Welcome Thread - New Members Post Here

This thread is for any ffirst-timeposter to (optionally) post an introductory "hi everyone" post, which will also get you "verified" (meaning you can post without anti-spam restrictions) once it has been approved.

A few words on who you are and how you ended up here would be appreciated. Or just say hi!
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It's highly recommended that you first read the Posting Guidelines:
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Hi everyone I'm Ged. I downloaded Mick's audiobook. Just working through it now so thought I'd come to check out the forum. The main thing that got me here, is that here in the UK so many people think COVID is a scam. It's scary how many people are breaking the rules And a study shows only about 52 per cent of people here will take a vaccine.

The second thing that's got me into debunking is I feel sorry for all the people being labelled paedophiles involved in pizzagate.

Also if I post in future I apologise in advance for my poor spelling and grammar.
 
I’m septopus: I work in semiconductors, but deal with physics and engineering. I have a background in biomedical and had some interests in pure maths.

There’s nothing I dislike more than pseudoscience. And too often science is dragged into bogus methodologies in order to debunk even more bogus videos.
Almost as bad as people trying to prove the earth is oblong and religiously belittle flatearthers when they themselves don’t know the first thing as to why we can unequivocally say the earth is round. Their beliefs are based on the same ignorance as the flat earthers...

I hope to provide further analytics with debunking of videos using the same videos....

edit: I was a technical director for 7 years specializing in character rigging, rigid and soft body dynamics. I wrote tool sets for rendering engines, and worked in pipelines for tv, games, and medical applications.
 
Hello everyone, and specifically Mick West. I'm a great admirer of your work. I'm on the fence about the whole UFO mystery and conspiracy of coverups, but my main motivation is finding truth in the mystery. When I am perplexed by something I want to figure it out, or at least make minimal effort to understand it.

I've had a few sightings of my own which still stump me to this day. The majority of UFO videos tend to be misidentified insects, aircraft, or even the planet Venus. However, 3 UFO's I have witnessed over the years have and still do confuse me because there are no videos resembling the things I've seen. It's a little frustrating for me because I've yet to come across anything online which resembles what I've witnessed, and the footage available online which is as spectacular as what I witnessed is clearly faked.

I would love to have the opportunity to tell you a bit about my sightings and see what you think they could be. I've occasionally wracked my brain over the sightings for 7+years now, but I've not been totally obsessed by them. I just... I really don't know what I saw and it's bothering me lol.
 
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Hi everybody, I'm from Montréal and I like to watch the skies. I've been lurking for a while and I like what I see in the forums, there's quite a lot of knowledge here. I have seen something in the sky today (along with other witnesses) which prompted me to create an account on this site and I'll post my observations in the what's that thing in the sky forum section. Keep an open yet critical mind!
Regards, Ben.
 
I everyone, I'm Lisbeth. I am here because my best friend spent 3-4 months quarantined and watching videos (doing research) on youtube while living in Montreal. I now have him living with me in Vancouver, and he's doing a bit better, but he believes that the pandemic has been orchestrated by the global elite to take over the economy. He vacillates between the idea of "them" making us all poor/ killing us all and believes in a matter of months we will be all destitute and jobless (I still am working currently) and money/banks/ etc will be totally irrelevant. He's into cryptocurrency so a lot of fear came out of obsessing about that, he's stockpiled food and then has these "episodes" of extreme panic. He seems to think all of his theories are more sane than Qanon yet some of them seem the same to me. I am going through my own fears and worry because of the pandemic, this is getting to be really hard on me, so if anyone can point me to any forums that deal some of this type of stuff, or advice, I'm at my wits end, and he is constantly saying he feels unheard but I feel like that's all he talks about.

For context, I'm politically far left, and definitely believe in a global elite oligarchy that cares more about money and themselves than the planet. I believe, to a degree, some of the things he says but then he takes it to this very extreme conclusion and keeps saying he is seeing "patterns" and making links between things that don't make sense.
 
Hello. I am currently listening to the audiobook, "Escaping the Rabbit Hole" mainly for trying to get my friend and his Flat Earth theory debunked without him yelling at me.. He is super smart, went to Catholic school, knows chemistry and can still do algebra in his head. I think he's being radicalized by a youtube bubble. I hate youtube because you watch one video, and the next thing, two hours later, watching turtle sex, an I'm left wondering to myself, "How did I get here?

Youtube is highly addictive. I like Vimeo because not only do they don't track you, there are no ads. Go to "editor's picks" at the bottom and just watch stuff you would never think of watching. A lot of it is non-english but most have English subtitles.

After listening to the start of "Down the Rabbit Hol,e I realized that I also have a demarcation line. I am looking forward to listening to the author's debunking on 911 and building 7, the Pentagon, and why 2 buildings that were hit in a different way fell down the same way.

The first place I would like to go here is the clouds. I don't have a image of it. :(

But I saw it. In NY 40 years ago - it was a bit chilly and I know that the ice cirrus clouds can have a row of lines in a pattern. But this was different. for about 30-45 seconds instead of the lines of clouds being parallel, the lines went into sections of parallel lines in squares that were perpendicular to each other. I saw it and always wondered what caused that because it couldn't be the wind.

Many years later, I didn't even bring it up, this guy who studies earthquakes mentioned the aforementioned parallel lines in squares that were perpendicular to each other. He told me that it was a standing wave from an earthquake. I got ALL excited that I had an explanation but I didn't feel any earthquake at the time in NY. I did once hear a sonic boom in NY when an old mine collapsed and that was at a 3 but didn't feel anything.

So I tried to find images of this online and I would like to do a search here and find if it is a earthquake standing wave or whatever. I would like to know.
 
Hello! I'm Brenna and found Metabunk through Mick's podcast TFTRH this summer. I've always loved conspiracy theories, cults, myths and legends researching with a fun sense of fascination until recently. After the 2016 US election, I started having troubling interactions with my younger brother -obsession with pedophilia, new world orders, etc. (I realize now he was "warning" me to not vote for Clinton and the state of the world, etc x infinity.)

Last year, he and I hit a breaking point and we could no longer discuss or debate anything as we used to. Shortly after, I became one of many family members and friends who were blocked by them online and IRL because we won't "Wake up to the Truth".

When QAnon started coming up on the fringier news sites, of course I started researching it (love the conspiracies!) and quickly realized what my brother and his wife (and her fam) are subscribing too. A few searches later, I bought Mick's book and Stephen Hassan's 'Cult of Trump' and now realize ALL of my strategies to speak to my brother, a borderline "True Believer" was detrimentally counter-productive.

So, here I am, still fascinated by conspiracy theories (and theorists) but ready to flex my debunking skills in a more productive way.

Cheers and Thanks Mick!
 
Hi All. I am Blue and I spent a few years going further and further down the Organised Pseudo-legal Commercial Argument rabbit hole. Being a trained historian, my deeper examination of some of the historical and legal keystones of that system, threw up serious flaws that no-one in the arena could answer. Fortunately, I was able to find my way back to the surface without too much damage being done. Now, I am interested in helping stem the tide of blatant bs that seems to be rising. Special interest in the OPCA and currently the huge influence of 'post-truth' right wing groups in US and world politics.
 
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Greetings,

I'm an ex-conspiracy theorist.

it started when I was very young when watching TV shows about the unexplained and UFOs in the early to mid 80s in Australia. I have always had an interest in UFOs and this became an obsession in the 90s when The X Files became a cultural phenomenon. By this time I was living in the UK and was consuming UFO related material such as UFO Magazine and buying books from authors such as Timothy Good.

Around 1996, I had moved back to Australia and found magazines like New Dawn and Nexus and was shown a plethora of new conspiracies such as, Port Arthur was a catalyst to bring in the UN and enslave us, alien abduction, big pharmaceutical holding out on medicines and cancer cures, chemtrails and this changed my way of thinking.

I didn't have a medicare card until 2000 because I knew the government were tracking me, paid for everything by cash.

It was after the birth of my first child in 2001 and my life's priorities changed that I stopped seeking and consuming conspiracy related material. Looking @you Nexus and New Dawn magazines. I stopped visiting www.abovetopsecret.com around 2008.

I do believe that if Facebook and YouTube were around in the 90s, I'd have believed everything. I would have been a chemtrailer, moonlanding denier, antivax, 9/11. You name it. Now I actively fight science denial and try to engage with conspiracy theorists online to gently show them other ways of thinking. There are online groups that have formed from ex conspiracy throrists and people that are worried about the antiscience positions that more and more people are taking.

So there you have it, that's my story.
 
Hey everybody. I'm a psychologist who gets driven crazy by people who believe in conspiracy theories and am interested in all means of helping them return to realism. Some of those means are factual and some are psychological--both ways of changing minds are important.
 
This thread is for any first time poster to (optionally) post an introductory "hi everyone" post, which will also get you "verified" (meaning you can post without anti-spam restrictions) once it has been approved.

A few words on who you are and how you ended up here would be appreciated. Or just say hi!
upload_2013-11-7_15-17-0.png

It's highly recommended that you first read the Posting Guidelines:
https://www.metabunk.org/threads/posting-guidelines.2064/
This thread is for any first time poster to (optionally) post an introductory "hi everyone" post, which will also get you "verified" (meaning you can post without anti-spam restrictions) once it has been approved.

A few words on who you are and how you ended up here would be appreciated. Or just say hi!
upload_2013-11-7_15-17-0.png

It's highly recommended that you first read the Posting Guidelines:
https://www.metabunk.org/threads/posting-guidelines.2064/
Greetings all.
I'm a new poster on here, though I did post on the Fravor thread before finding this introductory thread. No matter, one hopes. I found Mick's vids about the Nimitz 'incidence' on YouTube and immediately wanted more of the same. From an early interest in UFOs and other conspiracy theories in the early seventies I began to realise that beyond the sensational and mysterious, there had to be alternative theories to the stuff I was into and since I've discovered the skeptic in me and a thirst for the rational and debunking. Maybe it has something in common with my rejection of religious belief; I hail from a devout Catholic upbringing yet from a very early age realised that all was not right about what I was being fed. It was discovering Darwinian theory after leaving the Catholic primary school which sealed the deal for me.
I was born and live in the Isle of Man, a small Island steeped in ancient tradition and folklore though I had to leave for a few years to escape its enclosing culture.
So that's it about me. I think I'm gonna enjoy Metabunk to the full. Sanity and reason rule.
Cheers all...
 
Hi everyone! I am a new user and this is the perfect time to introduce myself. Firstly, I am mainly here because I am interested in UFOs and debunking them for a better explanation than just aliens. Honestly I first cam across as a believer after watching Joe Rogans Bob Lazar podcast and I first thought to myself that he is truthful and that aliens (or should I specifically say alien technology) is being hidden from us. The reason why I first believed him was due to that whole hand scanner thing and element 115. But later one day when I was on twitter I came across Mick West talking about how that hand scanner was featured in a movie from 1977. Later after that I came across Mick West's h3h3 podcast were he also talked about Bob Lazar but this time mentioned that whole element 115 thing and explaining that it's not hard to predict the next element. After that I was a bit more curious and I did a bit more research on the UFO topic (specifically debunking this time around) and I came across this website. And so I am here.
 
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Hi. Long story short, the Beaver, Utah drone video led me here in the beginning and I’ve been using this site for thoughtful analysis of ufo images ever since. Currently I’m looking for expert image analysis of the Rick Ybarra San Diego film and still photo. However, after reading the post guidelines, I’m not sure how to frame the post properly.
 
Hi. Long story short, the Beaver, Utah drone video led me here in the beginning and I’ve been using this site for thoughtful analysis of ufo images ever since. Currently I’m looking for expert image analysis of the Rick Ybarra San Diego film and still photo. However, after reading the post guidelines, I’m not sure how to frame the post properly.
Welcome. I started one for you:
https://www.metabunk.org/threads/san-diego-silver-sphere-videoed-by-rick-ybarra-2014.11375/
 
I am pleased to see minds meeting in an attempt to hold back the flood of irrationality that seems to be growing exponentially. Fed by the History Channel and other sources that are pushing us towards magical thinking
 
I am pleased to see minds meeting in an attempt to hold back the flood of irrationality that seems to be growing exponentially. Fed by the History Channel and other sources that are pushing us towards magical thinking

Hi Talkinggod,

I used to live in the US, but somehow never knew that the History Channel was such a joke (I just Wikied it). Maybe it was never in the cable packages I had.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_(American_TV_network)#Criticism_and_evaluation

To a degree, I can understand the economics driving a channel to broaden its content. But conspiracy theories and reality TV are, surely, diametrically opposed to the History Channel's original focus on history-based documentaries and historical fiction series.
 
Hi everyone! I heard Mick West speak on KQED's Forum, Listen to How to Chart a Path out of QAnon and Other Cult-like Communities
 
Greetings, Fellow Travelers!

I'm here because I am most curious to debate, to learn, to possibly have my mind changed on a few things. I don't "self-identify" as a conspiracy theorist. I find it a lazy, coverall term designed to close down all debate - which is why I love the look and feel of this debating forum! (I saw Mr West on Joe Rogan, by the way - respect! - discussing chemtrails, and that's what brought me here. For the record, I've always thought the chemtrail idea was a little bit silly). However, having said that...
  • I don't wear masks
  • I don't believe Iraq had WMDs. Oh, sorry - that one's long since been proved correct!
  • I don't believe much of the official 9/11 story.
  • I'd like there to be UFOs and aliens. I've seen UFOs a couple of times, but I leave it there - they were Unidentified (by me). That doesn't mean they must have been ET.
  • I don't do Facebook because I believe it's a global data gathering machine that I want no part of. Ooops! That one's true, too.
  • I don't believe the virus started in a wet market or in the Wuhan virus research lab (though I did, for a time, thinking it was too much of a coincidence)
I know this will jar with many of you, and I'm assuming that's fine, and I'll be treated with as much respect as anyone else?

As a bit of background, I'm British, aged 672 months, a father of two, a management consultant, author, poet, occasional farm labourer (needs must in these trying times). I live in a tiny settlement in a huge expanse of beautiful wilderness with a bunch of animals. That's a dog and three and a half cats, rather than the party animals you briefly pictured in your mind. I am a critical thinker, unafraid to stand against the crowd when I feel the situation calls for it. On the other hand, I'm not wedded to a single idea (that I can think of). I start on the basis that I'm bright but I know nothing for certain, and I'm always open to other ways of looking at the world.

Which is why I'm here!
 
Hello Mick and all. Been reading this site on and off for years and ETRH is in my podcast rotation. Really had fun a while ago when I sat back with an evening cocktail and read through the entire thread about Gisslaine Maxwell at the In and Out. Talk about a rabbit hole! Hope to get in on a few discussions in the future.

Mid 50s, married with 2 grown kids. Consider myself a Libertarian Republican, but try to stay out of political discussions and stick to the much less controversial topics on this site.
 
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Hi, OldPhatVet here. I am old fat and a Vietnam veteran. I retired after 25 years of being an safety inspecter, for the Oklahoma Department of Labor.
I worked on Boilers, Pressure Vessels, Hot water heaters, and Amusment Rides. Yes, things like roller coasters and ferris wheels. More later.
 
Hi. I’m Tom and I’m a Data Analyst. Very interested in rational evaluations. I have a family member who has begun slipping down the rabbit hole and looking to engage him effectively. I downloaded the book and found my way here. This journey started a couple holidays ago when he started on 9/11 thrutherism and now is flirting with rationalizing Qanon and Alex Jones - a sore subject as I live 9 miles from the former Sandy Hook Elementary School. I was looking at the recent post arguing against “Its obvious.” I was a little taken aback when the reply contained an “It’s obvious“ of its own. I assume it was ironic but not sure it worked. Could use a reference (which I am sure I will find as I explore) to some hard science. Of course, in his 9/11 screed he included a “most science is bullsh*t,” so, that may not work, but it it appeals to my rational self. Thanks for any guidance.
 
Hi. I got introduced to Mick’s stuff recently mainly due to the Pentagon videos. i used to be interested in UFOs, conspiracy theories and Graham Hancock etc but have veered away in Recent years. I also find Jason Colavito’s blog very interesting.
What I find most interesting, is that Mick can provide sensible “earth bound” explanations for the videos, but people will jump straight to aliens. Also Fravour is being held in such high regard as proof of these aliens but if we don’t have alien crafts to compare against, then how can we know what they look like
 
Hi,
I saw the now famous Gimbal UFO videos that were release lately. I was opened minded of UFOs but somewhat sceptical. This excellent video Mick released:
Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1sHmuP_LIxI&feature=emb_title
put everything to bed for me. It is the only video Ive seen that really got into it.

Compare this to the Joe Rogan podcast (which I normally enjoy):

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hc6pbG4wICA
which has 4 million view to Micks 40,000.

What I think is missing today is there is a huge gap between what people consume and what people "know" to be true. I think we dont have time to constantly verify the information we receive and it can be incredible the gaps that exist. I feel there are very few people competent enough to rigoursly debunk such stuff and even if they do, they are busy doing other things.

I used to be a big believer of conspiracies 9/11, Bohemian Grove, UFOs. The Epstein thing I have no idea. I need to read the thread on it.
The world is a little more boring that all these things are stripped away... the other big questions I wonder about is psychology (Freud, Jung) or parts of psychiatry. Im not some crazy Scientologist but I wonder about some of the truths we accept. Are some parts of the current wisdom we accept, our modern day lobotomies?

I will react to evidence, irregardless. Thanks I will most likely be a lurker but looking forward to any future discussions :)
 
This thread is for any first time poster to (optionally) post an introductory "hi everyone" post, which will also get you "verified" (meaning you can post without anti-spam restrictions) once it has been approved.

A few words on who you are and how you ended up here would be appreciated. Or just say hi!
upload_2013-11-7_15-17-0.png

It's highly recommended that you first read the Posting Guidelines:
https://www.metabunk.org/threads/posting-guidelines.2064/
This thread is for any first time poster to (optionally) post an introductory "hi everyone" post, which will also get you "verified" (meaning you can post without anti-spam restrictions) once it has been approved.

A few words on who you are and how you ended up here would be appreciated. Or just say hi!
upload_2013-11-7_15-17-0.png

It's highly recommended that you first read the Posting Guidelines:
https://www.metabunk.org/threads/posting-guidelines.2064/
Hello, I am a new member and my name is Trenton. After having a friendly argument with a friend about 9/11 conspiracies I found this sight in the process of looking up good debunking research. I love debunking popular pseudo myths. I personally am a biblical exegesis guy and I spend a lot of time debunking strange bible myths and myths about ancient texts as well as false claims that ancient texts tell us that aliens visited our planet.
 
This thread is for any first time poster to (optionally) post an introductory "hi everyone" post, which will also get you "verified" (meaning you can post without anti-spam restrictions) once it has been approved.

A few words on who you are and how you ended up here would be appreciated. Or just say hi!
upload_2013-11-7_15-17-0.png

It's highly recommended that you first read the Posting Guidelines:
https://www.metabunk.org/threads/posting-guidelines.2064/
Hi everyone !
I'm the curious type.
 
Hello. I just joined after finding your Salon article regarding how to help a friend in the rabbit hole. One of my best friends in the world has suddenly become a deep state conspiracy theorist and I don't know how to talk to her. This is following several members of my family believing in conspiracies and I've always struggled to have a rational conversation with them about it. I'm here looking for advice, information, and anything else that helps me still be in their lives and still hold my ground.
 
New here. I'm a 9/11 "truther". I really hate the label "truther. I'd prefer to be called a conspiracist. I don't like believing the stuff I do. I get no satisfaction from it. I'd like to work my way out of it, but I don't believe that will ever happen. Also, I'm not a trumper. I'm a liberal even though I despise the democrat party. I still vote dem because I feel they are still the lesser evil.
 
Hello all, I'm a long time reader and lurker, probably for the last 4 years. Just decided to try my hand at an account. I'm an electrical engineer and I have worked in various energy sectors for 17 years, so maybe I can contribute to posts about renewable energy, what actually goes on in oil and gas, and the like. My wife works in the medical industry (insurance and billing) and I am heavily involved due to a disability, so I might be able to contribute to medical topics as well. I really appreciate and applaud Mick's and others' contributions on this website. Cheers!
 
Hello, I'm materials engineer Oscar Fernando and I ended up here because of the tic-tac UFO and because I get anxious when my friends, loved ones or anyone say things such as: "you should never use a microwave", "you should always eat organic", "use coconut oil instead of sunscreen", "i can't eat gluten", "what's your star sign?" "I need my vitamin C", "chlorine in water is poison", “abortion is bad”...

I want to explain the phenomena to people and not just the facts so they understand what's going on and can think for themselves the next time a claim encounters them or at least doubt and seek for answers.

I’m surprised given how easy to understand the scientific method is and governments just don’t teach it to kids. We would have better consumers, better politics, better food, better life. We would be happier if people knew about the easy ways on how to doubt and test the world around us.

Thank you for having me Mick,
 
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Hi guys....I am Saddam,23, and am really greatful I stumbled upon conspiracies at a young age. That really helped me turn around my life. From overcoming addictions to increasing my consciousness....those things really helped me. The old miserable me that was being suppressed by society,religion and government is no more. Now am a free man and I've been enjoying a peace of mind for the past five years. Theres this famous quote"he who seeks truth finds comfort...." I believe its one of the best quotes in the world. I know some of the conspiracy stuff is false but it was a gateway to a better Saddam and am greatful for that. What's most surprising is that people actually like the new me than the old me. Its good for you guys to debunk some of the theories out there but I hope you realise that they've helped more people than they've lost or misinformed.
 
I am a retired research engineer in Dorset and Hànts, UK, with (varying degrees of) experience, initially: radio, aerospace, optronics, then in the energy industry: high integrity software production methods, AI applications (various), data mining. Then (and now, occasionally) film production (various roles).
Open mind: I don't do "belief". I instead maintain multiple hypotheses. Always adding more mud to the pan to shake around, see what falls out (or merely suggests itself). Flexible to unfamiliar ways of thinking (e.g. "1+1=1" in binary-speak).
Especially interested in the (frustratingly inconsistent yet enigmatic and heavy-duty) Rendlesham Forest Incident. I wasn't there, but I've met key players.
 
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Hello, I came across some depopulation quotes in the past, then saw that part of those are discussed here and would like to contribute some facts that I found.
 
Greeting,
I currently run a Podcast called ConspiracyAge, in which we discuss (and jokingly mock) Conspiracies. We discuss many things and like to find the lighter levity to these discussions from Aliens and Supernatural and actual proven conspiracies like Nixon being behind labeling counter culture 'dangerous' and also oddities in Media. We are happy to be here for debunking resources and hope that if you don't mind a couple of dudes who like to field crazy ideas for humor around for content. I am also Currently listening to 'Down the Rabbit Hole' on Audible and it is quite informative on helping me with my counter thoughts on Conspiracies.
 
Greeting,
I currently run a Podcast called ConspiracyAge, in which we discuss (and jokingly mock) Conspiracies. We discuss many things and like to find the lighter levity to these discussions from Aliens and Supernatural and actual proven conspiracies like Nixon being behind labeling counter culture 'dangerous' and also oddities in Media. We are happy to be here for debunking resources and hope that if you don't mind a couple of dudes who like to field crazy ideas for humor around for content. I am also Currently listening to 'Down the Rabbit Hole' on Audible and it is quite informative on helping me with my counter thoughts on Conspiracies.
Welcome but it is important to be clear. Metabunk views mocking (regardless of how slight or humorous it may appear) to be impolite and therefore in violation of the Posting Guidelines.
 
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