Michel Chossudovsky

Michel Chossudovsky
Born 1946 (age 71–72)
Nationality Canadian
Institution Professor Emeritus, University of Ottawa
Centre for Research on Globalization
Field Economic development
Globalization
International financial institutions
World economy

Michel Chossudovsky (born 1946) is a Canadian economist, author and conspiracy theorist.[1][2] He is professor emeritus of economics at the University of Ottawa[3][4] and the president and director of the Centre for Research on Globalization, which publishes conspiracy theories.[5][6][7][8] Chossudovsky has written that the September 11 attacks were not committed by Islamic terrorists, and that the attacks were a pretext for war in the Middle East.[9][10][11][12]

In 2017, the Centre for Research on Globalization was accused by NATO information warfare specialists of playing a key role in the spread of pro-Russian propaganda.[6]

Biography

Chossudovsky is the son of a Russian Jewish émigré, the career United Nations diplomat and academic Evgeny Chossudovsky, and an Irish Protestant, Rachel Sullivan.[13] Raised in Switzerland, Chossudovsky moved to Canada and joined the University of Ottawa in 1968.[11][14] According to the Ottawa Citizen, Chossudovsky's academic research kept him "on the margins of mainstream academia," but won praise from anti-establishment intellectuals, including Noam Chomsky. In 2005, shortly after Chossudovsky began writing about terrorism, the Citizen reported that Chossudovsky's was "a popular figure among anti-globalization activists," and that some of his students referred to him as "Canada's Chomsky."[11] At that time, some colleagues were becoming uncomfortable with Chossudovsky's ideas, with one professor describing them as having "a conspiratorial element."[11]

In 2005, Chossudovsky published the book America's "War on Terrorism". According to the New York Times, the "conspiracy-minded book... argued that the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks were simply a pretext for American incursions into the Middle East, and that Bin Laden was nothing but a boogeyman created by the United States".[9] The book was found in the bookshelf in Osama bin Laden's compound Abbottabad, Pakistan.[9][15][10] According to Vox, the book's theory is that "9/11 was a United States government conspiracy to start the Iraq War and enable a "new world order" to help corporate interests. Bin Laden was, at best, a pawn in CIA interests."[10]

Chossudovsky has contributed to the French magazine Le Monde diplomatique.[16] He is frequently quoted by or appears on both RT (formerly known as Russia Today) and the Kremlin-run Sputnik news agency.[6] The Centre for Research on Globalization regularly reposts content from both networks. Chossudovsky was interviewed in the documentary film The Weight of Chains, which the Centre for Research on Globalization amongst others sponsored.[17]

Centre for Research on Globalization

In 2001, Chossudovsky founded the Centre for Research on Globalization, becoming its editor and director. Located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, it describes itself as an "independent research and media organization" that provides "analysis on issues which are barely covered by the mainstream media".[18]

The Centre for Research on Globalization promotes a variety of conspiracy theories and falsehoods.[7][19][8][20][21][22][23] It has reported that the September 11 attacks were a false flag attack planned by the CIA,[2] that the United States and its allies fund al-Qaeda and the Islamic State, and that Sarin Gas was not used in the Khan Shaykhun chemical attack, which globalresearch.ca articles characterized as a false flag operation orchestrated by terrorists opposed to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.[6][19] Other articles published on the site have asserted that the 7 July 2005 London bombings were perpetrated by the United States, Israel, and United Kingdom.[11] Chossudovsky has himself posted articles on the site which suggested that Osama bin Laden was a CIA asset, and accusing the United States, Israel and Britain of plotting to conquer the world.[11] The Centre has also promoted the Irish slavery myth, prompting a letter by more than 80 scholars debunking the myth.[23]

According to PolitiFact, the Centre "has advanced specious conspiracy theories on topics like 9/11, vaccines and global warming."[8] Foreign Policy notes that the Centre "sells books and videos that 'expose' how the September 11 terrorist attacks were 'most likely a special covert action' to 'further the goals of corporate globalization.'"[20] A 2010 study categorized the website as a source of anti-vaccine misinformation.[21] The Atlantic Council's Digital Forensic Research Lab described it as "pro-Putin and anti-NATO".[24] The Jewish Tribune described the Centre as being "rife with anti-Jewish conspiracy theory and Holocaust denial."[25] Writing for the New Republic, Muhammad Idrees Ahmad, Lecturer in Digital Journalism at the University of Stirling, describes the Centre's website as a "conspiracy site".[22]

In November 2017, The Globe and Mail reported that the Centre's website was "in the sights" of NATO information warfare specialists investigating "the online spread of pro-Russia propaganda and of disinformation." According to the Globe, NATO's Strategic Communications Centre of Excellence (StratCom) believed that the site was playing a "key accelerant role in helping popularize articles with little basis in fact that also happen to fit the narratives being pushed by the Kremlin" and the Syrian regime of Bashar Al-Assad. The report described the site as an "online refuge for conspiracy theorists" and suggested that NATO specialists viewed it as "a link in a concerted effort to undermine the credibility of mainstream Western media—as well as the North American and European public's trust in government and public institutions."[6] Asked to comment on the report, Chossudovsky responded through his lawyer, saying that the Centre did not have ties to pro-Russia or pro-Assad networks, was not "affiliated with governmental organizations" and did not benefit from their support.[6]

Works

  • War and Globalisation: The Truth behind September 11, Global Research, 2003, ISBN 9780973110906
  • The Globalization of Poverty and The New World Order, Global Research, 2003, ISBN 9780973714708
  • America's "War on Terrorism", Global Research, 2005, OCLC 785862235
  • Towards a World War III Scenario: The Dangers of Nuclear War, Global Research, 2011, OCLC 940588105

Awards

References

  1. ↑ McEnteer, James (2006). Shooting the Truth: The Rise of American Political Documentaries. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 55. ISBN 9780275987602.
  2. 1 2 Peter Knight "Outrageous Conspiracy Theories: Popular and Official Responses to 9/11 in Germany and the United States" New German Critique, No. 103, Dark Powers: Conspiracies and Conspiracy Theory in History and Literature (Winter, 2008), pp. 165–193 Published by: Duke University Press Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/27669225 Accessed: 30-01-2018 16:25 UTC
  3. ↑ "Michel Chossudovsky". Department of Economics. University of Ottawa. Archived from the original on 6 December 2013. Retrieved 2 September 2014.
  4. ↑ Faculty of Social Sciences; Department of Economics, University of Ottawa
  5. ↑ "How a pair of self-publicists wound up as apologists for Assad". The Economist. 14 April 2017. Retrieved 14 April 2017.
    • "...the Centre for Research on Globalization, a hub for conspiracy theories and fake stories."
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Campbell Clark and Mark MacKinnon, "The Credibility Machine: An obscure Canadian website that disseminates conspiracy theories and Kremlin-friendly points of view is an amplifier of global disinformation, according to NATO," The Globe and Mail, 18 Nov 2017.
    • "Global Research has from the beginning espoused conspiracy theories."
  7. 1 2 Pogatchnik, Shawn. "AP FACT CHECK: Irish "slavery" a St. Patrick's Day myth". ABC News. Associated Press. Archived from the original on 16 March 2017. Retrieved 20 March 2017.
  8. 1 2 3 Tsang, Derek (19 August 2014). "Bloggers: Edward Snowden leaked NSA documents show U.S., Israel created Islamic State". PunditFact. Retrieved 21 March 2017.
  9. 1 2 3 Kakutani, Michiko (21 May 2015). "Osama Bin Laden's Bookshelf Reflects His Fixation on West". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 30 March 2017.
  10. 1 2 3 Edwards, Phil (20 May 2015). "The 8 craziest conspiracy theories on Osama bin Laden's bookshelf". vox.com. Retrieved 30 March 2017.
  11. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Tam, Pauline. "U of O Professor Accused of Hosting Anti-Semitic Website:" The Ottawa Citizen, Aug 20, 2005.
  12. ↑ Sherwell, Philip (20 May 2015). "Osama bin Laden's bookshelf featured conspiracy theories about his terror plots". Telegraph. Retrieved 30 January 2018.
  13. ↑ "Evgeny Chossudovsky: Writer with a distinguished UN career". globalresearch.ca. The Irish Times. 28 January 2006. Archived from the original on 23 October 2012. Retrieved 2 September 2014.
  14. ↑ ONeill, Juliet (5 January 1998). "Battling Mainstream Economics". Ottawa Citizen. globalresearch.ca. Archived from the original on 5 December 2003. Retrieved 2 September 2014.
  15. ↑ Sherwell, Philip (20 May 2015). "Osama bin Laden's bookshelf featured conspiracy theories about his terror plots". Telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 30 March 2017.
  16. ↑ "Michel Chossudovsky archives". Le Monde diplomatic. Archived from the original on 19 June 2015. Retrieved 23 November 2014.
  17. ↑ "Weight of Chains – Sponsors". Malagurski Cinema. Archived from the original on 5 November 2012.
  18. ↑ "About Global Research". Centre for Global Research on Globalization. Archived from the original on 29 March 2017. Retrieved 20 March 2017.
  19. 1 2 "From Al-Masdar to InfoWars: How a pro-Assad conspiracy theory got picked up by the far-right – Business Insider". Business Insider. 2017-04-09. Retrieved 2017-05-08.
  20. 1 2 Strauss, Mark (2 November 2009). "Anti-globalism's Jewish Problem". foreignpolicy.com. Retrieved 30 March 2017.
  21. 1 2 Kata, Anna (2010). "A postmodern Pandora's box: Anti-vaccination misinformation on the Internet" (PDF). Vaccine. Elsevier BV. 28 (7): 1709–1716. doi:10.1016/j.vaccine.2009.12.022. Retrieved 30 March 2017.
  22. 1 2 Idrees Ahmad, Muhammad (12 September 2013). "The New Truthers: Americans Who Deny Syria Used Chemical Weapons". New Republic. Retrieved 30 March 2017.
  23. 1 2 Varner, Natasha (17 March 2017). "The curious origins of the 'Irish slaves' myth". Public Radio International. Retrieved 30 March 2017.
  24. ↑ Nimmo, Ben. "Three thousand fake tanks". medium.com. Retrieved 30 March 2017.
  25. ↑ "Conspiracy web site headed by Ottawa professor sets dangerous example for students". Jewish Tribune. 25 August 2005. Archived from the original on 4 November 2005.
  26. ↑ "Government House: Awards To Canadians". Canada Gazette. Vol. 148. 31 May 2014. Archived from the original on 5 August 2014. Retrieved 15 May 2015.
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