There's a 'new boogeyman' freaking out Americans susceptible to conspiracy theories

Bob Brigham
April 30, 2022

Man wearing tinfoil hat (Shutterstock)

Following birtherism, PizzaGate, QAnon, Great Replacement, and Donald Trump's delusions about election fraud, there is now a "new boogeyman" gaining traction.

"In late 2020, conspiracy theorists started telling everyone who’d listen about a sinister plot called the 'Great Reset.' The global elites of the World Economic Forum (WEF) had either co-opted or outright concocted the COVID-19 pandemic, they falsely claimed. Then world leaders and technocrats, almost all of whom are supposedly active agents or compromised puppets of the Forum, adopted what conspiracists see as senseless and draconian policies, like lockdowns, ostensibly to curb the spread of the virus—but really to destabilize and traumatize the globe," Mark Hay reported for The Daily Beast.

He reported on a Telegram channel with around 28,500 subscribers.

"But the channel specifically suggested the WEF and its allies’ next big world domination gambit may be a 'cyber pandemic,' an ill-defined but massive false flag cyberattack, or series of attacks, on financial institutions. Or the entire power grid. Or the internet as a whole," he explained. "That’s not an isolated take. There’s been sporadic talk of an incoming, elite-orchestrated 'cyber pandemic' in Great Reset circles for well over a year. But the idea of this digital threat, and its imminence, has seemingly gained traction across the conspiratorial web since around the end of last year—and especially since the start of this March."

In March, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) discussed the "Great Reset" with Alex Jones, who declared bankruptcy after being sued by Sandy Hook families for pushing a conspiracy theory that the mass shooting was a false flag operation.

"The idea of a cyber pandemic is not actually new. Broadly, it’s in keeping with the cybersecurity world’s use of biological disease metaphors to explain digital risks. (Think: computer virus.) As early as 2004, cybersecurity researchers used the term to talk about the risks associated with increasingly interconnected digital ecosystems, in which a novel virus or exploit could hit one weak link, then cascade outwards through wider systems," he reported. "All conspiracy theories evolve, blending with other ideas they come in contact with to adapt to new audiences or changing circumstances. The Great Reset itself, experts explained, appears to just be an update of older conspiracy theories about the dark machinations of global elite cabals that’ve been circulating since at least the 1700s, always identifying new foes and plots."

He noted a post that recently appeared on a Reddit forum linking the conspiracy theory to Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine.

“This is a fixed war sponsored by WEF [sic]. Putin is as much WEF as the western leaders are, don’t you be fooled,” the user wrote. “If EVENT 201 was the precursor to COVID 19, then last year’s CYBER POLYGON will be the predictive event for the coming CYBER WINTER of total global telecommunications collapse which will be achieved through Russian Nuclear Submarines. We will be fooled once again!”

Read the full report.

'Clock show' 60 Minutes does epic interview with 'Birds Aren't Real' parody conspiracy theorists

Sarah K. Burris
May 01, 2022


Travel booking site Kayak recently mocked conspiracy theorists with a commercial depicting a middle-aged woman imploring her family to "open your eyes!

Now, one of the more famous fake conspiracy theories used to mock QAnon followers and the far right is getting the "60 Minutes" treatment.

Speaking to the network, the chief architect of the conspiracy theory that birds aren't real, explained that the government is actually using surveillance drones to monitor people of the world.

Peter McIndoe explained that seagulls are a perfect example that birds aren't real. He noted that if one watches them swoop down and grab your food, they don't actually eat it. According to McIndoe, the birds take it back to the Pentagon to be studied.

“[We’re] fighting lunacy with lunacy,” said Claire Chronis, who works with McIndoe on the Birds Aren’t Real campaign.

"How do you feel about '60 Minutes' I'm surprised you've decided to sit here with us," asked reporter Sharyn Alfonsi.

"I'm not gonna go on news shows, but shows about clocks and time, I'm okay sharing my information with," said McIndoe with a dead-panned expression. "I understand this isn't anything like the media. So, thanks for having me on your clock show."

The group also includes Cameron Kasky, a Parkland student who survived the mass shooting at his high school and also joined the campaign. Many conspiracy theorists have disputed that mass shootings actually happened. The most famous example comes from Alex Jones and other far-right news outlets who claimed for years that the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting wasn't real. They went so far as to attack family members of murdered children. One family had to move several different times because they were so inundated with threats. Jones was ultimately ordered to pay the parents millions of dollars in damages for his role in promoting the conspiracies.

Kasky explained that their key way to fight the lies of older generations is with their own lies that mock their elders.

"We don't want to use language that actual harmful and hateful conspiracy theories use to target people," said Kasky. He was harassed, doxxed and attacked online. He was called a crisis actor and his father and grandfather were called sex traffickers, an allegation that QAnon throws around without any real accountability.

See excerpts from the show below:

 

  

One year on, Nord Stream sabotage remains a mystery

FUEL FOR CONSPIRACY THEORIES

Michelle FITZPATRICK with Pierrick YVON in Berlin
Fri, September 22, 2023 

View of the Nordstream gas pipeline terminal -- the twin pipelines were sabotaged a year ago (JOHN MACDOUGALL)

The September 26, 2022 explosions that damaged the Nord Stream pipelines cut off a major route for Russian gas exports to Europe and fuelled geopolitical tensions already running high over Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.

But one year on, and despite investigations in three countries, the question of who was responsible for the brazen act of sabotage remains unanswered.

In the absence of hard evidence, different theories have emerged pointing the finger at Ukraine, Russia or the United States. All have denied involvement.

- What happened? -

Late last September, a series of underwater blasts ruptured three of the four pipelines that make up Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2, spewing gas into the Baltic Sea.

Russian energy giant Gazprom had in August already halted flows through Nord Stream 1, the main conduit for Russian natural gas to Germany, amid disputes over the war in Ukraine.

The newly completed Nord Stream 2 twin pipelines never opened as Berlin pulled the plug on the project days before Russian troops entered Ukraine on February 24, 2022.

The 10-billion-euro ($10.6 billion) Nord Stream 2 had long been opposed by Ukraine, the US and eastern European countries who feared it would give Russia too much influence over Germany's energy security.

- Tight-lipped investigators -

Because the leaks occurred in their exclusive economic zones, Denmark and Sweden opened probes into the attack, as did Germany.

All three countries have kept a tight lid on their investigations, which analysts say is unsurprising given the potential diplomatic fallout of what they might uncover.

Sweden's public prosecutor Mats Ljungqvist has said the "primary assumption is that a state is behind it".

Sweden was now "in the final phase of the investigation", he told AFP this week.

German federal prosecutors searched a sailing yacht in January that may have been used to transport the explosives. They seized objects from the vessel and found traces of explosives.

They have refused to comment on media speculation that a team of five men and one woman chartered the "Andromeda" sailing yacht from Rostock port to carry out the operation.

"The identity of the perpetrators and their motives" remain the subject of ongoing investigations, the federal prosecution's office told AFP.

- Ships and CIA tip-offs -

Investigative journalists have been carrying out their own research to solve the Nord Stream whodunnit, leading to sometimes sensational -- if unconfirmed -- reports.

Dutch military intelligence warned the CIA of a Ukrainian plan to blow up the pipelines three months before the attack, Dutch broadcaster NOS and Germany's Die Zeit and ARD said in June. The Washington Post made a similar claim.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky has repeatedly denied his country was behind the sabotage.

"I would never do that," he told Germany's Bild newspaper in June, adding that he would "like to see proof".

The New York Times wrote in March that US officials had seen intelligence indicating that a "pro-Ukrainian group" was responsible, without Zelensky's knowledge.

German media have focussed their attention on the "Andromeda", with reporters from Der Spiegel magazine and broadcaster ZDF recreating the journey they believe was made by the six-person crew.

According to their reporting, a forged passport used to hire the sailboat leads back to a Ukrainian soldier while the charter fee was paid by a company registered in Poland with ties to a woman in Kyiv.

However, Danish media have reported that a Russian naval vessel specialised in submarine operations, the SS-750, was photographed near the site of the blasts days before the attack.

A claim by US investigative journalist Seymour Hersh in February that the US was behind the attacks and that Norway assisted was dismissed as "fiction" by the White House.

- False flag? -

Experts have not ruled out a "false flag" operation by Russia, with clues deliberately placed to pin the blame on Ukraine.

Andreas Umland, an analyst at the Stockholm Centre for Eastern European Studies, sees Russia as "the most likely" culprit.

Any suspected involvement by Kyiv in an attack on Europe's energy infrastructure could threaten the support of allies, which would benefit Russia.

At the same time, the destroyed pipelines could help Gazprom avoid compensation claims for undelivered gas, even though the company displayed a reluctance to keep the taps open before the blasts.

Moscow may have sought "to kill two birds with one stone", Umland said.

The Kremlin has strongly denied responsibility.

WHAT DAY IS IT?

Russia says Ukraine blew up an oil depot in Russian territory in a helicopter raid, part of an apparent wider fightback

Bill Bostock

A screen grab captured from a video showing a fire in the Russian city of Belgorod on April 1, 2022. Russian Ministry of Emergency Situation/Handout/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images


A Russian politician said two Ukrainian helicopters blew up an oil depot in Russia on Friday.

The governor of Belgorod said Ukrainian helicopters launched an airstrike on the city of Belgorod.

Ukrainian officials denied carrying out the attack, saying it could be a false flag operation.

A Russian politician said Friday that Ukrainian forces blew up an oil depot on Russian soil in a helicopter raid.

Belgorod regional governor Vyacheslav Gladkov wrote on Telegram that two Ukrainian helicopters launched an airstrike on the depot in the Russian city of Belgorod, located 24 miles north of the Ukrainian border.

There were no casualties but two oil workers were injured, Gladkov said.

A number of videos purporting to show the burning oil facility were posted to Russian social media platform V Kontakte. Other videos also purported to show Ukrainian Air Force Mi-24 helicopters flying low over Belgorod.

Insider was unable to verify the authenticity of the videos.

One was posted by a semi-official Ukrainian military account, with the caption "Ukrainian aviation at work in Belgorod!"

However, when asked about the claims by journalists with Germany's BILD newspaper, a spokesperson for the Ukrainian military said Ukraine does "not have this information."

It adding that the attack could be a false flag operation to justify further violence against Ukrainians.

Russia's defense ministry has not commented on the incident.

The apparent attack came amid a wider Ukrainian counter offensive, focused on retaking parts of the territory lost to Russia at the start of the war.

In recent days, Ukraine recaptured a number of towns and cities such as Trostyanets and Irpin, as well as the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. A US official told ABC News that Russia seemed to have abandoned to Hostomel airfirled not far from Kyiv.

The gains came as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned that Russia was preparing to shift the focus of its attacks on Ukraine, to focus on attacking the eastern Donbas region.

Zelenskyy said that a claim Russia was "radically" scaling back attacks on Kyiv was actually a repositioning.

US and British intelligence have cautioned against taking Russia's troop movements as proof of a withdrawal.

Speaking on Friday, Zelenskyy again called on Western powers to supply Ukraine with more arms.

"We need more support from our partners right now. When the Russian military is concentrating additional forces in certain areas," he said.

'I Remember WMDs in Iraq': Reporter Calls Out US Official on Russian Intel Claims

"You just come out and say this and expect us just to believe it without you showing a shred of evidence that it's actually true," said Associated Press reporter Matt Lee.

JAKE JOHNSON

February 4, 2022

Veteran Associated Press reporter Matt Lee grilled a State Department spokesperson Thursday over the U.S. government's refusal to provide direct evidence for its claim that Russia is planning to fabricate a mass casualty event as a pretext to invade Ukraine, an allegation that the Pentagon said is backed up by intelligence.

During a press briefing, Lee asked the State Department's Ned Price—a former CIA official—to furnish concrete proof of the government's accusation, which suggests Russia is plotting an elaborate false flag attack involving a graphic "propaganda video... depicting corpses, crisis actors pretending to be mourners, and images of destroyed locations or military equipment."

Lee said he has every reason to be skeptical of U.S. government assertions, given the lies that the Bush administration used to justify the invasion and occupation of Iraq.

"I remember WMDs in Iraq," said Lee.

Watch the exchange:

After Price outlined the U.S. government's allegations, Lee noted that the Biden administration has "shown no evidence to confirm" the alleged plot. As the New York Times reported earlier Thursday, "Officials would not release any direct evidence of the Russian plan or specify how they learned of it, saying to do so would compromise their sources and methods."

But Price insisted during Thursday's briefing that the Biden administration's decision to go public with the false flag accusation constitutes, in and of itself, evidence that Russia is planning such an operation.

"This is derived from information known to the U.S. government, intelligence information that we have declassified," Price said.

"Okay, well, where is it?" Lee asked in response. "Where is this information?"

"I just delivered it," the State Department spokesperson said.

When Lee continued to press the matter, noting that "a series of allegations and statements" is not evidence, Price accused the longtime journalist of wanting "to find solace in information that the Russians are putting out."

The exchange circulated rapidly and widely on social media, with observers applauding Lee for his persistent and straightforward questioning and arguing that Price's responses were indicative of the U.S. government's intolerance of skeptical inquiry.

"This is wild," NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden, president of the Freedom of the Press Foundation, tweeted in response to the back-and-forth. "The State Department's spokesman can't comprehend why the Associated Press feels the need to distinguish between a claim and a fact, and becomes visibly offended—and then angered—by the suggestion that his claims may require evidence to be accepted as credible."

---

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2 Fox News employees resigned over Tucker Carlson's January 6 documentary, citing concerns it may incite violence
Morgan Keith

Tucker Carlson speaks during the Mathias Corvinus Collegium 

Feszt on August 7, 2021 in Esztergom, Hungary. Photo by Janos Kummer/Getty Images

Jonah Goldberg and Stephen Hayes joined Fox News as contributors in 2009.

Both Goldberg and Hayes resigned over tensions between Fox News coverage and their own publication.

In a statement, the pair said the misinformation pushed by "Patriot Purge" is dangerous.

Fox News contributors Jonah Goldberg and Stephen Hayes have resigned following the release of Tucker Carlson's documentary on the January 6 Capitol insurrection, "Patriot Purge," citing concerns about the documentary's potential to incite violence and the cable news outlet's direction of coverage in the post-Trump era, The New York Times reported.

Goldberg and Hayes joined Fox News as contributors in early 2009 while also working for conservative political magazines. In 2019, they worked together to found The Dispatch, a conservative online publication with nearly 30,000 paying subscribers, according to The New York Times.

Ultimately, the release of "Patriot Purge" brought the pair to an impasse, which they said forced them to choose between running their own publication and remaining loyal to Fox News, according to a statement about their resignation.

The "Patriot Purge" documentary baselessly suggested that the January 6 insurrection was a "false flag" plot by President Joe Biden to conduct an ideological purge and persecute conservatives.

"This is not happening. And we think it's dangerous to pretend it is. If a person with such a platform shares such misinformation loud enough and long enough, there are Americans who will believe — and act upon — it," Goldberg and Hayes said in a statement. "This isn't theoretical. This is what actually happened on January 6, 2021."

The duo were not the only Fox News employees to publicly condemn the documentary. One of Carlson's colleagues, Geraldo Rivera, called the false flag theory pushed in the documentary "bullshit."

Insider has reached out to Goldberg, Hayes, Carlson, and Fox News for comment.

‘Kiev inflating regional conflict into World War III’, Russian envoy warns US

ByPrapti Upadhayay
Jul 07, 2023 

Russian Ambassador Anatoly Antonov denies involvement in false-flag provocation at Ukraine's nuclear plant, warns of grave consequences.

Russia's ambassador to the United States, Anatoly Antonov, has vehemently dismissed media reports suggesting Moscow's involvement in a false-flag provocation at Ukraine's largest nuclear power plant. In an exclusive interview with Newsweek, Ambassador Antonov alleged that Ukraine was using this narrative to draw NATO into a devastating conflict, cautioning against the grave repercussions that such a situation could entail

.

Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant outside Enerhodar in the Zaporizhzhia region.(Reuters)

"We call on the curators of the Kiev regime to exercise responsibility and exert influence on their 'wards' in order to avoid a large-scale catastrophe," Antonov told Newsweek. He further emphasized that the failures of the Ukrainian counter offensive were driving them to create a pretext for NATO deployment, potentially inflating a regional conflict into World War III.

Antonov's comments come in the midst of a fierce exchange of accusations between Russian and Ukrainian officials regarding a planned attack at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant (ZNPP). Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky publicly addressed the issue, asserting that objects resembling explosives were detected on the plant's roof, possibly indicating a simulated attack.

While the United States Department of State acknowledged President Zelensky's claims, a spokesperson expressed concern over Russia's military occupation of the plant. The spokesperson warned that such actions not only compromised nuclear safety but also endangered the lives of Ukrainian staff operating the facility. They urged Russia to withdraw its personnel and return control to Ukrainian authorities to prevent a potential nuclear catastrophe.

Meanwhile, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre voiced her concerns over the dangerous situation at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, emphasizing that it should remain a zone free of fighting. However, Jean-Pierre refrained from commenting on a resolution proposed by senators Lindsey Graham and Richard Blumenthal, which would treat any nuclear provocation in Ukraine as a trigger for NATO's Article 5 collective defense clause.

Amidst these allegations and denials, Ambassador Antonov staunchly denied Russia's involvement and labeled such claims as "absurd." He emphasized the presence of Russian and International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) personnel at the ZNPP and stressed the protection of the plant's nuclear reactors. However, he acknowledged the vulnerability of other infrastructure facilities such as cooling systems and storage sites for nuclear waste, warning of the potential dangers of any projectile impact.

Also Read | Explosives? Mysterious objects spotted in Russia-occupied Ukraine nuclear plant

Furthermore, Antonov raised suspicions about the timing of the dueling narratives surrounding the Zaporizhzhia situation, connecting them to the upcoming NATO summit in Lithuania. He alleged that Ukraine's authorities sought to exploit a terrorist attack to tarnish Russia's image, divert attention from their own failed counteroffensive, and draw NATO directly into the conflict.

As tensions escalate and the accusations fly between Russia and Ukraine, the world watches anxiously, aware of the dire consequences that any miscalculation or intentional provocation could unleash. The Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant stands as a symbol of the dangerous game being played, with the international community holding its breath, hoping for a peaceful resolution that can avert a catastrophe of nuclear proportions.

Russia: Avoid large-scale disaster; European citizens are not ready to march to hell

Western ruling elites should understand that because of a failure on the battlefield, Kyiv wants to create reasons for NATO to deploy its contingent in Ukraine.

SOURCE: RT.RS FRIDAY, JULY 7, 2023 | 

This was stated by the Russian Ambassador to the USA, Anatoly Antonov, adding that the regional conflict would then turn into the third world war.

"Journalists continue to pretend that they do not notice the obvious, since the beginning of the Special Military Operation, all accusations of the Zelensky regime against us turned out to be diversionary operations of Kyiv itself," Antonov told "Newsweek".

However, the stakes are much higher now, the diplomat stressed, adding that Europe's nuclear security is at risk.

According to Antonov, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's statements that Russia planted explosives in the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant are absurd, because it makes no sense that Russia intends to damage the facility it has controlled since March last year. The Kyiv regime uses criminal intentions to divert attention from the "unsuccessful counter-offensive of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, in which the West invested huge resources", and therefore falsely accuses Russia on the eve of the NATO summit in Vilnius.

"The Western ruling elites should understand that, due to the failure on the battlefield, Kyiv wants to create reasons for NATO to deploy its contingent in Ukraine, and the regional conflict would turn into the third world war," the Russian diplomat is sure.

Russia calls on the mentors of the Kyiv regime to take responsibility and influence Ukraine, in order to avoid a large-scale disaster, he emphasized and added that American and European citizens are not ready to march into the hell into which Zelensky's government is dragging the whole planet.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), whose members are based at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, confirmed that it did not find any traces of mines or explosives, as Kyiv initially claimed - not even on the roofs of the reactor buildings. The IAEA observation mission was deployed at the nuclear plant as early as September 2022. Before that, the station and the territory around it was repeatedly targeted by Ukrainian artillery, which Kyiv admitted at one point.

Just before the arrival of the IAEA mission, the Ukrainian military attempted to seize the facility, but were repulsed by the Russian military. Russia provided the UN with evidence of the Ukrainian attacks, but they refused to assign blame to anyone there.

Statements by the Pentagon that Russian armed forces are allegedly disrupting American efforts in the fight against terrorism in the Syrian Arab Republic have nothing to do with common sense, said the Russian ambassador in Washington, TASS reports.

Attacks on the highly professional actions of the Russian army in Syria, according to him, sometimes cross the line of decency. "They deliberately divert attention from the fact that the Americans are violating the safety rules of flying over the Syrian sky every day," said the Russian diplomat and reminded that US soldiers, unlike Russian ones, are in the Arab Republic contrary to the norms of international law. They, under the pretext of fighting terrorism, are actually occupying certain countries, Antonov explained.

The policy of the USA towards Syria has a destructive character; it does not only disrupt the stabilization of the situation and the restoration of the territorial integrity of Syria, but also negatively affects the situation in the entire Middle East, he emphasized.

DIRTY DOZEN

From jail cell to frontline: Russia turns to convicts to help flailing war effort

New bill would allow those convicted of crimes to serve in the military in exchange for early release or a reduction in their sentence.

Those convicted of certain types of crimes would technically be 

permitted by the measure to serve in the military

| Natalia Kolesnikova/AFP via Getty Images

BY ZOYA SHEFTALOVICH
OCTOBER 13, 2022 

Russian criminals could be freed from prison and have their convictions quashed in exchange for serving in Moscow’s flailing war effort in Ukraine, under a new bill drafted by senators.

The bill would formally allow those convicted of certain categories of crimes to perform military duty in exchange for early release, the scratching of their convictions or reduced penalties, Olga Kovitidi, a senator representing illegally annexed Crimea, said in a post on Telegram on Thursday. Kovitidi, along with her colleagues on the Federation Council Committee on Constitutional Legislation and State Building, was responsible for drafting the bill.

Kovitidi said the law would apply to those who had committed crimes of “small and medium gravity.” Those who have been convicted of calling for or participating in anti-government rallies, discrediting the Russian armed forces or calling for sanctions against Moscow would not be eligible, the senator said.

Russia has struggled to turn the tide of the war, with Kyiv launching a successful counteroffensive last month and taking back thousands of kilometers of Ukrainian territory held by Moscow’s troops. In response, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced what he called a “partial mobilization” of reservists, which led to a significant public outcry (by Russian standards).

Videos and reports have circulated of the Wagner Group, a network of mercenaries and Putin’s de facto private army, attempting to convince prisoners to fight in the war, but the new legislation paves the way for more open recruitment.

According to Russian news daily Vedomosti, there are reports of “thousands of prisoners with unserved terms for various, including serious” crimes being sent to the front lines.

 

Ukraine bats away Lukashenko’s border threats

Despite saber-rattling from Minsk, Kyiv’s forces are playing down the risks of another invasion from Belarus.

Belarus' President Alexander Lukashenko has so far avoided sending his own forces into the conflict in Ukraine | Alexander Nemenov / AFP via Getty Images

BY SERGEI KUZNETSOV
OCTOBER 12, 2022 


KYIV — Ukraine is giving short shrift to increased posturing from Belarus’ authoritarian leader Alexander Lukashenko, who this week pledged to conduct joint deployments with Russian forces and triggered fears that Minsk could be seeking to engineer a false flag operation on the border.

Belarus’ chief strategic significance in Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war against Ukraine is that its territory — and importantly its airfields — are a springboard for attacks against northern Ukraine, most significantly Kyiv. Indeed, Putin used Belarus in exactly this way in the opening phases of the war.

Crucially, however, Lukashenko has avoided sending his own forces into the conflict, sensing it would be a political disaster.

Just two years ago, Lukashenko survived massive street protests against his rule by using brutal force, and the heavy casualties that the Belarusian army would probably sustain in the war against Ukraine could reignite popular anger against his rule. His direct involvement in the war would also mean more Western sanctions against a nation that has already been seriously hit by restrictions over the rigged 2020 presidential election.

Law enforcement officers respond to a protest against President Lukashenko’s rule in 2020 |

 AFP via Getty Images

Attention swung back to Lukashenko’s motives this week when he said on Monday that he had agreed with Putin to deploy a joint regional military group. He added that this order had been given two days before, apparently after the explosion of the Russia-Crimea bridge, which Moscow blamed on Ukraine. Lukashenko said that the Belarusian army would form the base of this group.

Lukashenko also made fake claims about a potential Ukrainian attack against Belarus. He issued a warning to the Ukrainian leadership in the light of supposed information on “strikes on Belarus from the territory of Ukraine.” Think tankers and independent Belarusian journalists considered this to be Minsk laying the ground for a possible false-flag operation.

“This information was immediately brought to my attention. My answer was simple: Tell the president of Ukraine and other insane people … that the Crimea bridge will be just the thin end of the wedge to them, if only they touch a single meter of our territory with their dirty hands.”

He made his statement as Russia was hitting Ukraine with barrages of missiles on Monday, and Lukashenko’s reference to the Crimea bridge was most likely a hint at Moscow’s retaliation.

Despite this escalation in rhetoric, Ukraine’s military is remaining cool-headed about potential risks from Belarus.

“The units of the Defence Forces are monitoring the situation, there are no signs of the formation of offensive groups on the territory of Belarus,” the general staff said in a statement on Tuesday.

The Ukrainian political leadership also played down Lukashenko’s provocative talk of the past days.

“Lukashenko continues to sell [Belarus’] sovereignty to Russia. The request to deploy Russian contingent in Belarus under false pretenses is the formalization of occupation,” Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s office, tweeted on Monday.

Ukraine assesses risks and is ready for any threat from the Belarusian territory, he added. “The situation is under control, currently there is no sign of repeated invasion from Belarus.”

Ukrainian forces have also added context about how much help they think Belarus is really offering Putin.

Belarus is “involved in the repair” of Russian military equipment damaged during the war in the Ukrainian territory, the general staff of the Ukrainian armed forces said on Wednesday.

Perhaps more significantly, the general staff added the first batch of 20 T-72 tanks was removed from storage in Belarus and sent to Russia’s Belgorod region, apparently with the aim of beefing up the army’s depleted reserves in eastern Ukraine.

Meanwhile, the leader of the Belarusian opposition Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, who ran against Lukashenko in 2020’s fraudulent presidential election and now lives in exile in Lithuania, urged Kyiv on Tuesday to build a joint “alliance against Russian aggression.”

So far, the relationship between the Ukrainian authorities and Tikhanovskaya’s team has been limited. Unlike many Western leaders, Zelenskyy, as well as other senior Ukrainian officials, has never officially met Tikhanovskaya, much less recognized her as the legitimate leader of Belarus.

Kyiv has always tried to distance itself from expressing direct sympathy for Tikhanovskaya, one of Lukashenko’s main political rivals, seeking not to provoke the authoritarian leader, who might then refrain from holding back and join Russia’s ground war in Ukraine.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene's history of spreading bizarre conspiracy theories, from space lasers to Frazzledrip


Rachel E. Greenspan INSIDER
Fri., February 5, 2021

In this Jan. 6, 2021, file photo, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., sits in the House Chamber after they reconvened for arguments over the objection of certifying Arizona's Electoral College votes in November's election, at the Capitol in Washington 

Erin Schaff/The New York Times via AP, Pool, File


The House voted to remove Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Georgia Republican, from committees.


Greene has espoused beliefs tied to the QAnon conspiracy theory.


Here's her history of supporting conspiracy theories online.


Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene's election to Congress came after she spread conspiracy theories on social media for years.

The Georgia Republican, elected in November, has supported the QAnon conspiracy theory and associated falsehoods, claimed that mass shootings were "false flag" events, and made other outlandish allegations. In addition to espousing beliefs in these conspiracy theories, Greene showed support in 2018 and 2019 for the execution of Democrats, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, CNN reported. She has also said that Black people "are held slaves to the Democratic Party."

But former president Donald Trump sang Greene's praises ahead of her election while he was still in office, writing in an August tweet that she was a "future Republican Star" and "strong on everything."

The House voted to strip Greene of her committee assignments on Thursday evening.

When asked for comment regarding all of Greene's claims that are referenced in this article, a spokesperson told Insider, "Aren't you in the 'news' business? None of this is new."

Here's a list of false claims Greene has spread online.

The QAnon conspiracy theory

The QAnon conspiracy theorists hold signs during the protest at the State Capitol in Salem, Oregon, United States on May 2, 2020. John Rudoff/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

Greene's apparent belief in QAnon, a baseless far-right conspiracy theory alleging Trump was fighting a "deep state" cabal of pedophiles, was widely reported ahead of her election to Congress. QAnon has been linked to several crimes and the movement played a huge role in the January 6 riot at the US Capitol.

In a 2017 YouTube video, Greene called "Q," the anonymous figure whose cryptic messages on 8kun (formerly 8chan) lead the QAnon movement, a "patriot."

Greene said "Q" is "someone that very much loves his country, and he's on the same page as us, and he is very pro-Trump." The last message from "Q" came on December 8, and many people have suspected that Jim Watkins, the owner of 8kun, is "Q" himself, or at least associated with the figure.

Read More: The QAnon conspiracy theory and a stew of misinformation fueled the insurrection at the Capitol

"There's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to take this global cabal of Satan-worshipping pedophiles out, and I think we have the president to do it," Greene said in the video.

Many of the other conspiracy theories Greene has espoused are linked to the QAnon community.

The Pizzagate conspiracy theory 

THIS IS A REDO OF THE RIGHT WING EVANGELICAL

SATANIC PANIC OF THE 1980'S

Kori and Danielle Hayes at a Pizzagate demonstration, outside the White House in Washington, DC on March 25, 2017. 

Michael E. Miller/The Washington Post via Getty Images

CNN reported that in a 2017 blog post, Greene shared a link to a far-right website that suggested "Pizzagate," the 2016 conspiracy theory alleging that Clinton and aides ran a child-trafficking ring out of a DC pizza restaurant, was real.

"Shockingly, the website tells about information that was only whispered about and called conspiracy theories," Greene wrote, according to CNN.

"Pizzagate" was the precursor to QAnon, which originated in 2017.

Frazzledrip

Greene has expressed belief in the existence of "Frazzledrip," a fictitious video that conspiracy theorists claim shows Hillary Clinton and aide Huma Abedin sexually assault a child before slicing off her face and wearing it as a mask.

The vulgar conspiracy theory spread on YouTube in 2018, as the Washington Post reported. YouTube videos claiming that "Frazzledrip" existed were viewed millions of times that year, the Post found. "Frazzledrip" folklore remains popular in the QAnon community.

Greene made Facebook comments about "Frazzledrip," which were recently reported by left-leaning nonprofit Media Matters for America (MMFA), in May 2018.

Greene posted a picture of the mother of a slain New York Police Department detective, Miosotis Familia, and a commenter said that Familia had "watched a horrific video" allegedly seized from the laptop of disgraced former congressman Anthony Weiner, Abedin's ex-husband. The commenter said that the video showed Abedin and Clinton "filleting" a child's face, according to screenshots obtained by MMFA.

Greene liked the comment, and replied, "Yes Familia." In a subsequent comment, she said, "Most people honestly don't know so much. The msm disinformation warfare has won for too long!"

Denials that 9/11 and mass shootings took place

A recently resurfaced video shows Marjorie Taylor Greene harassing Parkland shooting survivor David Hogg on Capitol Hill before she became a representative for Georgia. Twitter/@fred_guttenberg

Greene has baselessly questioned whether the deadly shootings in Newtown, Connecticut, and Parkland, Florida, actually took place.

In several 2018 Facebook comments, Greene agreed with other users that the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, was a "false flag" event. MMFA reported the comments, which have since been deleted from Greene's Facebook page.

When another commenter in 2018 claimed that "none of the School shootings were real," the September 11, 2001, attacks were staged by the US government, and that the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, was staged, Greene agreed.

"That is all true," she said in a comment, according to screenshots reported by MMFA.

All of those claims are false and have been debunked.

A recently resurfaced video from earlier that year shows Greene accosting David Hogg, a survivor of the Parkland shooting, who was 17 at the time, in Washington, DC. Hogg was in town to advocate for gun control at the Capitol. Greene followed the teen down the street, calling him a "coward," just weeks after the shooting at his high school killed 17 people.

In a Facebook post later that year, Greene claimed that Pelosi "tells Hillary Clinton several times a month that 'we need another school shooting' in order to persuade the public to want strict gun control."

Linda Beigel Schulman, the mother of one of the Parkland shooting victims, told MSNBC in an interview aired Sunday that she spoke to Greene on the phone, and the congresswoman admitted to believing that the shootings had actually taken place.

Schulman said Greene refused to join her on MSNBC to publicly make the admission. "For Congresswoman Greene, politics trumps truth, because lies and conspiracy theories are more important to her than honesty," Schulman said.

The conspiracy theory that space lasers controlled by a Jewish family caused wildfires

Perhaps the most shocking of all of Greene's conspiracy theories is the idea that lasers in space had caused the deadly Camp Fire in California in the fall of 2018. The Camp Fire was the deadliest wildfire in California's history.

QAnon believers and other conspiracy theorists popularized the space laser theory, and Greene posted about it on Facebook, MMFA found.

Greene said she believed the Rothschild investment bank was involved in the creation of the lasers. "Could that cause a fire? Hmmm, I don't know," she said of laser beams in space. "I hope not! That wouldn't look so good for PG&E, Rothschild Inc, Solaren or Jerry Brown who sure does seem fond of PG&E."

Rothschild is controlled by the Rothschild family, a wealthy Jewish family from Germany that has for centuries been the subject of anti-Semitic conspiracy theories. Such claims play a huge role in QAnon, which is partly based on anti-Semitic tropes.

Read More: QAnon builds on centuries of anti-Semitic conspiracy theories that put Jewish people at risk

The conspiracy theory that Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg had been replaced by a body double

In February 2019, while Greene was a conservative commentator, she was a guest on a streaming show on a pro-Trump website, and a viewer called in to suggest that a recent public appearance of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was actually a body double. "I do not believe that was Ruth. I don't think so," Greene responded, MMFA first reported.

The claim that Justice Ginsburg had previously died and was replaced by a body double was hugely popular in the QAnon community in the summer of 2019, as Travis View, the co-host host of the "QAnon Anonymous" podcast, has reported.

The false claim that Trump won the 2020 presidential election

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., wears a "Trump Won" face mask as she arrives on the floor of the House to take her oath of office on opening day of the 117th Congress at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Sunday, Jan. 3, 2021 Erin Scott/Pool via APMore

Greene was one of numerous Republican lawmakers to deny the validity of President Joe Biden's election win, even wearing a "TRUMP WON" mask on the House floor on January 3.

She has repeatedly tweeted about her belief that Trump won the election and encouraged her constituents to hold onto that idea. In a December 23 tweet, she said, "The people re-elected Donald Trump. Now, it's time to #FightForTrump." She shared a petition supporting the Stop the Steal movement, which inspired the January 6 rally that led to the deadly Capitol riot.

Claims that Trump won the election sparked the frenzy that led to the insurrection at the US Capitol on January 6. More than 200 people have already been arrested on charges related to the insurrection.

Read the original article on Insider

Israel-Palestine war: Britain's epidemic of unchallenged anti-Palestinian racism

Peter Oborne, Imran Mulla
10 October 2023 

The UK risks importing the bloodshed from Gaza if its supposedly mainstream thinkers continue to recklessly deploy venomous and inflammatory anti-Muslim bigotry

Pro-Palestinian supporters march near the Israeli embassy in London on 9 October, 2023 (Reuters)

British Home Secretary Suella Braverman weighed into the Gaza conflict on Sunday by issuing a public warning that there “must be zero tolerance for antisemitism or the glorification of terrorism on the streets of Britain”.

She was right to do so. Even the most fervent supporters of the Palestinian cause must recognise that it is one of the duties of a British home secretary to prevent violence and hatred erupting on British streets - and never more so than when war breaks out in the Middle East, with the passions it engenders on all sides.

More than ever, at times like this there is a need for decency, level-headed thinking and civility.

Unfortunately, the home secretary’s intervention has so far been one-sided.

Over the last 48 hours, Britain has experienced an epidemic of almost unchallenged anti-Palestinian racism and anti-Muslim bigotry - and Braverman has been inexcusably silent.

What is more, this bigotry has been perpetrated by people in a position of responsibility.
'Islamic bloodlust'

Take the editor of the British newspaper Jewish News, Richard Ferrer. He wrote in the Daily Express on Sunday that Hamas’s military attack on Israel was “plain and simply historic Islamic bloodlust, passed down through the generations from birth”.

This rhetoric is venomous, and arguably a form of blood libel. After a backlash, the word “Islamic” was changed to “Islamist”.

The editor of the Jewish Chronicle, Jake Wallis Simons, said on the same day that “much of Muslim culture is in the grip of a death cult that sacralised bloodshed. Not all, but many Muslims are brainwashed by it”. After a backlash, he deleted the tweet. Note he left it up for over a day.

These inflammatory remarks risk importing the bloodshed in Gaza into Britain itself.

Moreover, such talk of “Islamic bloodlust” and a Muslim “death cult” is not just dangerous - it’s historically false. It’s worth remembering that when the Jews were driven out of Christian Spain in 1492, many found safety in the Islamic world, above all the Ottoman Empire.

The Jewish historian Avi Shlaim, emeritus professor of international relations at Oxford University, exploded this false narrative in his recent book Three Worlds: Memoirs of an Arab-Jew, stressing the “old tradition of religious tolerance and long history of relative harmony between the different sections of society” in his native Iraq.

As Shlaim pointed out: “It took Europe much longer than the Arab world to accept the Jews as equal co-citizens.”

Outright bigotry

It is hard to exaggerate how solemn this moment is in the history of the modern Middle East. It is the most frightening since the Yom Kippur war 50 years ago.

At such times, there is a special responsibility on those in a position of influence to respond calmly and to avoid inflammatory language.

However, others have joined in. The former editor of the Sun, Kelvin MacKenzie, has tried to weaponise the tragic events of the last few days with the comment: “Vote Starmer get Islam” - framing British Muslims as an existential enemy.

Imagine the reaction if MacKenzie had warned that voting for Rishi Sunak’s Conservatives meant that you “get Hinduism”. This would be immediately called out as outright bigotry.

Douglas Murray, a prominent right-wing commentator who writes regularly for the Spectator and the Sun, tweeted a photo of two men in New York holding a sign saying “Jews for a free Palestine”. He described them as “the stupidest people in NY today. Jews for mass suicide”.

“British Jews braced for hate crimes as pro-Palestinian groups celebrate,” read one headline in the Times on Sunday, explicitly connecting pro-Palestinian groups to antisemitic attacks.

It is becoming acceptable in much of British discourse to imply that the Palestinian flag itself - which is not the Hamas flag - is somehow murderous, terroristic and antisemitic

Antisemitism is foul, but it is offensive and dangerous to imply that any expression of Palestinian identity or support for Palestinian self-determination - a legitimate struggle under international law - is considered morally wrong and even terroristic.

It is becoming acceptable in much of British discourse to imply that the Palestinian flag itself - which is not the Hamas flag - is somehow murderous, terroristic and antisemitic.

This means there is no way for Palestinians to express their identity without being smeared as terrorists.

Support for Palestinian freedom and self-determination is viewed as "barbaric". Even a hint of solidarity with Palestinians is treated as support for brutality.

And it’s not just journalists.

War crimes

James Orr, a professor of philosophy and religion at Cambridge University, captioned a video of a crowd in Manchester waving Palestinian flags and signs saying “Freedom for Palestine” and asked: “Have Britain's streets witnessed anything more morally abhorrent than this?”

Some would say they have. And one wonders how Palestinian students at Cambridge might feel about Orr’s attitude.

Israel-Palestine war: How Gaza turned the tables on its gaoler

sRead More »

Cambridge academic Charlotte Proudman tweeted a video of a car emblazoned with a Palestine flag honking next to a motorbike flying the same flag and captioned it: “Celebrating the murders and kidnapping of Israelis is quite possibly the most heinous act of public hate I have seen on the streets of London.”

Meanwhile, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak ordered the Israeli flag to be projected onto 10 Downing Street, while promising “unequivocal support” for Israel.

Yet recent history teaches us that Israel has committed war crimes in Gaza. Nearly 1,500 Palestinian civilians were killed in 2014 in Operation Protective Edge. In 2018, more than 200 Palestinians in Gaza were shot dead by Israeli snipers, and 36,000 injured during the peaceful Great March of Return protests.

On Monday, the Israeli defence minister, Yoav Gallant, ordered a full siege of the Gaza Strip, including a ban on the admission of food, electricity and fuel. This smacks of collective punishment for Gaza’s 2.3 million Palestinians, which would be a war crime under international law.

Yet, when given the opportunity to condemn this on television, Britain’s Foreign Secretary James Cleverly would not do so.

Paradoxically enough, some of the Israeli press is much more balanced than the British coverage. Haaretz, Israel’s leading liberal newspaper, published an editorial on Sunday declaring Hamas’s attack to be “the clear responsibility of one person: Benjamin Netanyahu”.

It accused Netanyahu of failing “to identify the dangers he was consciously leading Israel into when establishing a government of annexation and dispossession, when appointing Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben Gvir to key positions, while embracing a foreign policy that openly ignored the existence and rights of Palestinians”.

Sunak’s decision to give a blanket endorsement to whatever Netanyahu’s Israel might do in the days and nights to come is not simply a betrayal of the Palestinians - it’s reckless and irresponsible.

The views expressed in this article belong to the authors and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Eye.

Peter Oborne won best commentary/blogging in both 2022 and 2017, and was also named freelancer of the year in 2016 at the Drum Online Media Awards for articles he wrote for Middle East Eye. He was also named as British Press Awards Columnist of the Year in 2013. He resigned as chief political columnist of the Daily Telegraph in 2015. His latest book is The Fate of Abraham: Why the West is Wrong about Islam, published in May by Simon & Schuster. His previous books include The Triumph of the Political Class, The Rise of Political Lying, Why the West is Wrong about Nuclear Iran and The Assault on Truth: Boris Johnson, Donald Trump and the Emergence of a New Moral Barbarism.

Imran Mulla has written for The Critic, Conservative Home, Athwart, Panoramic the Magazine and Traversing Tradition among others.