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Trader’s recession dream outrages YouTube

Self-proclaimed "attention seeker" Alessio Rastani stirred up conspiracy theories in a BBC interview.

 

Fruzsina Eördögh

Tech

Posted on Sep 28, 2011   Updated on Aug 14, 2020, 2:30 pm CDT

“I have a confession. I go to bed every night dreaming of another recession.”

Thats what Alessio Rastani, an independent trader, told the BBC via satellite, in an interview that has now spread across the Web.

Rastani goes on to explain people who are prepared for a recession make money from it, and he is in that position. Near the end of his three-minute interview, Rastani added, “In less than twelve months, my prediction is, the savings of millions of people is going to vanish, and it’s just the beginning.”

https://www.youtube.com/v/aC19fEqR5bA

The video in its entirety is frightening fodder for financial conspiracy theorists—Rastani said at one point, “Goldman Sachs rules the world”—and its charged claims have spurred talk throughout YouTube.

Versions of Rastani’s interview with the BBC are currently the second and fourth most-viewed video on YouTube. They occupy the first and second slots in the News and Politics section. There are dozens, if not hundreds, of duplicates of Rastani’s interview.

Both of the most-viewed copies have received thousands of comments. Some express disbelief, others terror. Some called for Rastani’s death.

“I love his honesty. He’s an independent trader, with no allegiance to anyone. He’s telling it like it is—and doesn’t give a shit if you like what he’s saying. Very refreshing to hear the truth in the media,” wrote thedesignaddict on YouTube. His comment got 13 likes.

“This guy uses the ‘liar paradox.’ If I say, ‘I always lie,’ am I lying? So this guy says he dreams about recession as an opportunity to make money, then: Is he creating panic so he can make money? I bet so” commented Magnvss, on a different copy of the video.

Other YouTube comments discussed the sovereign-debt problem. Users 12gdemos argued that “the reason the Canadian national debt is lower than the US national debt is, the US has been robbed for 100 years by the Federal Reserve Bank.”

Other YouTubers have taken to discussing other related news articles about Rastani’s interview in the comments, like a Forbes interview or a Telegraph piece where Rastani said he is “an attention seeker not a trader” and identified himself as a “public speaker” whom the BBC approached for its interview.

YouTubers from all over the globe also uploaded response videos to Rastani’s statement. One guy even joked about it while holding a Miley Cyrus cardboard cutout.

https://www.youtube.com/v/KVgmqC9cT2M

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*First Published: Sep 28, 2011, 6:38 pm CDT