David Icke: Difference between revisions

{{Short description|English conspiracy theorist, author, broadcaster, and former football player (born 1952)}}

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'''David Vaughan Icke''' ({{IPAc-en|v|ɔː|n|_|aɪ|k}} {{respell|vawn|_|iyk}}; born 29 April 1952) is an English [[Conspiracy theory|conspiracy theorist]] and a former [[Association football|footballer]] and [[Sports commentator|sports broadcaster]].<ref name="barkun-chasing-phantoms">{{Cite book |last=Barkun |first=Michael |author-link= Michael Barkun |title=Chasing Phantoms: Reality, Imagination, and Homeland Security Since 9/11 |publisher=University of North Carolina Press |year= 2011 |page=72 |isbn=978-0807877692 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XAMYE8OLzu0C&pg=PA72}}</ref><ref name="conspiracy-theories-the-reptilian-elite">{{Cite magazine |url= http://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1860871_1860876_1861029,00.html |title=Conspiracy Theories — The Reptilian Elite |date= 20 November 2008 |magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |access-date=17 December 2018 |issn=0040-781X}}</ref><ref name="alice-walker-recommends-book-by-david-icke">{{Cite web |url=https://www.thejc.com/news/world/acclaimed-author-alice-walker-recommends-book-by-notorious-conspiracy-theorist-david-icke-1.474057 |title=Acclaimed author Alice Walker recommends book by notorious conspiracy theorist David Icke |last=Doherty |first=Rosa |date=17 December 2018 |work=[[The Jewish Chronicle]] |via=thejc.com |access-date=17 December 2018}}</ref><ref name="david-icke-helped-unite-labour">{{Cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/nov/27/david-icke-unite-labours-factions-conspiracists |title=How David Icke helped unite Labour's factions against antisemitism |last=Shabi |first=Rachel |date=27 November 2018 |work=The Guardian |access-date=17 December 2018 |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref><ref name="stuff">{{Cite podcast |url=https://www.iheart.com/podcast/182-stuff-they-dont-want-you-t-26941221/episode/david-icke-and-the-rise-of-29623985/ |title=David Icke and the Rise of the Lizard People |date=10 February 2017 |access-date=3 March 2017 |website=stufftheydontwantyoutoknow.com |first1=Ben |last1=Bowlin |first2=Matt |last2=Fredrick |first3=Noel |last3=Brown}}</ref> He has written over 20 books, self-published since the mid-1990s, and spoken in more than 25 countries.{{sfn |Lewis |Kahn |2010 |p=75}}{{sfn |Robertson |2016 |p=121}}<ref name="PRA">{{Cite web |url=http://www.publiceye.org/Icke/IckeBackgrounder.htm |title=David Icke And The Politics Of Madness Where The New Age Meets The Third Reich |last= Offley |first= Will |publisher=[[Political Research Associates]] |date=29 February 2000 |access-date=2 August 2016}}</ref>

In 1990, Icke visited a [[psychic]] who told him he was on Earth for a purpose and would receive messages from the spirit world.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Icke|first=David|title=The Truth Vibrations|year=1991|pages=15–18}}</ref> This led him to claim in 1991 to be a "Son of the Godhead"<ref name="stuff" /> and that the world would soon be devastated by tidal waves and earthquakes. He repeated this on the BBC show ''[[Wogan]]''.{{sfn|Icke|1993|pp=192–194}}<ref name="them-adventures-with-extremists-p152">{{Cite book |last=Ronson |first=Jon |author-link=Jon Ronson |title=Them: Adventures with Extremists |publisher=Picador |location=London |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XVJPQ2-aieMC&q=Wogan&pg=PA152 |pages=152–154 |date=2001|isbn=9780743227070 }}</ref> His appearance led to public ridicule.<ref name="new-statesman-interview">{{Cite web |last1=Evans |first1=Paul |title=Interview: David Icke |url=https://www.newstatesman.com/life-and-society/2008/03/icke-world-conspiracy |website=New Statesman |date=3 March 2008 |publisher=NS Media Group |access-date=5 May 2020}}</ref> Books Icke wrote over the next 11 years developed his world view of a [[New Age]] conspiracy.{{sfn |Barkun |2003 |p=103}} Reactions to his endorsement of an [[antisemitic]] fabrication, ''[[The Protocols of the Elders of Zion]]'', in ''The Robots' Rebellion'' (1994) and in ''And the Truth Shall Set You Free'' (1995) led his then publisher to decline further books, and he has self-published since then.<ref name="PRA" />

Icke contends that the universe consists of "vibrational" energy and infinite dimensions sharing the same space.<ref name="WardNH" /><ref name="Doyle17Feb2006" />{{sfn|Icke|1999|pp=26–27}} He claims that there is an inter-dimensional race of reptilian beings, the [[Archon (Gnosticism)|Archons]] or [[Anunnaki]], which have hijacked the Earth. Further, a genetically modified human–Archon hybrid race of [[reptilereptilian conspiracy theory|reptilian]] [[Shapeshifting|shape-shifters]] – the [[#reptoid|Babylonian Brotherhood]], [[New World Order (conspiracy theory)#Illuminati|Illuminati]] or "[[elite]]" – manipulate events to keep humans in fear, so that the Archons can feed off the resulting "[[Energy (esotericism)|negative energy]]".<ref name="WardNH" />{{sfn |Lewis |Kahn |2010 |p=82}}{{sfn |Icke |1999 |pp=19–25, 40}}<ref name="NS2014">{{Cite news |last=Lynskey |first=Dorian |url=https://www.newstatesman.com/lifestyle/2014/11/psycho-lizards-saturn-godlike-genius-david-icke |title=Psycho lizards from Saturn: The godlike genius of David Icke! |work=New Statesman |date=6 November 2014 |access-date=13 April 2020}}</ref> He claims that many public figures belong to the Babylonian Brotherhood and propel humanity towards a global [[fascist]] state or [[New World Order (conspiracy theory)|New World Order]], a [[post-truth]] era ending freedom of speech.{{sfn |Barkun |2003 |p=103}}<ref name="WardNH" /><ref name="Neil20May2016" /><ref name="LEPredpilled">{{Cite web |last=Widdas |first=Henry |title=Being 'red-pilled' by David Icke has never been so entertaining... and terrifying |url=https://www.lep.co.uk/whats-on/theatre/being-red-pilled-by-david-icke-has-never-been-so-entertaining-and-terrifying-1-9120860 |website=[[Lancashire Evening Post]] |access-date=15 June 2018 |date=17 April 2018}}</ref> He sees the only way to defeat such "Archontic" influence is for people to wake up to the truth and fill their hearts with love.<ref name="WardNH" /> Critics have accused Icke of being antisemitic and a [[Holocaust denier]], due to his endorsement of ''The Protocols of the Elders of Zion'' as well as his identification of the Jewish [[Rothschild family]] as reptilians, with his theories of reptilians servingbeing alleged to serve as a deliberate "code", something which Icke has denied.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Hume |first=Tim |date=2022-11-04 |title=‘Lizard Elite’ Conspiracy Theorist Banned from 26 European Countries |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/5d3qa8/david-icke-european-ban |access-date=2024-04-09 |website=Vice |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite news |last=Karp |first=Paul |date=2019-02-20 |title=Conspiracy theorist David Icke hits back after Australia revokes visa |url=https://www.theguardian.com/news/2019/feb/20/conspiracy-theorist-david-icke-hits-back-after-australia-revokes-visa |access-date=2024-04-09 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite news |date=2022-11-04 |title=David Icke: Conspiracy theorist banned from Netherlands |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-63511142 |access-date=2024-04-09 |language=en-GB}}</ref><ref name="off" /><ref name="RosenbergTab" /><ref name="DW Berlin" /><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Allington |first=Daniel |last2=Buarque |first2=Beatriz L |last3=Barker Flores |first3=Daniel |date=February 2021 |title=Antisemitic conspiracy fantasy in the age of digital media: Three ‘conspiracy theorists’ and their YouTube audiences |url=http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0963947020971997 |journal=Language and Literature: International Journal of Stylistics |language=en |volume=30 |issue=1 |pages=78–102 |doi=10.1177/0963947020971997 |issn=0963-9470}}</ref> The allegations of antisemitism and promotion of misinformation has resulted in him being banned from entering a number of countries.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2" />

==Career==

[[Rheumatoid arthritis]] in his left knee, which spread to the right knee, ankles, elbows, wrists and hands, stopped him from making a career out of football. Despite stating that he was often in agony during training, Icke managed to play part-time for [[Hereford United F.C.|Hereford United]], including in the first team when they were in the [[Football League Fourth Division|fourth]], and later in the [[Football League Third Division|third]], division of the English [[The Football League|Football League]].

Icke visited Shine four times. During the third meeting, on 29 March 1990, Icke claims to have felt something like a spider's web on his face, and Shine told him she had a message from Wang Ye Lee of the spirit world.<ref>Kay 2011, p. 179.</ref><ref name="development-of-new-age-theodicy">{{Cite journal |first=David G. |last=Robertson |title=David Icke's Reptilian Thesis and the Development of New Age Theodicy |journal=International Journal for the Study of New Religions |volume=4 |date=7 September 2013 |issue=1 |pages=27–47 |doi=10.1558/ijsnr.v4i1.27}}</ref>

There followed what Icke called his "turquoise period". He had been [[Mediumship|channelling]] for some time, he wrote, and had received a message through [[automatic writing]] that he was a "Son of the Godhead", interpreting "Godhead" as the "Infinite Mind".{{sfn|Icke|1993|pp=190, 208}} He began to wear only the colour turquoise, often a turquoise [[shell suit]], a colour he saw as a conduit for positive energy.{{sfn|Icke|1993|p=192}}<ref name="Jonson17March2001">Extracts from {{Cite book |first=Jon |last=Ronson |title=Them: Adventures with Extremists |publisher= |year= |isbn=}}. {{Cite news |first=Jon |last=Ronson |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2001/mar/17/features.weekend |title=Beset by lizards (part one) |work=The Guardian |access-date=27 November 2022}} {{Cite news |first=Jon |last=Ronson |url= https://www.theguardian.com/books/2001/mar/17/features.weekend1 |title=Beset by lizards (part two) |work=The Guardian |date=17 March 2001 |access-date=27 November 2022}}</ref> He also started working on his third book, and the first of his New-Age period, ''The Truth Vibrations''.<ref>{{cncite web |last1=Robertson |first1=David G. |title=Metaphysical Conspiracism: UFOs as Discursive Object Between Popular Millennial and Conspiracist Fields |url=https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/429714675.pdf |website=[[CORE (research service)|CORE]] |publisher=[[University of Edinburgh]] |access-date=19 November 20222023 |page=121 |date=2014}}</ref>

The relationship with Shaw led to the birth of a daughter in December 1991, although she and Icke had by then ceased their relationship. Icke wrote in 1993 that at Shaw's request he decided not to visit histheir daughter and had seen her only once,.<ref atname="CORE Shaw's request.127"/> Icke's wife gave birth to the couple's second son in November 1992.{{sfn |Icke |1993 |pp=223, 254}}{{sfn |Robertson |2016 |pp=134–135}}

In March 1991, Icke resigned from the Green Party during a party conference, telling them he was about to be at the centre of "tremendous and increasing controversy", and winning a standing ovation from delegates after the announcement.<ref name="Kennedy20March1991" />

{{quoteblockquote|One of my very greatest fears as a child was being ridiculed in public. And there it was coming true. As a television presenter, I'd been respected. People come up to you in the street and shake your hand and talk to you in a respectful way. And suddenly, overnight, this was transformed into "Icke's a nutter." I couldn't walk down any street in Britain without being laughed at. It was a nightmare. My children were devastated because their dad was a figure of ridicule.<ref name="Jonson17March2001"/><ref>Ronson 2001, p. 173.</ref>}}

{{quoteblockquote|Why do we play a part in suppressing alternative information to the official line of the [[Second World War]]? How is it right that while this fierce suppression goes on, free copies of the [[Steven Spielberg|Spielberg]] film, ''[[Schindler's List]]'', are given to schools to indoctrinate children with the unchallenged version of events. And why do we, who say we oppose tyranny and demand freedom of speech, allow people to go to prison and be vilified, and magazines to be closed down on the spot, for suggesting another version of history.|''And the Truth Shall Set You Free'' (1995)<ref name="PRA" />}}

Icke met his first wife, Linda Atherton, in May 1971 at a dance at the Chesford Grange Hotel near [[Leamington Spa]], Warwickshire. They married on 30 September 1971, four months after they met.{{sfn |Icke |1993 |p=61}} Their daughter Kerry was born in March 1975,;{{sfn |Icke |1993 |pp=82, 96, 253–254}} followedKerry bydied in December 2023.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Gleadow |first1=Ewan |title=Conspiracist David Icke promises to meet daughter 'in another realm' after tragic death |url=https://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/latest-news/conspiracist-david-icke-promises-meet-31651071 |access-date=12 December 2023 |work=[[Daily Star (United Kingdom)|Daily Star]] |date=11 December 2023}}</ref> Their onefirst son, Gareth, was born in December 1981,<ref>{{cite web |title=Gareth Icke |url=https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/officers/9rFf5ZD055NJsbAVesHy5GDCcCU/appointments |website=find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk |access-date=6 November 2023}}</ref>{{sfn |Icke |1993 |pp=96, 253–254}} andfollowed anotherby their second son, Jaymie, in November 1992.<ref>{{cite web |title=Jaymie Alexander Icke |url=https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/officers/Tjl-MCbIE3r7kfW-jTGn2A1_TfE/appointments |website=find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk |access-date=6 November 2023}}</ref>{{sfn |Icke |1993 |pp=82, 96, 253–254}} The couple divorced in 2001 but remained friends, and Atherton continued to work as Icke's business manager.{{sfn |Robertson |2016 |pp=139–140, 147}}

Icke combines [[New Age]] philosophical discussion about the universe and consciousness with conspiracy theories about public figures being [[reptilian conspiracy theory|reptilian humanoid]]s and [[paedophilia|paedophiles]]. He argues in favour of [[reincarnation]]; a collective consciousness that has [[intentionality]]; [[modal realism]]{{sfn |Icke |1999 |pp=26–27}} (that other possible worlds exist alongside ours); and the so-called [[Law of attraction (New Thought)|law of attraction]]{{sfn |Icke |1999 |pp=30–40}} (that good and bad thoughts can attract experiences).<ref>For law of attraction, Icke, ''Children of the Matrix'', 291 ff.</ref><ref name="WardNH"/>

[[File:Draco Hevelius.jpg|thumb|upright=1.25|alt=drawing|The [[Draco (constellation)|Draco constellation]] from ''Firmamentum Sobiescianum sive Uranographia'' (1690) by [[Johannes Hevelius]]. Icke's "reptoid hypothesis" posits that humanity is ruled by descendants of [[reptilian conspiracy theory|reptilians]] from Draco.{{sfn|Barkun|2003|p=105}}]]

{{quoteblockquote|When you get back into the ancient world, you find this recurring theme of a union between a non-human race and humans – creating a hybrid race.<br>From 1998, I started coming across people who told me they had seen people change into a non-human form. It's an age-old phenomenon known as shape-shifting. The basic form is like a scaly humanoid, with reptilian rather than humanoid eyes.<ref name="Scotsman2006">[httphttps://www.scotsman.com/news/uk-news/the-royal-family-are-bloodsucking-alien-lizards-david-icke-1-11039542478194 "The Royal Family are bloodsucking alien lizards – David Icke"], ''The Scotsman'', 30 January 2006.</ref>}}

{{quoteblockquote|The appearance of the 'unseen' in the Middle East 6,000 years ago seems to be no coincidence, and it's little wonder that Icke's work is so often accused of anti-Semitism. However, if we were to accept that Icke himself does not hold such views, and that his work is merely co-opted by groups who undeniably are anti-Semitic, we also have to acknowledge that Icke often does his case no favours.<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Marshall |first1=Michael |author-link=Michael Marshall (skeptic) |title=David Icke Live: What I Learned From Spending Four Hours With The World's Most Famous Conspiracy Theorist |url=http://www.gizmodo.co.uk/2018/05/david-icke-live-what-i-learned-from-spending-four-hours-with-the-worlds-most-famous-conspiracy-theorist/ |website=Gizmodo – UK |access-date=6 November 2018}}</ref>}}

Critics view Icke's "reptilians" and other theories as [[anti-Semitic]],<ref name="DW Berlin" /><ref name= "RothInstitute2002">{{Cite book |author1=Stephen Roth Institute |author-link=Stephen Roth Institute |title=Antisemitism Worldwide, 2000/1 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Db7i1y806WUC&pg=PA146 |year= 2002 |publisher=U of Nebraska Press |isbn= 978-0-8032-5945-4 |pages=146–}}</ref><ref name="CST2017">{{Cite news |last=Gardner |first=Mark |url=https://cst.org.uk/news/blog/2017/01/05/david-ickes-ages-old-new-age-antisemitism |title=David Icke's ages old New Age antisemitism |work=[[Community Security Trust]] |date=5 January 2017 |access-date=13 April 2020}}</ref> and accuse him of [[Holocaust denial]].<ref name="DW Berlin">{{Cite news |title=Lizard conspiracist David Icke not wanted in Berlin |url= http://www.dw.com/en/lizard-conspiracist-david-icke-not-wanted-in-berlin/a-37693384|access-date=26 May 2018 |publisher= Deutsche Welle |date=23 February 2017}}</ref> Critics say that Icke's reptilians are symbolic representations of Jews, which Icke called "total friggin' nonsense", adding, "this is not a plot on the world by Jewish people".<ref>{{Cite web |first=Jon |last=Ronson |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P2ypYcZ7qfw |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211214/P2ypYcZ7qfw |archive-date=2021-12-14 |url-status=live|title=David Icke, the Lizards, and the Jews |publisher=Channel 4 |date=6 May 2001 |time=00:16:30 |via=YouTube}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

Icke believes that the brotherhood uses human anxiety as energy and that the Archons keep humanity trapped in a "five sense reality" so they can feed off the negative energy created by fear and hate.<ref name="WardNH" />{{sfn |Lewis |Kahn |2010 |p=82}} In 1999 he wrote, "Thus we have the encouragement of wars, human genocide, the mass slaughter of animals, sexual perversions which create highly charged negative energy, and black magic ritual and sacrifice which takes place on a scale that will stagger those who have not studied the subject."{{sfn|Icke|1999|p=40}} Icke proposes that human sacrifice "to the gods" in the ancient world was for the reptilians' benefit, especially sacrifice of children, because "at the moment of death by sacrifice [[adrenochrome|a form of adrenaline]] surges through the body, accumulating at the base of the brain, and is apparently more potent in children", claiming "this is what the reptilians and their crossbreeds want". He suggests that these sacrifices continue to this day.{{sfn |Icke |1999 |p=40}} He also claims the reptilians and their hybrid bloodlines engage in [[pedophilia|paedophilia]] and [[Human cannibalism|cannibalism]].{{sfn |Robertson |2016 |p=152}}

It is claimed that the brotherhood either created or controls the United Nations, [[International Monetary Fund]], [[Round Table (club)|Round Table]], [[Council on Foreign Relations]], [[Chatham House]], [[Club of Rome]], [[Royal Institute of International Affairs]], [[Trilateral Commission]] and [[Bilderberg Group]], as well as the media, military, [[CIA]], [[MI6]], [[Mossad]], science, religion, and the Internet, with witting or unwitting support from the [[London School of Economics]].<ref name="Jonson17March2001" />{{sfn|Goodrick-Clarke|2003}}<ref>{{Cite book|last= Icke|first= David|title= Children of the Matrix|page= 339}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Icke |first=David |title=Human Race Get off Your Knees|pages= 134, 646 |isbn= |publisher= }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |first=Jonathan |last=Kay |title= Among the Truthers: A Journey Through America's Growing Conspiracist Underground |publisher=HarperCollins |year=2011 |page=180 |isbn=}}</ref>{{sfn |Lewis |Kahn |2010 |p=83}} In an interview in February 2019, Icke was asked about his beliefs and replied, "They're very clever in their systems of manipulation, which is overwhelmingly psychological manipulation, because if you can manipulate perceptions to believe that Osama bin Laden was behind 9/11, then you'll get support to invade Afghanistan".<ref>{{Cite news |first=Jamie |last=Seidel |title=David Icke: How the world's greatest conspiracy theorist discovered his personal truth |url=https://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/real-life/wtf/david-icke-how-the-worlds-greatest-conspiracy-theorist-discovered-his-personal-truth/news-story/1957dc4f70b3734747a9b0dc17b5c66f |newspaper=News.com.au|date=18 February 2019 |publisher= News Corp |access-date=18 February 2019}}</ref>

Interest in Icke's conspiracy theories is widespread and has cut across political, economic, and religious divides. His audiences hold a wide range of beliefs, uniting individuals, and left and right wing groups; from [[New Age]]rs, and [[Ufologists]],{{sfn|Lewis|Kahn|2010|p=75}}{{sfn|Barkun|2003|p=106}} as well as the far-right [[Christian Patriot movement]]s, and the UK [[Neo-Nazism|neo-Nazi]] group [[Combat 18]], which supports his writings.{{sfn|Lewis|Kahn|2010|p=75}} Icke's work is representative of a major global countercultural trend.{{sfn|Lewis|Kahn|2010|p=75}} American novelist [[Alice Walker]] is an admirer of Icke's writings,<ref name="GradyVox" /><ref name="RosenbergTab" /><ref name="desert-island-discs-alice-walker-interview">{{Cite web |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/features/desert-island-discs/castaway/49a99856#b01shstm |title=Desert Island Discs: Alice Walker |date=19 May 2013 |publisher=BBC Radio 4}}</ref><ref name="Yikes!">{{Cite news |last1=Hoyles |first1=Ben |last2=Moore |first2=Matthew |title=Yikes! David Icke on march again after Pulitzer writer Alice Walker's praise |url=https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/yikes-david-icke-on-march-again-after-pulitzer-writer-alice-walker-s-praise-rdmlvlw0l |access-date=24 December 2018 |work=[[The Times]] |date=22 December 2018}}</ref> along with comedian [[Russell Brand]],<ref name="NS Media Group">{{Cite web |last1=Lynskey |first1=Dorian |title=Psycho lizards from Saturn: The godlike genius of David Icke! |url=https://www.newstatesman.com/lifestyle/2014/11/psycho-lizards-saturn-godlike-genius-david-icke |website=New Statesman |date=6 November 2014 |publisher=NS Media Group |access-date=19 April 2020}}</ref><ref name="brand-on-the-run">{{Cite news |last=Sawyer |first=Miranda |title=Brand on the run|url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2008/nov/09/russell-brand-sachsgate |work=The Observer |publisher=Guardian News & Media|access-date=19 April 2020}}</ref> and musician [[Mick Fleetwood]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=7 musicians who are fascinated by conspiracy theories |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/music/articles/893519fc-6a50-4de5-9b59-59db079bf48e |website=BBC |date=16 April 2018 |access-date=19 April 2020}}</ref> Icke has emerged as a professional [[Conspiracy theory|conspiracy theorist]]<ref name="barkun-chasing-phantoms" /> within a global [[counter-cultural]] movement that combines [[New World Order (conspiracy theory)|New World Order conspiracism]], the [[9/11 Truth movement|truther]] movement and [[Anti-globalization movement|anti-globalisation]], with an [[Extraterrestrial life|extraterrestrial]] conspiracist subculture.{{sfn|Lewis|Kahn|2010|p=75}}

{{QuoteBlockquote|There is a strong strain of anti-Semitic conspiracy theorizing that makes ufological connections, including especially the work of [[Milton William Cooper]] (1991) and David Icke (e.g., 1997). Both are controversial but still well known in both right-wing conspiracist and ufological subcultures.

Icke states in ''And the Truth Shall Set you Free'' (1996):{{quoteblockquote|Why do we play a part in suppressing alternative information to the official line of the Second World War? How is it right that while this fierce suppression goes on, free copies of the Spielberg film, ''Schindler's List'', are given to schools to indoctrinate children with the unchallenged version of events. And why do we, who say we oppose tyranny and demand freedom of speech, allow people to go to prison and be vilified, and magazines to be closed down on the spot, for suggesting another version of history.<ref name="PRA" />}}

Icke claims that the antisemitic forgery ''[[The Protocols of the Elders of Zion]]'' is genuine, explaining in ''And the Truth Shall Set you Free'': {{quoteblockquote|I strongly believe that a small Jewish clique which has contempt for the mass of Jewish people worked with non-Jews to create the First World War, the Russian Revolution, and the Second World War… They then dominated the Versailles Peace Conference and created the circumstances which made the Second World War inevitable. They financed Hitler to power in 1933 and made the funds available for his rearmament.<ref name="PRA" /><ref name="dont-waste-your-money">{{Cite news |last=Golan |first=Ori |url=https://www.smh.com.au/opinion/dont-waste-your-money-to-see-conspiracy-theorist-david-icke-20160711-gq3gaa.html |title=Don't waste your money to see conspiracy theorist David Icke |work=The Sydney Morning Herald|date=13 July 2016 |access-date=4 May 2020}}</ref>}} In the book, Yair Rosenberg reports, Icke uses the words "Jewish" on 241 occasions, and "Rothschild" on 374 occasions.<ref name="RosenbergTab"/>

Icke claims that Jews themselves are to blame for antisemitism (a classic Nazi claim that can be traced to [[Adolf Hitler]]): {{quoteblockquote|Thought patterns in the collective Jewish mind have repeatedly created that physical reality of oppression, prejudice and racism which matches the pattern – the expectation – programmed into their collective psyche. They expect it; they create it.<ref name="from-green-messiah-to-new-age-nazi">{{Cite web |title=From Green Messiah to New Age Nazi |url=http://social-ecology.org/wp/1996/01/left-green-perspectives-35/ |publisher=[[Institute for Social Ecology]] |access-date=18 August 2018 |date=January 1996}}</ref>}}

[[Political Research Associates]] has described Icke's politics as "a mishmash of most of the dominant themes of contemporary neofascism, mixed in with a smattering of topics culled from the U.S. militia movement." He opposes [[gun control]], and claims that many [[mass shooting]]s were orchestrated to increase public opposition to guns. He believes the U.S. government carried out the [[Oklahoma City bombing]].<ref name="PRA" /> He endorses or recommends [[Antisemitism|antisemitic]] and [[Far-right politics|far-right]] publications such as ''[[The Spotlight|Spotlight]]'' and ''On Target'', the magazine of the [[White supremacy|white supremacist]] group the "[[British League of Rights]]", and has been closely associated with antisemitic "[[New Age]]" periodicals such as ''[[Nexus (Australian magazine)|Nexus]]'' and ''Rainbow Ark'', a "New Age" magazine which is financed by far-right activists and affiliated with the [[Neo-Nazism|neo-Nazi]] [[National Front (UK)|National Front]].<ref name="from-green-messiah-to-new-age-nazi" /><ref name="sourcewatch-rainbow-ark">{{Cite web |title=Rainbow Ark magazine |url=https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Rainbow_Ark_magazine |publisher=[[Center for Media and Democracy]] |access-date=18 August 2018}}</ref> The neo-Nazi terrorist group Combat 18 promoted Icke's public speaking events in its internal journal ''Putsch''; of one such event, the journal wrote approvingly:{{quoteblockquote|[Icke] spoke of "the sheep" and how the [[Zionist Occupation Government conspiracy theory|Zionist-operated government]], sorry, "[[Illuminati]]", uses them for its own ends. He began to talk about the big conspiracy by a group of bankers, media moguls, etc. – always being clever enough not to mention what all these had in common.<ref name="PRA"/>}}

* (1992) ''Love Changes Everything'', London: Harper CollinsHarperCollins Publishers. {{ISBN|1-85538-247-4}}

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