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{{Short description|English
{{pp
{{pp-move
{{Use British English|date=June 2016}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2021}}
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|movement = [[New Age]] [[conspiracism]]
|website = {{URL|davidicke.com}}}}
'''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 [[
==Early life and education==
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After failing his [[Eleven plus exam|11-plus exam]] in 1963, he was sent to the city's [[Crown Hills Community College|Crown Hills Secondary Modern]] (rather than the local grammar school), where he was given a trial for the Leicester Boys Under-14 team.{{sfn|Icke|1993|pp=44, 46}}
==Career==
===Football===
Icke left school at 15 after being talent-spotted by [[Coventry City F.C.|Coventry City]], who signed him up in 1967 as their youth team's goalkeeper. In 1968 he played in the Coventry City youth team that were runners up to Burnley in the F.A. Youth Cup. He also played for [[Oxford United F.C.|Oxford United]]'s reserve team and [[Northampton Town F.C.|Northampton Town]], on loan from Coventry.{{sfn|Icke|1993|pp=54, 58}}
[[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]].
in 1971, Icke left home following one of a number of frequent arguments he had started having with his father. His father was upset that Icke's arthritis was interfering with his football career. Icke moved into a [[bedsit]] and worked in a travel agency, travelling to Hereford twice a week in the evenings to play football.{{sfn|Icke|1993|pp=61–63}}
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Icke wrote that 1989 was a time of considerable personal despair, and it was during this period that he said he began to feel a presence around him.<ref>{{Cite book |first=David |last=Icke |title=Days of Decision |page=19}}</ref> He often describes how he felt it while alone in a hotel room in March 1990, and finally asked, "If there is anybody here, will you please contact me because you are driving me up the wall!" Days later, in a newsagent's shop in Ryde, he felt a force pull his feet to the ground and heard a voice guide him toward some books. One of them was ''Mind to Mind'' (1989) by [[Betty Shine]], a psychic healer in [[Brighton]]. He read the book, then wrote to her requesting a consultation about his arthritis.<ref name= PhantomSelf>{{Cite book |first=David |last=Icke |title=Phantom Self |place=Ryde |publisher=David Icke Books|year= 2016|pages=1–3|isbn= }}</ref><ref name= "bio1">{{Cite web|url= http://davidickebooks.co.uk/index.php?act=viewDoc&docId=1|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110619122640/http://davidickebooks.co.uk/index.php?act=viewDoc&docId=1 |title=Biography 1 |archive-date=19 June 2011 |website=davidickebooks.co.uk|publisher= David Icke |access-date=8 June 2011}}</ref><ref name=TruthV/><ref name="worst-decisions-in-sport">{{Cite news |url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2003/jan/12/features.sportmonthly |title=The 10 worst decisions in the history of sport |work=[[The Observer]] |publisher=[[Guardian News & Media]] |date=12 January 2003}}</ref>
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>
Icke had been sent to heal the earth, she said, and would become famous but would face opposition. The spirit world was going to pass ideas to him, which he would speak about to others. He would write five books in three years; in 20 years a new flying machine would allow us to go wherever we wanted and time would have no meaning; and there would be earthquakes in unusual places because the inner earth was being destabilised by having oil taken from under the seabed.<ref name="bio1" /><ref name="bio2">{{Cite web |url= http://www.davidickebooks.co.uk/index.php?act=viewDoc&docId=6 |title=Biography 2 |website=davidickebooks.co.uk |publisher=David Icke |access-date=4 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120714205316/http://www.davidickebooks.co.uk/index.php?act=viewDoc&docId=6 |archive-date=2012-07-14 |url-status=}}</ref><ref name=PhantomSelf/>
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In August 1990, before his visit to Peru, Icke met Deborah Shaw, an English psychic based in [[Calgary]], Alberta, Canada. When he returned from Peru they began a relationship, with the apparent blessing of Icke's wife. In March 1991 Shaw began living with the couple, a short-lived arrangement that the press called the "turquoise triangle". Shaw changed her name to Mari Shawsun, while Icke's wife became Michaela, which she said was an aspect of the [[Archangel]] [[Michael (archangel)|Michael]].<ref name="Taylor1997">{{Cite news |first=Sam |last=Taylor |title=So I was in this bar with the son of God... |work=The Observer |date=20 April 1997}}</ref>{{sfn |Robertson |2016 |p=130}}
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
====Green Party resignation and press conference====
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" />
A week later, shortly after his father died, Icke and his wife, Linda Atherton, along with their daughter and Deborah Shaw, held a press conference to announce that Icke was a son of the Godhead.{{sfn|Icke|1993|pp=188, 192–193}}{{sfn|Robertson|2016|pp=130–131}} He told reporters the world was going to end in 1997. It would be preceded by a hurricane around the [[Gulf of Mexico]] and [[New Orleans]], eruptions in [[Cuba]], disruption in China, a hurricane in [[Derry]], and an earthquake on the [[Isle of Arran]]. The information was being given to them by voices and [[automatic writing]], he said. Los Angeles would become an island, New Zealand would disappear, and the cliffs of Kent would be underwater by Christmas.<ref>{{Cite news |first=John |last=Ezard |title='Son and daughter of God' predict apocalypse is nigh |work=The Guardian |date=28 March 1991}}</ref>
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The interview led to a difficult period for Icke. In May 1991, police were called to the couple's home after a crowd of over 100 youths gathered outside, chanting "[[Monty Python's Life of Brian|We want the Messiah]]" and "Give us a sign, David".<ref>"Icke taunted," ''The Times'', 27 May 1991.</ref> Icke told [[Jon Ronson]] in 2001:
{{
In 2006, Wogan interviewed Icke again for a special ''Wogan Now & Then'' series. Wogan was apologetic for his conduct in the 1991 interview.{{sfn|Robertson|2016|p=147}} However, in his autobiography, ''Mustn't Grumble'', Wogan described Icke as being a "ranting demagogue convinced we were all manipulated sheep".<ref>{{Cite book |last=Wogan |first=Terry |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IVuc4SkJ1FsC&pg=PT158 |title=Mustn't Grumble |location=London |publisher=Orion |year=2007 |orig-year=2006 |page=158 |isbn=978-1409105893}}</ref>
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====Self-publishing====
{{
Icke's next manuscript, ''And the Truth Shall Set You Free'' (1995), contained a chapter questioning aspects of the [[The Holocaust|Holocaust]], which caused a rift with his publisher, Gateway.<ref name="Honigsbaum" /><ref>David Icke, [http://www.bibliotecapleyades.net/biggestsecret/andtruthfreebook/truthfree07.htm "Chapter Seven: Master races"], ''And the Truth Shall Set You Free'', Ryde: Bridge of Love Publications, 1995, pp. 127–146.</ref><ref name="off">{{Cite news |last=Offley |first=Will |url=http://www.publiceye.org/Icke/Ickequotes.htm|title=Selected Quotes Of David Icke |work=Political Research Associates |date=23 February 2000 |access-date=7 July 2020}}</ref> In the book Icke suggested that Jews funded the Holocaust by quoting and seconding [[Gary Allen]]'s claim that "The Warburgs, part of the Rothschild empire, helped finance Adolf Hitler". In his view, schools "indoctrinate children with the unchallenged version of events" with the mainstream account of the Holocaust thanks to their use of free copies of the film ''[[Schindler's List]]'' (1993).<ref name="GradyVox">{{Cite news |last=Grady |first=Constance |url=https://www.vox.com/culture/2018/12/20/18146628/alice-walker-david-icke-anti-semitic-new-york-times |title=The Alice Walker anti-Semitism controversy, explained |work=Vox |date=20 December 2018 |access-date=13 April 2020}}</ref><ref name="RosenbergTab">{{Cite news |last=Rosenberg |first=Yair |title=The New York Times Just Published an Unqualified Recommendation for an Insanely Anti-Semitic Book |url=https://www.tabletmag.com/scroll/277273/the-new-york-times-just-published-an-unqualified-recommendation-for-an-insanely-anti-semitic-book |work=[[Tablet (magazine)|Tablet]] |date=17 December 2018 |access-date=7 July 2020}}</ref> After borrowing £15,000 from a friend, Icke established Bridge of Love Publications, later called David Icke Books. He self-published ''And the Truth Shall Set You Free'' and all his subsequent books.
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==Personal life==
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
In March 1991 English-Canadian psychic Deborah Shaw began living with the couple in a short-lived arrangement.<ref name="Taylor1997"
Icke and Atherton divorced in 2001 but remained friends, and Atherton continued to work as Icke's business manager.{{sfn |Robertson |2016 |pp=139–140, 147}}
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==Conspiracy theories==
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"/>
In ''The Biggest Secret'' (1999), he introduced the idea that many prominent figures derive from the [[Anunnaki]], a reptilian race from the [[Draco (constellation)|Draco constellation]].{{sfn|Icke|1999|pp=5–9}} In ''Human Race Get Off Your Knees: The Lion Sleeps No More'' (2012), he identified the [[Moon]] (and later [[Saturn]]) as the source of [[holographic]] experiences, broadcast by the reptiles, that humanity interprets as reality.<ref name="Icke2012" /><ref name="WardNH" />
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===Reptoid humanoids{{anchor|reptoid}}===
{{further|New World Order (conspiracy theory)}}
[[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}}]]
Icke believes that an inter-dimensional race of reptilian beings called the [[Archon (Gnosticism)|Archons]] have hijacked the earth and are stopping humanity from realising its true potential.<ref name="WardNH"/><ref name="NS2014"/> He claims they are the same beings as the [[Anunnaki]], [[deities]] from the [[Babylonia]]n creation myth the ''[[Enûma Eliš]]'', and the fallen angels, or [[Watcher (angel)|Watchers]], who mated with human women in the [[Biblical apocrypha]].{{sfn |Icke |1999 |pp=19–25, 40}}
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Icke said in an interview:
{{
Icke claims the first reptilian-human breeding programmes took place 200,000–300,000 years ago (perhaps creating [[Adam]]), and the third (and latest) 7,000 years ago. He claims the hybrids of the third programme, which are more Anunnaki than human, currently control the world. He writes in ''The Biggest Secret'', "The Brotherhood which controls the world today is the modern expression of the Babylonian Brotherhood of reptile-[[Aryan]] priests and 'royalty'". Icke states that they came together in [[Sumer]] after "[[Genesis flood narrative|the flood]]", but originated in the [[Caucasus]]. He explains that when he uses the term "Aryan" he means "the white race."{{sfn |Icke |1999 |pp=40, 43, 52, 61}}
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Icke sometimes calls the reptilian plot the "unseen". After a 2018 talk by Icke in [[Southport|Southport, Merseyside]], [[Michael Marshall (skeptic)|Michael Marshall]] reported:
{{
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>
===Brotherhood aims and institutions===
Icke states that at the apex of the Babylonian Brotherhood stand the Global Elite, and at the top of the Global Elite are what Icke has referred to as the "Prison Wardens". Icke claims the brotherhood's goal, or their "Great Work of Ages", is a microchipped population, a world government, and a global [[Orwellian]] [[Fascism|fascist]] state or [[New World Order (conspiracy theory)|New World Order]], which he claims will be a [[post-truth]] era where [[freedom of speech]] is ended.{{sfn|Barkun|2003|pp=103–104}}<ref name="WardNH" /><ref name="Neil20May2016"/><ref name="LEPredpilled"/>{{sfn |Goodrick-Clarke |2003}}
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
===Problem–reaction–solution===
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==Reception==
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]]
===Antisemitism===
{{
|source = Christopher F. Roth, ''Ufology as Anthropology: Race, Extraterrestrials, and the Occult''<ref name="Battaglia2005">{{Cite book |first=Debbora |last=Battaglia |title=E.T. culture: anthropology in outerspaces |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ojl-AAAAMAAJ |year=2005 |publisher=Duke University Press |isbn=978-0-8223-3632-7}}</ref>}}
[[Jonathan Greenblatt|Jonathan A. Greenblatt]], chief executive of the [[Anti-Defamation League]] told ''[[The New York Times]]'' in December 2018: "There is no fair reading of Icke's work that could be seen as not anti-Semitic".<ref>{{Cite news |last=Alter |first=Alexandra |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/21/arts/alice-walker-david-icke-times.html?login=smartlock&auth=login-smartlock |title=Alice Walker, Answering Backlash, Praises Anti-Semitic Author as 'Brave' |work=The New York Times |date=21 December 2018 |access-date=14 April 2020}}</ref> However, Icke has repeatedly denied the accusation that he is an antisemite. In 2001, when he was questioned by [[Jon Ronson]], Icke declared that ''[[The Protocols of the Elders of Zion]]'' is evidence not of a Jewish plot but of a reptilian plot. He also said, "the families in positions of great financial power obsessively interbreed with each other. But I'm not talking about one earth race, Jewish or non-Jewish. I'm talking about a genetic network that operates through all races, this bloodline being a fusion of human and reptilian genes… let me make myself clear: this does not in any way relate to an earth race."<ref>{{Cite news |last=Ronson |first=Jon|author-link=Jon Ronson |title=Beset by Lizards |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2001/mar/17/features.weekend |work=The Guardian |access-date= 6 November 2018 |date=17 March 2001}}</ref> In an article in ''[[Algemeiner Journal|The Algemeiner]]'', the writer commented: "Yet when he goes through a list of people in power who he considers to be 'Rothschild Zionists,' they all happen to be Jews (with many of them never claiming to be Zionists at all.)"<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.algemeiner.com/2017/09/05/antisemite-david-icke-being-allowed-to-speak-at-city-owned-theater-in-vancouver-for-ten-hours/ |title=Antisemite David Icke Being Allowed to Speak at City-Owned Theater in Vancouver for Ten Hours |work=The Algemeiner |date=5 September 2017 |access-date=23 April 2020}}</ref> According to Mark Gardner of the [[Community Security Trust]], Icke believes a "'Rothschild Zionist' conspiracy controls the world, driving global conflict through NATO and seeking World War Three, which will begin between Zionists and Muslims." Such claims about the Rothschilds have a long history as an antisemitic theme.<ref name="CST2017"/>
Icke states in ''And the Truth Shall Set you Free'' (1996):{{
Icke claims that the antisemitic forgery ''[[The Protocols of the Elders of Zion]]'' is genuine, explaining in ''And the Truth Shall Set you Free'': {{
Icke claims that Jews themselves are to blame for antisemitism (a classic Nazi claim that can be traced to [[Adolf Hitler]]): {{
In ''The Trigger: The Lie That Changed the World – Who Really Did It and Why'' (2019), Icke writes that the official explanation for the [[September 11 attacks]] is false and is intended to cover up the "massive and central involvement in 9/11 by the Israeli government, [Israeli] military and [Israeli] intelligence operatives."<ref>{{Cite news |last=Charles |first=Ron |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/books/a-hateful-conspiracy-filled-book-just-got-harder-to-buy-thats-no-cause-for-celebration/2019/09/23/9b124716-ddf9-11e9-8dc8-498eabc129a0_story.html |title=A hateful, conspiracy-filled book just got harder to buy. That's no cause for celebration |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=24 September 2019 |access-date=13 April 2020}}</ref> He states in the book: “Zionist and ultra-Zionist organisations form a network across America and the world to manipulate and impose the will of ultra-Zionism and the Sabbatian-Frankist Death Cult….Add the Kosher Nostra networks of organized crime which interlock with Mossad….add control of so much of government and media—and you have a hidden stream of interconnections perfectly capable of perpetrating and then covering up 9/11.”<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.adl.org/resources/report/antisemitic-conspiracies-about-911-endure-20-years-later|title=Antisemitic Conspiracies About 9/11 Endure 20 Years Later|website=Anti-Defamation League|date=September 9, 2021|access-date=June 22, 2022}}</ref>
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===Other responses===
[[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:{{
[[Michael Barkun]] has described Icke's position as New Age [[conspiracism]], writing that Icke is the most fluent of the genre,{{sfn |Barkun |2003 |pp=98, 103ff, 163}} describing his work as "improvisational [[millennialism]]", with an end-of-history scenario involving a final battle between good and evil. Barkun defines improvisational millennialism as an "act of [[bricolage]]": because everything is connected in the conspiracist world view, every source can be mined for links.{{sfn |Barkun |2003 |pp=10–11, 107–108, 184}} Barkun argues that Icke has actively tried to cultivate the [[Radical right (United States)|radical right]]: "There is no fuller explication of [their] beliefs about ruling elites than Icke's." He also notes that Icke regards [[Christian Patriot movement|Christian patriots]] as the only [[Americans]] who understand the "[[New World Order (conspiracy theory)|New World Order]]".{{sfn |Barkun |2003 |pp=106–108}} In 1996 Icke spoke to a conference in [[Reno, Nevada]], alongside opponents of the [[Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act]], including Kirk Lyons, a lawyer who has represented the [[Ku Klux Klan]].{{sfn |Barkun |2003 |p=106}} Icke has never been a member of any right-wing group, and he has criticised them.{{sfn |Robertson |2016 |pp=150–151}}
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* (1989) ''It Doesn't Have To Be Like This: Green Politics Explained'', London: Green Print. {{ISBN|1-85425-033-7}}
* (1991) ''The Truth Vibrations'', London: Gateway. {{ISBN|1-85860-006-5}}
* (1992) ''Love Changes Everything'', London:
* (1993) ''In the Light of Experience: The Autobiography of David Icke'', London: Warner Books. {{ISBN|0-7515-0603-6}}
* (1993) ''Days of Decision'', London: Jon Carpenter Publishing. {{ISBN|1-897766-01-7}}
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[[Category:1952 births]]
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[[Category:5G conspiracy theorists]]▼
[[Category:9/11 conspiracy theorists]]▼
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[[Category:BBC sports presenters and reporters]]
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[[Category:Hereford United F.C. players]]
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[[Category:New Age writers]]
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