndoe was fascinated by the way his crazy idea spread and spread. He decided to take it upon himself to keep the conspiracy theory going, to become her face and her voice. On the Internet and in interviews, he told increasingly absurd stories.

In the beginning, he was just trying to find out how people reacted to this conspiracy theory. But over the years it became more. McIndoe says of himself that he grew up in a very conservative family where conspiracy theories were commonplace. A world in which he never felt at home and always reacted with humor.

“Exposing Jokes”

Instead of being depressed by this strange and absurd world, he decided to make it a laughing stock. Hundreds of thousands of young people have now done the same for McIndoe. You follow his movement, which he basically describes as real, on TikTok and Instagram.

McIndoe says it offers a way to deal with a world that, thanks to the internet, is full of information, but fake news and conspiracy theorists lurk around every corner. With “Birds aren’t real” you can expose them as jokes, says the 23-year-old.

Anti-abortion demo broke up

Supporters of McIndoe’s idea can be found scattered all over the USA. You all know the actual conspiracy theory is just a hoax, says McIndoe. But they could take active action against real conspiracy theories.

The movement is quite successful, as the “New York Times” reported at the beginning of the year. “Birds aren’t real” protesters mingled with an anti-abortion march outside the University of Cincinnati. The Vogel conspirators roared such absurd claims that the anti-abortion march disbanded rather than be associated with “Birds aren’t real.”