Man quits his film industry job and makes a business out of posting conspiracy theories online

Sky Palma
July 07, 2021

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Sean G. Turnbull, 53, is a former film producer and marketing manager for one of the country's largest retail corporations who lives in Minneapolis. For more than a decade, he has anonymously promoted conspiracy theories about "dark forces" in American politics on websites and social media accounts.

"Turnbull has identified himself online for 11 years only as 'Sean from SGT Reports.'" The Washington Post reports. "He has amassed a substantial following while producing videos and podcasts claiming that the 9/11 attacks were a 'false flag' event, a 'Zionist banker international cabal' is plotting to destroy Western nations, the coronavirus vaccine is an 'experimental, biological kill shot' and that the 2020 election was 'rigged' against former president Donald Trump, according to a Washington Post review."

According to Turnbull, his online operation is profitable enough for him to quit his job in film production.

While his accounts have been terminated by seven tech companies, including Twitter, YouTube and Vimeo, he's kept his business going by turning to new traffic sources. He also has generated revenue through subscriptions and donations and by advertising survival products and "precious metals," according to the Post, which found that his earnings were between $50,000 and $250,000 annually in 2019

Turnbull's website was cited in evidence presented against an Alabama man who was charged after he drove to Washington ahead of the Capitol riot on Jan. 6 with an arsenal of weapons and Molotov cocktails in his truck. Court documents included a handwritten note found in Lonnie Coffman's vehicle that referred to SGTReport.com as the "good guys."

Read his full interview with The Washington Post.