Peter McIndow, a 23-year-old resident of Memphis, Tennessee, has finally admitted in an interview with The New York Times that the Birds Aren’t Real movement he founded is just a hoax.
And his joke really turned into a “movement” with hundreds of thousands of followers who not only believe that birds are actually drones (unmanned aerial vehicles) that the state uses to spy on its citizens and steal their personal information, but also that woodpeckers do not just knock on wood with their beaks, but transmit this information in Morse code. “Yes, we have been spreading this nonsense on purpose for four years,” McIndow said. “Our goal was to provide a mirror that America of the Internet age can look into.”
McIndow began giving real-life features to the character he had created, and with the help of Connor’s friend Gaydos, he wrote a fake story of the movement. Taking advantage of the ignorance of many of their followers, Mackindow and Gaydos began to manufacture and sell various products that advertised the slogans and goals of the “movement.” The proceeds from such sales allow them not only to earn their living, but also to support the movement in general, McIndow admitted.
Newspaper headline:
“There is a grain of a joke in every joke …”
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