Page 62 - April-May 2020 Neat

62 Famously Dubious Psychics & Mediums

Famously Dubious

Mediums, Psychics, And
Supernatural Investigators

Continued from Page 61

Derek Acorah's Fake Possessions
Revealed On Most Haunted

Knowing this, her conversations with grief- Chinese officials had a “special responsibility”
stricken parents and family members feel pretty to inform their people and the world of the threat
Most fans of ghost hunting shows know that
ghoulish. One writer believes that Altea is not posed by the coronavirus “since they were the
there's at least some trickery at work, but Most
intentionally deceiving people, but rather that first to learn of it,” U.S. State Department
Haunted took that to a whole new level.
she learned how to read people by accident and spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus said in response
Investigators fed Derek Acorah, a medium on
merely uses the skill for personal gain. to questions from Reuters.
the show, the fake name Kreed Kafer - an
anagram for 'Derek Faker' - and Acorah claimed
to become possessed by the spirit. Acorah then Chinese government Without directly addressing the assessment
made in the Chinese report, Ortagus added:
claimed that he'd spoken to another fictitious report warns of armed
spirit, worked in some false history based on the “Beijing’s efforts to silence scientists,
intentionally bad information he received, and confrontation with U.S. journalists, and citizens and spread
communicated with spirits from an asylum disinformation exacerbated the dangers of this
while actually just being in an average home. over coronavirus outbreak health crisis.”

Though he has been caught lying on television
A spokesman for the U.S. National Security
repeatedly, Acorah continues to claim that he is
Continued from Page 54 Council declined to comment.
a genuine medium.
Relations between China and the United States Repercussions possible
Rosemary Altea's Connection With
are widely seen to be at their worst point in
Spirits Driven By Cold And Hot decades, with deepening mistrust and friction The report described to Reuters warned that
Reading points from U.S. allegations of unfair trade and
anti-China sentiment sparked by the coronavirus
technology practices to disputes over Hong could fuel resistance to China’s Belt and Road
Kong, Taiwan and contested territories in the
infrastructure investment projects, and that
South China Sea.
Washington could step up financial and military
support for regional allies, making the security
In recent days, U.S. President Donald Trump,
situation in Asia more volatile.
facing a more difficult re-election campaign as
the coronavirus has claimed tens of thousands of
Three decades ago, in the aftermath of
American lives and ravaged the U.S. economy,
Tiananmen, the United States and many Western
has been ramping up his criticism of Beijing and
governments imposed sanctions against China
threatening new tariffs on China. His
including banning or restricting arms sales and
administration, meanwhile, is considering technology transfers.
retaliatory measures against China over the
outbreak, officials said.
China is far more powerful nowadays.
It is widely believed in Beijing that the United
Xi has revamped China’s military strategy to
States wants to contain a rising China, which has create a fighting force equipped to win modern
become more assertive globally as its economy
wars. He is expanding China’s air and naval
has grown.
reach in a challenge to more than 70 years of
Rosemary Altea, like many television mediums,
U.S. military dominance in Asia.
makes her living by contacting the dead for The paper concluded that Washington views
bereaved families. But unlike most television China’s rise as an economic and national In its statement, China’s foreign ministry called
mediums, she was exposed on Penn and Teller's security threat and a challenge to Western for cooperation, saying, “the sound and steady
Bullsh*t, where tapes and interviews revealed democracies, the people said. The report also development of China-U.S. relations” serve the
that she wasn't even cold reading the audience - said the United States was aiming to undercut
interests of both countries and the international
she'd asked the audience questions beforehand the ruling Communist Party by undermining community.
or been fed information by her literary agent. public confidence. (Continued on Page 65)