Tag: conspiracy theorists

CNN’s New “Reporter,” Natasha Bertrand, is a Deranged Conspiracy Theorist and Scandal-Plagued CIA Propagandist

On Monday, CNN made clear that this dynamic still drives the corporate media world. The network proudly announced that it had hired Natasha Bertrand away from Politico. In doing so, they added to their stable of former CIA operatives, NSA spies, Pentagon Generals and FBI agents a reporter who has done as much as anyone, if not more so, to advance the scripts of those agencies.

Bertrand’s career began taking off when, while at Business Insider, she abandoned her obsession with Russia’s role in Syria in 2016 in order to monomaniacally fixate on every last conspiracy theory and gossip item that drove the Russiagate fraud during the 2016 campaign and then into the Trump presidency. Each month, Bertrand produced dozens of Russiagate articles for the site that were so unhinged that they made Rachel Maddow look sober, cautious and reliable.

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Leader of Viral ‘Birds Aren’t Real’ Movement Swears He’s Not Joking

It’s no secret that conspiracy theories are spreading like never before, thanks to the internet. Whether they’re dangerous and toxic ideologies like QAnon, or outlandish claims that are incorrect but less threatening (think: the flat-Earth theory), conspiracies have become part of the fabric of daily life in America.

One “theory” that seems intentionally nonsensical but is nonetheless gaining traction on social media is the “Birds Aren’t Real” movement, which is built around the claim that, well, birds aren’t real.

The unsubstantiated theory alleges that, between 1959 and 2001, the government killed off all birds and replaced them with surveillance drones. It’s such a bizarre idea that it almost seems like a parody of other conspiracy theories—and it very well might be, despite what the movement’s apparent leader insists.

According to its website, the Birds Aren’t Real movement started in the 1970s, although its frontman, Peter McIndoe, told Newsweek that it started in the ’50s—an inconsistency that might be a sign from McIndoe that the whole thing is one big gag.

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