Birds Aren't Real

Birds Aren't Real is a satirical conspiracy movement claiming that birds are government surveillance drones. It parodies conspiracy thinking rather than presenting a factual claim about birds.

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Peter McIndoe: Peter McIndoe is an American comedian who created the Birds Aren't Real movement. He launched the movement in 2017 and performed its conspiracy claims in character.
Conspiracy theory: A conspiracy theory explains events through secret coordination by powerful actors, often without reliable evidence. The movement borrows this structure to make its fictional surveillance claim recognizable.
Viral marketing: Viral marketing encourages audiences to circulate promotional content through social networks. The campaign's memorable claim invites people to share it, whether as joke or spectacle.
Poe's law: Poe's law observes that extreme parody of an expressed belief can be indistinguishable from sincere expression without clear signals. The movement's straight-faced delivery can make its satirical intent difficult to recognize.
Memphis: Memphis is a city in Tennessee and the hometown associated with the launch of Birds Aren't Real. McIndoe began promoting the movement there, grounding its fictional history in a real place.
Parody: Parody imitates a recognizable style or work to criticize or humorously expose it. Birds Aren't Real imitates conspiracy advocacy to ridicule its reasoning and presentation.
Street protest: A street protest is a public gathering that expresses dissent or demands change. The movement stages protest-like events to extend its fictional campaign into public space.
Satire: Satire uses humor, irony, or exaggeration to expose folly, vice, or institutional failures. The movement belongs to satire, unlike genuine claims that birds are surveillance devices.
Performance art: Performance art uses live actions and staged situations as artistic expression. The movement's public appearances make its satire function as an ongoing performance.
Deadpan humor: Deadpan humor delivers absurd or comic material with little visible expression or emphasis. The movement's earnest tone makes its impossible premise sound like conventional conspiracy rhetoric.