captioning funded by cbs and ford. we go further, so you can. >> imagine not flinching to the thunder of incoming shells as you walk through war. we met ukrainians with amazing survival stories, in the face of the russian assault-- and we saw growing bread lines, in a country that was one of the largest food exporters in the world. >> so we're taking food from the hungry children and giving it to the starving children. ( ticking )

>> what's eurovision? ♪ ♪ ♪ well, it rivals any major european sporting event, ♪ ♪ ♪ pitting nation against nation, with most of the continent tuning in on the final night. we went to iceland, and talked to the president. ♪ ♪ ♪ yes the actual president, about why winning eurovision this year would be a dream for this island dancing in the north atlantic. and really, how much did anyone know about sweden... ( ♪ waterloo ♪ ) ...before abba won eurovision in 1974? ( ticking ) >> more than a million people have become followers of a conspiracy theory that birds aren't real. that's right. the birds you think you see flying in the sky are actually government surveillance drones. sound insane? it's meant to. the birds aren't real movement is, thankfully, pure satire, intended to mirror some of the absurdity that's taken flight across the country.

( ticking ) i'm lesley stahl. i'm bill whitaker. i'm anderson cooper. i'm sharyn alfonsi. i'm jon wertheim. i'm scott pelley. those stories, tonight, on "60 minutes." ( ticking )

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chewy. plain aspirin could be hurting your stomach. vazalore 325 liquid-filled aspirin capsule is clinically shown in a 7 day study to cause fewer ulcers than immediate release aspirin. vazalore. the first liquid-filled aspirin capsules...amazing! >> scott pelley: in europe, these are days of perilous escalation. fighting has spilled beyond ukraine into neighboring russia and moldova. today, speaker of the house, nancy pelosi, said she, and a u.s. delegation met with ukraine's president, volodymyr

zelenskyy, and pledged u.s. support until "victory is won." congress is considering $33 billion in aid while the u.s. rushes heavy artillery into the fight. yesterday, more russian missiles struck the vital port city of odesa. odesa is a major exporter of grain and tonight, the head of the united nations' world food programme tells us, the seaport there must be reopened to prevent starvation. the world food programme is feeding the hungry in ukraine while fighting famine around the world. we traveled to ukraine and the port of odesa, to witness the harvest of war. faith draws hundreds to a church in odesa, a city where everyday, the war's evacuees collect 10,000 loaves of hope. they come, wearing the clothes of a previous life, with nothing in their sacks, no job, no home, just a chance to endure another

day of war without hunger. around the corner, those who already had worries enough, collect mercy in boxes that feed a family of four for two weeks. pasta, oil, canned meat. it comes to 38.5 pounds so; a mom can really use a hand. in ukraine, the united nations' world food programme is running hundreds of sites like this. how many people do you fear might be starving in this country? in odesa, we spoke with david beasley, the executive director of the u.n.'s world food programme. >> david beasley: you got to assume that millions are at stake right now. we're reaching about 2 million already. we hope to scale up to 4 million in the weeks ahead and 6 million

beyond that. it's got to be dependent upon two things: money and access. >> pelley: but access has been cut off to the war's victims in the heavily besieged cities of eastern ukraine. >> beasley: we can't reach them. we're blocked. we can't get into the besieged cities like mariupol, mykolaiv, and kherson, and i could go on and on. they have to be starving. >> pelley: why would the russians not allow food to be delivered to starving people? >> beasley: it's beyond imagination. why would you deny innocent victims of war, food? non-combatants? it's just wrong. evil. >> pelley: evil, that andrii khludov has witnessed. khludov's family escaped this. their hometown of mariupol had 400,000 residents. russian forces couldn't take it, so they are shelling mariupol to

ruin. >> andrii khludov ( translated ): we all lost loved ones, relatives, houses, jobs. i mean, everything that we would call a normal everyday life, all of it is gone. >> pelley: you shot a video in mariupol. why did you shoot it, and what is on it? >> khludov ( translated ): i filmed the video to let people know what was really going on. >> pelley: khludov recorded the evidence, somehow numb to the shells thundering in the distance. it's a tour of misery; blocks of shattered apartment buildings, and craters on the land. >> khludov ( translated ): there are no more undamaged

>> khludov ( translated ): there are no more undamaged houses, stores, pharmacies, or schools left. >> pelley: his partner, hanna, said, "i had a nervous breakdown. human beings are not prepared for things like this." rostyslav is 15, a young man who clothes himself in hope over experience. >> rostyslav ( translated ): houses were hit by missiles, apartments, cars blown up. we had graves in our yards, a lot of graves. >> pelley: vladimir putin says that he is liberating the people of ukraine. >> khludov ( translated ): oh, he's liberating us: from

housing, friends, relatives, comfort, work, home. liberating us from life. if killing is liberating, then they're liberating us. >> pelley: odesa has had enough of liberation. this month, an oil terminal was destroyed. then, on april 23rd, the day before orthodox easter, a missile blew a four-story hole through this apartment building on korol'ova street. valeria glodan and her three-month-old daughter, kira, were killed along with six others. 145 are homeless. odesa's mayor, gennadiy trukhanov, took us in so the world could see it, up close. >> gennadiy trukhanov ( translated ): these are ordinary people in these

apartments. they were preparing for easter. everyone cooking easter cakes, cooking food. a family celebration. >> pelley: who would give this kind of order? >> trukhanov ( translated ): this could be done only by those who aren't human. when i turn to god, i ask that he will enlighten russian soldiers, russian officers, so they will not lose their humanity. at least, those who have not lot >> pelley: through the weave of rebar, we noticed lyudmyla. she and her kids weren't home that morning, but her husband was. >> lyudmyla ( translated ): my husband was sitting right there, right behind you. and at the moment of the explosion, he got out through the window, but he was badly burned.

>> pelley: andrey was burned, over 40% of his body. >> lyudmyla ( translated ): my husband will recover. all the money we had, burned. i don't have anything left. but i have a lot of friends. and people help, so everything will be fine. >> pelley: optimism, scavenged from inadequate mates, reva iesa. this settlement on the black sea began nearly 3,000 years ago. today, 1.5 million people defy the russians, by simply going about their day, interrupted from time to time by sirens and a recorded voice-- "dear citizens, take cover." ( air raid sirens ) odesa's port is closed. which has cut off one of the world's largest exporters of food. ukraine, the size of texas, is

number four in corn and wheat, number one in sunflower oil. david beasley told us half the wheat the world food programme needs worldwide is stuck in ukraine. >> beasley: ukraine is the breadbasket of the world. they grow enough food to feed 400 million people. well, that's gone. you're already seeing fuel pricing spike, food pricing spike, cost of shipping spiking. it's already creating havoc foru the world. but this is going to aeche pst , it's going to affect everybody. >> pelley: beasley is the former governor of south carolina. he's led the u.n.'s world food programme for five years. his $10 billion agency fights hunger triggered by poverty, crop failure and war. today, in 81 countries, w.f.p. is feeding more than 145 million

people. in 2016, we were with them in south sudan as they dropped food to villages cut off by monsoon rains. >> beasley: so, just when you think it can't get any worse, ethiopia, afghanistan. and you say, "it just can't get any worse." then boom, ukraine. breadbasket of the world, now bread lines. >> pelley: the loss of that ukrainian breadbasket may be felt around the world for years according to arif husein, the w.f.p.'s chief economist. >> arif husain: this is the time for farmers to be out there planting corn. >> pelley: right now? >> husain: right now. this is their time, and they are not. why? because farmers are soldiers. why? because there is not enough diesel. look at wheat. right now, in the ground is what is the winter wheat. it needs pesticides. it needs fertilizer. same issues. no labor, no fuel, no machinery. our estimates are between 30% to

50% will actually be harvested. would that have an impact on the world? hell yes, it will have an impact on the world. >> beasley: we have to open up these ports. you, you've got to open them up and we got to protect them so that food can move in and out of this country for the rest of the world. it's a humanitarian need, the world demands it, we have to have those ports open, we have to. >> pelley: you seem to be suggesting that n.a.t.o. warships would have to come into the black sea to secure the shipping out of the port. >> beasley: i'm a humanitarian guy, but it isn't complicated. the world leaders are going to have to come together somehow and figure out a way to protect these seaways. the ports have got to be opened up. so, whatever the world leaders need to do, i'll leave that to

them. but i know one thing, we're running out of time. >> pelley: time and money. david beasley told us his budget is short $10 billion worldwide because of the rising cost of fuel, food, shipping, all multiplied by covid. >> beasley: scott, before ukraine i was already cutting rations to millions of people around the world. we've already cut rations to over 8 million people down to 50%. imagine telling your child, "i can only feed you half of what you need to have a healthy diet." >> pelley: how do you prioritize? >> beasley: so, we're taking food from the hungry children and giving it to the starving children. that's what we're doing right now. >> pelley: for all the millions he's reaching, even with half rations, beasley is most worried about those who are likely starving in russian occupied ukraine. he is personally negotiating with russia for access. >> beasley: i have written. i have called. i know the united nations' doing everything it can in general to give us the access because we are impartial. we're neutral. and all we're asking is, "give

us the access to reach the innocent victims of this war." >> pelley: but it is in the russians' interest to starve those people out. >> beasley: well, sure would appear so, wouldn't it? >> pelley: food is now a weapon in this war. a restaurant cooking for the disaster relief organization, world central kitchen, was hit in an air strike, wounding four. and notice the sandbags shielding the church basement; the emergency rations are down there and no one has confidence that the church isn't a target. the khludov family of mariupol has no illusions about a ruthless enemy. i wonder if you think your family has a future in ukraine. >> khludov ( translated ): i would like ukraine to destroy russia to the ground. so this fascist state, for which

there is no place in modern society, ceases to exist. i wuld like ukraine, and all of us who live in it, to start building a new life, to build our new home. >> pelley: we noticed something in the sandbags guarding the food supply-- the bags themselves. because they have no use for them now, the people of odesa used sacks for food export. bags meant for oats, and peas and spices are filled instead with sand-- the barren harvest of war. ( ticking ) >> witnessing ukraine up close: >> pelley: i have never seen ths kind of wholesale destruction of civilian neighborhoods. >> at 60minutesovertime.com

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>> jon wertheim: with europe convulsed by war, a campy, intra-continental song contest might seem especially frivolous. but it's worth remembering: that was the original point. "eurovision" launched in 1956, in part a post world war ii effort to unify europe. a cross between the olympics and "american idol," today it's the world's largest and wackiest musical event, consuming the continent for weeks each year and culminating in a live tv show. the semifinals and finals draw an audience of more than 180 million for a contest that might pit a bulgarian crooner against a german disco act-- let the glitter and the umlauts fall where they may. "eurovision" 2022 concludes in turin, italy, later this month.

we went to iceland, a country of 350,000 souls with an outsized passion for "eurovision," to meet their contenders. for all the snow-capped mountains and rainbows in reykjaviík, the essence of iceland revealed itself one saturday in march, inside this fertilizer factory converted into a concert hall. >> ♪ take up this stage baby, turn this around ♪ >> wertheim: rapping their way out of a giant disco ball: the daughters of reykjaviík, the odds-on favorite to win iceland's annual" soöngvakeppnin," or song contest. >> ♪ calling out in the rain ♪ >> wertheim: it's a national preliminary, a sort of play-in tournament to determine who will represent the country at "eurovision" in italy this year. ♪ ♪ ♪ tell me the name of the contest. >> jón jónsson: "soöngvakeppnin." >> wertheim: "soöngvakeppnin." >> jónsson: you got it. >> wertheim: backstage, the evening's hosts graciously approved of our pronunciation and explained "eurovision's" appeal. >> bjoörg magnúsdóttir: we have drkness here, like, nine months

a year. so, this is kind of the antidepressant. ( laughs ) that takes us from darkness into the light. and all the nation-- we don't agree on anything in iceland in general, except for, like, we love swimming pools and we love "eurovision." >> wertheim: dancing by itself in the north atlantic, iceland uses "eurovision" as a bridge to the continent. land of volcanoes and blue lagoons, once the province of vikings, and now proudly progressive. ♪ ♪ ♪ ruúnar giíslason is executive producer of the icelandic contest and accompanies the winners to "eurovision." >> rúnar gíslason: we are here very few people in iceland on an island, isolated. and we just love to meet the world and connect and unite with people all over the world. >> wertheim: this helps you feel more a part of europe? >> gíslason: definitely. ♪ ♪ ♪

"eurovision" is a traveling circus with a big tent, one you truly have to see to believe. ♪ ♪ ♪ 40 countries send one act-- and over the years, they have run the gamut-- to perform a three-minute song for a panel of judges and millions of televoters. ♪ ♪ ♪ no, you cannot vote for your own country. the winning country gets bragging rights and hosts "eurovision" the following year. ♪ ♪ ♪ italy won last year, for the third time, with the rock act maåneskin. ♪ ♪ ♪ but a nordic country lays claim to "eurovision's" most famous winner. ♪ waterloo, i was defeated you won the war ♪ >> wertheim: that would be abba in 1974. ♪ ♪ ♪ the swedes, with six wins, are the contest powerhouse. ♪ ♪ ♪ but no country rocks out to "eurovision" harder than iceland.

it joined nato in 1949, but locals joke the country really arrived on the international scene in 1986 when it was first admitted to "eurovision." >> gíslason: the whole nation didn't think about anything else but the competition. ♪ ♪ ♪ we had watched it for several years and enjoyed it, but now we were in the competition. ♪ ♪ ♪ we really thought that we would win the competition. we were absolutely sure about that. >> wertheim: iceland's president guni joóhannesson recalls the letdown. he was 17 then. now, he is the rare world leader who clears his schedule and opens the doors of his residence to talk "eurovision." >> guni jóhannesson: i remember that as if it had-- had happened yesterday. it was like, "what?" zero points for iceland, and we ended up in 16th place. it was a reality check for us icelanders. >> wertheim: help us understand what this contest means to this country.

>> jóhannesson: well, we're a small nation. it's me, my mother, and so on. we still like to believe that we can compete with the big guys and the big girls. >> wertheim: what makes for a good icelandic entry into this continent-wide contest? >> jóhannesson: i'm no expert, but the catchiness is the key factor there. it has to be something that grabs you. ♪ don't you know you make me feel bad ♪ >> wertheim: at the final round of "soöngvakeppnin," five acts belted out original compositions, one catchier than the next. ♪ ♪ ♪ >> gíslason: we call it the icelandic song contest and the "eurovision" song contest but everybody knows it's not only about the song. it's about the act. ♪ ♪ ♪ it's about the lightning and the glimmer and the show of it. ♪ ♪ ♪ >> wertheim: the feminist hip-hop collective certainly got that memo. tell me the name of your band? >> reykjaviíkurdtur.

>> wertheim: which means? >> daughters of reykjaviík. ( laughter ) >> disa: let's answer everything like this. ( laughter ) >> wertheim: how long have you guys all known each other? >> nine years. ( laughter ) >> steinunn: we've been a band for nine years. >> steiney: we decided this fall like, "okay, let's do it this year. and that means we have to go 190%--" >> sura: all in-- >> steiney: --"in," you know? ♪ ♪ ♪ >> wertheim: unquestionably the most chill of iceland's hopefuls: sisters, sigga, beta, and eliín, their kid brother on drums, performing a country song. "soöngvakeppnin" unplugged, as it were. ♪ ♪ ♪ music runs in their blood. their mother competed here. >> sigga: but she came second. i was very disappointed. like, why? >> wertheim: disappointment is a repeating beat in iceland's relationship with "eurovision." >> jóhannesson: we've never won the thing, as you know.

twice been close. twice in second place. >> wertheim: an historian by trade, president joóhannesson is a trove of "eurovision" trivia. >> jóhannesson: i can easily recall winning entries. sandra kim in '86, brotherhood of man, save your kisses for me in '76, if i remember correctly. >> wertheim: you know it'd be an act of journalistic malpractice if i didn't ask you to sing. >> jóhannesson: ( laughs ) i sing in the bathtub, i sing in the shower. do i sing live in "60 minutes?" >> wertheim: he sure does. >> jóhannesson: ♪ save your kisses for me ♪ save all your kisses for me bye, bye ♪ and so on and so forth. that's all the singing you're going to get from me. ♪ save all your kisses for me save all your kisses for me ♪ >> wertheim: that song won for the u.k. ♪ ♪ ♪ and, while there's no big check or recording contract at stake, the winner gets an undeniable

career boost. ♪ ♪ ♪ ceéline dion of quebec went global after a win for switzerland in the '80s. the rules allow for ringers, explained dave goodman of "eurovision," though most acts sing for their native countries. >> dave goodman: julio iglesias did "eurovision" in the early 1970s. he sang for spain. ♪ ♪ ♪ >> wertheim: true, but iglesias didn't always care to admit it. i gather julio iglesias wasn't always so forthcoming about his-- his "eurovision" past. >> goodman: in the 1980s he's on record as denying he took part actually. but there was a period when it wasn't seen as fashionable to say that you'd done this competition, because it's changed a lot over the years. >> wertheim: tell me if i'm wrong, it seems in some corners people might look down, look down their nose at "eurovision." >> goodman: yeah, there has been certainly over the years the idea that it's sort of low culture, the "eurovision" song contest, because it's popular. because it's entertainment. ♪ ♪ ♪ we've had hamster wheels

onstage. we've had pianos on fire. ♪ ♪ ♪ the great thing about "eurovision" is that you can come with anything you like. ♪ ♪ ♪ >> wertheim: iceland pushed the eurovision envelope three years ago with hatari, self-described anti-capitalist performance artists. ♪ ♪ ♪ as icelanders do, the whole country adopted the look. ♪ ♪ ♪ and learned the lyrics. >> jóhannesson: ♪ we're all gonna die it's the end ♪ >> wertheim: ( laughs ) this doom music. >> jóhannesson: yeah. >> wertheim: after performing in the finals, held in israel that year, hatari snuck a palestinian banner under their clothes and raised it on camera. i gather iceland was- was fined for that? >> gíslason: yeah. it was 500,000 icelandic kronas. that's not very much. and they should've paid it, the guys, but we did. >> wertheim: you paid their fine for them-- >> gíslason: yeah, yeah, we didn't charge them for it. >> goodman: we're very, very protective of the fact that this

isn't a political program, and not a political competition. ♪ ♪ ♪ >> wertheim: and yet, the union of european broadcasters that puts on the competition has banned russia this year. ukraine, meanwhile, selected its act just days before the invasion. what can you tell us about the ukrainian act this year? >> goodman: they're called the kalush orchestra. ♪ ♪ ♪ and their song's called "stefania." i think it's a tribute to their mother. we believe that they have dispensation to travel, to come to turin. >> wertheim: leave ukraine and-- >> goodman: to leave ukraine. we very much hope that we will see them in turin. ( cheers and applause ) >> wertheim: back in reykjaviík, a group of hardcore fans had ukraine on their minds as they arrived by chartered party boat for the icelandic final. and backstage, it was easy to forget that, ultimately, this is a competition. tension emerged later in the evening, as runar tabulated the results-- a mix of the judges' tallies and fans voting by

phone. iceland's field was winnowed to two acts: the daughters and the sisters. then... >> jónsson: me hkkandi sol. sigga, beta & eliín. >> wertheim: upset at "soöngvakeppnin!" few in the venue were more shocked than the sisters themselves. i feel like i am talking to athletes after a big game. >> sigga: we feel like that. this is the first time we've ever competed in anything. and we suck in sports. and you know, it's not a typical "eurovision" song. >> eytho: this is like an out of body experience right now, you know. >> wertheim: after hugging their parents and, of course, the head of state, sigga, beta and eliín set off across europe on a tour of pre-parties, making new fans on the road to turin, just as they try to make "eurovision" history for their country. why hasn't iceland won this damn thing? >> goodman: it's about keep trying. ♪ ♪ ♪ a song like iceland's can do

well because it connects, and i think that's what the secret of "eurovision" is creating a connection. ♪ ♪ ♪ >> wertheim: the sisters will perform the song, "me hkkandi sol," in icelandic. tell me what the lyrics mean. >> sigga: the chorus, "with the darkness of winter the sun rises." ( sisters speaking icelandic ) oh, it's just melts the-- >> elín: melts the heart. >> wertheim: with all due respect, sounds better in your native tongue-- >> sigga: i told you, i told you. ( laughs ) ♪ ♪ ♪ >> wertheim: and so, for all the flaming pianos, iceland will try and snap its eurovision losing streak with a harmony about the sun rising after prolonged darkness. >> jóhannesson: we're just escaping from this pandemic. there's a war going on in europe. who would've believed that? so, "eurovision" is fun, it doesn't matter one thing in the larger scheme of things.

but if you're always going to think like that-- if you're never going to have fun then we're doomed. >> wertheim: more important now than ever, maybe? >> jóhannesson: exactly. ♪ ♪ ♪ >> wertheim: make songs, not war. some things never get lost in translation. ♪ ♪ ♪ ( ticking ) can a company make the planet a better place? at walmart, we're pursuing 100% renewable energy in our operations. and aiming to protect millions of acres of land. so we can all live better. you know those mornings, when it takes just a little bit extra to get ya out of bed? this might be it. wake up to the goodness of jimmy dean.

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people have become followers of a conspiracy theory that birds aren't real. that's right, the birds you think you see flying in the sky are actually government surveillance drones. sound insane? it's meant to. the birds aren't real movement is, thankfully, pure satire, intended to mirror some of the absurdity that's taken flight across the country. >> peter mcindoe: are you ready to march? >> yeah! >> mcindoe: are you ready to march, are you ready to march? >> alfonsi: that is peter mcindoe, the founder of birds aren't real, falling over himself to lead a flock of his followers into a frenzy on the streets of hollywood. >> birds aren't real! >> alfonsi: fortunately, this rally, like most things in hollywood, is fake. 200 self-described bird truthers, all in on the act, playfully protested the very serious-sounding "bird drone surveillance crisis." >> mcindoe: if it flies?

it spies! if it flies? it spies! >> alfonsi: "if it flies, it spies," they chanted. >> mcindoe: birds aren't real! >> alfonsi: then called out the mainstream media's supposed avian agenda. >> mcindoe: cnn? pro-bird! >> alfonsi: accusing cnn of being pro-bird. a few days later we went along as peter mcindoe, still in character, somberly explained to us why birds aren't real. so, what do bird truthers believe? >> mcindoe: every single bird in the sky is a robot. the united states government basically massacred 12 billion birds, beautiful living birds using crop-dusting airplanes flying over, over the states over the course of 40 years. and as the real birds died, the robotic drones rose. now we live in a world where there's 12 billion robotic birds watching us every single day. bird watching goes? >> both ways! >> mcindoe: bird watching goes? >> both ways! >> alfonsi: mcindoe kept up the act.

>> mcindoe: i never hear anyone asking, "hey, why don't our presidents talk?" they, they, tweet on the bird app with their left-wing, or right-wing politics, you know? i think a lot starts to unfold, and the matrix starts to shatter the more questions that you ask. >> alfonsi: what bird is most suspicious to you? >> mcindoe: really every bird. >> alfonsi: how do you feel about seagulls? >> mcindoe: uh, i don't trust them, i'll tell you that. have you ever been to the beach and you got some food left over, and a seagull comes over and tries to get it? that's not cause it's hungry. you know, the mainstream media wants to sell us this lie that, "oh, birds are hungry." you know, when in fact the seagulls are taking your food to bring it back to the pentagon for d.n.a. harvesting and testing. >> alfonsi: how do you feel about "60 minutes?" i'm surprised you've decided to sit here with us. >> mcindoe: i'm not going to go on news shows, but shows about, you know, clocks and time i'm okay with sharing my information with. and i, i understand this isn't anything like the media. so, thanks for, thanks for having me on your, on, on your clock show. >> alfonsi: with that, he

finally broke character, and we met the real peter mcindoe. >> alfonsi: you're the person that i've been hearing about, but haven't seen. >> mcindoe: okay, great. well, wonderful to meet you. >> alfonsi: yeah, nice to meet you, too. >> mcindoe: welcome to bird history. >> alfonsi: mcindoe, the 24-year-old college dropout behind birds aren't real is, fortunately, nothing like the megaphone carrying character under the cowboy hat. >> mcindoe: who will save us? >> alfonsi: he told us it's all a parody, and it's spread to billboards, bumper stickers, and popped up at halftime during the n.c.a.a. men's basketball national championship game last month. what's the purpose of all of this? >> mcindoe: so, it's taking this concept of misinformation and almost building a little safe space to come together within it and laugh at it, rather than be scared by it, and accept the lunacy of it all and be a bird truther for a moment in time when everything's so crazy. >> bird's aren't real! hey! >> mcindoe: the vision was creating something that reflected the absurdity through the eyes of the most confused archetype. people, when they make fun of me, don't realize people also

made fun of the founding fathers, you know, before they stormed th-- the british gates and took over. >> alfonsi: the humor is meant to be apolitical. mcindoe's co-conspirators: claire chronis, cameron kasky and connor gaydos, say it's become an outlet for a generation that's been surrounded by conspiracy theories. >> connor gaydos: it's an opportunity for i think our generation to laugh, to make fun, to kind of be like, look, here's like a laundry list of things that haven't come true. >> cameron kasky: you've been lying to us so we're going to lie to you back, and we're going to do it in a way that really is funny. >> alfonsi: is there any danger of adding to the noise? >> kasky: always. we want to make sure we're not using language that actually harmful and hateful conspiracy theories use to target people. >> alfonsi: cameron kasky would know. >> kasky: well, i've been targeted, doxxed and harassed by qanon before. we are the mass shooting generation.

>> alfonsi: we first met kasky in 2018 after he survived the horrific shooting at his parkland, florida, high school where 14 classmates and three teachers were murdered. >> welcome to the revolution. >> alfonsi: kasky helped create march for our lives, an organization that calls for stronger gun laws. >> kasky: my friends and i were called crisis actors and, you know, i kind of had this strange perspective on conspiracy theories because the internet was telling me that my father and grandfather were child traffickers because they're adoption lawyers. >> alfonsi: isn't there part of this that's just saying simply look at all these conspiracy theories. they're ridiculous. and we're going to be ridiculous so you understand that this is ridiculous. >> gaydos: that's the idea. >> claire chronis: fighting lunacy with lunacy. >> alfonsi: fighting lunacy with lunacy. >> chronis: yeah. >> alfonsi: mcindoe's been rebelling since his days growing up in a small town in arkansas. >> mcindoe: i grew up in a really fundamentalist community that was, like, hyper conservative. >> alfonsi: were conspiracy theories a part of the community?

>> mcindoe: oh, i mean, embedded in the community. >> alfonsi: really? >> mcindoe: oh, yeah. >> alfonsi: were you in trouble a lot? >> mcindoe: yeah. i mean, it was just cause i'd spent most of my time in those communities arguing with people. there was homecoming and i got voted most likely to go to jail. not even kidding." most likely to go to jail: peter mcindoe." >> alfonsi: mcindoe stayed out of jail and enrolled at the university of arkansas with no intent to hatch birds aren't real. the idea was an accident. a day after president trump's inauguration in 2017, mcindoe was hanging out with friends in memphis on the roof of a building when they heard demonstrators in the streets below. >> love trumps hate, love trumps hate. >> mcindoe: i remember thinking it would be very interesting if someone was in this situation with a sign that had nothing to do with anything that's going on here. >> alfonsi: and so, how did you get to birds aren't real as the thing that's on the sign? >> mcindoe: i don't even know. it was just the most absurd thing i could think of. i'm angry, and i'm here to

protest. >> alfonsi: sign in hand, he took to the streets of memphis, ad-libbing a stream of absurdities. >> mcindoe: wake up america! birds are not real, they're a myth, they're an illusion. thank you for your time. >> alfonsi: his friends lauren kerstell, ally perkins and jenny bailey couldn't believe what was coming out of peter's mouth. >> mcindoe: they're not real, they're fake. >> jenny bailey: peter just goes all out and he just starts, like, screaming, like random stuff, like off the top of his head. like, just whatever he thought of in the moment. >> alfonsi: and it's not scripted, he's just 100%-- >> bailey: no. >> alfonsi: improvising this moment? >> bailey: yeah. he's like, "birds aren't real. they're a lie." and just like whatever would come up to his head, he'd, like, say it. >> lauren kerstell: it was just incredible how he created this whole character and personality off the bat. like, his improv was-- >> ally perkins: so quickly. >> kerstell: flawless. >> perkins: yeah, it was impressive. we were like, "okay. where did this come from?" >> mcindoe: there is a birdemic happening. >> alfonsi: peter's friend ally innocently posted a video of that day online, and then everything changed. >> mcindoe: birds are not real. so, i' getting pictures sent to me of birds aren't real graffiti and birds aren't real

chalkboards and seeing, you know, chants. >> birds aren't real! >> mcindoe: in cafeterias and you know stadiums like "birds aren't real" at high schools. >> alfonsi: did you think at that point, like, "this is awesome" or "what have i done?" >> mcindoe: i remember being fascinated by it. i remember thinking, "okay, why do people identify with this so much?" and just thinking, like, there was this energy in memphis for this idea, and that i would always regret it if i didn't lean into that. >> alfonsi: what did your parents think when you said," i'm dropping out of college, i'm moving to memphis." >> mcindoe: yeah... >> alfonsi: to start a fake conspiracy theory? >> mcindoe: yeah, i mean, it was really interesting. i was trying to describe to them it could be a very interesting art project, sort of like a mirror to, you now, just the seemingly exponentially growing absurdity of the world and america. and, like, if we can match that with a character in a living world, blah, blah, blah. and they're just looking at me, like, "please stick with the psychology degree," you know. >> alfonsi: mcindoe enlisted his friend connor gaydos, a history

buff, to write a backstory for the birds movement. >> gaydos: the c.i.a. was so sick and tired of the birds pooping on their windshields, so they're like, "we're sick of this, we're fed up with this. let's hire, you know, engineers to, to get rid of these stupid birds. and while we're at it, let's replace them with robots and spy on people." so, it's, it's, it's a joke. >> please remember, stay calm. >> alfonsi: but then, they took the story a step further. every conspiracy needs a" deep state" whistleblower. >> well, i saw some things that i really wish i hadn't seen. >> mcindoe: are you referring to bird-drone surveillance? >> yeah. >> alfonsi: mcindoe invented, and interviewed, a character called eugene price. price is supposed to be a former c.i.a. officer who buried evidence of the bird genocide and the rise of the drones. when you were hiring an actor to play eugene price, what were you looking for in that actor? >> mcindoe: the oldest man i could find. i was looking for someone who looked like they had just had some guilt weighing down on them

for years. like, i really wanted bags under the eyes, sleepless nights. we released a video titled "the confession of eugene price," where he, for the first time ever on record, an ex-c.i.a. agent came out and said everything that the government had done. did you keep anything? >> no! >> alfonsi: that video got over 10 million views on tiktok. are there people who believe that birds aren't real? >> gaydos: i've ironically met people who go, "oh, i know," and they'll act like they've already known. >> alfonsi: that birds aren't real? >> gaydos: yeah. they'll be like, "oh, i know, i know what's going on. the c.i.a.," you know, "they've been doing that." >> alfonsi: but the gag is apparent for all to see in mcindoe's beat up van that he bought for $2,000. >> mcindoe: this is our chariot. >> alfonsi: wow! >> mcindoe: this is our loyal duchess. takes us wherever we need to go. >> alfonsi: super understated, right? >> mcindoe: yeah, it's a little low key, you know? >> alfonsi: black, and white, and crazy all over. it is a mobile manifesto calling pigeons liars and claiming birds charge on power lines.

>> mcindoe: the government has sold the public on this lie of power lines or, oh, you're talking to people through these wires, telephone wires, you know, when really, you know, they put up poles and wires for drones to sit on, and charge. >> alfonsi: we followed peter mcindoe in his van as he tried to spread the feathered gospel on the streets of orange county, california. >> mcindoe: i'm part of a movement that believes every bird is a government surveillance drone. >> alfonsi: one person thought he should seek help. >> maybe you should see somebody. >> alfonsi: another wanted to pray for him. >> lord, thank you so much for pete. i thank you for his heart. >> mcindoe: just know you're being watched. know that it's-- >> for what reason though? >> mcindoe: for what reason? >> yeah. why are they watching me? >> mcindoe: they want mass control. so, you're woke. >> alfonsi: remarkably, most of the under 40 crowd was in on the joke. >> bro, i'm tired of those birds sitting on the power lines, draining all of our power, am i right? >> alfonsi: how do you make a living doing this? >> mcindoe: barely. i, we, we have shirts on our website. >> alfonsi: do you think you'll have to rely on t-shirt sales

forever? >> mcindoe: no. everyone's reached out to us about books and movies which has been interesting, because the idea has never been packaged into something like that. >> let's go! >> alfonsi: mcindoe says more than a million people now call themselves bird truthers. they've flocked to rallies around the country. in front of twitter's headquarters, they demanded the company drop its bird logo. >> they're trying to brainwash you. >> alfonsi: and in st. louis... >> birds aren't real, birds aren't real. >> alfonsi: mcindoe brazenly burned a cardinals' flag in the shadow of the arch. >> birds aren't real! go! >> alfonsi: in an age of outrage, peter mcindoe is hoping to drown out the chorus of crazy in this country, with a little crazy of his own. >> birds aren't real! birds aren't real! ( ticking ) cbs sports h.q. is presented by progressive insurance. here from the mexico open, jon rahm went wire to wire to

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