Birds are actually government drones – at least according to mock protesters who are part of the Birds Aren’t Real organization. 

The Birds Aren’t Real movement, created by 23-year-old Peter McIndoe, started in Memphis, Tennessee, in 2017. It was started as satire to make fun of the constant spread of misinformation on the internet and social media. 

McIndoe always is “in character,” maintaining the satire. For example, in an interview with Taylor Lornez, a New York Times reporter, McIndoe explained the “purpose” of the movement.

“The message of the movement is essentially to spread awareness that from 1959 through 2001, the government mercilessly genocided over 12 billion birds and simultaneously replaced them with surveillance drones in disguise that film us every day,” McIndoe said.   

Billboards have been posted over the years in Pittsburgh, Memphis, and Los Angeles to help spread the satirical, fake message of the Birds Aren’t Real group. 

There was a Birds Aren’t Real Truth Tour seminar that was held in Pittsburgh on Oct. 16. The organization once held a mock protest outside of Twitter’s San Francisco headquarters to protest the company’s bird logo, saying that it’s the government’s way of controlling society.

On Oct. 15, hundreds of mock protesters gathered in New York City’s Washington Square Park with signs reading “Birds Aren’t Real,” “Open Your Eyes,” “Pigeons Are Liars,” and “Wake Up America.” Taking up the satire another notch, mock counter-protesters at the event were accused of being paid actors. 

Satire is great and humorous for the people who understand, but it is often ruined by the people who don’t realize that it isn’t real. There could even be some people who join these protests who actually believe that birds aren’t real. 

With all the propaganda and lies that can be spread around, the organization hopes to use humor to bring awareness to the problems in today’s society. 

Although the internet and social media are great ways to spread information and can do great things, that doesn’t mean that everything on there is true or real, and many people fall for the false information that is presented to them. 

The internet has a lot of power to shape people’s minds and make people believe things that aren’t true – from the moon landing being fake, to fake stories about celebrity deaths, religion, and even about science. 

A lot of misinformation was spread about Covid and vaccines over the past two years. People go to social media and spread fake news about certain topics to gain attention – which is just what the Birds Aren’t Real satire hopes to end.

McIndoe hopes to fight the misinformation with misinformation through the many protests that happen globally.