Latest news with #conspiracytheory
Daily Mail
3 days ago
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Experts' chilling clues the Book of Revelation predicted today's bloody Middle East conflict
A wild conspiracy theory is taking social media by storm amid the escalating conflict between Israel and other nations in the Middle East. It says that the colors of the Palestinian flag represent the four horsemen from the Bible, suggesting armageddon is near. The Book of Revelation describes the four horsemen as signs of end-times events, representing conquest shown in white, war in red, famine as black and death is described as pale, often depicted as green. Some social media users have drawn parallels between these colors and the Palestinian flag, which has been prominently displayed at global protests amid the escalating conflict that began with Hamas 's October 7, 2023. The theory also references the Book of Ezekiel, which prophesies an invasion of Israel by nations including Persia (modern-day Iran), Cush (Sudan), Put (Libya), and others, which some conspiracy theorists claim foreshadowed current tensions between Israel and Iran. However, many Christian scholars reject this interpretation, emphasizing that the horsemen's colors are symbolic, not literal, and unrelated to any national flag. 'The Book of Revelation uses vivid imagery to convey spiritual truths, not geopolitical predictions tied to specific modern symbols,' said Dr Sarah Thompson, a biblical studies professor at Jerusalem University. Rabbi Jonathan Cahn, a controversial figure known for linking biblical prophecy to current events, has fueled the theory, stating in a recent video: 'The Bible places Israel at the center of end-times events. 'The colors of the horsemen appear where there's rage against Israel, pointing toward Armageddon.' Pastor Steve Cioccolanti has also claimed that the ongoing conflict between Israel and other Middle Eastern nations signals unfolding end-times prophecies. In a sermon that has gone viral on social media, Cioccolant argued that the colors of the Palestinian flag align with the four horsemen described in the Book of Revelation, symbolizing conquest, war, famine, and death. 'God isn't randomly choosing colors,' Cioccolanti said. 'There's a purpose and message behind the colors we see.' He extended this theory to the flags of other nations, including Jordan, Sudan, the UAE, Libya, Kuwait, Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan, suggesting their shared color schemes tie them to biblical events. The resurfaced sermon comes amid heightened regional tensions, particularly following Israel's June 12 airstrikes on Iranian nuclear facilities and military bases, which prompted Iran to launch retaliatory missile strikes. At least 224 people have been killed since Israel began bombing Iran on Friday. Several of the nations Cioccolanti referenced, including Syria and Iraq, have publicly condemned Israel's actions. Dr Thompson cautioned against such interpretations, saying: 'These theories risk oversimplifying complex geopolitical conflicts through a speculative lens.' While the origins of the conspiracy tying the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse to the conflict in the Middle East are unknown, the view has circulated for years amid Israel's tensions with its neighbors. Cioccolanti, Cahn and numerous online commentators have kept the theory alive by continuously pointing to the colors of the horses in Revelation and matching them to flags of Middle Eastern countries. This view traces back to a form of biblical interpretation called dispensationalism, which interprets Revelation as a literal roadmap for future events. It gained momentum in the 1970s and 1980s, a period when wars in the Middle East were frequently in the headlines, and it has resurged in popularity in the age of social media and YouTube preaching. The author of Revelation is traditionally identified as John, believed by many to be the Apostle John, who also wrote the Gospel of John. Christian tradition says John wrote Revelation while in exile on Patmos, a small island in the Aegean Sea that is part of Greece's Dodecanese group of islands. Patmos is a significant pilgrimage site for Christians today. According to biblical scholars, John received a series of vivid visions and messages from God through an angel, which he was instructed to record and share with the seven churches in Asia Minor. The book describes a dramatic sequence of events leading up to the 'end times,' including natural disasters, plagues, persecution, chaos and the opening of seven seals that unveil a dramatic future. Revelation 5 opens with John seeing God holding a scroll sealed with seven seals, a document believed to contain judgments and plans for what's to come. The only one worthy to break the seals is the Lamb, a symbol for Jesus Christ, who was slain but has triumphed. 'I watched as the Lamb opened the first of the seven seals. Then I heard one of the four living creatures say in a voice like thunder, 'Come!' John wrote in Revelation 6:1. The subsequent passages describe the Four Horsemen riding forward, while the following seals unveil further upheaval, including the persecution of martyrs, a great earthquake and the darkening of the sun. When the seventh seal is opened, silence falls in Heaven for about half an hour, marking a dramatic transition to the next series of judgments. Some interpreters and conspiracy theorists say these biblical descriptions are more than just ancient symbolism, but view the events described in Revelation as a road map for understanding current upheaval in the Middle East. Cioccolanti also mentioned Ezekiel 38–39 during the sermon, which describes a prophecy about a future invasion of Israel by a coalition of nations, led by a ruler called 'Gog' of 'Magog.' The nations mentioned in scripture include Persia (modern-day Iran), Cush (Sudan), Put (Libya), Gomer and Beth-togarmah, which is now Turkey. The chapters say that Gog will form an alliance with this group of nations and attack Israel, believing it to be vulnerable and unprotected.
CBS News
11-06-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
Fake videos and conspiracies fuel falsehoods about Los Angeles protests
What to know about ongoing ICE protests, curfew in Los Angeles As demonstrations against Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids continue in Los Angeles, misleading videos, conspiracies and false claims have spread on social media. Many of the posts recycle longstanding conspiracy theories, which have often been revived during past episodes of civil unrest. Some posts have made claims that wealthy individuals engineered or financed the protests, and they have racked up millions of views online. Some posts exaggerate the unrest, using videos of past demonstrations to depict a city overwhelmed by violence. In fact, clashes since the current protests began Friday have remained largely confined to parts of Los Angeles County. Here are some of the most widely shared falsehoods and misleading visuals. Recycled imagery and video game footage Some politicians, conspiracy theorists and social media users have posted old footage during the protests, falsely describing the clips as current. While Los Angeles has seen some vandalism and property damage in the current protests, the mix of outdated and recent videos has created confusion. One widely shared video of vandalized police cars set ablaze, which was posted by far-right conspiracy theorist Alex Jones and Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas on Sunday, was originally from news coverage of May 2020 protests in response to the death of George Floyd. On the same day, a video showing people setting a Jeep on fire was described as undocumented immigrants pouring gasoline over the vehicle in Los Angeles on Saturday. However, the footage dates back to a street takeover in the city's Hyde Park neighborhood in March 2024. The old clips were shared on the same day five driverless Waymo vehicles were set ablaze during the current protests. But the recycled footage gave the misleading impression that such incidents were more frequent and widespread. On Sunday, two days before Marines were ordered to deploy to Los Angeles, old and unrelated footage falsely claimed to show them arriving. One video, which showed Marines driving to their base hundreds of miles away in San Diego County, was misrepresented as showing them entering Los Angeles. Darren Linvill, a professor at Clemson University and social media disinformation researcher, told CBS News said even the smartest social media users have difficulty telling old content from authentic images in fast-moving situations. "Sometimes that sort of content is spread by people who are doing it purposefully with some kind of agenda, but most often it's spread by people who just didn't understand the context that they saw it in," Linvill said. Some social media users also posted footage from a video game during the protests, making it appear that there had been a significant military escalation. A video posted on Sunday was falsely described as showing protesters firing at National Guard jets. In fact, the footage is from the tactical military simulation video game Arma 3, which has previously been used to spread misinformation. Inaccurate debunks Amid the recycled imagery, authentic pictures of National Guard members sleeping on the floor of a federal building in Los Angeles this week were falsely described as old or unauthentic. The images were initially published by the San Francisco Chronicle on Monday and republished by California Gov. Gavin Newsom on X, who said they served as proof that the deployment was poorly planned, and claimed the soldiers were "without fuel, food, water or a place to sleep." Some social media users said the images were old and depicted soldiers at previous deployments. Grok, X's AI chatbot, determined the images were likely from Afghanistan in 2021. However, the images are authentic. Using images published by the U.S. Northern Command and other videos posted to social media, CBS News independently confirmed the images were taken from the loading dock area of the Robert Young Federal Building. CBS News compared images posted by the military with those published by the San Francisco Chronicle and found matching details, including signs and pillars, confirming they were taken in Los Angeles. Later, a spokesperson for the U.S. Northern Command confirmed to CBS News that the image was authentic: "The soldiers you saw in the photo were resting as they were not currently on mission and due to the fluid security situation, it was deemed too dangerous for them to travel to better accommodations. The soldiers have ready access to food and water as needed." People on X have been tagging Grok more often to help verify visuals during these protests with mixed results, according to Isabelle Frances-Wright, the director of technology and society at the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, an independent think tank that examines disinformation online. "While AI is muddying the landscape, people are also now turning to AI as their primary source of fact checking," said Wright. Conspiracy theories Conspiracy theories alleging rich donors orchestrated the protests have also resurfaced, echoing patterns from past demonstrations. One widely shared claim involved images of stacked bricks, which social media users falsely presented as supplies planted by billionaire George Soros to incite violence. These posts reached millions across multiple platforms. One poster shared a photo of bricks that they claimed were left near "ICE facilities." However, CBS News found the image was actually taken from the website of a Malaysian building materials company. A social media user falsely claimed in a post on X that the pallet of bricks shown above was planted near an ICE facility. However, CBS found the same image of bricks was taken from a Malaysian building materials website. Rumors about pallets of bricks were also debunked after Black Lives Matter protests in 2020 and reemerged in 2021 during Kyle Rittenhouse's trial and 2022 during Roe v. Wade protests. Linvill said although the types of misinformation around the Los Angeles protests have followed a familiar pattern, people on both the right and the left are more willing to believe something is fake or staged than they used to be. Many people also assumed the photos Newsom posted of National Guard troops were fake, said Linvill, warning of the risks this poses. "While fake things are very dangerous, it's also dangerous to assume that everything is fake. And I feel like that is becoming more pervasive for people to just dismiss the evidence in front of their eyes," he said. , and contributed to this report.
Daily Mail
09-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's Disneyland family photo sparks wild conspiracy theories: Royal fans claim children were added with AI and a mystery 'disembodied' hand is holding up Lilibet
Rabid conspiracy theorists are now targeting Lilibet and Archie after Meghan Markle and Prince Harry shared a family picture of them together at Disneyland. Over the weekend the Duchess of Sussex, 43, uploaded a new Instagram post that included special moments from their visit to the theme park. The Sussexes' children had their faces covered with heart emojis by their privacy-conscious parents. But a family photo has been pored over by conspiracy theorists who have made ridiculous and bizarre claims including that the children are not there at all and were added with AI. Some have marked up the images with their perceived inaccuracies. Several have claimed Lilibet is levitating and have claimed there is a disembodied hand' holding her up. One bonkers idea is that they never went to Disneyland at all - and it was faked - because no one else at the park spotted them and shared their own pictures over the two days they were there. Other wild conspiracies claim that a nanny was edited out of the image or that it was taken in winter because Archie is wearing several layers of clothing and his younger sister looks smaller than in recent pictures shared by her mother on social media recently including on Mother's Day. One image being shared online even claimed to show the two children with their faces unobscured by emojis, which appears to have been faked. It came a week after Meghan shared a video of her twerking with Harry before she gave birth to Lili, which trolls then claimed proved their baseless claim that she was never pregnant and wore a moonbump. Meghan and Harry's kids also had fun on some rides at the amusement park such as Dumbo the Flying Elephant and the Cars ride Markle shared a video montage on Friday from the two-day Disneyland vacation as she, Harry, Archie, seven, and Lili, four, had a blast on numerous rides and indulged in yummy treats. There has been a great deal of focus on the family photo taken of Lilibet, who was at Disneyland with her parents and older brother to mark her fourth birthday. But it has been seized upon by internet loons who have claimed, without any credible evidence, that the photos were faked. Some have used this mystery limb to make the bonkers claim that there is a nanny holding the princess - but has subsequently been photoshopped out before it was published. There has been a focus on the planks around Lilibet's feet, where one gap seems to be missing. 'I'm guessing the nanny was standing with Lily in the original, where the floorboard is wiped out', one keyboard warrior said. Another wrote: 'Maybe the fact they are all dressed to a different season!? Was Summer hot for Lili to be on a Summer dress but cold enough for Archie to be wearing long a long sleeve-shirt and pants? Which is it?' Several others claimed it was 'odd' that she was barefoot when the rest of the family are wearing shoes. One said: 'Why is Lili barefoot, in a nightgown with unbrushed hair at Disneyland?' But one critic of the conspiracy theorists said: 'Anyone with young children knows they are forever taking their shoes off'. According to body language expert Judi James, the couple were keen to show a 'sense of unity' in their roles as parents, while 'signalling affection' by placing their hands on Archie and Lili's backs in the family photo. However, she added that the constant presence of the camera almost appeared like the 'third person' in their marriage as it followed their 'every move'. Speaking to MailOnline about the log flume ride photo, Judi reflected: 'The fact it follows from back view suggests a deliberate plan for this view of themselves as a couple and as doting playful parents to be presented to the public. 'Their body language looks synchronised here suggesting this PR aspect is a mutual objective. 'But there are also moments where Harry and Meghan become children themselves, appearing on one ride screaming, mouth open in excitement. 'These views and glimpses seem to align in intention with the twerking videos as a Harry and Meghan re-brand, trying to show them as a more "normal" couple and fun-based family behind the "celebrity" and "regal" facades.' One snippet showed both Lilibet and their son Archie, six, having the chance to meet Disney princess Elsa from Frozen. Meghan held her children's hands as they slowly walked over to take pictures with the character in a sweet moment. Here, Judi said that Meghan 'sweetly adopts a personal status-lowering technique' as she introduced her to Elsa. She added: 'She drops her head as though in the presence of a real princess to, again, help magnify the magic of the experience.' Meanwhile Meghan's husband Prince Harry appeared 'like an excited child himself', crouching in several of the images with his hand on one of his children's backs. In the caption, Meghan penned to her 3.6 million followers: 'Thank you @disneyland for giving our family two days of pure joy!' with Peggy Lee's It's A Good Day playing in the background. Meghan and Harry's kids also had fun on some rides at the amusement park such as Dumbo the Flying Elephant and the Cars ride. The couple - who tied the knot in 2018 - were spotted having a blast of their own as they sat at the front while on Space Mountain together. One short reel included in the post was taken as the family-of-four excitedly explored Disneyland and also visited the Star Wars troopers. Harry flashed a cheerful smile as he turned towards the camera while sitting next to Lillibet on another ride. At one point, Markle and her family were also seen sporting matching Mickey and Minnie Mouse hats on top of their heads. They later built up an appetite and one picture was taken to show a pile of corndogs and pickles on a table. Lillibet also received a Little Mermaid-themed cake that was covered in hues of blue sugary frosting while 'Happy Birthday Lili' was written in pink icing. The Instagram post also had a sweet family photo as they posed outside with a small river behind them. Earlier this week on Wednesday, Markle jumped to her main Instagram page to share a rare photo of herself with daughter Lillibet to celebrate her birthday which took place on June 4. In the black and white image, the actress could be seen holding her daughter as they enjoyed a boat ride on the water. She also wrote, 'Happy birthday to our beautiful girl! Four years ago today she came into our lives - and each day is brighter and better because of it. Thanks to all of those sending love and celebrating her special day!' In a separate post, Meghan uploaded a snap of her husband Harry gently holding Lillibet when she was a newborn. Another picture was taken a couple years later as the pair ran along a dirt path at a scenic tropical location. 'The sweetest bond to watch unfold. Daddy's little girl and favorite adventurer. Happy birthday Lili!' Meghan typed out. She also shared a throwback reel of herself twerking to help induce labor ahead of Lillibet's birth - and the clip went viral this week. Meghan could be seen wearing a black dress as she showed off dance moves along with Prince Harry. 'Four years ago today, this also happened,' she began to explain in the caption. 'Both of our children were a week past their due dates… so when spicy food, all that walking, and acupuncture didn't work - there was only one thing left to do!' Meghan and Prince Harry reside in a Montecito home with Archie and Lillibet - and the Suits alum has previously opened up about their family life. During an interview with People a few months earlier in March, Markle reflected on how they go about each day with 'normalcy.' 'Once you know us, I think you want us to have the same normalcy as parents and for our children as they do, despite however unique our situation is,' she explained to the outlet. 'We go to a lot of dinners, and not just in people's homes or private rooms; we just go into the restaurant. I really love that we can just have fun.' She has been keeping busy and back in March, her Netflix series With Love, Meghan premiered and has also been renewed for a second season. Later this month, Markle will also make an appearance at the Natural History Museums of Los Angeles County's Night of Wonder event on Saturday, June 14. It is not known if Prince Harry will also attend with Meghan - but the ball will take place on the same day as Trooping the Colour in the U.K.
Yahoo
09-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Warning issued to UK households over 'growing' mortgage conspiracy theory
A warning has been issued as YouTube videos tell homeowners they aren't bound by mortgages. The FCA has sounded alarm over growing conspiracy theory that uses arguments dating back to Magna Carta. 'We're aware of mortgage holders in financial difficulty who are being misled by this online misinformation, often with serious financial consequences,' the FCA says. The 'freemen on the land' movement – sometimes written as 'FOTL' or just 'freemen' – claims individuals are only bound only by the contracts and laws they consent to, often using arguments dating back to Magna Carta. READ MORE: Warning for millions of UK households who have toilet roll in bathroom READ MORE: Barclays issues 'red flag' alert and urges 'anyone' who's a customer to act READ MORE UK faces 34C heatwave 'for first time in 10 months' with exact date announced The FCA says that some borrowers have paid individuals a fee to take their claims to court to avert their home being repossessed. However it says: 'None of these claims have succeeded as they're not legally valid. 'Other people have ended up losing not just their homes but also a large chunk of their equity.' Shelter has a round up of what it calls a 'growing trend of conspiracy theory litigants'. Greg Sachrajda, the head of department in the FCA's retail banking directorate, says: 'If you borrow money, you're required to repay it, and you only make the situation worse by trying to rely on false arguments which the courts are rejecting. 'We've seen examples of people not only losing their home but also then getting less back from the proceeds of the sale of the home.' Thurrock council warns 'rights claimed under common law, are not the same as laws relating to council tax'. It says: 'You don't have a 'choice' as to whether you are liable for council tax.' A spokesperson for the lenders' trade body UK Finance says: 'It's always worth seeking independent legal advice before acting on information you find online as understanding your legal position fully will help protect you from costly mistakes.'
Telegraph
08-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
David Duchovny: ‘Netflix kind of wrecked TV'
David Duchovny, who made his name as FBI Special Agent Fox Mulder in The X-Files, acts surprised when I suggest that his presence on screen is not the only thing that connects his latest project – Secrets Declassified with David Duchovny – with that 1990s TV juggernaut. These days, he insists in his droll drawl, speaking via video call from a renovated railway carriage in the grounds of his Malibu home, The X-Files is no longer 'part of my daily creative life or even my personal life'. Yet the very first episode of Secrets Declassified – with its distinctly X-Files-ish tagline, 'The truth will always come to light' – sees the 64-year-old New Yorker walking into a warehouse full of documents about 'covert wars, backroom deals, classified tech' and delivering a warning to viewers: 'Governments and the people who work for them have done strange and even terrible things in the name of national interest.' When X-Files fervour was at its peak, Duchovny, as the more credulous Mulder to Gillian Anderson's sceptical agent Dana Scully, became a kind of poster boy for conspiracy theorists, despite personally being very far from that way inclined. He says that some fans were convinced 'that I was privy to certain information. But, you know, I'm just an actor. I'm not privy to anything. One of the strengths of the show was that it appeared to be factual to certain people.' He shrugs. 'That's the price of doing business.' When Duchovny was offered the starring role in The X-Files, he had already had bit parts in such screen classics as Working Girl (1988) and Twin Peaks (1990), and hesitated before signing up to what he initially saw as 'just a silly science-fiction show'. His performance won him his first Golden Globe award, before he scooped a second as a sex addict in Californication, went into rehab for sex addiction himself in 2008, divorced his actress wife Téa Leoni, wrote five novels and hosted a podcast on failure. Today, he says he understands the appeal of counter-narratives, and believes that one unique human strength is to 'weaponise or monetise information. When you look at conspiracies, it's really just people surviving by their wits.' He even has a soft spot for one himself: mind control. 'I like any government that takes the expansion of human consciousness,' he says, 'and tries to figure out how to make a better soldier or politician or spy with that kind of information.' The alternative facts being issued by the Oval Office are quite another matter, however. 'It's like, oh, there's five new ridiculous things coming out of the White House today. Which am I supposed to focus on? That's the conspiracy, I guess. I think it's probably the first time in history where the government seems to be deliberately promulgating falsehoods for the purpose of immobilising a people.' Duchovny believes that the time is ripe for a reboot of The X-Files; indeed, the Black Panther director Ryan Coogler has a new series in development – though without its original stars, Duchovny insists. Not that he'd be against a new chapter for Mulder and Scully. 'The X-Files frame is evergreen in terms of generating stories, and especially today,' he says. 'So it's like, well, how would we exist in a way that was different from the way we existed before, but still do interesting work?' The original runs of the show – from 1993-2002, 2016 and 2018 – were beset with what Duchovny and Anderson spent years euphemistically referring to as mutual 'tension'. For long periods, the two were not 'even dealing with one another off-camera', as Duchovny revealed last year during a heartfelt conversation with Anderson on his Fail Better podcast, in which he admitted to a 'failure of friendship' with his co-star. Was there something specifically combustible about their two personalities in combination? 'My memory would be faulty, you know? It's like Rashomon,' says Duchovny, vaguely, alluding to Akira Kurosawa's 1950 classic in which every eyewitness to a murder tells a contradictory version of events. 'Just, I don't recall.' Duchovny caught Anderson on the hop when he quit the show in 2001 without even telling her. For the last series, Duchovny admitted feeling a sense of rejection when, this time, Anderson was the one who called it a day. The duo have clearly put the past behind them and now treasure the unique bond they share. And in today's fragmented TV landscape, with content splintered across countless streaming platforms, Duchovny doubts that any future version of The X-Files could ever replicate the enduring reach of the original. View this post on Instagram A post shared by History TV (@historytv) 'Netflix kind of f----- the business in a way,' he says. 'Well, I mean, look at The X-Files, which had a foothold on the culture and then lasted. Now, there's just so much – things become incandescent for a year or two and then they just fade away.' Although he's not short of opinions, Duchovny sensibly refuses to hold forth on global politics. When I ask if he has any thoughts about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict – after all, his 2015 debut novel Holy Cow featured a camel that brings Middle East peace – he demurs. 'I'm not knowledgeable enough to wade into that,' he says. 'Forgive me.' What about the explosion of Jew-hatred around the world in the wake of October 7 and the war in Gaza? In 1914, Duchovny's grandfather was one of 6,000 Jews deported from Jaffa to Egypt by the Ottoman government. 'Well, I think anti-Semitism is a zombie idea; it gets reinvigorated,' he says. 'It's a type of conspiracy-thinking that is weak and false and dangerous and vile. But the Jews have been blamed for different s--- many times over, through history.' His father, Amram, a writer of non-fiction, spent years tackling the problem, working in public relations for the American Jewish Committee. Aged 73 – just a couple of years before his death – he published his first novel. Duchovny Jr has shown a similar creative restlessness: since learning the guitar in his 50s, he has released three albums as a singer-songwriter. Earlier this year, he married his longtime girlfriend, 31-year-old Monique Pendleberry – 'We ran off to Santa Barbara and did it at the courthouse there,' he tells me – and he has put his Malibu home up for sale, saying he is 'not sure yet' where he will move next. His wedding ring is not the only new accessory he's sporting today: he also has a moustache, grown for a forthcoming film role as the novelist Kurt Vonnegut. After that, he will shoot another movie, in Pittsburgh, while also promoting his first volume of poetry, About Time. Is there no end to his gifts? Duchovny appears to give this question serious consideration. 'I don't have any other kind of hidden, unexpressed talent,' he says. 'In terms of ways to express myself, I think I'm tapped out.'
