Tinfoil Tuesday: Birds Aren't Real

Welcome to Tinfoil Tuesday, wherein we take a peek behind the curtain of a relatively entertaining conspiracy theory. Today, we’re taking a look at one of the wildest ones out there: Birds Aren’t Real. I’ve only been able to do two other Tinfoil Tuesdays so far: I talked about how we might be living in a simulation, and whether a supermind controls the internet.

I’m just going to dive right in: this theory postulates that birds, as we know them, are nothing more than sophisticated surveillance drones designed by the government.

What started as a tongue-in-cheek internet meme has grown feathers and wings, taking on a shocking flight of its own.

How It Began

During the 2017 Women's March in Memphis, Tennessee, a 19 year old kid named Peter McIndoe wrote "Birds Aren't Real" on a poster and improvised a conspiracy theory amongst the counter-protestors as a "spontaneous joke." A video of his antics went viral, giving birth to the satirical movement.

Here’s McIndoe looking back a few years lat…