The Birds Aren't Real Movement Is Coming to a City Near You

The birds work for the bourgeoisie. Or, at least, that's what the Birds Aren't Real movement wants you to believe.

Founded by 20-year-old Peter McIndoe, the Birds Aren't Real movement claims that all of the birds in America were replaced with "identical drone replicas designed to spy on the American public" in a series of claims that are just as wild and outlandish as the infamous QAnon theories circulating the internet. But what exactly is this movement? It's going on tour to a rally new you.

If you're on TikTok at all, you've probably heard the infamous audio claiming, “All of the birds died in 1986 due to Reagan killing them and replacing them with spies that are now watching us. The birds work for the bourgeoisie.”

But there is actually an entire movement that goes beyond that, claiming that most of the birds are actually spying on us, feeding what they see and hear to the U.S. government.

The official website is full of claims along these lines, including that celebrities and public figures like Ted Cruz, Bill Gates, Kevin Sorbo, and Clay Aiken are involved.

"The government has hollowed out countless mountains in the U.S., using the empty innards of them as factories to build bird drones," the website also claims. "To complete this massive renovation project, they recruited the help of Ty Pennington (of Extreme Home Makeover fame)."

Peter launched the movement when he proudly displayed a "Pigeons Are Liars" sign at his local Women's March in 2017, inspiring much support (though, admittedly, much of it is for its meme-ability).

In an interview with Audubon.org, though, Peter doubled down on his beliefs.

“The thought that this could be used to make a satire of a dark and tense time in American culture — I find those things to be baloney,” he told the outlet.

According to the movement's Instagram page, there will be various rallies held in support of the movement across the country — and while they rally, they'll be recorded by a camera crew filming a documentary on the whole thing.

The first rally was held in Springfield, Mo., and the footage shared on the movement's Instagram page shows a sizeable audience. They all hold signs that read some variation of "Birds Are Not Real," and they can be heard shouting, "Bird watching goes both ways."

It's currently unclear just how many of the attendants believe the movement's legitimacy, though it does have a Patreon, where supporters can choose to offer their support of the movement for either $5, $10, or $1,776 a month.

At this time, there is no official list of tour dates, so it's unclear where the Birds Aren't Real rallies will be held next.

There is no evidence to actually suggest that all of the birds in the U.S. were replaced with surveillance drones. So yes, the birds are real.