#DeplatformIcke #DeplatformIcke How Big Tech powers and profits from David Icke’s lies and hate, and why it must stop 1 #DeplatformIcke Contents Introduction ...................................................................................................................................................... 3 David Icke is the leading producer of COVID-19 misinformation ................................................... 4 Icke’s COVID-19 “superconspiracy” unites different hate actors ....................................................7 Icke is using COVID-19 to promote a wider hate agenda ............................................................... 10 Icke is supported by a sophisticated misinformation network .....................................................14 Icke’s business model is made possible by tech giants ................................................................. 16 Deplatforming works .................................................................................................................................. 20 Acknowledgements ...................................................................................................................................... 21 CCDH finds practical solutions to the instrumentalisation of identity-based hate to polarise and undermine democracies worldwide. Hateful discourse hardens differences, coarsens the public sphere and leads to anger and violence. Proponents of hate are quick to adopt new techniques and technologies, particularly social media, to spread their ideas and beliefs. We have seen it in the UK and US, throughout Europe, and further afield – from Brazil to Nigeria, India to Israel. Populist politicians have allied with haters to gain new advocates and troll armies to harass opponents and institutions that provide checks and balances in liberal states, like the media and judiciary. If we do not deal with this threat, it threatens to undermine our democracies. CCDH works with practitioners in diverse fields, such as political science, behavioural science, the law, countering violent extremism and counterterrorism, child protection and identity-based hate to develop strategies that strengthen tolerance, liberalism and democracy, and counterstrategies to the new forms of political hate. 2 #DeplatformIcke Introduction For many people, David Icke is a joke, theories are less likely to follow the whose public life ended when he government’s guidance to wash their declared himself the “son of God” live on hands regularly, stay at home and the BBC thirty years ago. socially distance. In truth that interview was the start of a Icke profits from all this misinformation. new and profitable career as a His YouTube videos generate ad revenue professional conspiracy theorist, in both from Google Ads and from his which Icke has spent decades promoting sponsor, an investment firm seeking to bigotry and misinformation. exploit the paranoia of Icke’s followers. Icke’s popularity was turbocharged by Social media platforms profit from social media, where he has an audience hosting Icke too. His audience of over of two million followers. His website is two million followers could be worth up one of the 1,000 most popular in the UK. to $23.8 million in annual revenue, Recent polling by Hope Not Hate primarily generated by advertisers revealed that more than half of the UK seeking to reach Icke’s fans as well as population have heard of Icke. the money Icke and his collaborators spend to reach a wider audience. The COVID-19 pandemic, however, has Facebook and Twitter even allow clarified the threat David Icke poses to advertisers to target people with an public safety. His conspiracy theories interest in Icke and 5G. Meanwhile, about COVID-19 have been viewed over Amazon and Apple TV sell access to 30 million times on social media, making videos in which Icke promotes him the leading producer of antisemitic conspiracy theories, denies misinformation on the disease. climate change is real and encourages Taken together, his videos outline a people to refuse vaccinations. “superconspiracy” in which COVID-19 Removing this content in a piecemeal does not exist and has been invented by fashion will not work. YouTube a “global cult” to justify the imposition of attempted this with the removal of just an “Orwellian global state”. Millions have some of Icke’s videos on 5G in early watched Icke explain how Bill Gates and April, only to leave his misinformation the Jewish Rothschilds form part of that network intact and able to launch a cult, and how 5G networks and vaccines recruitment drive that gained over are the real cause of COVID-19. 320,000 followers in a week. This is having real world consequences. We have seen that if they want, social In the UK, there was a wave of arson media companies can act. Alex Jones, the attacks on 5G phone masts after videos proprietor of US ‘fake news’ outlet of Icke falsely linking them to COVID-19 InfoWars, was deplatformed by social were shared in Facebook groups, media companies for his hate and amassing millions of views. In North misinformation. The only way to rein in America, anti-lockdown protestors have Icke’s hate and misinformation is to cited David Icke as their inspiration. deplatform him now, before inaction on Research by Dr Daniel Allington his lies and hate end up costing lives. published by CCDH shows that those Imran Ahmed who are persuaded by conspiracy CEO, CCDH 3 #DeplatformIcke David Icke is the leading producer of COVID-19 misinformation David Icke’s conspiracy theories about known conspiracy theorist in the UK: 51 the coronavirus have been viewed over percent of respondents had heard of him 30 million times across social media. His and 12 percent said they had read his videos are popular on every major social books or watched his videos.2 network, and spread misinformation about the coronavirus, including denying Icke’s most popular coronavirus its existence.1 video One YouTube video in which Icke claims These videos present an overarching the Rothschilds were involved in “superconspiracy” that COVID-19 does planning the coronavirus outbreak has not even exist and has been invented by been viewed 5.9 million times – enough a “global cult” in order to justify the to make it the 27th most viewed video imposition of a “beyond Orwellian global about coronavirus on the platform.3 state”. Millions have watched Icke explain how Bill Gates and the It repeats Icke’s core claim that a “global Rothschilds form part of that cult, and cult” has planned the coronavirus how 5G networks and vaccines have outbreak in order to impose a “beyond made people more vulnerable to the Orwellian global state”. Icke also cast disease. doubt on the spread and severity of the disease, saying “someone with an These figures are based on an analysis immune system in working order of any of videos that feature Icke speaking level will just swat it away.”4 about the coronavirus on YouTube, Facebook and Instagram, available as a The video has since been liked and dataset accompanying this report. Some shared over 376,000 times on Facebook. of these videos are posted to Icke’s Real world consequences personal accounts, while others are Icke’s conspiracy theories are having posted by collaborators and supporters real-world consequences. Icke has detailed later in this document. promoted anti-5G network conspiracies This reach is possible thanks to a social since 2016, and analysis using media following of over 2 million fans, CrowdTangle show his videos are built over a period of eleven years. Icke popular in anti-5G Facebook groups that has gained an extra 370,000 followers have encouraged people to burn down since March by taking a leading role in mobile phone masts across the UK. promoting coronavirus misinformation. Polling by Hope Not Hate shows that his But Icke’s conspiracy theories are likely website is the most popular alternative to have reached many more people than news source for 5G conspiracists.5 these numbers suggest, as Twitter and In the US, Icke’s claim that COVID-19 is a Facebook do not reveal how many hoax intended to justify a clampdown on people see the memes and articles that personal freedoms appears to have Icke posts to those social networks daily. influenced anti-lockdown protests Social media is helping drive Icke’s real- outside state legislatures. One anti- world popularity. New polling from Hope lockdown activist in Vancouver told The Not Hate shows Icke is the most well- Sun newspaper that he “is planning to 4 #DeplatformIcke speak to David Icke in the coming days” the game is going: that you have this and had been inspired by his videos. vaccine full of shite to control you and undermine your health so we can have Research from Dr Daniel Allington at more pandemics, or you can’t mix with King’s College London shows that people the rest of the community, you can’t fly, who believe false claims about the etcetera. Now, this is why, this is the real coronavirus, of which Icke is the leading reason why, [Bill] Gates and GAVI, this producer, are more willing to ignore vaccine alliance, has developed this government advice on social distancing, quantum tattoo so they can tell who’s staying at home, and regularly washing had the vaccine and who hasn’t.”14 hands.6 “They ran this simulation called Event Icke on COVID-19 201… so all these things that were 7 decided in this Gates - World Economic “There is no COVID-19 – it doesn’t exist.” Forum - one percent simulation six “COVID-19, what they are showing you weeks before that