How many people follow david icke

He has embarked on multiple world tours and reliably sold out his venues. And the industry tracker Nielsen BookScan told Vox that between and December , Icke has sold a combined , copies of his books in the US.

However, it does indicate that Icke has a reliable audience for his work, and that his audience has continued to grow. But over the past few years, as widely disseminated conspiracy theories have helped usher in the rise of far-right populist nationalism, figures like Icke have come to seem actively dangerous. If Icke can convince people that the world is run by a cabal of mostly Jewish lizard people who are molesting and murdering kids — well, who knows what his followers will do with that belief?

Which makes it all the more unnerving when a figure as beloved as Alice Walker endorses him, and has now done so via a platform as big as the New York Times. For her entire public life, Alice Walker has stood for social justice and for great writing. At Ms. Magazine in the s, Walker helped rediscover and revive the legacy of Zora Neale Hurston. Until now. Walker has long been a vocal critic of Israel and its treatment of Palestine. And when she began to show an interest in David Icke, things got weird.

Walker first began to write about Icke in The deconstruction of language is breathtaking, the interrogation of symbols startling. Magical, in a way. She wrote:. The Reptilian space beings whose hybrid part human, part reptile descendants make our lives hell in Paradise were blue eyed devils to Malcolm X, the devil himself to my Christian parents, who never talked about eye color, which I think was not only prudent but wise, although they seemed clear enough about his sex, and as demons in many other religions, including the non-religion, Buddhism, where the advice is often to invite them in until they go away.

But maybe these were other kinds of demons. Not the ones controlling not just you, but everything. Walker has since endorsed Icke numerous times on her blog, and even recommended an interview he did with Alex Jones , who also promotes racist conspiracy theories, in For the record: They do not!

Are Goyim us meant to be slaves of Jews, and not only That, but to enjoy it? Are three year old and a day girls eligible for marriage and intercourse? Are young boys fair game for rape? Must even the best of the Goyim us, again be killed? Pause a moment and think what this could mean Or already has meant In our own lifetime. Walker also advises her readers to supplement their reading of the Talmud with their own research.

It might also be worth asking what kind of evidence would lead your acquaintance to change their mind — a simple prompt that could help to highlight the fact that the theory is essentially unfalsifiable. A quick Google search will reveal that many of these names or their supposed credentials are completely fake.

Alternatively, the talking head may be a real person with some expertise, but not within the relevant field — yet their opinions are painted as the authoritative take. A conspiracy theorist may be able to find a GP or a surgeon, say, who is willing to argue that the virus is a hoax for a few minutes of notoriety. You may see articles by Vernon Coleman, for instance.

As a former GP he would seem to have some credentials, yet he has a history of supporting pseudoscientific ideas , including misinformation about the causes of Aids.

David Icke, meanwhile, has hosted videos by Barrie Trower , an alleged expert on 5G who is, in reality, a secondary school teacher. Finally, some conspiracy theorists greatly exaggerate debates among experts themselves.

Consider the so-called Great Barrington Declaration, an online document that argues we should aim for herd immunity, while protecting vulnerable people from infection. The authors of the original are three scientists, but the declaration was accompanied by a petition that did not verify the credentials of the signers, many of whom used false names or are real people with no expertise in this area.

In reality, the document represents a fringe view , which is unsupported by most epidemiological research, and thousands of other researchers have rejected the basic premise of their argument that herd immunity is achievable without a vaccine.

The tobacco industry used these tactics to great effect in the s, with adverts that quoted fake experts and rogue scientists who questioned the harms of smoking. Fortunately, he has found that educating people about the history of this common deceptive tactic can make people more sceptical of other fake experts at a later point.

Coincidence or covert operations? In September this year, the former Republican congressional candidate DeAnna Lorraine had a frightening epiphany. The fact that 5G arrived at roughly the same time as coronavirus, for instance, is not evidence that its electromagnetic waves caused the disease. As Cook points out , the character Baby Yoda also arrived in late — but who would claim that he had caused widespread illness? The problem of over-reading coincidences might explain why many people still believe that the MMR vaccine can lead to autism.

This is just a coincidence, but some people believe it offers evidence for the theory — despite the fact that large studies have repeatedly shown that autism is no more common among vaccinated children than unvaccinated children.

Governments and social media sites alike grapple with the fine balance between stemming harmful narratives and allowing freedom of expression. But experts point out that they can do both with effective moderation and collaboration. YouTube tightens Covid rules after Icke interview. Ofcom rules on Holmes and Icke coronavirus remarks. Facebook has taken down Mr Icke's official page. As examples, it cited:. Related Topics. Published 7 April Published 20 April