'Apocalyptic bloodlust': Conspiracy theorists push misinformation 'onslaught' over eclipse

On Monday, April 8, a total solar eclipse will cross North America. Scientists and mainstream journalists will be paying close attention to the event, but while their interest is strictly scientific, another group of people see the eclipse in political terms: far-right conspiracy theorists.

In an article published by Rolling Stone on April 4, reporter E.J. Dickson describes some of the wild conspiracy theories that Infowars' Alex Jones and others on the far right have been promoting about the eclipse.

"Our knowledge of eclipses predates our knowledge of gravity, algebra and toilet paper," Dickson explains. "We are well aware of their existence, and we are well aware of what causes them…. What the ancient Assyrians could not have possibly predicted, however, was the singular stupidity of the current incarnation of the American right.""

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Dickson continues, "Unconvinced by thousands of years of scientific inquiry, as well as driven by a general sense of apocalyptic bloodlust, many on the right are trading conspiracy theories about the upcoming eclipse, ranging from the belief that it signals the End Times to the idea that the Biden Administration is using it as an opportunity to shut down cell phone service or bring in the National Guard in an effort to make beautiful blond children who play sports transgender."

Dickson notes that the "onslaught of misinformation" about the March 8 eclipse "began" with Jones.

In an April 2 post on X, formerly Twitter, the Infowars host wrote, "Major Events Surrounding The April 8th Solar Eclipse. Masonic rituals planned worldwide to usher in New World Order."

Another far-right conspiracy theorist who has been tweeting about the eclipse is Dom Lucre.

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On April 2, Lucre posted, "There will be rituals performed during the April 8th Eclipse. Masonic, Satanic, Esoteric, Gnostic, Brotherhood of the Snake and other occult-like groups will be performing."

Mike Rothschild, author of the 2021 book "The Storm Is Upon Us: How QAnon Became a Movement, Cult, and Conspiracy Theory of Everything," told Rolling Stone that "weird theories and superstitions around cosmic events like eclipses" are common "because people don't understand science and how anything works."

Rothschild told Rolling Stone, "It all feels very similar to the same run of conspiracy theories we had with stuff like the four blood moons and the September 23 apocalypse and other pseudo-science nonsense. Basically, a common event is imbued with cosmic significance, then totally forgotten when nothing happens."

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Read Rolling Stone's full report at this link (subscription required).