Goodbye Bielefeld conspiracy! For 25 years, conspiracy theorists have clung to the rumor that Bielefeld doesn't actually exist. The city now wants to finally clear up this hoax and is offering prize money of one million euros.
In 1994, computer science student Achim Held from Kiel circulated a satire online: “Bielefeld doesn't exist!” This saying quickly grew into the fertile ground for a conspiracy theory that is still persistent even after 25 years.
The city's marketing department now wants to put an end to this rumor "The #Bielefeldmillion - The End of a Conspiracy"
“If you can prove that Bielefeld really doesn’t exist, you win 1 million euros.”
The inventor of the hoax, Achim Held, supports the campaign. The city is showing that it is dealing with the former satire in a humorous way. WDR , the managing director of the Bielefeld marketing department, Martin Knabenreich, is equally optimistic:
“We are excited about the creative submissions and are 99.99 percent confident that we can refute any evidence.”
Evidence can be submitted until September 4th. If all of the evidence is refuted, the city will say goodbye to the Bielefeld conspiracy in an official ceremony - together with creator Achim Held.
After that it says: “Bielefeld exists!”
More information about the Bielefeld conspiracy
We also reported on this conspiracy theory .
According to the theory, the real conspirators are actually not known. It always says “YOU” or “YOU” – the capitalization is important. Assumptions as to who is behind the conspiracy range from the CIA to MOSSAD, the Omega Sector, a hidden, sleeping dragon from the 4th Age or the esoteric world teacher Asthar Sheran. (Let's go back to 1994.)
Vehicle license plates, the city's zip code and all websites as well as the university in the center are all said to be fakes. Anyone who claims that Bielefeld actually exists is said to have been brainwashed.
The Bielefeld conspiracy also provided material for a film that was produced in 2010.
Further sources: Spiegel Online , interview with Achim Held
Notes:
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