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I've seen this suggestion made in several places; here's one.

Around the time of April 2011, several US news presenters or personalities descended into speaking gibberish on national TV. Some have "cited an on-air experiment broadcast some years ago in the U.S. in which two scientists directed electromagnetic signals into the brain of a reporter, prompting him to start speaking gibberish."

Could this be the reason for these TV presenters descending into gibberish in an uncannily short time period of one another?


A video compilation of several of these supposed occurrences is HERE, and another summary mentioning Judge Judy is HERE.

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  • 11
    How can we disprove that the US military have a "magic" gibberish weapon?
    – Sklivvz
    Commented Jul 15, 2011 at 20:13
  • 5
    Seriously, even your quoted report doesn't believe it. All it says is that "conspiracy theorists have suggested this". Commented Jul 18, 2011 at 2:22
  • I don't know... I'm skeptical. I'd like to see these on a timeline to see where they cluster. Maybe it's a common occurrence? (Sharpshooter fallacy)
    – Chloe
    Commented Mar 20, 2015 at 18:29
  • Severe migraine can cause loss of speech coherence. I've experienced it. You forget what words mean, or can't find the right words or understand what you are saying. It's temporary.
    – user8356
    Commented Feb 7 at 14:43

2 Answers 2

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What conspiracionists claim is:

Spontaneous-gibberish-talking is not the symptom of any known illness. Some have claimed those were MK-Ultra breakdowns.

Which is absolutely untrue, as this is well know medical condition known as aphasia.

Aphasia gets in the way of a person's ability to use or understand words. Aphasia does not impair the person's intelligence. People who have aphasia may have difficulty speaking and finding the "right" words to complete their thoughts. They may also have problems understanding conversation, reading and comprehending written words, writing words, and using numbers.

Causes:

more common in older adults, particularly those who have had a stroke. [...] Aphasia may also be caused by a brain tumor, brain infection, or dementia such as Alzheimer's disease. In some cases, aphasia is an episodic symptom of epilepsy or other neurological disorder.

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  • There is also apraxia (s.p.).
    – L.B.
    Commented Mar 20, 2015 at 1:59
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The only video in that Daily Mail article is of Mark McAllister.

According to Yahoo News the producers called 911, he went to hospital and was diagnosed with epilepsy. That's corroborated by his biography on his employer's website:

In March of 2011, Mark experienced a seizure while reporting live during Global Toronto’s News Hour. He was diagnosed with epilepsy soon after and has since become an ambassador for raising awareness.

That's in Toronto, Canada.

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