kind of activism and dispelling a lot of the sort of true conspiracies that have taken hold in america. a lot of kids involved with this movement said it s really cathartic. some of them grew up in homes, you know, that are overrun with conspiracies, maybe their parents, relatives or friends believe in these really harmful conspiracies, so this is like a mass coping mechanism for these kids. the founder was homeschooled in arkansas. how did his upbringing inspire birds aren t real? well, his religious upbringing is, i think it really informed all of birds aren t real. he said it s from the deep inside. i think he really understands how these harmful conspiracies take hold, especially in young people s minds. so he s really, really focused on community-building and obviously now speaking out, he doesn t want the movement to accidentally attract anyone that actually might believe this type of stuff. he wants to make it very clear that it s satire.
birds aren t real? well, his religious upbringing is, i think it really informed all of birds aren t real. he said it s from the deep inside. i think he really understands how these harmful conspiracies take hold, especially in young people s minds. so he s really, really focused on community-building and obviously now speaking out, he doesn t want the movement to accidentally attract anyone that actually might believe this type of stuff. he wants to make it very clear that it s satire. is he succeeding in that effort? yes. he is succeeding. i spoke to, you know, dozens of people about this, including a disinformation researcher. pretty much no one affiliated with the movement really believes that birds are not real. it s become kind of a meme. and, you know, it seems to be all in good fun. so i don t think that they have attracted any kind of negativity so far. one of the organizers you spoke with described it as