Wednesday 6 August 2014

The David Attenborough hoax.

David Attenborough
This kind of propaganda is pathetic and troublesome.

I found a post on Facebook today that quoted David Attenborough as saying:

I am unaware of any animal that is as cruel as Israelis -- not even crocodiles. They bomb schools, hospitals, refugee camps, orphanages, UN feeding stations, water works, power plants, ambulances, kids playing on the beach. They put millions of people in a siege. They shoot children going to school. They kidnap kids and harvest their organs. They inject prisoners with disease pathogens before releasing them. They murder by land sea and air. And worst of all, they slander their defenceless victims as "terrorists".

The post has been put on Facebook by an entity called Sotirios Sooty Thoupi who is aware that there is something amiss as he states that the post keeps getting blocked but fails to corroborate his claim with a link to any authentic source.  Here is the link to the post (which may be blocked) https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10152157267417282, and here is a screen shot of the offending post as I found it:

Screenshot of Sotirios Sooty Thoupi's post.
On further investigation it appears this quote attributed to David Attenborough is entirely fictional.

The most probably source is from this page on Press TV's web site in the comments.
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2014/07/21/372201/israel-drops-phosphorus-bombs-on-gaza/

Screen shot of Press TV comment.
There is also an exact copy of the text not attributed to David Attenborough by someone going by the name of Aaron Cohen on the Independent's Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/TheIndependentOnline/photos/a.315767831635.155802.13312631635/10152199587196636/
Screen shot of comment on Independent's Facebook page.
Then there is another example posted by umbrokhan786 on:
http://www.cableforum.co.uk/board/20/33698242-israel-zionist-jews-killing-innocent-people-page-11.html

... and the list goes on.  But nowhere could I find any serious suggestion that David Attenborough is the author of the statement.

So why lie?  Why falsely attribute this quote to David Attenborough attempting to give it weight and credibility?  Obviously this obfuscates the real situation and can only make it worse not better.  On a simple level the question does not need answering as most people 'understand' why someone does it whether they agree with them or not.  It seems on the face of it that this is a destructive and unnecessary abuse.  But there is more to it than that.  There are several issues it raises that are worth considering.

Conditioned values:
There is the question as to how we rate the truth of what we read.  By claiming David Attenborough said it we tend to rate its credibility higher than if someone by the name of Sotirios Sooty Thoupi said it.  We are less likely to question it if it comes from a source we respect.  This leads to the worrying issue of why we so often believe our 'leaders' who we know lie repeatedly.  That, of course, is the authoritarian oppression.  We have been conditioned (or many of us to varying degrees) to accept under threat of pain (be it emotional, psychological or physical) what the people in authority decree.  We need to get over that one.

Discerning the truth:
Then there is the issue of obfuscation and disinformation to deal with.  Sotirios Sooty Thoupi is in fact delivering a vital service, rather like that of computer virus writers.  On the surface it appears it is simply a bad thing but on investigation it turns out to be necessary.  In simple terms we need biological viruses in the real world to maintain a robust and evolving immune system.  We need viruses in the world of computers to force us to make them resilient against threats.  Even if we lived in a world of naive trust there are still external 'bugs' and physical events that would threaten what we now rely on to survive.  But worse, if we were not well protected then a rare malevolence would find it very easy to step in and take control.  Misinformation on both sides helps in strengthening our ability to discern truth from fiction.

Bias:
There is the issue of bias that this kind of thing highlights too.  We do have a propensity to believe what we want to believe more readily than that which we don't want to believe.  There is, of course, a grave danger in this tendency.  It is one thing to check to see if there is corroborating evidence to support a theory or belief but it is more fundamentally robust to search for evidence against our view.  This was well understood and explained philosophically by Karl Popper in his theories of falsification.

This sort of 'positive' deception is as bad as the 'negative' deception but does help us stand back from both to get a more rational view.  There is a lot of trouble in our world today and mostly people don't seem to like it.  I think it is fear that drives many to be self contradictory and belligerent.  I have my own theories about the human neurological network and how it creates the illusion of cognition.  A salient part of the theory is that we copy the world in our physical being to aid interaction with the world.  It is memory of sorts.  If things are working well the copy is fairly good and the openness to learning more remains largely intact.  However, if the process of absorbing experience is interrupted the copy is necessarily faulty.  This leads to inconsistent and flawed comprehension.  It, ironically, often leads to more of the same because similar events are processed through the faulty understanding and strengthen the misunderstanding.  People get more belligerent and extreme as time goes on.  It is akin to the popular term 'cognitive dissonance'.  Stuff doesn't seem right because the internal world view is contradictory and yet the experience of each part seems real.  There then becomes this bizarre situation where people try to change the outside world to force it to match their inner flaws.  The consequences are obvious.

I am often accused of 'sitting on the fence'.  But I take sides.  I side with truth, justice, compassion, cooperation and generally what are regarded as peaceful and creative values.  I oppose lies, manipulation, aggression, abuse and division.

So, much as I accept the existential reality of the avatar 'Sotirios Sooty Thoupi' and his miscreant meme, and I understand to some degree how it plugs into the whole, it remains the case that I dislike and disagree with this sort of misinformation.  It is abusive to David Attenborough and to the viewer.  It also becomes the very thing it appears to be objecting to.

44 comments:

  1. The attribution may be incorrect. The statement itself is true.

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    1. That is debatable but I agree with the sentiment. So why obfuscate the truth with lies? That is my concern.

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    2. There are many who consider immunisation to be some form of biological warfare. (Preferring their children to die of preventable diseases, like god intended)

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    3. yeah that's the important thing here. the IDF is doing these things, irrespective of whether david attenbourough said or even thinks these things.

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    4. Your a fn idiot

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    5. I cannot attest to the legitimacy of the claim that Israelis "inject their prisoners with deadly pathogens", but I can substantiate claims that Israel is known to administer birth control, specifically Depo-Provera, to its Ethiopian Jewish female population under the guise of providing them with vitamin shots and vaccinations.

      http://www.haaretz.com/news/israel/israel-admits-ethiopian-women-were-given-birth-control-shots.premium-1.496519

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    6. Mixing truth with an obvious lie is an old ploy to discredit the truth. When people realize that David Ateemborough didn't say that they will tend to disbelieve the sttement as well....Who would do such a thing? who would put out these untruths? The very people mentioned in the statement would be a good place to state looking! Israel has an army of online scumabags infiltrating groups and forums, spreading confusioin and lies in the service of their zionist masters.

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    7. If you want to sell your lies as a truth, you have the problem and Not the Israelis!

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    8. Revolva olva11 , you're evil scumbag that works by Qatari Money, your lies had been reveals and now you have great problem to deal with the fact that Arabs lie.
      Thanks anyway for your failed try, next time be more sane when you spread your lies on Israel and Jews.

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    9. Maybe you should read and comprehend the blog and the comments before you add your miscellaneous utterances Abe Bird.

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  2. What rubbish. No, it is not true.

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    1. but the IDF are doing those things.

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    2. GOD bless the IDF! Every follower of islam and the pedophile "prophet" should be executed fior crimes against humanity. 1400 years worth of evil and death is all islam and it's goat screwing followers have managed to accomplish. 1 Jew worth more than a thousand muslim slime.

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    3. What a vile human being you are

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  3. Saw the quote on Facebook and was suspicious the moment I saw it. Attenborough would never make such overgeneralized statement about a race of people. I'd believe the quote was genuine if it had said 'humans' instead of 'Israelis'.

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    1. I agree Caoimhe, it is a little obvious. ;)

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    2. Jews are not a race. Its fkn religion you dick. If it was a race explain the ethiopean jews that the racist israeli jews are trying to wipe out.

      I hate fkn zionist scum. alway hiding behind the jew meme.

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    3. Israel are not a race, Jews are a race, Most Jews hate Zionism, Zionism which Israel is based on is a Ideology not a race, not a religion, so please learn the basics of logic before typing something out, or opening your mouth.

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    4. Jews are not a race - they are a people only racists call Jews a race you know like your hero Herr Schickelgruber. Zionism for your information is the political manifestation of the Jewish people's right to self-determination in its ancient homeland a fact which racist fanatics such as yourself find diffficult to comprehend. Most Jews do not hate Zionism - however strictly orthodox Jews consider that the Jewish people's right to restoration in the Holyland will only be manifested with the coming of the Messiah. And then you have an ultra-Socialist like Bernie Sanders who admits he is Jewish when it suits him.

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  4. I could tell it was an hoax from the beginning, with the lazy reference to animals, but as soon as it went on about organ harvesting, it was too much. Like you, TD, I agree with the sentiments but lies and slander (having others take the flack for one's own comments is not only cowardly, but abhorrent) is all Israel needs to then claim that ALL criticism is anti-semitic and cannot be trusted.

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    1. Hitting nails on heads comes to mind Keir. It is not only abhorrent but fuels the fire. Thank you for your observation.

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    2. Presumption and toxic DUMB, yes whoever planted this story is attempting to fuel the fire, thinking that people are stupid and don't see thru it, for what it and they are?

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  5. I would like evidence that it is certainly false. While I cant find anything affirming it to be true, I also cant find anything affirming it is false.

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  6. Artists use lies to tell the truth, while psychopaths use them to cover the truth up.

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    1. That is a very good point. And as Art it is probably doing its job. :)

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  7. HE was in LIBYA WHEN IT WAS BEING DESTROYED HE WAS A NEWS CRRESPONSAL THERE AND HE LOOKED VERY EXCITED WITH THE BOMBING,,,,AS HE WAS ENJOYING THE SHOW,,,,,YOU CAN ASK C,N,N HE WORKED FOR THEM,,,, HE IS A LIAR AND DONT GIVE A SHIT ABOUT PALESTINIANS,,,,,,HE DOES A BETTER JOB TALKING ABOUT BIRDS AND PLANTS.,,,,,

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  8. I was sceptical about the quote attributed to Attenborough myself, so looking for proof led me here!



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  9. It does not matter who wrote it or said it, it is unquestionably true and documented by many sources. The same applies to The Protocols of the Elders of Zion. No matter who wrote it or why, Zionist Jews apply its methods to the letter, and there are volumes of evidence o substantiate it. Jews have also greatly exaggerated the "holocaust" for financial and political gain. Zionist Jews and their Christian zio-nazi supporters are the greatest evil in the world today. Several years ago European nations voted unanimously that Israel is the greatest threat that will convene WWIII. French Ambassador told a group of diners at the home of Conrad Black that it would be a shame if WWIII was caused by a "shitty little nation", referring to Israel. They have converted Washington DC into another Israeli occupied territory. John Keats wrote that beauty is truth, truth is beauty; that is all ye know on earth and all ye need to know (Ode on a Grecian Urn). Those who deny these truths are those who support Israeli barbarism and its war crimes and atrocities. Ciou!

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    1. Broadly speaking I agree with you. I think it is a mistake to attribute the 'evil' to Jews. It is a distraction and an obfuscation that only muddies the waters and incites prejudicial hatred. People can believe in whatever fairy story they wish - what they cannot do is impose it on other people. All Abrahamic religions make this mistake. It is, however, the Zionist philosophy that is sinister and leading this world to destruction.

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  10. Regardless of the author of this statement, it's very correct. Israel has broken international laws more than any other country in the world. They occupy someone else's land & don't want resistance in return! They call resistors 'terrorists'!! Can we call French resistance against Germany occupation of France terrorism or terrorists?!!!!!! Israel is a plague on the world. It supported the racist regime in south Africa in many aspects/fields/domains, including developing their Cheetah jetfighter. Israel has to be finished off; afterall, they are the terrorists with more than 200 nuclear warheads.

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    1. Since America and Israel are hardly distinguishable I see them jointly as the "axis of evil" that they wish to project onto others. Britain is entirely culpable also. They must be stopped but I don't know how.

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  11. Comment is true irrespective of who said it

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  12. IT IS TRUE EXCEPT CHANGE THE WORD FROM ISRAELIS TO FANATIC MOSLIMS

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    1. Nope .....definitely the other way around

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  13. You agree with the "sentiment" that Israelis are a species other than human and that they are more cruel and evil than any existing species? You are as vile as any of the original posters. Israel is a free, democratic, multi-racial, multi-ethnic democracy. It has independent courts and strong human rights laws. It's women are free. Any sane human being would opt to live there over any of the neighboring states. The fact that it was forced to respond after being bombed and shelled on a daily basis doesn't make it cruel or evil. That you can't see the difference, that you are utterly indifferent to every depraved human rights violation occurring in the region outside of Israel - only marks you as a soulless bigot. I hope that no one reports you for violations of criminal hate speech laws. That would be an awful shame.

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    1. The difference is that Israel routinely bombs schools and hospitals and shoots kids ? what are you defending again ?

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    2. According to the Israeli Information Centre for Human rights, in protective edge, 2 Israeli civilians were killed, 430 Palestinian children (non combatants) were killed, 200 women under the age of 60 (non combatants) were killed, 85 people over the age of 60 (non combatants) were killed and in total 1,767 Palestinians were killed by the IDF. Compared to 64 IDF killed. So a kill ratio of 27 Palestinians to 1 Israeli soldier. It's not rocket science is it, you don't get that kind of ratio unless one side is defenceless. Shame on anyone who even attempts to defend Zionism. The world and Palestine must be free of it, the clock is ticking for Israel.

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    3. How much drugs do you take for you to defend the evils of zionazis Jew Talmud??? But birds of a feather do flock together.

      Your Talmud mindset is consistently as deceptive as the Kol Nitre prayer.

      Most all who call themselves Jews are Khazar converts having no bloodline to Hebrew tribes. But, the mindset is equally as evil intending as the original Hebrews rebels who persisted in refusal to obey Divine Moral Guidance for Human Life, and thus brought curse upon themselves to be Satan's earth agent devils, blasphemously evil to the core. As far as criminal hate speech laws, they exist because of zionazis Jew Talmud's bribery and blackmail of elected officials who passed them, and for no other just or legitimate reason - PERIOD! TRUTH IS ON THE MOVE TO EXPOSE THOUSANDS OF YEARS OF FALSEHOODS, LIES, DISINFORMATION, MURDEROUS GENOCIDAL BEHAVIOR, UNESTIMABLE THEFT, AND BLASPHEMOUS INVENTIONS OF THOSE WHO OPERATE FROM THE SYNAGOGUE OF SATAN - ZIONAZIS JEW TALMUD.

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  14. What a load of crap for a fake post//////////// hahah rofl xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

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  15. Thankyou, anyone with an ounce of brain, would realise this true gentleman, would never, ever say such bullshit!

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  16. Well well, that Zionist anonymous who said Israel has independent courts (and a lot of other nonsenses!) Israel is a closed society, a Jewish-Bolshevist community! You, my friend, are nothing more but a Jewish troll, paid by the Israeli government to cover up its huge crimes, isn't that right, Mr. Talmudic Jew! And one Jew is more worth than a lot of Muslims? Yes, of course, do you believe this! Yet, you are living proof of the reason, why anti-Semitism is increasing! And remember this: you (and your Talmudic Jewish henchmen), you are the perpetrators, and the Palestinians are the true victims. So, lest we forget: you are the murderers and the Palestinians are your victims. So, when we, the Goyim (cattle), hear again the wailing and moaning of, "Ooooh, anti-Semitism is increasing", we, the Goyim, will know the true reason thereof! Meanwhile, thank you very much for exposing yourself as one of the true murderers! And in conclusion, I have this to say and, in fact, it is a quote: "You are of your father the devil." Any idea who the one was who said this? No one but Jesus Christ Himself! And so it is proven that the Bible (New Testament) is true and reliable! Because you yourself has proven this!

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    1. The Khazarian invaders aren't Semites, the Palestinians, whom they butcher, are the Semites.

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  17. Thank you very much for keep this information.
    David

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  18. http://www.arabnews.com/news/columns/613156
    Here is the link about what he said

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