This is cross-posted at the blog, Adam Holland
What does it mean to “like” someone on Facebook? Salon Columnist Glenn Greenwald says that he is a fan of anti-Israel conspiracy theorist Alan Hart. I wonder why. (See screenshot from Hart’s website above. Hart’s Facebook widget featuring Greenwald’s image is located on the right side.)
Does Greenwald share Alan Hart’s belief that, on 9/11, Israeli agents controlled the planes that crashed into the World Trade Center via remote control devices hidden in cell phones? Does he agree with Hart that Israel has stolen nuclear weapons from a U.S. military base and intends to use them to destroy an American city? (Read my column documenting Hart’s conspiracy theories here.) In May, Hart not only made those bizarre assertions, he also claimed in radio/podcast interviews with conspiracy mongers Kevin Barrett and Alex Jones that he had proof that the World Trade towers were destroyed by controlled demolition, i.e. that explosives had been planted within the buildings and were detonated after the plane crashes to bring down the towers. (This implausible belief is an essential part of truther conspiracy theories.) Hart said in those interviews that his proof for this controlled demolition conspiracy, which he claimed came from a source within “one of the world’s leading engineering firms”, resided on a laptop to which he didn’t then have access because he was away from home on a U.S. speaking tour. That was more than four months ago, and Hart has still not come forward with the computer file that, if it actually existed, would undoubtedly provide him with the biggest scoop of his career as a journalist. Maybe Hart just hasn’t gotten around to looking for it.
I don’t believe that Greenwald shares Alan Hart’s belief in these bizarre theories, but his “liking” Hart does raise the question: how crazy does an anti-Zionist have to be to be too crazy for Glenn to like?
(The Facebook widget featuring Greenwald’s image was found here: Obama speaks at the UN… Goodbye to peace – Alan Hart)
Now see Greenwald’s reply to Hollands’s post, and Holland’s subsequent replies:
Can anyone out there with a better technical understanding of spam, and Facebook, than me tell us if Greenwald’s seemingly bizarre defense is plausible?
