Birds Spies: Is it Warranted?

The Theory
A recent conspiracy theory has come to the attention of the public that birds are not real [1]. Rather, that they were, but were almost entirely eradicated by the government and what we see around now are replicas used as surveillance tools to spy on us. It all started in the 1940s when the world was terrified and paranoid of a socialist regime. The CIA decided that in order to find the communists that were lurking in the community, they needed something better than stationary cameras. On top of this, the rich were mad about the birds pooping on their cars and fancy clothes, etc. So alas in the late 50s, the plan was devised to eliminate the birds. Operation Water the Country commenced, the plan to release a chemical from planes high in the sky that would instantly kill the flying birds but not being powerful enough to make it to the ground and harm any humans. The pilots never came forward because they were told they were only watering the nation's grass. President JFK found out of the plan and confronted the agents, ordering them to pull the plug on the surveillance operation. He was assassinated a month later. The birds were created, and have been spying on the American citizens ever sense.

Is it a CT According to Mandik? [2]
No, it does not meet his any of the elements Mandik discusses, in order for something to be a CT by his standards. His standards include:
1. explanations of
2. historical events in terms of
3. intentional states of multiple agents (the conspirators) who, among other
things,
4. intended the historical events in question to occur and
5. keep their intentions and actions secret
In the theory of government surveillance birds, the only historical events mentioned are the JFK assassination, and the conspirators would be the government. For part 1, the theory does provide an explanation for the JFK assassination but all of the "evidence" (including the idea that JFK tapped a CIA agents phone over stolen lunch allegations and that is how he discovered OWtC) was made up for the purpose of the theory. for the second part, we can say that while there's no doubt the rise of communism made everyone (even governmental agencies —see COINTELPRO) commit unethical acts for the sake of avoiding a communist regime, the historical event in question has to be the JFK assassination has that is an event token, whereas an event type would be the paranoia created by communism. And on top of all of the "evidence" lacking concreteness, there was also a lack of intent as in number 4. The goal according to this "CT" is to spy on individuals, not to assassinate JFK. Even for part 5 and the idea that the theory was kept so under wraps this whole time that they even assassinated the president, doesn't make much sense considering the "birds aren't real" theory has gone mainstream on the internet.
It misses all of the marks to Mandik's standards. It isn't even a case of "sometimes shit just happens," so in Mandik terms, this is unwarranted.[[/size]]

But How About in the Eyes of Keeley [3]
Keeley states that there is a subset of CTs called UCTs (unwarranted conspiracy theories) and the elements for that are as follows:
1) The theory must be in contradiction with the official story. It must be noted that the official story of an event can come from a plethora of sources, some being the government, the free press/media, or private institutions, etc.
2) The intentions of the conspirators are inherently bad intentions. In other words, the conspirators will bring an event about at the cost of others.
3) Conspiracy theories have a tendency to connect events, that otherwise would be unrelated.
4) Although some conspiracies include public figures, in general, all conspiracies are well kept from the general public.
5) And arguably, the most important element: UCTs rely heavily on errant data.

Breaking Down UCTs
Part 1
So, there hasn't been any story for this theory, other than from the theorists. There weren't any birds with microphones and camera eyes being found that the media or government had to cover to explain.
Part 2
The one does fit. The conspirators, in this case the FBI, do have bad intentions with spying on the citizens of the United States. And the harmful event brought about at the cost of others, the assassination of John F. Kennedy.
Part 3
This would could maybe fit..? If you find the right angle you could say the assassination of JFK was not previously linked to an undercover plot to spy on U.S. citizens.
Part 4
This one could have been justified, but the fact that it has become widespread on the internet proves that it isn't being kept from the public. I mean just the othe day i saw someone on campus wearing a "bird watching goes both ways" shirt, so clearly discrepancy is not a main concern with this CT.
Part 5
Errant data, as described by Keeley, could include unaccounted-for data, or contradictory data. Again as there is no existence of this theory outside of the theorists, there are no "official story'' errors or contradictions to be made.

Conclusion
So as we can see, in Mandik's terms this is dismissable as a conspiracy theory, and in Keeley's terms, it is classified as unwarranted. This is all due to the lack of evidence outside the theorists original claims. So, in legitimate and academic terms, there really is no reason we should believe this theory.

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