Trump Supporters Are Promoting Insane Conspiracy Theories About the Vegas Shooter
"America Will Return To The Moon—And Go Beyond"
No, he was not carrying out an Illuminati “blood sacrifice” ritual.
Bryan SchatzOct. 13, 2017 5:08 PM
Mother Jones illustrationtarasov_vl/Getty; Morrison1977/Getty; mastaka/Getty
Which of the following groups does Stephen Paddock, the 64-year-old gunman responsible for the Las Vegas massacre, belong to, according to recent articles promoted by Republican pundits and Trump-affiliates?
a) Antifa
b) Islamic State
c) Illuminati
d) All of the above
If you chose “All of the above,” you’re correct.
The shooting that left 58 dead and hundreds wounded, according to a spate of recent articles promoted widely on Facebook and Twitter, must be the handiwork of a vast lefty-Antifa-Muslim-jihadist-Illuminati conspiracy—and the whole “rancid story,” as the Conservative columnist Wayne Allyn Root recently put it .. http://usaradio.com/2017/10/10/laura-loomer-tells-wayne-she-thinks-isis-was-behind-the-vegas-shooting/ , is being covered up by the FBI and the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police.
she declared, “Folks, this whole thing in Las Vegas. This killing field in front of this sphinx, this pyramid, this obelisk, this is no coincidence…This thing was nothing more than a strategically located blood sacrifice ritual, a death ritual across from a pyramid.”
of “Julius Caeser” in New York by shouting, “You guys are ISIS!” Now, branding herself an investigative journalist, Loomer told Infowars, “I think that this guy is a hardcore leftist with Antifa connections who became radicalized through ISIS.” She said, “You see a lot of these leftists who are embracing Islam.”
Jones then speculated .. https://youtu.be/S-Sgp4crhx8 .. that the attack could have been “a set up” staged by “deep state” agents in order to push gun control. The shooting, he believed, could lead the nation on a path toward civil war.
“Conspiracy theorists have repeatedly misquoted me as saying that ISIS was behind the Vegas attack,” says Callimachi. “To date, zero evidence of an ISIS link has emerged. I am talking both to sources in law enforcement and to US officials in Iraq who are tracking the terror group closely. They have found nothing suggesting that Paddock either interacted with members of ISIS, or was inspired by them—and certainly no evidence that he converted.”
- “Conspiracy theorists have repeatedly misquoted me as saying that ISIS was behind the Vegas attack.” -
On Twitter .. https://twitter.com/rcallimachi/status/918245131949572096 , Callimachi took the Gateway Pundit to task for what she called “lazy journalism.” The article suggests that an ISIS or ISIS-linked account “is promising a video proving Vegas shooter pledged allegiance,” she wrote .. https://twitter.com/rcallimachi/status/918245940758241280 . “This is not an ISIS account. How do I know? Zoom in on the profile picture.” The profile picture is the flag of Saudi Arabia—ISIS forbids flying any flag other than its own, and considers Saudi Arabia an enemy. “So unless it’s an ISIS account that’s really trying to be under deep cover…” she jokes.
Of course, whenever there’s a mass shooting or a terrorist incident, there are always conspiracy theories—queue the never-ending babble of JFK or 9/11 truthers. But what’s different this time is that, in our current fact-averse political moment, even those with links to the White House are promoting themand inflaming their enormous fanbases with politicized propaganda.
“These mistakes arise from both ignorance and arrogance,” says Amaranth Amarasingam, a senior research fellow at the Institute for Strategic Dialogue and a fellow at the George Washington University’s Program on Extremism. “Ignorance because these jihadist movements and the culture of jihadism actually takes some time to understand, and some of us have been studying it for years. Arrogance because people don’t recognize this and assume that some flag with Arabic writing on it is probably ISIS and run with it. Of course, this is me assuming that they actually are honest and considered reporters who care about accuracy, as opposed to retweets, which is not always clear.”
[Of course, it is absolutely clear not all these people are honest and considered reporters.]
It isn’t so much that there’s no possibility of Stephen Paddock having been influenced by ISIS, allow Callimachi and Amarasingam, it’s that for the time being, there is zero evidence to support it, and Paddock would be an extremely unlikely candidate: At 64-years-old, he would be “not just an aberration, but literally the oldest recruit” in the United States, says Callimachi.
“Vegas law enforcement has conducted dozens of interviews with everyone close to him, and there has been no mention of any conversion to Islam, no mention of change in behavior and so on,” says Amarasingam.
Since the conspiracy has spread, Callimachi says she has been inundated with messages from well meaning people who are horrified at what happened and just want answers. “They’ll send me a DM saying, ‘Have you seen this?’ And they’re sending me Infowars, or something they’ve seen on Facebook. These are not malicious people; they’re trying to understand. Each time I’m saying, ‘There’s no evidence of that.'”
- “The authors here are lighting fuses and they’re supposed to lead back to some secret, explosive connection.” -
According to Adam Klein, who teaches courses on propaganda at Pace University .. http://appsrv.pace.edu/webservices/digitalmeasures/get/view.cfm?schema=INDIVIDUAL-ACTIVITIES-University&username=aklein , there are three main factors that breathe life into conspiracy theories. The absence of a clear motive, as is the case with the Las Vegas massacre, creates a vacuum that conspiracy theorists are able to fill, he says. (It hasn’t helped that the official timeline of events has now changed .. https://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/las-vegas-shooting/sheriff-insists-no-conspiracy-las-vegas-shooting-timeline-changes-again-n810556 .. multiple times.) And it’s made easier when attacks are politicized, which, Klein points out, happens on both the left and the right. “The authors here are lighting fuses and they’re supposed to lead back to some secret, explosive connection: ‘Oh, this is all about gun control at the end of the day.’ Or, ‘This is all about the anti-fascists’—this provides a great justification for why the Antifa movement is so dangerous. Or the other narrative, that the FBI is trying to hide proof that ISIS is spreading and Paddock is the next example of that. That can all fall under the category of political score keeping and people trying to prove that this is part of a left wing conspiracy.”
Klein says the biggest factor is technology. “The Internet itself provides kind of an x-factor because, yes it’s a place a lot of false information forms, but it also coalesces with trusted sources and trusted information,” he says. Conspiracies travel from fringe websites to political blogs and on to Twitter and Reddit, “which act as incubators, where they allow some of these conspiracies to grow through hashtags, and they graduate onto a mainstream website, a news channel, or a politician who repeats these narratives.”
With the Las Vegas massacre, Klein says we’re still at the “Infowars stage,” but some mainstream figures, like Ann Coulter, are beginning to bite. The media has been “strangely reluctant” to pursue details on gunman Stephen Paddock, she said on Fox News Insider .. http://insider.foxnews.com/2017/10/06/coulter-media-strangely-reluctant-pursue-details-las-vegas-gunman . Tomi Lahren, a conservative political commentator at Fox News, tweeted to her nearly one million followers, “It’s been over a week. There’s no way it takes this long to get answers. Something is off. I assure you, we won’t forget. #lasvegasmassacre”
- “I investigate and predict based on my gut instincts and common sense only.” -
Meanwhile, Loomer continues her attempt to expose an alleged cover-up in Las Vegas. On Monday she posted a picture of herself at a memorial near Mandalay Bay, and stated, “I am doing this for them. They didn’t ask for this, and I’m not going to let these 58 victims be used in an @FBI misinformation campaign.” Wayne Allyn Root, despite falsely reporting that there were multiple shooters .. https://twitter.com/WayneRoot/status/914754539068076032 , that shots were fired at seven landmark Las Vegas locations .. https://twitter.com/WayneRoot/status/914744600459280385 .. (which he later admitted was false), and that what unfolded was clearly, to him, a “coordinated Muslim terrorist attack” despite no evidence to support it, similarly continues his crusade. On his radio show “WAR Now .. http://usaradio.com/2017/10/10/laura-loomer-tells-wayne-she-thinks-isis-was-behind-the-vegas-shooting/ ” on Tuesday, Root lamented that the leadership of the FBI and other law enforcement agencies are “all politicized, filled with government employee democrats who are out to protect Muslims at all costs.” (This was after voicing disdain for “experts” and declaring, “I investigate and predict based on my gut instincts and common sense only.”)
Conspiracy theorists don’t have to do much to benefit from their antics, says Klein. “They win simply by injecting doubt into the system, not by changing people’s minds. Doubt by itself is enough to distort the conversation, create discord around very important discussions that we should be having. If we’re talking about conspiracies instead of talking about gun control or mental illness or whatever factor that is a legitimate debate to have around this, then they’re winning. It doesn’t take more than that.”
As the Senate Intelligence Committee says Russia interfered in the 2016 presidential election, we discuss Russia and Trump with Russian-American journalist Masha Gessen. Her new book, "The Future is History: How Totalitarianism Reclaimed Russia," has just been shortlisted for the National Book Award and offers a warning to the United States today as she points to the similarities between Trump and Putin, and warns of the threat of autocracy under a Trump presidency. https://www.democracynow.org/2017/10/5/russian_journalist_masha_gessen_on_trump
Masha Gessen: Trump Doing "Incredible Damage" to Democracy While Media is Obsessed with Russia Probe
Published on Oct 5, 2017 by Democracy Now!
As the U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee says it has reached the conclusion that Russia interfered in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, and CNN reports a number of Russian-linked Facebook ads specifically targeted Michigan and Wisconsin, two states crucial to Trump’s victory in November, we speak with Russian-American journalist Masha Gessen. "We don’t know if there was a conspiracy," Gessen says of allegations the Trump campaign colluded with Russia. "But even if there was, we should do our best to try not to engage in conspiracy thinking. … It lends itself to this idea that once we discover that Trump colluded with the Russians, that we’ll magically get rid of Trump." She says it is unlikely the investigation will produce the kind of evidence of collusion that could be used as a legal basis for impeachment, and argues impeachment is unlikely while Republicans have control of both houses of Congress. https://www.democracynow.org/2017/10/5/masha_gessen_trump_doing_incredible_damage
Noted for her opposition to Russian President Vladimir Putin, Gessen has written about a range of topics, including LGBTQ rights, Russia’s Jewish state and the 2016 U.S. presidential election. She was born and spent much of her childhood in Moscow before moving with her Jewish family to the United States. After the fall of the Soviet Union, she returned to Moscow, where she and others created post-Soviet Russia’s first weekly magazine, Itogi. She also served as a member of the board of directors for the Moscow-based LGBT rights organization Triangle; as the head of U.S. News & World Report’s Moscow bureau; and as chief editor of Vokrug Sveta, a popular-science journal. She was dismissed from this position at Russia’s oldest magazine after refusing to send a reporter to cover a nature conservation event featuring Putin, considering it political exploitation of environmental concerns.
As a journalist living in Moscow, she experienced the rise of Putin firsthand. Her 2012 bestselling biography The Man Without a Face: The Unlikely Rise of Vladimir Putin—hailed as “an unflinching indictment of the most powerful man in Russia” by The Wall Street Journal—delivers a chilling account of the rise and reign of one of the most influential figures in world politics.
She is also the author of Words Will Break Cement: The Passion of Pussy Riot—named a Best Book of 2014 by NPR and The Guardian—about a Russian punk rock group arrested for staging an unauthorized performance protest opposing Putin and the leadership of the Russian Orthodox Church.
Her 2015 book The Brothers: The Road to an American Tragedy, about the perpetrators of the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings, was named a Best Book of the Year by Time magazine.
Her most recent book, Where the Jews Aren’t: The Sad and Absurd Story of Birobidzhan, Russia’s Jewish Autonomous Region, was hailed by Publisher’s Weekly as “one of the 20th century’s most chilling stories of struggle, perseverance, and despair.”
A fluent writer in Russian and English, Gessen is a regular contributor to The New York Times, The New Yorker, The Washington Post, Harper’s, Vanity Fair and Slate, among other publications.
On Wednesday, November 12, 2014 at 7:00 p.m. Cambridge Forum hosted Russian and American journalist, author, and LGBT activist Masha Gessen, discussing “Putin’s War–Against the West.” Her account of Vladimir Putin's rise to power and its devastating impact on the nascent democratic government of Russia (The Man Without a Face: The Unlikely Rise of Vladimir Putin) opened a window onto changing culture of Russia as well as the nature of its powerful and enigmatic leader. Her newest book, Words Will Break Cement: The Passion of Pussy Riot, recounts the arrest, trial, and imprisonment of Pussy Riot. What do Gessen's experiences and insights tell us about Russia today? How might this new understanding change America's response to Putin’s actions?
Masha Gessen is a Russian and American journalist, author, and activist who writes in both Russian and English and has built a career in journalism in Russia and the United States. Gessen identifies as a lesbian and has written extensively on LGBT rights and help founded the Pink Triangle Campaign in Moscow. She has been described as "Russia's leading LGBT rights activist." Gessen voluntarily left Russia in 2013 when tightening anti-gay and lesbian policies threatened her family.
Noted for her opposition to Russian President Vladimir Putin, Gessen’s criticism culminated in the 2012 biography The Man Without A Face: The Unlikely Rise of Vladimir Putin. This was followed by Words Will Break Cement: The Passion of Pussy Riot about the Russian feminist punk rock protest group whose performances protesting Putin led to their imprisonment. Gessen is the author of three previous books and has also written extensively for such publications as The New York Times, The Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, The New Republic, New Statesman, Granta, Slate, Vanity Fair, and U.S. News & World Report. In 2013 she received the Media for Liberty award.
This talk was filmed on November 12, 2014, at First Parish in Cambridge.
Full Broadcast 6Oct17 Real News with David Knight GUESTS: • Former Senator Coburn — How do we fix the corruption in DC? Sen Coburn makes the case for an Article V Convention • Dr. Jerome Corsi — updates on FannieGate, Sen Bob Corker (supporter of ObamaCare, opponent of Trump and tax relief) and the new foundation of corruption, the Obama Foundation TOPICS: • Harvey Weinstein is just the tip of a sexually transmitted disease we call Hollywood • Prince Charles loves his Somalis - especially the pirates for what they’ve done for Mother Earth (GAIA) • Senator Menendez is on trial for 18 counts of fraud & bribery — felonies. But if he’s convicted, he will remain in the Senate unless 67 senators vote to expel him • Senator Markey lies again — this time about guns
[A recently-debuted new show from Alex Jones and his merry band of batshit bullshitters.]
Friday, October 6th 2017: With appearances by Brandon Tatum, Tony Shaffer, Robert Kiyosaki and James Brower, and Mike Cernovich hosting the fourth hour.
Full Show - Police Give Update On Vegas Massacre - 10/06/2017
Published on Oct 6, 2017 by Ron Gibson
Police Give Update On Vegas Massacre - Full Show - 10/6/2017
The Las Vegas Police have issued their latest statements in the most recent press briefing. Meanwhile, the FBI stays ambiguous. We hear from eye witness reports at the Vegas massacre saying multiple shooters, as well as a police officer's take on the entire thing. President Trump warns of calm before the storm, what could he have meant?
[Another recently-debuted new show from Alex Jones and his merry band of batshit bullshitters.]
Dossier author will talk to Senate, contradicting GOP Intel Chair
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The Beat With Ari Melber 10/6/17
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The Rachel Maddow Show 10/6/17
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64 hours in October: How one weekend blew up the rules of American politics
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The Rachel Maddow Show 10/6/17
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The Rachel Maddow Show 10/6/17
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The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell 10/6/17
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The 11th Hour with Brian Williams 10/6/17
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Published on Oct 7, 2017 by The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
Special counsel Robert Mueller met with the author of the infamous Russia dossier that mentions the most highly anticipated film of the year: the pee-pee tape.
Published on Oct 7, 2017 by The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
Brooke Shields revealed the details of her conversation with Donald Trump which he asked her out immediately after his 1999 divorce. Stephen reveals the pick-up lines he used on the other '90s female celebrities.
A Conversation on Ending Gun Violence (Full Interview) | Chelsea | Netflix | Chelsea | Netflix
Published on Oct 5, 2017 by Chelsea
Chelsea invited The Brady Campaign's Kris Brown and director of Guns Down America, Igor Volsky, to join her for a conversation on ending gun violence in America in the wake of the mass shooting in Las Vegas.
Chelsea on Ending Gun Violence | Chelsea | Netflix
Published on Oct 5, 2017 by Chelsea
Chelsea references the gun reform laws that ended mass shootings in Australia and calls for change here at home by sharing the name of every member of congress who has accepted money from the NRA since 1998.
On "Day 260" of the Donald Trump White House Regime, Trump is Stuck in Reality TV Show Mode. He treats the threat of war as if it was a Reality TV Show Cliffhanger. Someone needs to wake that Knucklehead up. The Pentagon cancels a Military Exercise with Saudi Arabia after their King met with Russia. Youtube censors and Deletes videos that don't fit with their narrative. Trump gives Jeff Shapiro a Big Government Media Job.., Another Huge Tax Payer paid position for the People Loyal to a Foreign Power, Americans loyal to America pick up the Bread Crumbs !!!
The 'unique' nature of the US voting system could help Russia tip the scales of future elections, experts say Top lawmakers say they're worried there was not a quicker response from the Department of Homeland Security on Russian election meddling. The "unique" nature of the US's Electoral College system, experts say, makes it easier for election-meddling efforts to be successful. "Arguably, you could pick two or three states, and two or three jurisdictions, and alter an election," Sen. Mark Warner said. http://www.businessinsider.com/did-russia-swing-the-election-electoral-college-meddling-2017-10
CIA: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un isn't crazy Top officials from the CIA said Wednesday that Kim's actions are not those of a maniacal provocateur US-led efforts to apply additional diplomatic pressure on North Korea in recent months have been met with greater defiance http://www.cnn.com/2017/10/05/politics/cia-kim-jong-un-intelligence-profile/index.html
APNewsBreak: US military halts exercises over Qatar crisis DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The U.S. military has halted some exercises with its Gulf Arab allies over the ongoing diplomatic crisis targeting Qatar, trying to use its influence to end the monthslong dispute, authorities told The Associated Press on Friday. While offering few details, the acknowledgement by the U.S. military’s Central Command shows the concern it has over the conflict gripping the Gulf, home to the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet and crucial bases for its campaign against the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria, as well as the war in Afghanistan. [...] https://apnews.com/33d75eaedbdd4b178e9025ea8a0edc83/APNewsBreak:-US-military-halts-exercises-over-Qatar-crisis
Where Did All the Restaurant Workers Go? The latest jobs report shows that one sector accounted for all of September's losses. Not even two hurricanes can explain that. The 83-month-long streak of payroll employment gains appears to have been broken in September. The 33,000-job decline announced Friday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics could be revised away in coming months, and in any case it's more likely due to two big hurricanes than any economic slowdown. Not much to see here, in other words. But there is one aspect to the payroll report that I couldn't take my eyes off of. A single sector -- food services and drinking places -- accounted for all the job losses and then some, with payrolls declining by an estimated 104,700 (0.9 percent) in just one month. Which means that all the other sectors put together added 71,700 jobs. [...] https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2017-10-06/jobs-report-where-did-all-the-restaurant-workers-go
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