Are birds real? | Peter McIndoe & Connor Gaydos | TEDxVienna

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Published 2023-02-19
This talk explains the hows and whys behind the Bird's Aren't Real movement. Peter McIndoe and Connor Gaydos are artists and co-founders of the "Birds Aren't Real" movement - a satirical conspiracy theory which posits that birds don't exist and are really drone replicas installed by the U.S. government to spy on Americans. They spent years in-character with journalists and the world, using conspiracy theorist cosplay by way of Andy Kaufman to rally a community around the absurdity.

So far, the movement has amassed millions of followers on social media, and hundreds of official chapters have popped up at colleges all across the U.S. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at www.ted.com/tedx
All Comments (21)
  • @PoloBoyPrince
    This explains why birds are always on powerlines, so they can charge.
  • @mr.hussain8980
    She - "That's a satire." He - "Honestly, it's kinda offensive" had me rolling.
  • @Yoshignacio
    I think this just shows how easy it is to manipulate people
  • @dl2725
    When I hear this guy snort-laughing uncontrollably, I marvel that he kept such a straight face on the Jesse Waters show on Fox. Masterful
  • @mrcrazymx51
    it would be interesting to know how many of their followers actually believed it and how many still believe it, saying things like "the gov made them say it is fake because they accidentally figured it out".
  • @TrippingOverParadise
    Anyone who doubts that birds are real has not been “gifted” dead birds by their cat. 😂
  • @alethiacharis2480
    I didn't think the government was smart enough to have accomplished finding and killing every bird🤣
  • @crow_feather
    My God...a bird crapped on my head, once! Does that mean that the government was spying on...ME?!
  • @chriss3625
    I have my Birds Aren’t Real tee shirt: ‘Pigeons are liars’ 🤣 I love it!
  • @Ubermensch201
    "IF IT FLIES IT SPIES, IF IT FLIES IT SPIES"!!! 🤣🤣
  • @conormurphy4328
    Have you ever seen a baby pigeon? Of course not. They don’t make them that young!
  • @vi9753
    If birds aren't real, then the government needs to clean all the poop off my property.
  • @krihunt08
    Working Lady Bird Johnson into the bird lore was a missed opportunity
  • @BloomingMeadowsCo.
    The message behind this was just so amazing thank you guys for the video
  • @YoureNowOnTV
    Maybe that was satire, but you should hear about how the fish were replaced by disgruntled government agents who were against the Robot bird conspiracy! 😉🐟
  • @anyagetman8596
    My cats have experimented and found no chips in their victims ;).