Hucksters Profits From Nutty’s ‘Venom In The Water’ Theory

Conspiracy theorists have seized on a widespread hoax about snake venom in the water supply as an opportunity to sell their wares, even as the retired orthopedist behind the theory tries to try to stay away from it.

Last week, far-right conspiracy communities went wild over a semi-documentary produced by fringe online talk show host and former bounty hunter Stew Peters. The video, titled “Watch the Water” after a QAnon catchphrase, features Peters interviewing retired chiropractor Bryan Ardis about his theory that the CDC has injected king cobra venom into the vaccine. Covid-19 and water supplies to deliver Satanic DNA to unsuspecting people.

Ardis’ evidence for the venom theory is slim. Among other things, he claims he got the idea of ​​snake venom in the water supply from a fortune cookie and by watching a 2016 episode of NBC’s Black list, in which a character played by James Spader suspects he was poisoned with venom. While Black list being fictional, Ardis felt the episode carried some real-world meaning.

“They are using plumbing because they can target specific demographics,” says Ardis.

Since its release, See water has garnered millions of views and is endorsed by some pro-Trump conspiracy theorists. It also became a business opportunity for the likes of Pennsylvania QAnon promoter Phil Godlewski, who launched a website named after the video to sell water purification devices. Some filter packs from manufacturer Seychelle on the site cost hundreds of dollars – a small price to pay, according to Godlewski, who has warned his fans of the possibility of cobras growing in tap water. which means they should stop drinking water until they can filter it out.

“I strongly recommend that you stop drinking any kind of water that is tap water, or even bottled water,” Godlewski said in a video Friday.

Godlewski emphasizes that more conventional water purification products such as Brita purifiers cannot be trusted.

“Do you know who owns Brita?” Godlewski said. “The cabals.”

After being complained by fans that the life-saving filter pack was ostensibly too expensive, Godlewski raised $40,000 that he announced would buy water filters for his less wealthy backers.

Godlewski’s efforts to incorporate the venom theory of water into Seychelle water filters seem to have put the manufacturer in a dilemma. On Tuesday, Seychelle released a statement saying its filters are not designed to remove snake venom and that they are sold with “no venom removal claim”.

The company also avoids supporting the idea that the water supply is laced with snake venom.

“Seychelle also does not authorize or endorse any claims that snake venom is being used as an additive to tap water or that snake venom is a major water contaminant of concern,” the statement read.

As See water movie started true to conspiracies, its originator began to push back against the idea that he definitely had venom in the water. Amid backlash from other conspiracy theorists who found the idea of ​​the venom too ridiculous to believable, Ardis appeared Friday on QAnon’s show Ann Vandersteel’s character Ann Vandersteel to show that the water angle is being overemphasized.

“The story is not about water,” Ardis said. “Please, I can’t say this enough.”

When asked to respond to an anonymous internet commenter, who indicated that the CDC would not be able to coordinate the poisoning of city water supplies worldwide and collect enough snake venom to carry out the necessary actions. poisoning, Ardis admits that he may have been Mistaken. But then he backed down, echoing his belief that the government had injected venom into the reservoirs.

“Please, please, please don’t try to destroy my reputation for trying to save lives because I told one person, ‘I think they’re doing it underwater,’” Ardis said. “Because I thought it was underwater!”

Ardis’s attempts to downplay the synthesized water theory were not accepted by all of his new supporters.

Christopher Key, an anti-vaccination activist who calls himself the “Vaccine Police,” has a history of applying vagrant cures, including urging his followers to drink urine. their own to fight Covid-19. On Saturday, Key promised to send chlorine dioxide — a dangerous pseudo-medical treatment the FDA has given compared to oral bleach — to anyone seeking treatment after ingesting the venom in tap water.

“I believe chlorine dioxide is one of the antidote,” Key said in a video.

Key insists he doesn’t make money from giving away bleach, presumably because chlorine dioxide suppliers have been arrested for trying to sell the hazardous substance. But he has said that he will accept donations.