David Dees

David Eugene Dees (July 9, 1957 – May 31, 2020)^[1] was an American commercial artist and graphic designer, known for his digital art depicting conspiracy theories. He began creating this type of art around 2003 after seeing photos of 9/11 that were used by conspiracy theorists.^[2]

David Eugene Dees
Born	(1957-07-09)July 9, 1957
Died	May 31, 2020(2020-05-31) (aged 62) Ashland, Oregon, U.S.
Occupation	Commercial artist
Known for	Art depicting conspiracy theories
Website	DDees.com (archived August 2, 2020)

Prominent themes in his artwork include chemtrails, anti-vaccine activism, climate change denial, Holocaust denial, as well as the promotion of GMO conspiracy theories, 9/11 conspiracy theories, conspiracy theories regarding the danger of wireless devices, and the Zionist Occupation Government conspiracy theory.^[3] He was particularly drawn to the belief that Zionists control the media.^[4]

David Dees was the subject of the short documentary Do You See What I See?^[5]

Career

Dees was an illustrator for Sesame Street Magazine.^[6] He also did freelance work for Looney Tunes, Mickey Mouse, and other Disney book covers.^[7]

Reception

In 2017, the inclusion of one of Dees's illustrations in a German political textbook caused a controversy. The image, which depicted a Pac-Man-like character devouring Europe over the phrase "Rothschild bank", was widely described as antisemitic. The publisher of the textbook said that inclusion of the image was a "regrettable mistake" and halted printing. They also issued a replacement page for books that were already in circulation and promised to remove the image in the next edition.^[8][9]

Other images that Dees has created have been antisemitic. They present the Holocaust as fake. For example, he uses lines that Holocaust deniers use often, such as "Truth does not fear investigation."^[10] In one of his images he relies on the claim that the gas chambers at the Auschwitz concentration camp were used to kill lice, not people.^[10]