The Mammoth Book of Cover-Ups

Elements in MI5 plotted downfall of Wilson’s Labour governments in 1970s: ALERT LEVEL 9

Further Reading

Paul Foot, Who Framed Colin Wallace? 1990

Robin Ramsay and Steven Dorril, Smear! Wilson and the Secret State, 1991

Peter Wright, Spycatcher: The Candid Autobiography of a Senior Intelligence Officer, 1987

Wingdings

In the aftermath of 9/11 there resurfaced a popular early-1990s conspiracy that within Microsoft’s Wingdings font were secreted hidden messages. One such message was to be found if «NYC» [New York City] was typed in Wingdings. Up came:

Some conspiracists read the symbols as Microsoft’s approval for the killing of New York’s Jews, and eventually the brouhaha reached the New York Post, which excitedly reported «ANTI-JEWISH CODE LURKS IN POPULAR SOFTWARE». Microsoft dismissed the charge, saying that the skull, Star of David and thumbs-up sequence was pure coincidence — a claim somewhat undermined by the admission of Microsoft spokesperson Kimberley Kuresman that the symbols for «NYC» in the somewhat similar Webdings font were intentionally designed to be associated with happiness. They were: an eye, a heart and a skyline. That is, I LOVE NEW YORK.

Then came 9/11, and someone on the internet decided Microsoft’s Wingdings had forecast — even signalled — the terror attack on the World Trade Center. As one email posted on AboveTopSecret.com put it:

The «Wingdings» Conspiracy. Has anyone heard of this? I’m shocked! Go to notepad, set the font to highest, select Wingdings font, and type in caps Q33 NY. This is the flight number of the first plane to hit the World Trade Center … Coincidence? I doubt it …

Q33NY in Wingdings is:

An airplane attacks two buildings and kills the Jews …

The conspiracy is undone by significant faults. Most notably, Q33NY was not the number of any of the aircraft involved in 9/11. Further, the 3–3 symbols are not «buildings» but lined documents. If you want a secret message from Wingdings, try this:

Microsoft’s Wingdings font is designed to convey secret anti-Semitic messages: ALERT LEVEL 1

Further Reading

http://www.snopes.com/rumors/wingdings.asp

DOCUMENT: «ANTI-JEWISH CODE LURKS IN POPULAR SOFTWARE», NEW YORK POST,

1992

One of the world’s bestselling computer programs contains a secret anti-Semitic message apparently urging death to Jews in New York City.

A computer consultant discovered the diabolic message while installing Microsoft’s new Windows 3.1 software for a client yesterday.

The consultant was testing a mailing-address use of the program when he noticed the letters «NYC» had been replaced by a hateful message — a skull and crossbones, the Star of David and an approving thumbs-up symbol.

Microsoft strongly denies any hidden message. Others disagree.

«There’s no way it could be a random coincidence,» said Brian Young, a friend of the consultant, who does not wish to be named.

«It’s pretty scary. I was pretty shocked by the whole thing.»

Computer owners who use Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Word or any other Microsoft program containing a print font named «Wingdings» can duplicate the anti-Semitic message by typing the letters «NYC» on their screen.

Microsoft said «Wingdings» was designed by Bigelow and Holmes, an outside vendor, and denied that Microsoft intentionally designed the secret message.

Prof. Charles Bigelow confirmed that his company provided the symbols, but insisted that Microsoft made the final «mapping» decisions assigning his symbols to specific keys on the keyboard.

But a senior Microsoft spokesman said the charge that the fonts contain a hidden message is «outrageous».

«It’s like saying that if you randomly type out characters on a keyboard to spell ‘Satan’, you can do that, but it’s incredible to say that there’s anti-Semitism in Microsoft or one of its vendors,» said Charles Hemingway.

But Young, who discussed the matter with other computer consultants, isn’t so sure it’s just a coincidence.

The «Wingdings» font contains no letters — just 255 symbols.

Young calculated the odds of three letters of the alphabet being combined with 255 symbols, and said he found that the odds of obtaining the message were less than one in a trillion.

«It’s mind-blowing,» said Young. «Somebody’s responsible for this. This is very offensive.»

«I found it hard to believe some of the stories about the resurgence of Nazi sympathizers — but this puts things back into perspective.»

Malcolm X