Everybody Hates Gary Waterman

Gary Waterman reminds us in every video he’s ever made that he’s a former police officer, born-again Christian and a victim of the world’s worst financial fraud - and if you are a prominent truther with a platform of your own, he wants… no he demands access to your channel to promote his conspiracy theory.

Unsurprisingly, Gary’s hard-ball approach to spreading his message doesn’t work for everybody:

In particular, Gary has picked a fight with a former ITN journalist, Sonia Poulton: He demanded that she feature him on his channel, and when she refused, he publicly accused her of being connected to a web of illegal companies that have been engaged in child trafficking. It’s hardly surprising that Sonia took offence. Gary’s accusations were pure, obvious and clear defamation.

Another truth movement influencer says that Gary’s behaviour has forced her to question whether she can remain involved. She’s taken a good long look at her movement and has realized that it’s full of attention-seeking misogynistic twerps like Gary.

This has become a pattern for Waterman: He makes videos demanding attention, and if attention isn’t provided, he responds with allegations and threats. It’s all a little too much for some movement members whose motto is “I Do Not Comply.”

But this exchange is all in a day’s work for the ex-cop turned fugitive: In addition to bullying other truthers into letting him onto their platform, Waterman seems to want to establish himself as the new leader of the truthers. The van where he lives will become the Truther UK mobile command centre. The former acting sergeant from the Dorset Police Force sees himself as the new chief constable of the entire British truther movement.

This is pretty far-fetched, even by Gary Waterman’s standards, and those of us who spend time observing the conspiracy truther movement have seen this story countless times before. Gary’s star may be ascendant now but will inevitably crash. And when it does, Mind of Steele will be here to share the schadenfreude with all.