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Seen, Heard, Read...
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Stay informed with our curated collection of noteworthy updates and insights from the world of conspiracy theories. Uncover the latest trends, explore intriguing perspectives, and broaden your understanding. Delve into our recommended content that keeps you in the know.
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KIM DOTCOM. He is pro-Putin, loves Donald Trump, and justifies the actions of the terrorists of Hamas. Now the founder of once-popular file-sharing website Megaupload, and a high profile propagator of conspiracy theories invoking antisemitism and the so-called “Deep State” is set to be extradited to the United States on charges of copyright infringement, money laundering and racketeering. Kim Dotcom recently posted on X about a plan for “world domination” and the “Zionist protocols”, quoting from the “Protocols of the Elders of Zion”, a more than century-old fabricated document alleging Jews control the world. He backed Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and regularly promotes the broadcasts of his fellow far right conspiracist Alex Jones, and the false claims of anti-Palestinian surveillance conspiracies made by Wikileaks. Born Kim Schmitz, the German-born tech founder has New Zealand residency. He first became known in the 1990s as a hacker and an online entrepreneur, before being arrested in 1994 for trafficking in stolen phone calling card numbers. Dotcom has called on Trump to make Robert F. Kennedy Jr the CIA director if he returns to the White House. “His uncle and dad were murdered by them. Americans hate the deep state and would love for RFK Jr. to splinter the CIA into a thousand pieces,” Dotcom declared on X (Sources: The London Evening Standard, August 20, 2024; Kim Dotcom/X, August 18, 2024).
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CANDACE OWENS. Already notorious for repeatedly slandering Brigitte Macron, the pro-Donald Trump social media figure posted another image on her X account suggesting the wife of French President Emmanuel Macron is a man. The photo of Madame Macron in a swimsuit was most likely taken by paparazzi while the couple were holidayiny iin the south of France. With more than 5.5 million followers on the platform formerly known as Twitter, Owens has been a leading proponent of the false claims regarding Macron. "Brigittegate" is a conspiracy manufactured by malicious, extremist influencers on both sides of the Atlantic. Wild theories claiming the French First Lady was born male and transitioned around the age of 30 have circulated for years in France, and they have been repudiated by the courts. President Macron has spoken out against the false claims. Even a basic investigation would have led the Owens to realize that Jean-Michel Trogneux – the man whom conspiracists claim is really Brigitte Macron – and Brigitte Macron are two distinct individuals, a fact obstinately denied by a significant portion of France's conspiracy theory community for several years (Source: Yahoo.com, August 21, 2024).
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ROBERT F. KENNEDY JR. Anti-vaccine conspiracy theorist and independent candidate RFK Jr is planning to drop out of the presidential race by the end of this week. He could formally endorse Donald Trump as early as August 23, according to US media reports. Spurned by his family and siblings, the son of former US Senator and Attorney-General Robert F. Kennedy, who was assassinated as he sought the Democratic presidential nomination in 1968, has grown increasingly close to Trump. Kennedy Jr has promoted a conspiracy theory that coronavirus vaccines were developed to control people via microchips. He has endorsed the false notion that antidepressants are linked to school shootings. And he has pushed the decades-old theory that the C.I.A. killed his uncle, former President John F. Kennedy (Sources: ABC News, August 22, 2024; The New York Times, July, 2024).
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UK RIOTS. British children will be taught how to spot extremist content and fake news online under proposed changes to the school curriculum, the education secretary has said. Bridget Phillipson said she is launching a review of the curriculum in both primary and secondary schools to embed critical thinking across multiple subjects and arm children against "putrid conspiracy theories". Riots broke out across the UK after misinformation spread online that a Muslim asylum seeker was the suspect in the fatal stabbing of three girls in Southport. There was “clear” Russian involvement in the far-right riots and security services will be looking closely at the instigators, a former head of the MI6 Russia desk has said. Christopher Steele, the ex-spy who compiled a dossier on Donald Trump’s relationship with Russia, said that security officials would be “looking very carefully” at the people who had been encouraging anti-immigration riots, including far right demagogue Tommy Robinson and the anti-immigrant Reform Party leader and MP Nigel Farage (Sources: Sky News, August 11, 2024; The Guardian, August 12, 2024).
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BASSEM YOUSSEF. Egyptian comedian and Israel critic Bassem Youssef’s X account was suspended or deactivated following a series of controversial remarks about Jews. Youssef’s last post on the social media platform alleged that antisemitism was being used as a fear tactic that was no longer effective. “Are you still scared to be called an antisemite by those Zionists,” Youssef wrote on Monday. Youssef said on Facebook the same day that he knew he was angering Zionists because they were “crying, whining and bitching” on his accounts about antisemitism. Formerly a TV icon in Egypt before fleeing to the US, Youssef called accusations of antisemitism against him "laughable". Calling the label "overused", especially against Jews supporting the Palestinian cause, he said that antisemitism "has become a comical accusation" (Sources: The Jerusalem Post, August 20, 2024; France 24, March 27, 2024).
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