The internet produces a lot of bizarre conspiracy theories. A recent one questions whether Jeremy Corbyn purposefully wore a ‘scruffy’ coat to the World War One armistice centenary to drive a wedge between ordinary Brits and the media:
Please take a moment to process that.
Still not there yet?
Take a little longer if not. You’re going to need all the processing power you’ve got for this next bit. Because the conspiracy theory has now spread to prominent philosopher and Remain activist A.C. Grayling:
Tinfoil hat time
The conspiracy appears to have begun with Kevin McKeever. McKeever founded the political consultancy group Lowick which promises to:
help our clients understand and respond to the rapidly changing global environment, from strengthening established markets to entering new communities, markets and territories.
It’s difficult to predict if his theory will make him look more or less skilled at ‘understanding’ the ‘global environment’ (or indeed anything) in the eyes of his clients. It’s certainly brought him a lot of attention, though – over 2,000 likes and 1,000 retweets at the time of writing.
Unpicking his reasoning, we find the argument seems to hinge on Corbyn owning other coats:
So that’s Corbyn busted, then. Unless he just spent more time thinking about the millions who died rather than what coat to wear. Going off the reaction on Twitter, that’s unlikely. Who could possibly focus on remembrance when there are trivialities to worry about?
This story was so important that the Daily Mail‘s ‘CHIEF REPORTER’ covered it:
Still unsure what to believe? Let’s hear from the philosopher A.C. Grayling.
Man of brains
If you’re unsure what a ‘philosopher’ is, it’s a person who uses their brain to think thoughts. Ideally, these thoughts should be intelligent or insightful, but Grayling has bravely chosen to forge a different path:
Jeremy, you are not Michael Foot. I knew Michael Foot. You are not Michael Foot, however hard you try to mimic the undress-for-Cenotaph thing. With him, it was real. He cared about ideas not clothes. With you, it’s just another cheap dimwitted trick. You’ve been found out. Go.
Reactions to his latest brain butter were mixed:
Well, not that mixed. Although a few coat-truthers did make their opinions known:
See you next year
Corbyn has been criticised for not quite bowing enough; doing a little dance (which he never did), and now wearing a coat with intent.
It’s no wonder people are defensive of Corbyn when the accusations against him are often so ridiculous.
The truth is out there, people. Just not on the timeline of A.C. Grayling.
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Featured image via Wikimedia – Rwendland
