Old page wikitext, before the edit (old_wikitext ) | '{{Infobox Person
|name = David Icke
|image = David Icke cropped).jpg
|image_size = 220px
|caption = <small>Icke in 2008</small>
|birth_name = David Vaughan Icke
|birth_date = {{Birth date and age|df=yes|1952|4|29}}
|birth_place = [[Leicester]], England
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|residence = [[Ryde]], [[Isle of Wight]], England
|nationality = [[United Kingdom|British]]
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|known_for = [[Conspiracy theories]], [[anti-globalism]],<br> [[reptilian humanoid]] theory, problem-reaction-solution theory
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|occupation = writer and speaker
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|spouse = Pamela Icke
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|parents = Beric Vaughan Icke<br>Barbara J. Icke (née Cooke)
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|website = [http://davidicke.com DavidIcke.com]
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'''David Vaughan Icke''' ({{pronEng|aɪk}}; born 29 April 1952) is a British writer and public speaker who has devoted himself since 1990 to researching "who and what is really controlling the world."<ref name=skeptics>[http://www.skeptics.org.uk/article.php?dir=articles&article=david_lcke.php "From BBC to PCT"], UK-Sceptics, retrieved 22 May 2006.</ref> A former professional [[Association_football|football player]], reporter, television sports presenter, and spokesman for the [[Green Party of England and Wales|Green Party]], he is the author of 20 books explaining his views.
Icke argues that he has developed a moral and political worldview that combines spiritualism with a passionate denunciation of what he sees as [[Totalitarianism|totalitarian]] trends in the modern world, a position that has been described as "New Age [[Conspiracy theory|conspiracism]]."<ref name=Barkun103>Barkun 2003, p. 103.</ref>
At the heart of Icke's theories is the view that the world is ruled by a secret group called the "Global Elite" or "[[Illuminati]]," which he has linked to ''[[The Protocols of the Elders of Zion]]'', an [[Antisemitism|anti-Semitic]] hoax.<ref name=Offley1>Offley, Will. [http://www.publiceye.org/Icke/Ickequotes.htm Selected Quotes Of David Icke"], ''PublicEye.org'', Political Research Associates, 23 February 2000</ref><ref name=Honigsbaum>Honigsbaum, Mark. [http://www2.ca.nizkor.org/ftp.cgi/orgs/british/combat-18/press/evening-standard.052695 "The Dark Side of David Icke"], ''London Evening Standard'', 26 May 1995.</ref> In 1999, he published ''The Biggest Secret'', in which he wrote that the Illuminati are a race of [[reptilian humanoid]]s known as the Babylonian Brotherhood, and that many prominent figures are reptilian, including [[George W. Bush]], [[Queen Elizabeth II]], [[Kris Kristofferson]], and [[Boxcar Willie]].<ref name=Offley1/><ref name=Ronson2>Ronson, Jon. [http://books.guardian.co.uk/extracts/story/0,6761,457988,00.html"Beset by lizards, part one"], an extract from Ronson's book, ''Them: Adventures with Extremists'', ''The Guardian'', 17 March 2001.</ref>
According to [[Political Research Associates]], Icke's speaking engagements can draw a substantial audience in Canada.<ref name=Offley2>Offley, Will. [http://www.publiceye.org/Icke/IckeBackgrounder.htm "David Icke And The Politics Of Madness: Where The New Age Meets The Third Reich"], ''PublicEye.org'', Political Research Associates, 29 February 2000.</ref> During an October 1999 speaking tour there, he received a standing ovation from students after a four-hour speech at the University of Toronto,<ref name=Jabbari>Jabbari, Dorsa. [http://web.archive.org/web/20060613220049/www.varsity.utoronto.ca/archives/120/oct12/news/anti.html "U of T provides accused anti-Semite with mike"], ''Varsity News'', 12 October 1999</ref> while his books were removed from the shelves of [[Indigo Books and Music|Indigo Books]] after protests from the [[Canadian Jewish Congress]].<ref name=Kraft>Kraft, Frances. [http://web.archive.org/web/20070301204725/http://www.cjnews.com/pastIssues/99/oct7-99/front2.htm "New Age speaker set to talk in Toronto"], ''The Canadian Jewish News'', 7 October 1999.</ref> Icke and the Canadian tour become the focus of a British ''[[Channel 4]]'' documentary by [[Jon Ronson]], ''David Icke, the Lizards and the Jews''.<ref name=Ronson4/>
==Early life and career==
Icke was born in [[Leicester]] to Beric Vaughan Icke (born 1907, Leicester) and Barbara J. Icke (née Cooke) (married 1951, Leicester), and was raised on a [[council estate]], or public housing, according to the biography on his website.<ref name=Ickeweb>[http://www.davidickebooks.co.uk/index.php?act=viewDoc&docId=1 David Icke's bio], retrieved 22 May 2006.</ref> He left school to play football as a [[Goalkeeper (association football)|goalkeeper]] for [[Coventry City F.C.|Coventry City]], for whom he signed a professional contract in September 1969, aged 17. Icke failed to break into the first-team at [[Highfield Road]] and, after loan spells at [[Oxford United F.C.|Oxford United]] and [[Northampton Town F.C.|Northampton Town]], he joined [[Hereford United F.C.|Hereford United]] of the [[Football League Fourth Division]] in August 1971. He made 38 appearances for the [[Edgar Street]] club in [[1972–73 in English football|the 1972–73 season]],<ref>{{Cite web| title= David Icke career summary| url= http://allfootballers.com/screen5.php| publisher= www.allfootballers.com| date= | accessdate= 25 June 2009}} Requires registration</ref>
He found a job with a local newspaper in Leicester and became a reporter, then a local sports presenter for BBC South's ''[[South Today]]''. He appeared on the first edition of British television's first national breakfast show, ''[[Breakfast Time|BBC Breakfast Time]]'', presenting the sports news on the programme until 1985.<ref>[http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/individual/126909?view=credit&page=2 BFI Database] Television archives</ref> He later became part of [[BBC Sport]]'s presentation team, often as a stand-in host on ''[[Grandstand (BBC)|Grandstand]]'' and snooker programmes. He worked with the BBC team at the [[1988 Summer Olympics|1988 Olympic Games]]. He continued to work for BBC Sport until 1990.
He also became involved with the Green Party, where he rose swiftly to the position of national media spokesperson. His talent for communicating with people led ''[[The Observer]]'' to call him "the Greens' [[Tony Blair]]."<ref>Taylor, Sam. "So I was in this bar with the son of God..." ''The Observer'', 20 April 1997.</ref> He wrote his first book in 1989, ''It Doesn't Have To Be Like This'', an outline of his views on the environment and his political philosophy.
==Contact with the spirit world==
In March 1990, while he was a national spokesperson for the Green Party, Icke claims he received a message from the spirit world through a [[Medium (spirituality)|medium]], identified by ''[[The Guardian]]'' as [[Betty Shine]], a medium from Brighton.<ref name=Ronson4>[[Jon Ronson|Ronson, Jon]]. [http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-291287840539901435 "David Icke, the Lizards, and the Jews"] (video), Channel 4 Television, retrieved 22 May 2006.</ref> She told him he was a [[healer]] who had been chosen for his courage and sent to heal the earth, and that he had been directed into football to learn discipline. He was going to leave politics and would become famous, she said, writing five books in three years, and one day there would be a great earthquake, and the "sea will reclaim land," because human beings were abusing the earth.
When Icke told the Green Party leadership what he had experienced, he was banned from speaking on their behalf at public meetings.<ref name=greenslade>Greenslade, Nick. [http://observer.guardian.co.uk/osm/story/0,6903,1294841,00.html "The ten worst sportsmen in politics"], ''The Observer'', 5 September 2004</ref> In 1991, after a trip to [[Peru]], he wrote ''Truth Vibrations'', an autobiographical work which summarised his life experiences up to that point, with an emphasis on his recent [[spiritual]] encounters. He began to wear only [[Turquoise (colour)|turquoise]] and on 27 March 1991, held a press conference to announce: "I am a channel for the Christ spirit. The title was given to me very recently by the [[Godhead (Christianity)|Godhead]]."<ref name=Cohen185>Cohen 1991, cited in Laming, Donald. ''Understanding Human Motivation: What makes people tick'', Blackwell, p. 185.</ref>
In an interview on the [[Terry Wogan]] show broadcast 29 April 1991, he announced that he was "the son of God," and that Britain would be devastated by tidal waves and earthquakes.<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0nMq6gc1yMg&feature=related David Icke interviewed by Terry Wogan], 1991 and again in 2006, BBC.</ref><ref name=Ronson4/> His statements were met with laughter and ridicule from the studio audience, derision in the press, and suggestions that he was [[Mental illness|mentally ill]]. Icke later said that he had been misinterpreted by the media. According to Icke, he used the term "the son of God" "in the sense of being an aspect, as I understood it at the time, of the Infinite consciousness that is everything. As I have written before, we are like droplets of water in an ocean of infinite consciousness."<ref>Icke, David. ''Tales From The Time Loop'', 2003.</ref>
After being widely ridiculed, he disappeared from public view. He has written that, for several years, he was unable to walk down the street without people pointing and laughing, and that this experience helped him find the courage to develop his controversial ideas, because he was no longer afraid of what people thought of him. He told [[Jon Ronson]]:
{{cquote|One of my very greatest fears as a child was being ridiculed in public. And there it was coming true. As a television presenter, I'd been respected. People come up to you in the street and shake your hand and talk to you in a respectful way. And suddenly, overnight, this was transformed into 'Icke's a nutter'. I couldn't walk down any street in Britain without being laughed at. It was a nightmare. My children were devastated because their dad was a figure of ridicule.<ref name=Ronson1>Ronson, Jon. [http://books.guardian.co.uk/extracts/story/0,6761,458001,00.html "Beset by lizards, part two"], an extract from Ronson's book ,''Them: Adventures with Extremists'', ''The Guardian'', 17 March 2001.</ref>}}
===Conspiracy writings===
Icke has since published at least 20 books outlining his views, a mixture of spiritual philosophy and apocalyptic conspiracism. American political scientist Michael Barkun, in a 2003 study of conspiracy theory subculture, writes that Icke is "the most fluent of conspiracy authors, which gives his writings a clarity rarely found in the genre."<ref name=Barkun98ff>Barkun 2003, p. 98ff.</ref>
Icke's core ideas are outlined in four books written over seven years: ''The Robots' Rebellion'' (1994), ''... And the Truth Shall Set You Free'' (1995), ''The Biggest Secret: The Book that Will Change the World'' (1999), and ''Children of the Matrix'' (2001). The basic conspiracy theory is that the world is controlled by a network of secret societies referred to as the "Brotherhood," at the apex of which stand the "Illuminati" or "Global Elite."<ref name=Barkun104>Barkun 2003, p. 104.</ref> The goal of the Brotherhood is a world government, a plan that Icke says was laid out in the ''[[The Protocols of the Elders of Zion]]'' (in reality, long established as a Czarist hoax) which Icke says are really the revealed plans of the Illuminati. Icke, in common with many other conspiracy theorists, says the methods of these conspirators include control of the world's economies and the use of mind-control techniques.<ref name=Barkun104/>
The Global Elite controls the Brotherhood and the world using what Icke calls a "pyramid of manipulation,"<ref name=Barkun104/> consisting of sets of hierarchical structures involving banking, business, the military, education, the media, religion, drug companies, intelligence agencies, and organised crime. At the very top of the pyramid are what Icke calls the "Prison Warders," who are not human.<ref name=truth185>Icke, David. ''... And the Truth Shall Set You Free'', 1995, p. 185.</ref> He writes that: "A pyramidal structure of human beings has been created under the influence and design of the extraterrestrial Prison Warders and their overall master, the Luciferic Consciousness. They control the human clique at the top of the pyramid, which I have dubbed the Global Elite."<ref name=truth185/>
Icke cites the [[The Holocaust|Holocaust]],<ref name=Jones/> the [[Oklahoma City bombing]],<ref name = Jones/> and the [[11 September 2001 attacks]]<ref>{{cite book|last=Icke|first=David|title=Alice in Wonderland and the World Trade Center Disaster|authorlink=David Icke|publisher=[[David Icke Books]]|date=2002-09-30|isbn=0953881024}}</ref> as examples of events financed and organised by the Global Elite. British journalist Simon Jones writes that, according to Icke, "Ordinary people are being massively duped into believing that the ordinary course of world events are the consequence of known political forces and random, uncontrollable events. However, the course of humanity is being manipulated at every level. These individuals arrange for incidents to occur around the world, which then elicit a response from the public ('something must be done'), and in turn allows those in power to do whatever they had planned to do in the first place."<ref name=Jones>Jones, Simon. [http://www.simon-jones.org.uk/articles/david_icke.htm "The Icke-onoclast"], ''Word Smith'', 3 April 1996</ref> Icke refers to this as "problem-reaction-solution".<ref>Icke, David. [http://www.newsforthesoul.com/icke-2.htm "Problem-reaction-solution"], ''News for the Soul'', retrieved 24 May 2006.</ref>
===Reptilian humanoids===
In 1999, Icke wrote and published ''The Biggest Secret: The Book that Will Change the World'', in which he identified the extraterrestrial prison warders as reptilians from the [[Draco (constellation)|constellation Draco]].<ref name=Barkun105>Barkun 2003, p. 105.</ref> They walk erect and appear to be human, living not only on the planets they come from, but also in caverns and tunnels under the earth. They have cross-bred with humans, which has created "hybrids" who are "possessed" by the full-blooded reptilians.<ref name=secret>Icke, David. ''The Biggest Secret: The Book that Will Change the World'', 1999, pp 1, 24–27, 259–60</ref> The reptiles' hybrid reptilian-human DNA allows them to change from reptilian to human form if they consume human blood. Icke has drawn parallels with the 1980s science-fiction series ''[[V (television series)|V]]'', in which the earth is taken over by reptiloid aliens disguised as humans.
According to Icke, the reptilian group includes many prominent people and practically every world leader from Britain's late [[Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon|Queen Mother]] to [[George H.W. Bush]], [[Hillary Clinton]], [[Harold Wilson]], and Tony Blair. These people are either themselves reptilian, or work for the reptiles as what Icke calls slave-like victims of [[multiple personality disorder]]: "The [[Rothschilds]], [[Rockefellers]], the [[British royal family]], and the ruling political and economic families of the U.S. and the rest of the world come from these SAME bloodlines. It is not because of snobbery, it is to hold as best they can a genetic structure — the reptilian-mammalian [[DNA]] combination which allows them to '[[shapeshifting|shape-shift]]'."<ref name=Honigsbaum/>
In ''Tales From The Time Loop'' and other works, Icke states that most organised religions, especially [[Judaism]], [[Christianity]], and [[Islam]], are Illuminati creations designed to divide and conquer the human race through endless conflicts. In a similar vein, Icke believes racial and ethnic divisions are an illusion promoted by the reptilians, and that racism fuels the Illuminati agenda.
===Alleged relationship with the far right===
Michael Barkun writes that Icke has moved aggressively to increase the size of his audience with the use of an elaborate website and speaking tours,<ref name=Barkun106>Barkun 2003, p. 106.</ref> and has "clearly sought to cultivate the extreme right." Barkun cites a London ''[[Evening Standard]]'' story from 1995, which alleged that "uncanny parallels [were] emerging" between Icke's work and that of senior figures in the American armed [[militia]] movement.<ref name=Honigsbaum/> Barkun argues that the relationship between Icke, the militias, and the [[Christian Patriot]]s is complex and tense because of the New Age baggage Icke brings with him, and he stresses that Icke is not actually a member of any of these groups. On the one hand, Icke believes Christian patriots to be the only Americans who understand the truth about the [[New World Order (conspiracy theory)|New World Order]], but on the other, he said he told a Christian patriot group: "I don't know which I dislike more, the world controlled by the Brotherhood, or the one you want to replace it with."<ref name=Barkun107>Barkun 2003, p. 107.</ref>
====Claims of antisemitism====
A number of commentators have written that Icke's theories imply a form of [[antisemitism]] because of his references to a secret elite that rules the world, including prominent Jewish banking families, who he says planned the Holocaust and financed [[Adolf Hitler]]. He also makes reference to the ''[[Protocols of the Elders of Zion]]''. In ''... And the Truth Shall Set You Free'' he wrote:<blockquote>I strongly believe that a small Jewish clique which has contempt for the mass of Jewish people worked with non-Jews to create the [[World War I|First World War]], the [[Russian Revolution of 1917|Russian Revolution]], and the [[World War II|Second World War]]. This Jewish/non-Jewish Elite used the First World War to secure the [[Balfour Declaration]] and the principle of the Jewish State of [[Israel]]. They then dominated the [[Versailles Peace Conference]] and created the circumstances which made the Second World War inevitable. They financed Hitler to power in 1933 and made the funds available for his rearmament."<ref name=Offley1/></blockquote>
In 1995, Alick Bartholomew of Gateway, at that time Icke's publisher, told the London ''Evening Standard'' that an early draft of ''... And the Truth Shall Set You Free'' contained [[Holocaust denial|revisionist Holocaust]] material, and he was allegedly dropped because of it.<ref name=Honigsbaum/><ref name=Barkun108>Barkun 2003, p. 108.</ref>
Icke has cited [[White supremacy|white supremacist]], [[neo-Nazi]] and other far-right publications in his books. British journalist Simon Jones notes that the bibliography of ''... And the Truth Shall Set You Free'' lists ''The Spotlight'', formerly published by the now-defunct [[Liberty Lobby]], and which Icke calls "excellent", and ''On Target'', published by the [[Australian League of Rights]], which has organised speaking tours for Holocaust denier [[David Irving]]. Jones writes: "It's tempting to dismiss David Icke as a confused and ignorant man, manipulated by extremists in order to present their philosophy in a socially acceptable format. But Icke clearly understands the implications of his words."<ref name=Jones/>
Mark Honigsbaum has written about the apparent link between the more extreme New Age proponents and the far-right armed [[militia movement]] in the U.S.<ref name=Honigsbaum/> Icke's books contain multiple references to the Illuminati, which Icke and the militia movement believe constitutes the secret government they call the "[[New World Order (conspiracy theory)|New World Order]]". In 1995, Honigsbaum wrote in London's ''Evening Standard'' that [[Combat 18]], the British neo-Nazi group, was publicising Icke's speaking tour of the UK in its internal magazine, ''Putsch''. The magazine wrote that Icke spoke about "'the sheep' and how the 'illuminati', uses them for its own ends".<ref name=Honigsbaum/> The story continued: "[Icke] began to talk about the big conspiracy by a group of bankers, media moguls etc. — always being clever enough not to mention what all these had in common."<ref name=Honigsbaum/>
Icke believes that [[Combat 18]] is a front for the [[Anti-Defamation League]] (ADL), which in turn is an "Illuminati front."<ref name=Ronson4/> The role of the ADL, he says, is to "brand as anti-Semitic" anyone who gets close to "the truth."<ref name=Ronson4/> In ''... And the Truth Shall Set You Free'', he wrote: "In Britain, I am told by an extremely reliable source very close to the [[MI5|intelligence]] [[MI6|organisations]] that the "far-right" group, Combat 18, is a front for the sinister Anti-Defamation League, the United States arm of the Israeli/Rothschild secret service, [[Mossad]]. The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) has been operating in Britain and Europe since at least 1991 and its role is to brand as anti-Semitic anyone who is getting close to the truth of what is going on. What better way to discredit an investigator than to have a "far-Right" group like Combat 18 to praise them?"<ref name=truth133>Icke, David. ''...and the truth shall set you free'', pp 133–134, cited in Offley, Will. [http://www.publiceye.org/Icke/Ickequotes.htm "Selected Quotes Of David Icke"], ''PublicEye.org'', Political Research Associates, 23 February 2000.</ref>
Icke has strongly denied that his reptiles represent Jews, calling it "[[Minced oath|frig]]gin' nonsense."<ref name=Ronson4/> "I am not an anti-Semite!", he told ''The Guardian'', "I have a great respect for the Jewish people."<ref name=Ronson2/> He maintains that the reptilians are not human, and therefore not Jewish, but are "extra-dimensional entities" that enter and control human minds. "This is not a Jewish plot. This is not a plot on the world by Jewish people," he told Jon Ronson.<ref name=Ronson4/>
British journalist [[Louis Theroux]], reviewing Jon Ronson's ''Them: Adventures with Extremists'', cautioned against accusing Icke of anti-Semitism: "Icke's 'theory' is basically ''The Protocols of the Elders of Zion'' with a new cast and a few script changes. Not surprisingly, Icke has come under suspicion of anti-Semitism... Not only might it be unfair to Icke, but by implying that he is so dangerous that he has to be censored, the watchdogs are giving a patina of seriousness to ideas that are — let's face it — very, very silly."<ref>Theroux, Louis. [http://books.guardian.co.uk/reviews/politicsphilosophyandsociety/0,6121,469460,00.html "Stranger than fiction: Are 12ft lizards running the world?"], ''The Guardian'', 7 April 2001</ref>
====Protests in Canada====
Icke was briefly detained when he tried to enter Canada in October 1999 to take part in a speaking tour, following complaints from the [[Canadian Jewish Congress]] to Ontario's Hate Crime Unit. His books were removed from [[Indigo Books and Music]] stores, and several venues on his speaking tour were cancelled.<ref name=Kraft/> The [[University of Toronto]] allowed his speech there to go ahead in the [[Hart House Theatre]], with some 70 protesters standing outside. Icke received a standing ovation after speaking for four hours.<ref name=Jabbari/>
University of Toronto law professor [[Edward Morgan]] wrote on 30 September 1999 to the university's president, [[Robert Pritchard]]: "[T]his is precisely the type of vilifying material with which the [[Supreme Court of Canada|Supreme Court]] was concerned in its decision regarding the [[Criminal Code of Canada]] ban. The publications praise classic anti-Semitic tracts, and are replete with references to a secret society carrying on a global conspiracy led by a manipulating Jewish clique. The material which I have reviewed finds no place in the Canadian marketplace of ideas."<ref name=Jabbari/>
Sumari Communications, which hosted Icke's tour, denied the allegations: "I dispute the anti-Semite issue because the Jewish community has chosen to isolate anti-Semitic quotes in David's books which he himself uses quotes from Jewish authors to prove his theories. No one is forcing these people to be here, but what is important is that they have the choice. It is called freedom and David doesn't even mention the Jews in his talks." Icke himself addressed the concerns during his speech:
<blockquote>Is this a Jewish plot? No, No, No. Is it a plot? Yes, Yes, Yes. We are being manipulated, and I do not care if you are Jewish, Chinese, Catholic, etc. We are all being manipulated. And those people that are offended by what I have to say, they should choose not to be offended.<ref name=Jabbari/></blockquote>
Canadian human rights lawyer [[Richard Warman]] told Jon Ronson that he helped prevent media interviews and book signings Icke had set up for himself in Canada in 2000. Icke attracted an audience of 1,200 for his lecture that year in a downtown Vancouver theatre.<ref name=Gillis>Gillis, Charlie. "Righteous Crusader or Civil Rights Menace?" ''Macleans'', 21 April 2008.</ref> In 2001, when Icke's ''Children of the Matrix'' was published, Warman issued libel notices to Canadian libraries, warning them that the book contained defamatory statements, including the claim that Warman was working to stop the exposure of the abuse and sacrifice of children. The B.C. Libraries Association cited Warman's notices on an Internet database of censorship attempts.<ref name=Gillis/>
==Personal life==
Icke has lived in [[Ryde]] on the [[Isle of Wight]] since 1982, and makes occasional public appearances there. Icke has been married twice, first to Linda Atherton, with whom he has three children, and currently to Pamela Leigh Richards. Both women are involved in his publishing.
In January 2003, he travelled to [[Brazil]], and later talked about having used [[Ayahuasca]]: "[It] is a plant—a [[Rainforest|rain forest]] plant—which they turn in to what they call a turn ... [[Shamanism|Shaman]] in [[South America]] have been using it for centuries at least to take people into other realms of reality ... I took it twice and it was an experience—particularly on the second night—that completely transformed my view of life. What it did was take my intellectual understanding that the world is an illusion into the realms of knowing it's an illusion and there's a difference between intellectually understanding it's an illusion and this level of knowing it because you’ve experienced it. I got to the age of 50 without taking a single magic mushroom and I never even had one smoke of pot or anything."<ref>[http://www.newsforthesoul.com/icke-transcript-2004.htm "Interview with David Icke"], ''News for the Soul'', undated, retrieved 23 May 2006.</ref>
===Politics===
Icke was a candidate in the July 2008 [[Haltemprice and Howden by-election, 2008 | Haltemprice and Howden by-election]], aligned to no party, after announcing he would stand as "Big Brother—The Big Picture". He said: "I am standing ... because if we don't face this now we are going to have some serious explaining to do when we are asked by our children and grandchildren what we were doing when the global fascist state was installed. 'I was watching [[EastEnders]], dear', will not be good enough."<ref>[http://www.votewise.co.uk/index.php?pg=show&c=1076&eid=MP0003-0&this=1076 David Icke stood for the None (No Party)], ''votewise.co.uk'', accessed August 24, 2009.</ref> He came 12th in the polling with 110 votes and lost his deposit.
==Works==
;Books
* ''It's a Tough Game, Son'', Piccolo Books, 1983. ISBN 0330280473
* ''It Doesn't Have To Be Like This'', Green Print, 1989. ISBN 1854250337
* ''Love Changes Everything'', Harper Collins Publishers, 1992. ISBN 1855382474
* ''In the Light of Experience: The Autobiography of David Icke'', UK, Time Warner Books, 1993. ISBN 0751506036
* ''Truth Vibrations'', Gateway, 1991 ; Revised edition 1994. ISBN 1858600065
* ''Days of Decision'', Jon Carpenter Publishing, 1994. ISBN 1897766017
* ''The Robot's Rebellion'', Gateway, 1994. ISBN 1858600227
* ''Heal the World: A Do-It-Yourself Guide to Personal and Planetary Transformation'', Gateway, 1994. ISBN 1858600057
* ''...and the Truth Shall Set You Free'', UK, Bridge of Love Publications, 1996. ISBN 0953881059
* ''I Am Me, I Am Free: the Robot's Guide to Freedom'', Truth Seeker, 1996 ; 1998. ISBN 0952614758
* ''Lifting the Veil: David Icke interviewed by [[Jon Rappoport]]'', Truth Seeker, 1998. ISBN 0939040050
* ''The Biggest Secret: The Book That Will Change the World'', UK, Bridge of Love Publications, 1999. ISBN 0952614766
* ''Children of the Matrix. How an Interdimensional Race has Controlled the World for Thousands of Years-and Still Does'', UK, Bridge of Love Publications, 2001. ISBN 0953881016
* ''Alice in Wonderland and the World Trade Center Disaster'', UK, Bridge of Love Publications, 2002. ISBN 0953881024
* ''Tales from the Time Loop: The Most Comprehensive Expos of the Global Conspiracy Ever Written and All You Need to Know to Be Truly Free'', UK, Bridge of Love Publications 2003. ISBN 0953881040
* ''Infinite Love Is the Only Truth: Everything Else Is Illusion'', USA, Bridge of Love Publications, 2005. ISBN 0953881067
* ''The David Icke Guide to the Global Conspiracy (and how to end it)'', UK, David Icke Books Ltd, 2007. ISBN 978-0-9538810-8-6
;DVDs and videos
* ''Speaking Out: Who Really Controls the World and What We Can Do About It''
* ''David Icke: Turning of the Tide'' (1996)
* ''The Reptilian Agenda'' (1999) (DVD)
* ''David Icke: Revelations of a Mother Goddess''
* ''David Icke: The Freedom Road'' (2003)
* ''David Icke: Secrets of the Matrix'', Parts 1–3 (2003) (DVD)
* ''David Icke, Live in Vancouver: From Prison to Paradise'' (2005) (DVD)
* ''Freedom or Fascism: The Time to Choose'' (2006) (DVD)
* ''Beyond The Cutting Edge'' (2008) (DVD)
* ''David Icke Live at the Oxford Union Debating Society
* ''Secret Space
* ''Secret Space 2
==See also==
{{wikiquote}}
* [[Bible conspiracy theory]]
* [[Reptilian humanoid]]
* [[Credo Mutwa]]
* [[Erich von Däniken]]
* [[Zecharia Sitchin]]
* [[Alex Jones (radio)|Alex Jones]]
==Notes==
{{reflist|2}}
==References==
{{refbegin|2}}
*[http://www.davidicke.com/ David Icke's website]
*[http://www.newsforthesoul.com/icke-transcript-2004.htm "Interview with David Icke"], ''News for the Soul'', 2004 (retrieved 21 May 2006)
*Barkun, Michael. ''A Culture of Conspiracy: Apocalyptic Visions in Contemporary America'', Comparative Studies in Religion and Society, University of California, 2003. ISBN 0-520-23805-2
*Greenslade, Nick. [http://observer.guardian.co.uk/osm/story/0,6903,1294841,00.html "The ten worst sportsmen in politics"], ''The Observer'', 5 September 2004.
*Honigsbaum, Mark. [http://www2.ca.nizkor.org/ftp.cgi/orgs/british/combat-18/press/evening-standard.052695 "The Dark Side of David Icke"], ''London Evening Standard'', 26 May 1995.
*Icke, David. ''...And the Truth Shall Set You Free'', 1995.
*Icke, David. [http://www.newsforthesoul.com/icke-2.htm "Problem-reaction-solution"], ''News for the Soul''.
*Icke, David. ''The Biggest Secret: The Book that Will Change the World'', 1999.
*Jones, Simon. [http://www.simon-jones.org.uk/articles/david_icke.htm "The Icke-onoclast"], ''Word Smith'', 3 April 1996.
*Kraft, Frances. [http://www.cjnews.com/pastIssues/99/oct7-99/front2.htm "New Age speaker set to talk in Toronto"], ''The Canadian Jewish News'', 7 October 1999.
*Laming, Donald. ''Understanding Human Motivation: What makes people tick'', Blackwell. ISBN 0-631-21983-8
*Offley, Will. [http://www.publiceye.org/Icke/Ickequotes.htm "Selected Quotes Of David Icke"], ''PublicEye.org'', Political Research Associates, 23 February 2000.
*Offley, Will. [http://www.publiceye.org/Icke/IckeBackgrounder.htm "David Icke And The Politics Of Madness: Where The New Age Meets The Third Reich"], ''PublicEye.org'', Political Research Associates, 29 February 2000.
*Ronson, Jon. [http://books.guardian.co.uk/extracts/story/0,6761,457988,00.html"Beset by lizards, part one"], an extract from Ronson's book, ''Them: Adventures with Extremists'', ''The Guardian'', 17 March 2001.
*Ronson, Jon. [http://books.guardian.co.uk/extracts/story/0,6761,458001,00.html "Beset by lizards, part two"], an extract from Ronson's book, ''Them: Adventures with Extremists'', ''The Guardian'', 17 March 2001
*Ronson, Jon. ''David Icke, the Lizards, and the Jews'', Channel 4 Television.
*Theroux, Louis. [http://books.guardian.co.uk/reviews/politicsphilosophyandsociety/0,6121,469460,00.html "Stranger than fiction: Are 12ft lizards running the world?"], ''The Guardian'', 7 April 2001.
{{refend}}
==Further reading==
{{refbegin|2}}
*[http://www.davidicke.com/ DavidIcke.com]
*[http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/David_Icke David Icke quotes]
*Banyan, Will. [http://www.paranoiamagazine.com/PDFs/Icke.pdf "The Big Picture" A review of ''Alice in Wonderland and the World Trade Center Disaster''] (pdf) ''Paranoia Magazine'' Online (book reviews) October 2003.
*Fraser, Ivan. [http://www.thetruthseeker.co.uk/article.asp?ID=54 "David Icke, Arizona Wilder and the Biggest Secret"], ''The TruthSeeker'', retrieved 23 May 2006.
*Lewis, Tyson & Kahn, Richard. [http://getvegan.com/blog/ickereptoid.pdf "The Reptoid Hypothesis: Utopian and Dystopian Representational Motifs in David Icke's Alien Conspiracy Theory"] (pdf), ''Utopian Studies'', Volume 16, Issue 1, pp 45–75.
*Mitchell, Ben. [http://observer.guardian.co.uk/magazine/story/0,,1691336,00.html "This much I know"], interview with David Icke, ''The Observer'', 22 January 2006.
*Trimarco, James. [http://www.strangehorizons.com/2007/20070402/trimarco-icke-a.shtml "David Icke, the Reptilian Infiltration, and the Limits of Science Fiction"]. ''Strange Horizons'', 2 April 2007.
*[http://www.cryptohacker.com/winword.html The book that Bushes banned : analysis of a probably spoofed document'']
*[http://www.skepdic.com/illuminati.html ''Illuminati, The New World Order & Paranoid Conspiracy Theorists (PCTs)''], ''The Skeptic's Dictionary''.
*[http://www.rinf.com/articles/david-icke-interview.html David Icke interview], ''rinf.com''.
;Audio/Video
*Parts of a video series called "Secrets of the Matrix", filmed in Brixton Academy, London, are available on ''YouTube'': [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kelCN8J84_I Aspartame] and [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o1ANjI9yMjo Secrets of the Matrix: Statue of Liberty]
*Ronson, Jon. [http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-2912878405399014351 "David Icke, the Lizards, and the Jews"] (video), Channel 4 Television, retrieved 22 May 2006.
*[http://youtube.com/watch?v=w2cm2RDfIfQ David Icke on Coast to Coast AM] – Audio: March 2006
{{refend}}
{{911ct|type=BLP|cat=yes}}
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'''David Vaughan Icke''' ({{pronEng|aɪk}}; born 29 April 1952) is a British writer and public speaker who has devoted himself since 1990 to researching "who and what is really controlling the world."<ref name=skeptics>[http://www.skeptics.org.uk/article.php?dir=articles&article=david_lcke.php "From BBC to PCT"], UK-Sceptics, retrieved 22 May 2006.</ref> A former professional [[Association_football|football player]], reporter, television sports presenter, and spokesman for the [[Green Party of England and Wales|Green Party]], he is the author of 20 books explaining his views.
Icke argues that he has developed a moral and political worldview that combines spiritualism with a passionate denunciation of what he sees as [[Totalitarianism|totalitarian]] trends in the modern world, a position that has been described as "New Age [[Conspiracy theory|conspiracism]]."<ref name=Barkun103>Barkun 2003, p. 103.</ref>
At the heart of Icke's theories is the view that the world is ruled by a secret group called the "Global Elite" or "[[Illuminati]]," which he has linked to ''[[The Protocols of the Elders of Zion]]'', an [[Antisemitism|anti-Semitic]] hoax.<ref name=Offley1>Offley, Will. [http://www.publiceye.org/Icke/Ickequotes.htm Selected Quotes Of David Icke"], ''PublicEye.org'', Political Research Associates, 23 February 2000</ref><ref name=Honigsbaum>Honigsbaum, Mark. [http://www2.ca.nizkor.org/ftp.cgi/orgs/british/combat-18/press/evening-standard.052695 "The Dark Side of David Icke"], ''London Evening Standard'', 26 May 1995.</ref> In 1999, he published ''The Biggest Secret'', in which he wrote that the Illuminati are a race of [[reptilian humanoid]]s known as the Babylonian Brotherhood, and that many prominent figures are reptilian, including [[George W. Bush]], [[Queen Elizabeth II]], [[Kris Kristofferson]], and [[Boxcar Willie]].<ref name=Offley1/><ref name=Ronson2>Ronson, Jon. [http://books.guardian.co.uk/extracts/story/0,6761,457988,00.html"Beset by lizards, part one"], an extract from Ronson's book, ''Them: Adventures with Extremists'', ''The Guardian'', 17 March 2001.</ref>
According to [[Political Research Associates]], Icke's speaking engagements can draw a substantial audience in Canada.<ref name=Offley2>Offley, Will. [http://www.publiceye.org/Icke/IckeBackgrounder.htm "David Icke And The Politics Of Madness: Where The New Age Meets The Third Reich"], ''PublicEye.org'', Political Research Associates, 29 February 2000.</ref> During an October 1999 speaking tour there, he received a standing ovation from students after a four-hour speech at the University of Toronto,<ref name=Jabbari>Jabbari, Dorsa. [http://web.archive.org/web/20060613220049/www.varsity.utoronto.ca/archives/120/oct12/news/anti.html "U of T provides accused anti-Semite with mike"], ''Varsity News'', 12 October 1999</ref> while his books were removed from the shelves of [[Indigo Books and Music|Indigo Books]] after protests from the [[Canadian Jewish Congress]].<ref name=Kraft>Kraft, Frances. [http://web.archive.org/web/20070301204725/http://www.cjnews.com/pastIssues/99/oct7-99/front2.htm "New Age speaker set to talk in Toronto"], ''The Canadian Jewish News'', 7 October 1999.</ref> Icke and the Canadian tour become the focus of a British ''[[Channel 4]]'' documentary by [[Jon Ronson]], ''David Icke, the Lizards and the Jews''.<ref name=Ronson4/>
==Early life and career==
Icke was born in [[Leicester]] to Beric Vaughan Icke (born 1907, Leicester) and Barbara J. Icke (née Cooke) (married 1951, Leicester), and was raised on a [[council estate]], or public housing, according to the biography on his website.<ref name=Ickeweb>[http://www.davidickebooks.co.uk/index.php?act=viewDoc&docId=1 David Icke's bio], retrieved 22 May 2006.</ref> He left school to play football as a [[Goalkeeper (association football)|goalkeeper]] for [[Coventry City F.C.|Coventry City]], for whom he signed a professional contract in September 1969, aged 17. Icke failed to break into the first-team at [[Highfield Road]] and, after loan spells at [[Oxford United F.C.|Oxford United]] and [[Northampton Town F.C.|Northampton Town]], he joined [[Hereford United F.C.|Hereford United]] of the [[Football League Fourth Division]] in August 1971. He made 38 appearances for the [[Edgar Street]] club in [[1972–73 in English football|the 1972–73 season]],<ref>{{Cite web| title= David Icke career summary| url= http://allfootballers.com/screen5.php| publisher= www.allfootballers.com| date= | accessdate= 25 June 2009}} Requires registration</ref>
He found a job with a local newspaper in Leicester and became a reporter, then a local sports presenter for BBC South's ''[[South Today]]''. He appeared on the first edition of British television's first national breakfast show, rarararararararararararararararararararararararararararararararararararararararararararararrararararararararararar!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
He also became involved with the Green Party, where he rose swiftly to the position of national media spokesperson. His talent for communicating with people led ''[[The Observer]]'' to call him "the Greens' [[Tony Blair]]."<ref>Taylor, Sam. "So I was in this bar with the son of God..." ''The Observer'', 20 April 1997.</ref> He wrote his first book in 1989, ''It Doesn't Have To Be Like This'', an outline of his views on the environment and his political philosophy.
==Contact with the spirit world==
In March 1990, while he was a national spokesperson for the Green Party, Icke claims he received a message from the spirit world through a [[Medium (spirituality)|medium]], identified by ''[[The Guardian]]'' as [[Betty Shine]], a medium from Brighton.<ref name=Ronson4>[[Jon Ronson|Ronson, Jon]]. [http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-291287840539901435 "David Icke, the Lizards, and the Jews"] (video), Channel 4 Television, retrieved 22 May 2006.</ref> She told him he was a [[healer]] who had been chosen for his courage and sent to heal the earth, and that he had been directed into football to learn discipline. He was going to leave politics and would become famous, she said, writing five books in three years, and one day there would be a great earthquake, and the "sea will reclaim land," because human beings were abusing the earth.
When Icke told the Green Party leadership what he had experienced, he was banned from speaking on their behalf at public meetings.<ref name=greenslade>Greenslade, Nick. [http://observer.guardian.co.uk/osm/story/0,6903,1294841,00.html "The ten worst sportsmen in politics"], ''The Observer'', 5 September 2004</ref> In 1991, after a trip to [[Peru]], he wrote ''Truth Vibrations'', an autobiographical work which summarised his life experiences up to that point, with an emphasis on his recent [[spiritual]] encounters. He began to wear only [[Turquoise (colour)|turquoise]] and on 27 March 1991, held a press conference to announce: "I am a channel for the Christ spirit. The title was given to me very recently by the [[Godhead (Christianity)|Godhead]]."<ref name=Cohen185>Cohen 1991, cited in Laming, Donald. ''Understanding Human Motivation: What makes people tick'', Blackwell, p. 185.</ref>
In an interview on the [[Terry Wogan]] show broadcast 29 April 1991, he announced that he was "the son of God," and that Britain would be devastated by tidal waves and earthquakes.<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0nMq6gc1yMg&feature=related David Icke interviewed by Terry Wogan], 1991 and again in 2006, BBC.</ref><ref name=Ronson4/> His statements were met with laughter and ridicule from the studio audience, derision in the press, and suggestions that he was [[Mental illness|mentally ill]]. Icke later said that he had been misinterpreted by the media. According to Icke, he used the term "the son of God" "in the sense of being an aspect, as I understood it at the time, of the Infinite consciousness that is everything. As I have written before, we are like droplets of water in an ocean of infinite consciousness."<ref>Icke, David. ''Tales From The Time Loop'', 2003.</ref>
After being widely ridiculed, he disappeared from public view. He has written that, for several years, he was unable to walk down the street without people pointing and laughing, and that this experience helped him find the courage to develop his controversial ideas, because he was no longer afraid of what people thought of him. He told [[Jon Ronson]]:
{{cquote|One of my very greatest fears as a child was being ridiculed in public. And there it was coming true. As a television presenter, I'd been respected. People come up to you in the street and shake your hand and talk to you in a respectful way. And suddenly, overnight, this was transformed into 'Icke's a nutter'. I couldn't walk down any street in Britain without being laughed at. It was a nightmare. My children were devastated because their dad was a figure of ridicule.<ref name=Ronson1>Ronson, Jon. [http://books.guardian.co.uk/extracts/story/0,6761,458001,00.html "Beset by lizards, part two"], an extract from Ronson's book ,''Them: Adventures with Extremists'', ''The Guardian'', 17 March 2001.</ref>}}
===Conspiracy writings===
Icke has since published at least 20 books outlining his views, a mixture of spiritual philosophy and apocalyptic conspiracism. American political scientist Michael Barkun, in a 2003 study of conspiracy theory subculture, writes that Icke is "the most fluent of conspiracy authors, which gives his writings a clarity rarely found in the genre."<ref name=Barkun98ff>Barkun 2003, p. 98ff.</ref>
Icke's core ideas are outlined in four books written over seven years: ''The Robots' Rebellion'' (1994), ''... And the Truth Shall Set You Free'' (1995), ''The Biggest Secret: The Book that Will Change the World'' (1999), and ''Children of the Matrix'' (2001). The basic conspiracy theory is that the world is controlled by a network of secret societies referred to as the "Brotherhood," at the apex of which stand the "Illuminati" or "Global Elite."<ref name=Barkun104>Barkun 2003, p. 104.</ref> The goal of the Brotherhood is a world government, a plan that Icke says was laid out in the ''[[The Protocols of the Elders of Zion]]'' (in reality, long established as a Czarist hoax) which Icke says are really the revealed plans of the Illuminati. Icke, in common with many other conspiracy theorists, says the methods of these conspirators include control of the world's economies and the use of mind-control techniques.<ref name=Barkun104/>
The Global Elite controls the Brotherhood and the world using what Icke calls a "pyramid of manipulation,"<ref name=Barkun104/> consisting of sets of hierarchical structures involving banking, business, the military, education, the media, religion, drug companies, intelligence agencies, and organised crime. At the very top of the pyramid are what Icke calls the "Prison Warders," who are not human.<ref name=truth185>Icke, David. ''... And the Truth Shall Set You Free'', 1995, p. 185.</ref> He writes that: "A pyramidal structure of human beings has been created under the influence and design of the extraterrestrial Prison Warders and their overall master, the Luciferic Consciousness. They control the human clique at the top of the pyramid, which I have dubbed the Global Elite."<ref name=truth185/>
Icke cites the [[The Holocaust|Holocaust]],<ref name=Jones/> the [[Oklahoma City bombing]],<ref name = Jones/> and the [[11 September 2001 attacks]]<ref>{{cite book|last=Icke|first=David|title=Alice in Wonderland and the World Trade Center Disaster|authorlink=David Icke|publisher=[[David Icke Books]]|date=2002-09-30|isbn=0953881024}}</ref> as examples of events financed and organised by the Global Elite. British journalist Simon Jones writes that, according to Icke, "Ordinary people are being massively duped into believing that the ordinary course of world events are the consequence of known political forces and random, uncontrollable events. However, the course of humanity is being manipulated at every level. These individuals arrange for incidents to occur around the world, which then elicit a response from the public ('something must be done'), and in turn allows those in power to do whatever they had planned to do in the first place."<ref name=Jones>Jones, Simon. [http://www.simon-jones.org.uk/articles/david_icke.htm "The Icke-onoclast"], ''Word Smith'', 3 April 1996</ref> Icke refers to this as "problem-reaction-solution".<ref>Icke, David. [http://www.newsforthesoul.com/icke-2.htm "Problem-reaction-solution"], ''News for the Soul'', retrieved 24 May 2006.</ref>
===Reptilian humanoids===
In 1999, Icke wrote and published ''The Biggest Secret: The Book that Will Change the World'', in which he identified the extraterrestrial prison warders as reptilians from the [[Draco (constellation)|constellation Draco]].<ref name=Barkun105>Barkun 2003, p. 105.</ref> They walk erect and appear to be human, living not only on the planets they come from, but also in caverns and tunnels under the earth. They have cross-bred with humans, which has created "hybrids" who are "possessed" by the full-blooded reptilians.<ref name=secret>Icke, David. ''The Biggest Secret: The Book that Will Change the World'', 1999, pp 1, 24–27, 259–60</ref> The reptiles' hybrid reptilian-human DNA allows them to change from reptilian to human form if they consume human blood. Icke has drawn parallels with the 1980s science-fiction series ''[[V (television series)|V]]'', in which the earth is taken over by reptiloid aliens disguised as humans.
According to Icke, the reptilian group includes many prominent people and practically every world leader from Britain's late [[Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon|Queen Mother]] to [[George H.W. Bush]], [[Hillary Clinton]], [[Harold Wilson]], and Tony Blair. These people are either themselves reptilian, or work for the reptiles as what Icke calls slave-like victims of [[multiple personality disorder]]: "The [[Rothschilds]], [[Rockefellers]], the [[British royal family]], and the ruling political and economic families of the U.S. and the rest of the world come from these SAME bloodlines. It is not because of snobbery, it is to hold as best they can a genetic structure — the reptilian-mammalian [[DNA]] combination which allows them to '[[shapeshifting|shape-shift]]'."<ref name=Honigsbaum/>
In ''Tales From The Time Loop'' and other works, Icke states that most organised religions, especially [[Judaism]], [[Christianity]], and [[Islam]], are Illuminati creations designed to divide and conquer the human race through endless conflicts. In a similar vein, Icke believes racial and ethnic divisions are an illusion promoted by the reptilians, and that racism fuels the Illuminati agenda.
===Alleged relationship with the far right===
Michael Barkun writes that Icke has moved aggressively to increase the size of his audience with the use of an elaborate website and speaking tours,<ref name=Barkun106>Barkun 2003, p. 106.</ref> and has "clearly sought to cultivate the extreme right." Barkun cites a London ''[[Evening Standard]]'' story from 1995, which alleged that "uncanny parallels [were] emerging" between Icke's work and that of senior figures in the American armed [[militia]] movement.<ref name=Honigsbaum/> Barkun argues that the relationship between Icke, the militias, and the [[Christian Patriot]]s is complex and tense because of the New Age baggage Icke brings with him, and he stresses that Icke is not actually a member of any of these groups. On the one hand, Icke believes Christian patriots to be the only Americans who understand the truth about the [[New World Order (conspiracy theory)|New World Order]], but on the other, he said he told a Christian patriot group: "I don't know which I dislike more, the world controlled by the Brotherhood, or the one you want to replace it with."<ref name=Barkun107>Barkun 2003, p. 107.</ref>
====Claims of antisemitism====
A number of commentators have written that Icke's theories imply a form of [[antisemitism]] because of his references to a secret elite that rules the world, including prominent Jewish banking families, who he says planned the Holocaust and financed [[Adolf Hitler]]. He also makes reference to the ''[[Protocols of the Elders of Zion]]''. In ''... And the Truth Shall Set You Free'' he wrote:<blockquote>I strongly believe that a small Jewish clique which has contempt for the mass of Jewish people worked with non-Jews to create the [[World War I|First World War]], the [[Russian Revolution of 1917|Russian Revolution]], and the [[World War II|Second World War]]. This Jewish/non-Jewish Elite used the First World War to secure the [[Balfour Declaration]] and the principle of the Jewish State of [[Israel]]. They then dominated the [[Versailles Peace Conference]] and created the circumstances which made the Second World War inevitable. They financed Hitler to power in 1933 and made the funds available for his rearmament."<ref name=Offley1/></blockquote>
In 1995, Alick Bartholomew of Gateway, at that time Icke's publisher, told the London ''Evening Standard'' that an early draft of ''... And the Truth Shall Set You Free'' contained [[Holocaust denial|revisionist Holocaust]] material, and he was allegedly dropped because of it.<ref name=Honigsbaum/><ref name=Barkun108>Barkun 2003, p. 108.</ref>
Icke has cited [[White supremacy|white supremacist]], [[neo-Nazi]] and other far-right publications in his books. British journalist Simon Jones notes that the bibliography of ''... And the Truth Shall Set You Free'' lists ''The Spotlight'', formerly published by the now-defunct [[Liberty Lobby]], and which Icke calls "excellent", and ''On Target'', published by the [[Australian League of Rights]], which has organised speaking tours for Holocaust denier [[David Irving]]. Jones writes: "It's tempting to dismiss David Icke as a confused and ignorant man, manipulated by extremists in order to present their philosophy in a socially acceptable format. But Icke clearly understands the implications of his words."<ref name=Jones/>
Mark Honigsbaum has written about the apparent link between the more extreme New Age proponents and the far-right armed [[militia movement]] in the U.S.<ref name=Honigsbaum/> Icke's books contain multiple references to the Illuminati, which Icke and the militia movement believe constitutes the secret government they call the "[[New World Order (conspiracy theory)|New World Order]]". In 1995, Honigsbaum wrote in London's ''Evening Standard'' that [[Combat 18]], the British neo-Nazi group, was publicising Icke's speaking tour of the UK in its internal magazine, ''Putsch''. The magazine wrote that Icke spoke about "'the sheep' and how the 'illuminati', uses them for its own ends".<ref name=Honigsbaum/> The story continued: "[Icke] began to talk about the big conspiracy by a group of bankers, media moguls etc. — always being clever enough not to mention what all these had in common."<ref name=Honigsbaum/>
Icke believes that [[Combat 18]] is a front for the [[Anti-Defamation League]] (ADL), which in turn is an "Illuminati front."<ref name=Ronson4/> The role of the ADL, he says, is to "brand as anti-Semitic" anyone who gets close to "the truth."<ref name=Ronson4/> In ''... And the Truth Shall Set You Free'', he wrote: "In Britain, I am told by an extremely reliable source very close to the [[MI5|intelligence]] [[MI6|organisations]] that the "far-right" group, Combat 18, is a front for the sinister Anti-Defamation League, the United States arm of the Israeli/Rothschild secret service, [[Mossad]]. The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) has been operating in Britain and Europe since at least 1991 and its role is to brand as anti-Semitic anyone who is getting close to the truth of what is going on. What better way to discredit an investigator than to have a "far-Right" group like Combat 18 to praise them?"<ref name=truth133>Icke, David. ''...and the truth shall set you free'', pp 133–134, cited in Offley, Will. [http://www.publiceye.org/Icke/Ickequotes.htm "Selected Quotes Of David Icke"], ''PublicEye.org'', Political Research Associates, 23 February 2000.</ref>
Icke has strongly denied that his reptiles represent Jews, calling it "[[Minced oath|frig]]gin' nonsense."<ref name=Ronson4/> "I am not an anti-Semite!", he told ''The Guardian'', "I have a great respect for the Jewish people."<ref name=Ronson2/> He maintains that the reptilians are not human, and therefore not Jewish, but are "extra-dimensional entities" that enter and control human minds. "This is not a Jewish plot. This is not a plot on the world by Jewish people," he told Jon Ronson.<ref name=Ronson4/>
British journalist [[Louis Theroux]], reviewing Jon Ronson's ''Them: Adventures with Extremists'', cautioned against accusing Icke of anti-Semitism: "Icke's 'theory' is basically ''The Protocols of the Elders of Zion'' with a new cast and a few script changes. Not surprisingly, Icke has come under suspicion of anti-Semitism... Not only might it be unfair to Icke, but by implying that he is so dangerous that he has to be censored, the watchdogs are giving a patina of seriousness to ideas that are — let's face it — very, very silly."<ref>Theroux, Louis. [http://books.guardian.co.uk/reviews/politicsphilosophyandsociety/0,6121,469460,00.html "Stranger than fiction: Are 12ft lizards running the world?"], ''The Guardian'', 7 April 2001</ref>
====Protests in Canada====
Icke was briefly detained when he tried to enter Canada in October 1999 to take part in a speaking tour, following complaints from the [[Canadian Jewish Congress]] to Ontario's Hate Crime Unit. His books were removed from [[Indigo Books and Music]] stores, and several venues on his speaking tour were cancelled.<ref name=Kraft/> The [[University of Toronto]] allowed his speech there to go ahead in the [[Hart House Theatre]], with some 70 protesters standing outside. Icke received a standing ovation after speaking for four hours.<ref name=Jabbari/>
University of Toronto law professor [[Edward Morgan]] wrote on 30 September 1999 to the university's president, [[Robert Pritchard]]: "[T]his is precisely the type of vilifying material with which the [[Supreme Court of Canada|Supreme Court]] was concerned in its decision regarding the [[Criminal Code of Canada]] ban. The publications praise classic anti-Semitic tracts, and are replete with references to a secret society carrying on a global conspiracy led by a manipulating Jewish clique. The material which I have reviewed finds no place in the Canadian marketplace of ideas."<ref name=Jabbari/>
Sumari Communications, which hosted Icke's tour, denied the allegations: "I dispute the anti-Semite issue because the Jewish community has chosen to isolate anti-Semitic quotes in David's books which he himself uses quotes from Jewish authors to prove his theories. No one is forcing these people to be here, but what is important is that they have the choice. It is called freedom and David doesn't even mention the Jews in his talks." Icke himself addressed the concerns during his speech:
<blockquote>Is this a Jewish plot? No, No, No. Is it a plot? Yes, Yes, Yes. We are being manipulated, and I do not care if you are Jewish, Chinese, Catholic, etc. We are all being manipulated. And those people that are offended by what I have to say, they should choose not to be offended.<ref name=Jabbari/></blockquote>
Canadian human rights lawyer [[Richard Warman]] told Jon Ronson that he helped prevent media interviews and book signings Icke had set up for himself in Canada in 2000. Icke attracted an audience of 1,200 for his lecture that year in a downtown Vancouver theatre.<ref name=Gillis>Gillis, Charlie. "Righteous Crusader or Civil Rights Menace?" ''Macleans'', 21 April 2008.</ref> In 2001, when Icke's ''Children of the Matrix'' was published, Warman issued libel notices to Canadian libraries, warning them that the book contained defamatory statements, including the claim that Warman was working to stop the exposure of the abuse and sacrifice of children. The B.C. Libraries Association cited Warman's notices on an Internet database of censorship attempts.<ref name=Gillis/>
==Personal life==
Icke has lived in [[Ryde]] on the [[Isle of Wight]] since 1982, and makes occasional public appearances there. Icke has been married twice, first to Linda Atherton, with whom he has three children, and currently to Pamela Leigh Richards. Both women are involved in his publishing.
In January 2003, he travelled to [[Brazil]], and later talked about having used [[Ayahuasca]]: "[It] is a plant—a [[Rainforest|rain forest]] plant—which they turn in to what they call a turn ... [[Shamanism|Shaman]] in [[South America]] have been using it for centuries at least to take people into other realms of reality ... I took it twice and it was an experience—particularly on the second night—that completely transformed my view of life. What it did was take my intellectual understanding that the world is an illusion into the realms of knowing it's an illusion and there's a difference between intellectually understanding it's an illusion and this level of knowing it because you’ve experienced it. I got to the age of 50 without taking a single magic mushroom and I never even had one smoke of pot or anything."<ref>[http://www.newsforthesoul.com/icke-transcript-2004.htm "Interview with David Icke"], ''News for the Soul'', undated, retrieved 23 May 2006.</ref>
===Politics===
Icke was a candidate in the July 2008 [[Haltemprice and Howden by-election, 2008 | Haltemprice and Howden by-election]], aligned to no party, after announcing he would stand as "Big Brother—The Big Picture". He said: "I am standing ... because if we don't face this now we are going to have some serious explaining to do when we are asked by our children and grandchildren what we were doing when the global fascist state was installed. 'I was watching [[EastEnders]], dear', will not be good enough."<ref>[http://www.votewise.co.uk/index.php?pg=show&c=1076&eid=MP0003-0&this=1076 David Icke stood for the None (No Party)], ''votewise.co.uk'', accessed August 24, 2009.</ref> He came 12th in the polling with 110 votes and lost his deposit.
==Works==
;Books
* ''It's a Tough Game, Son'', Piccolo Books, 1983. ISBN 0330280473
* ''It Doesn't Have To Be Like This'', Green Print, 1989. ISBN 1854250337
* ''Love Changes Everything'', Harper Collins Publishers, 1992. ISBN 1855382474
* ''In the Light of Experience: The Autobiography of David Icke'', UK, Time Warner Books, 1993. ISBN 0751506036
* ''Truth Vibrations'', Gateway, 1991 ; Revised edition 1994. ISBN 1858600065
* ''Days of Decision'', Jon Carpenter Publishing, 1994. ISBN 1897766017
* ''The Robot's Rebellion'', Gateway, 1994. ISBN 1858600227
* ''Heal the World: A Do-It-Yourself Guide to Personal and Planetary Transformation'', Gateway, 1994. ISBN 1858600057
* ''...and the Truth Shall Set You Free'', UK, Bridge of Love Publications, 1996. ISBN 0953881059
* ''I Am Me, I Am Free: the Robot's Guide to Freedom'', Truth Seeker, 1996 ; 1998. ISBN 0952614758
* ''Lifting the Veil: David Icke interviewed by [[Jon Rappoport]]'', Truth Seeker, 1998. ISBN 0939040050
* ''The Biggest Secret: The Book That Will Change the World'', UK, Bridge of Love Publications, 1999. ISBN 0952614766
* ''Children of the Matrix. How an Interdimensional Race has Controlled the World for Thousands of Years-and Still Does'', UK, Bridge of Love Publications, 2001. ISBN 0953881016
* ''Alice in Wonderland and the World Trade Center Disaster'', UK, Bridge of Love Publications, 2002. ISBN 0953881024
* ''Tales from the Time Loop: The Most Comprehensive Expos of the Global Conspiracy Ever Written and All You Need to Know to Be Truly Free'', UK, Bridge of Love Publications 2003. ISBN 0953881040
* ''Infinite Love Is the Only Truth: Everything Else Is Illusion'', USA, Bridge of Love Publications, 2005. ISBN 0953881067
* ''The David Icke Guide to the Global Conspiracy (and how to end it)'', UK, David Icke Books Ltd, 2007. ISBN 978-0-9538810-8-6
;DVDs and videos
* ''Speaking Out: Who Really Controls the World and What We Can Do About It''
* ''David Icke: Turning of the Tide'' (1996)
* ''The Reptilian Agenda'' (1999) (DVD)
* ''David Icke: Revelations of a Mother Goddess''
* ''David Icke: The Freedom Road'' (2003)
* ''David Icke: Secrets of the Matrix'', Parts 1–3 (2003) (DVD)
* ''David Icke, Live in Vancouver: From Prison to Paradise'' (2005) (DVD)
* ''Freedom or Fascism: The Time to Choose'' (2006) (DVD)
* ''Beyond The Cutting Edge'' (2008) (DVD)
* ''David Icke Live at the Oxford Union Debating Society
* ''Secret Space
* ''Secret Space 2
==See also==
{{wikiquote}}
* [[Bible conspiracy theory]]
* [[Reptilian humanoid]]
* [[Credo Mutwa]]
* [[Erich von Däniken]]
* [[Zecharia Sitchin]]
* [[Alex Jones (radio)|Alex Jones]]
==Notes==
{{reflist|2}}
==References==
{{refbegin|2}}
*[http://www.davidicke.com/ David Icke's website]
*[http://www.newsforthesoul.com/icke-transcript-2004.htm "Interview with David Icke"], ''News for the Soul'', 2004 (retrieved 21 May 2006)
*Barkun, Michael. ''A Culture of Conspiracy: Apocalyptic Visions in Contemporary America'', Comparative Studies in Religion and Society, University of California, 2003. ISBN 0-520-23805-2
*Greenslade, Nick. [http://observer.guardian.co.uk/osm/story/0,6903,1294841,00.html "The ten worst sportsmen in politics"], ''The Observer'', 5 September 2004.
*Honigsbaum, Mark. [http://www2.ca.nizkor.org/ftp.cgi/orgs/british/combat-18/press/evening-standard.052695 "The Dark Side of David Icke"], ''London Evening Standard'', 26 May 1995.
*Icke, David. ''...And the Truth Shall Set You Free'', 1995.
*Icke, David. [http://www.newsforthesoul.com/icke-2.htm "Problem-reaction-solution"], ''News for the Soul''.
*Icke, David. ''The Biggest Secret: The Book that Will Change the World'', 1999.
*Jones, Simon. [http://www.simon-jones.org.uk/articles/david_icke.htm "The Icke-onoclast"], ''Word Smith'', 3 April 1996.
*Kraft, Frances. [http://www.cjnews.com/pastIssues/99/oct7-99/front2.htm "New Age speaker set to talk in Toronto"], ''The Canadian Jewish News'', 7 October 1999.
*Laming, Donald. ''Understanding Human Motivation: What makes people tick'', Blackwell. ISBN 0-631-21983-8
*Offley, Will. [http://www.publiceye.org/Icke/Ickequotes.htm "Selected Quotes Of David Icke"], ''PublicEye.org'', Political Research Associates, 23 February 2000.
*Offley, Will. [http://www.publiceye.org/Icke/IckeBackgrounder.htm "David Icke And The Politics Of Madness: Where The New Age Meets The Third Reich"], ''PublicEye.org'', Political Research Associates, 29 February 2000.
*Ronson, Jon. [http://books.guardian.co.uk/extracts/story/0,6761,457988,00.html"Beset by lizards, part one"], an extract from Ronson's book, ''Them: Adventures with Extremists'', ''The Guardian'', 17 March 2001.
*Ronson, Jon. [http://books.guardian.co.uk/extracts/story/0,6761,458001,00.html "Beset by lizards, part two"], an extract from Ronson's book, ''Them: Adventures with Extremists'', ''The Guardian'', 17 March 2001
*Ronson, Jon. ''David Icke, the Lizards, and the Jews'', Channel 4 Television.
*Theroux, Louis. [http://books.guardian.co.uk/reviews/politicsphilosophyandsociety/0,6121,469460,00.html "Stranger than fiction: Are 12ft lizards running the world?"], ''The Guardian'', 7 April 2001.
{{refend}}
==Further reading==
{{refbegin|2}}
*[http://www.davidicke.com/ DavidIcke.com]
*[http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/David_Icke David Icke quotes]
*Banyan, Will. [http://www.paranoiamagazine.com/PDFs/Icke.pdf "The Big Picture" A review of ''Alice in Wonderland and the World Trade Center Disaster''] (pdf) ''Paranoia Magazine'' Online (book reviews) October 2003.
*Fraser, Ivan. [http://www.thetruthseeker.co.uk/article.asp?ID=54 "David Icke, Arizona Wilder and the Biggest Secret"], ''The TruthSeeker'', retrieved 23 May 2006.
*Lewis, Tyson & Kahn, Richard. [http://getvegan.com/blog/ickereptoid.pdf "The Reptoid Hypothesis: Utopian and Dystopian Representational Motifs in David Icke's Alien Conspiracy Theory"] (pdf), ''Utopian Studies'', Volume 16, Issue 1, pp 45–75.
*Mitchell, Ben. [http://observer.guardian.co.uk/magazine/story/0,,1691336,00.html "This much I know"], interview with David Icke, ''The Observer'', 22 January 2006.
*Trimarco, James. [http://www.strangehorizons.com/2007/20070402/trimarco-icke-a.shtml "David Icke, the Reptilian Infiltration, and the Limits of Science Fiction"]. ''Strange Horizons'', 2 April 2007.
*[http://www.cryptohacker.com/winword.html The book that Bushes banned : analysis of a probably spoofed document'']
*[http://www.skepdic.com/illuminati.html ''Illuminati, The New World Order & Paranoid Conspiracy Theorists (PCTs)''], ''The Skeptic's Dictionary''.
*[http://www.rinf.com/articles/david-icke-interview.html David Icke interview], ''rinf.com''.
;Audio/Video
*Parts of a video series called "Secrets of the Matrix", filmed in Brixton Academy, London, are available on ''YouTube'': [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kelCN8J84_I Aspartame] and [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o1ANjI9yMjo Secrets of the Matrix: Statue of Liberty]
*Ronson, Jon. [http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-2912878405399014351 "David Icke, the Lizards, and the Jews"] (video), Channel 4 Television, retrieved 22 May 2006.
*[http://youtube.com/watch?v=w2cm2RDfIfQ David Icke on Coast to Coast AM] – Audio: March 2006
{{refend}}
{{911ct|type=BLP|cat=yes}}
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|NAME= Icke, David
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}}
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[[Category:Hereford United F.C. players]]
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