Deather (death announcement skeptic)
The term “deather” (death + -er) is similar to the related terms “birther” (a person skeptical about another person’s birth information) and “truther” (a person skeptical of the official version of the tragic events of September 11, 2001). The terrorist Osama bin Laden (1957-2011) was killed by U.S. Navy SEALs and quickly buried at sea. The term “deather” almost immediately was invented upon the May 2, 2011 news to describe a person doubting the official version bin Laden’s death. Many “deathers” (such as the early reports on Alex Jones’s Infowars.com website) believed that Osama bin Laden had died some time between 2001-2003.
An unrelated “deather” term (from mid-2009) describes those who believed that the proposed health care regulations would include “death panels” that some critics dramatically said would “kill grandma.”
Wikipedia: Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden ( /oʊˈsɑːmə bɪn ˈlɑːdən/; Arabic: أسامة بن محمد بن عوض بن لادن, ʾUsāmah bin Muḥammad bin ʿAwaḍ bin Lādin) (March 10, 1957 – May 2, 2011) was the founder of the al-Qaeda organization, responsible for the September 11 attacks on the United States and numerous other mass-casualty attacks against civilian and military targets. He was a member of the wealthy Saudi bin Laden family.
Bin Laden was on the American Federal Bureau of Investigation’s lists of Ten Most Wanted Fugitives and Most Wanted Terrorists for his involvement in the 1998 US embassy bombings. From 2001 to 2011, bin Laden and his organization have been major targets of the War on Terror, which has resulted in a total of between 80,000 and 1.2 million civilian deaths in Iraq, Afghanistan and Somalia between 2001 and 2007.
On April 29, 2011, U.S. President Barack Obama authorized a raid on bin Laden’s suspected location near Abbottabad, Pakistan. The operation was successfully carried out in the early morning of May 2 (due to weather and time considerations) by U.S. Navy SEALs with intelligence support from the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). Toward the end of the raid, bin Laden was fatally shot in the head and chest. The entire raid, including intelligence sweeps of the compound, was completed in less than 40 minutes. His body was taken and facial recognition tests were performed. Later, genetic testing further supported bin Laden’s identification. Within 24 hours of his death, bin Laden’s body was taken out to sea for burial.
Urban Dictionary
deather
noun
“From birther, a related conspiracy theory which holds that President Obama is not a natural born U.S. citizen. Inspired by the teabaggers of April 15, 2009.
One who believes or spreads the false conspiracy theory that the health care reform legislation before Congress would create “death panels” or force seniors and sick people into euthanasia.”
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by fugitive Aug 11, 2009
Tucson (AZ) Citizen
Time for a new “deather” movement made up of “birthers”?
by Three Sonorans on May. 02, 2011
First you had the “truthers.”
Then when Obama got elected you had the “birther” movement that claimed our first black President is not American, and they demanded to see his birth certificate.
Now, after Osama bin Laden’s death, I predict a “deather” movement will start.
From Obama’s birth certificate, to Osama’s death certificate, some people will just never believe in reality.
Los Angeles (CA) Times
Mailbag: Goodbye ‘birthers,’ hello ‘deathers’
May 2, 2011 | 1:29 pm You can’t say you didn’t see this coming, especially since those less inclined to take the president at his word regarding his birthplace were (mostly) silenced last week: Some are already accusing the Obama administration of being less than truthful about the death Sunday of Osama bin Laden. Those who have written to .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) cite a number of factors that inform their skepticism, including the quick disposal of Bin Laden’s body and the substantial political capital Bin Laden’s killing would earn for President Obama.
THe Trentonian (Trenton, NJ)
L.A. PARKER: Birthers foiled, now ‘deathers’ doubt Obama’s Osama kill
Published: Tuesday, May 03, 2011
First we had the birthers, those diehard anti-President Barack Obama haters who did not believe that our man in Washington was born in Hawaii.
Now, after a conversation here with a co-worker, we have the deathers.
“I won’t believe that Osama bin Laden is dead until I see it. Seeing is believing,” he said.