Aubrey Marcus: How A Wellness Guru Became An Irresponsible Covid Conspiracy Theorist

The best selling author and founder of a popular supplement company is a central figure in New Age disinformation about Covid-19.

Aubrey Marcus: Supplement king and New Age conspiracy theorist. Image via Instagram

by Ben Cohen

Austin, Texas, is home to a growing, highly influential New Age spiritual movement. This movement is also rapidly transforming into a cult centered on Covid denialism, anti-vaxx and anti-mask propaganda. The Lone Star State is now the epicenter of ‘Conspirituality’ - a term Charlotte Ward and David Voas use to describe the synthesis of “the female-dominated New Age (with its positive focus on self) and the male-dominated realm of conspiracy theory (with its negative focus on global politics)”.

A central figure in this Conspirituality community is best selling author and former CEO of supplement company Onnit, Aubrey Marcus. 

Wellness millionaire turned conspiracy theorist

Marcus made his name chiefly through his connection to podcaster Joe Rogan (who backed Onnit and became a part owner in the company). Marcus has his own podcast focused on spiritual growth, psychedelics, and wellness. He has a a large social media following, and connections to many other prominent wellness influencers. 

Like many other wellness influencers and New Age figures, Marcus’s social media postings began to take an extremely troubling turn during the Covid pandemic. Over the past year, he has promoted anti-vaxx conspiracy theorists and fringe doctors like Zac Bush, taken a strange interest in the topic of child slavery, and shared posts from rabid anti-maskers and Alt Right Trump supporters. 

Last month, Marcus released a spoken poem to his instagram account titled “A Revolution Of Solidarity”. It was a confused, emotionally manipulative, and embarrassingly bad piece of anti-vaxx/anti- mask propaganda, produced in collaboration with prominent conspiracy theorist Mikki Willis (creator of “Plandemic”) and far right anti mask activist and comedian JP Sears. Featuring deeply disturbing footage of starving children and abused women, Marcus appeared link child slavery, spousal abuse, poverty and starvation to vaccines and mask wearing during the pandemic. The poem has been viewed almost 400,000 times and has spread widely in New Age circles.

Marcus has made pains to tell his followers he “doesn’t have all the answers” and is simply “questioning mainstream narratives”.

The reality is that he is propagating anti-mask wearing conspiracy theories and collaborating with dangerous charlatans doing incalculable damage to our battle to contain the Coronavirus pandemic. 

A text book example of conspiracy theory

Marcus sent an email to his followers last week with an essay titled Submerged Truth & A Terrifying “Reset” that perfectly illustrates the muddled, paranoid thinking ripping through New Age circles. It is important to dissect the tactics used by these conspiracy theorists to deceive their followers (intentionally or not) so the public can better protect itself against dangerous disinformation. 

Here is a breakdown of his essay examining some of those tactics.

Marcus begins: 

Truth is like a beach ball. It is naturally buoyant, and likes to be batted around amongst friends. It’s inherently resilient. It tolerates subtle shifts in how it is served, based upon our personality. You can hit the ball in a poetic rainbow arc, or send it straight like a laser. Sometimes it can hit you right in the face, but it is never malicious… because it just is.

However the hardest thing to do with truth is to keep it submerged. Like trying to hold a beach ball under water it requires your constant attention. It will strain your arms, it will try to squeak out the side and rise again to the surface so it can be passed around effortlessly.

Think about it. How hard is it to keep a secret that wants to come out? How much effort does it take?

Marcus is setting the up the scene to portray himself as a heroic truth teller. He has a truth he wants to tell his readers, and one that is being suppressed. The essay continues:

As hard as it is on the personal level, it is even harder in the macro. But that doesn’t mean that there aren’t forces in the world who continue to try to submerge the truth. In 2012 Glaxo Smith Kline had to pay 3 Billion dollars in settlements for deceptive marketing, including off-label promotion and kickbacks, and failure to report safety data. In 2009 Pfizer was ordered to pay 2.3 Billion dollars for paying kickbacks related to certain drugs and submitting false claims to government health care programs based on uses that weren’t medically accepted. (source)

And here we have the set up for the Big Conspiracy Theory. 

An obsession with vaccines

There is nothing factually incorrect about Marcus’s assertions — Big Pharma has a long, well-documented history of shady practices and corporate malfeasance. Given the sheer number of global corporations wrecking the environment, engaging in deceptive marketing and stealing from their customers, it is notable that Marcus only mentions two companies that happen to be developing Coronavirus vaccines.

Connecting the dots

In the next paragraph, Marcus switches tracks:

According to a report published in October by the Institute For Applied Knowledge (IPAK) the CDC altered the methodology for counting Covid 19 deaths in the presence of comorbidity, inflating the death count by up to 1670% . They conclude “We believe this deliberate decision by the CDC and NVSS [National Vital Statistics System] to deemphasize pre-existing comorbidities, in favor of emphasizing COVID-19 as a cause of death, is in violation of 44 U.S. Code 3504 (e)(1)(b), which states the activities of the Federal statistical system shall ensure ‘the integrity, objectivity, impartiality, utility, and confidentiality of information collected for statistical purposes.” (source)

Firstly, you’ll notice the segue from evil pharmaceutical companies to the CDC’s supposed lying about Covid numbers. If you listen to enough anti-vaxxers and Covid conspiracists in the Wellness world, the linking of two unrelated topics to create a sense of paranoia is a familiar tactic. 

The big lie

Most importantly, the statistic Marcus uses is an appalling lie from an obscure, discredited private group of doctors who have published outright falsehoods about the origins of the Coronavirus and the safety of the Moderna vaccine. The IPAK report has not been peer reviewed and is filled with grotesque distortions. The CDC has categorically not inflated the death count “by up to 1670%”. Again, it is a lie. No reputable scientist, doctor, health official, statistician or media outlet has reported otherwise. 

The point here is to paint a not-so-subtle picture of nefarious, shadowy organizations working to pump you full of risky medicine to get you sick, lie to you about the dangers of Covid, then make you wear a mask and take a vaccine. 

As with all good lies, some of this is rooted in reality. Big Pharma has done a lot of bad things and the modern medical system is deeply flawed. But this is a far cry from what Marcus is suggesting. More on this later. 

Bending reality

As the essay continues, the reality distortions become more egregious. What do the powers that be do to the immensely privileged, white, truth tellers like Marcus’s New Age friends? According to Marcus, they censor them:

In order to keep truth repressed in a society, at the very least you have to employ censorship, de-platforming, control of journalism, and the tyranny of a self-righteous public majority.

Marcus’s friends, it should be noted, are openly flirting with QAnon style conspiracies and far right, racist political movements. Mikki Willis produced the notorious, lie filled “Plandemic” documentary, and was recently seen egging on rioters during the Capitol Hill insurrection in Washington last month. Responsible media outlets are, with good reason, de-platforming these characters out of a very real concern for public safety. Private media companies are not legally obligated to spread their falsehoods in the name of free speech.

A darker vision

Setting his readers up for something even more sinister, Marcus goes on: 

This only requires more and more truth to be submerged. More deception, more coercion, more force. Regardless of what you might believe is going on in the world, we have the choice for Faith. Faith that truth will emerge. Faith that good people will come together and demand better.

I don’t know what is happening in the world right now. I tend to agree with Hanlon’s razor: Don’t ascribe malice, where incompetence is a sufficient explanation. But then there is The Great Reset proposed by the recent gathering of the World Economic Forum. It is the most terrifying thing I have ever seen.

Here Marcus’s storytelling gets darker and more fantastical: there is a shadowy, intergovernmental, corporate elite bent on creating a New World Order where you will all be reduced to obedient sheep:

Many of the most powerful people in the world are telling us that “By 2030 you will own nothing, and you will be happy.” Here is a great video from Russell Brand with a bunch of clips highlighting The Great Reset plan and who is involved. And here is a brilliant video that debunks the plan and explains 11 reasons why this is a dystopian nightmare.

“The Great Reset” plan to take away all your possessions and take away your freedom is now notorious in conspiracy circles. It is of course, utter nonsense.

Hijacking legitimate issues

Reported the BBC in November of last year: 

The WEF [World Economic Forum] recovery plan has been interpreted as sinister, first by fringe conspiracy theory groups on social media, and then by prominent conservative commentators — prompting tens of thousands of interactions across Facebook and Twitter.

It started trending globally on Twitter last week, when a video of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at a UN meeting, saying the pandemic provided an opportunity for a “reset”, went viral.

This sparked fresh claims from people, within Canada and further afield, that a cabal of global leaders is using the pandemic to introduce a range of damaging socialist and environmental policies….

A video from August, which now has close to three million views on YouTube, believes only Donald Trump can thwart this secret plot, which uses Covid-19 to bring the US economy to its knees so the “reset” can begin and people will be “begging” for vaccines.

But the suggestion that politicians planned the virus, or are using it to destroy capitalism is wholly without evidence.

So too is the notion that the World Economic Forum has the authority to tell other countries what to do, or that it is coordinating a secret cabal of world leaders.

‘The Great Reset’ is an initiative to spur global action on things like climate change and economic inequality in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. There are legitimate concerns about the WEF as outlined by Russell Brand (in the video Marcus links to) and journalists like Naomi Klein, but they have been cynically hijacked by anti-vaxx and far right conspiracy theorists. Marcus might not subscribe to the more hardcore fantastical myths being spread on social media, but his “just asking questions” routine is designed to inspire fear and distrust of unknown globalist entities out to control you.

Sign up to the spiritual war (and buy my course!)

Marcus continues: 

Many of you reading this right now, probably have felt for a long time that you are here for an important reason. You are. Maybe this “Great Reset” will fade away into the annals of shitty ideas. But perhaps to stand for our sovereignty, individuality, Love, and the affirmation of our inherent wild divinity is that reason. I for one still falter sometimes. I can become pessimistic or despondent. But every day I grow stronger, every day my faith strengthens. And part of that reason is because of all of you. I know I am not alone, and I promise you that you aren’t either. Every day I sharpen the sword that separates truth from delusion.

Marcus’s language here is highly manipulative — he paints himself as a victim engaging in a heroic battle against dark forces. In fact, this imaginary war against The Great Reset/CDC/Big Pharma etc is a part of his spiritual mission here on earth, and it could be yours too. 

The notion that your soul has come here to fulfill a spiritual mission is rife in New Age communities. Perhaps this is the case, but it is quite a stretch to believe that one of those reasons is to join paranoid, millionaire wellness CEOs in their bid to spread Covid-19 myths.

The real war: reclaiming truth

In reality, where traumatized frontline medical workers, exhausted teachers, stressed parents, and those suffering and dying from Covid-19 exist, another war is raging. It is a war to reclaim objective reality and the truth from increasingly radicalized political groups and New Age spiritual charlatans. 

In reality, the vaccines being developed have been subjected to unprecedented public scrutiny. The results of all the major trials have now been peer reviewed and most have been deemed safe. In reality, we now know that the vaccines for Covid-19 are working effectively, dramatically bringing down infection rates for those who have been fully vaccinated.

Peer reviewed studies on masks and social distancing also overwhelmingly conclude that they are amongst the most successful ways of reducing the spread of COVID-19. Without curbing the spread of the virus, real doctors working on the frontline to save lives are warning us that our health care system is on the verge of collapse.

People living in reality are doing their part to protect themselves and the most vulnerable people in society by wearing masks, staying away from others as much as possible, and getting the vaccine when available — not because they want to, but because it is the right thing to do. While Marcus and his wealthy friends are posting marketing videos of themselves, maskless and without social distancing in tropical locations around the world, nurses and doctors around the world are suffering extreme trauma from all they death they are witnessing:

The New Age community — overwhelmingly white, and overwhelmingly privileged — want their followers to believe that governments and medical professionals around the world are trying to crush their “inherent wild divinity” — a wild divinity that of course only they can supply with their supplements and expensive personal growth courses.

Why this is so important

It is difficult to ascribe a motive to Marcus’s descent into ‘Q-Adjacent’ conspiracy world. Perhaps he genuinely believes he is a brave warrior standing up to the forces of evil, or maybe he is cynically cashing in on the trend because the following he has cultivated is already there. 

Marcus comes across as a thoughtful and compassionate person willing to accept fault and responsibility for his mistakes. He is a fine writer, and has built a well respected company. Perhaps this is a temporary aberration he will soon correct and make amends for. But in the mean time, he must be called out for the immense damage he and his friends are doing to the millions suffering during this pandemic. 

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How 'Conspirituality' Wrecked The Wellness World And Destroyed Our Response To COVID-19

Conspiracy theories are ripping apart the fabric of our society, and if we don't act soon the consequences could be fatal.

image: AFP/William West

by Ben Cohen

Over the past year, I’ve spent a considerable amount of time analyzing the various conspiracy theories that have taken off during the Coronavirus pandemic. I have also studied the personalities involved in creating and spreading these conspiracy theories, and have come to some alarming conclusions.

I believe that society is experiencing an unprecedented mental health crisis that is manifesting itself through these increasingly rabid conspiracy theory movements. There has also been a convergence of far right conspiracy theory and New Age spiritualism — or “Conspirituality” — that is widening the reach of these once fringe communities.

The consequences for society are grave, and it is vital we understand how this happened, and what we can do about it.

The conspiracy coup

The attempted coup in Washington earlier this month was driven almost entirely by ‘QAnon’ inspired conspiracy theories promoted by far right media and New Age charlatans.

From Trump’s false claim that Biden had stolen the election to the Deep State pedophile rings in government and rabid Covid-19 denialism, the mob of protestors genuinely believed they were engaging in an epic war between Good and Evil.

This so called war would rid the government of the Satanic Democrats, free millions of children in slavery, end the “plandemic”, and bring back the savior of Western civilization, Donald Trump, to his rightful position as leader of the free world. Q, who is supposedly a government insider posting cryptic messages in far right internet chat rooms, is central to all of this. Q’s followers had been waiting for “the storm” — an event where all of the prophecies would come true…. Continue reading here.