After the Cville car attack in 2017, a Youtuber named William Evans (who went by "SonOfNewo") made a series of viral videos claiming it was a "hoax," & that I was the deep state cameraman.
In 2018, he set the videos to private and vanished.
On Monday, I saw him at Walter Reed.
In 2018, he set the videos to private and vanished.
On Monday, I saw him at Walter Reed.
I don't want to extensively platform his bullshit, but for context, here's the crux of the argument he made over several videos.
In short, he claims that neo-Nazis aren't real, and I must have been working for a "three-letter agency" to film them.
(The cuts in this are his.)
In short, he claims that neo-Nazis aren't real, and I must have been working for a "three-letter agency" to film them.
(The cuts in this are his.)
Needless to say, the three-letter agency I contributed my coverage of white nationalists to was PBS, and the work won an Emmy.
I don't think that's what he meant though.
I don't think that's what he meant though.
https://twitter.com/FordFischer/status/1308102374192488451
Without harping on this, his most unsettling video for me was entitled "Walking in Ford Fischer's Footsteps - On the Scene of the CVille Hoax."
In it, he went to the scene of Heather Heyer's murder and physically retraced my exact steps from that day, in person.
In it, he went to the scene of Heather Heyer's murder and physically retraced my exact steps from that day, in person.
SonOfNewo also made videos attacking @brennanmgilmore.
While he didn't end up as a defendant, he is mentioned several times in Gilmore's lawsuit against Alex Jones, who also made conspiracy videos about him.
theusconstitution.org/litigation/gil…
While he didn't end up as a defendant, he is mentioned several times in Gilmore's lawsuit against Alex Jones, who also made conspiracy videos about him.
theusconstitution.org/litigation/gil…
Fast forward to two nights ago. I have never met William Evans aka "SonOfNewo" in person, and he set all his content to private in late 2018 and vanished.
No apology or statement, just stopped.
I approached and asked why.
He explained he "didn't want to become a pariah."
No apology or statement, just stopped.
I approached and asked why.
He explained he "didn't want to become a pariah."
So what was he doing at Walter Reed during Trump's departure on Monday night?
"Assassination?? Terrorism??? What happened in the Rose Garden??? INVESTIGATE!!!" said the back side of his sign, which he showed me after explaining the front.
"Assassination?? Terrorism??? What happened in the Rose Garden??? INVESTIGATE!!!" said the back side of his sign, which he showed me after explaining the front.
Given that he vanished from the internet (which many of his followers continue to suggest means he was silenced somehow), I asked him to admit that what he said about me framed as "questions" were wrong.
"Ford, I'm not going to answer that," he said.
We parted ways cordially.
"Ford, I'm not going to answer that," he said.
We parted ways cordially.
Just to give an idea, these are the sorts of messages I got in the aftermath of his videos in 2017.
Even in the two years since he made his videos private and disappeared, people have continued to spread his ideas online, and suggest that his self-removal from the web means he was censored or "missing."
I posted this thread for few reasons:
1) Show that he - in his own words - stopped to avoid being a "pariah." He wasn't "silenced" by big tech or whatever other scapegoat.
2) Show the residual effects of this sort of bullshit online.
3) Note his path from online to real-world.
1) Show that he - in his own words - stopped to avoid being a "pariah." He wasn't "silenced" by big tech or whatever other scapegoat.
2) Show the residual effects of this sort of bullshit online.
3) Note his path from online to real-world.
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