A viral conspiracy theory claiming that birds aren't real animals but actually government drones sent to spy on the American public has become a mass movement with more than a million followers.
According to the "Birds Aren't Real" movement, the CIA carried out an operation between 1959 and 1971 to kill every bird in the country and replace them with surveillance drones that recharge on power lines.
While some people might actually buy into the conspiracy, which started in 2017, the entire thing is meant to be a parody. Pure satire.
Peter McIndoe, the movement's 24-year-old founder, told 60 Minutes that Birds Aren't Real started as a joke about the spread of misinformation.
"It's taking this concept of misinformation and almost building a little safe space to come together within it and laugh at it, rather than be scared by it," he said. "And accept the lunacy of it all and be a bird truther for a moment in time when everything's so crazy."
McIndoe said the conspiracy began in January 2017 during a women's march in Memphis, Tennessee. He told The New York Times he got the idea after a group of President Donald Trump supporters started a counterprotest at the rally. He wrote "Birds Aren't Real" on a poster and started spreading the conspiracy.
"It was a spontaneous joke, but it was a reflection of the absurdity everyone was feeling," he said.
Video of McIndoe's bird-drone rant was posted online and quickly went viral. Birds Aren't Real graffiti and billboards started popping up in cities, and it even on a sign at the NCAA men's basketball national championship game, according to CBS News.
McIndoe admits he's not sure what the endgame is but for now, the so-called "bird truthers" plan to continue spreading their message of absurdity at rallies and events throughout the country.
"I have a lot of excitement for what the future of this could be as an actual force for good," McIndoe told The Times. "Yes, we have been intentionally spreading misinformation for the past four years, but it's with a purpose. It's about holding up a mirror to America in the internet age."
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