Harold Camping's Global Apocalypse PR Campaign

End of the WorldThe world is scheduled to end on May 21, 2011. At least that's the hysteria being spread by Harold Camping, the 89 year-old fundamentalist Christian radio preacher and president of Family Radio, Inc., based in Oakland, California.

Camping claims to have calculated that on May 21, Jesus Christ will return to Earth and save his true believers. The unsaved will be victimized, he says, by a world-wide earthquake that will "throw open all graves." The "saved" will then rise up to heaven and the unsaved will be left to rot. A subsequent, massive tsunami will wreak five months of havoc upon those remaining on Earth until finally the entire Universe blows up on October 21, 2011, according to Camping.

Two signs that indicate the end is near, according to Camping's website, are the arrival of same-sex marriage and Israel gaining nationhood in 1948.

A Global "Rapture-tising" Campaign

Harold CampingWith the help of his media network and legions of donors who have fallen for his PR blitz, Camping has managed to turn what might ordinarily be an obscure and silly, cult-like religious claim into a huge, multimillion-dollar global PR campaign aimed at spreading fear that he hopes will get people "to search for the truth according to God's Will." As president of Family Radio, Inc., Camping controls more than 66 radio outlets and three television stations. He broadcasts his religious programming in over 40 languages, and his shows are heard internationally in places as far away as Moscow, Istanbul and Manila. For months, Family Radio stations have been pumping out word of Camping's apocalyptic prediction. Beyond this, Camping purchased more than 1,000 billboards in cities and towns across the U.S. and Canada, and an additional 1,000 billboards in foreign countries around the globe. He's also bought banner ads, subway transit ads, and even took out a full page ad in a recent issue of USAToday.

All that costs serious money -- but that's not all of his efforts.

A "Project Caravan" RVLast October, Camping initiated "Project Caravan," in which a fleet of five custom-painted RVs with reflective lettering began criss-crossing the U.S., stopping in cities and towns in almost every state where they disgorge believers who wander the streets distributing leaflets containing word of Camping's May 21 doomsday campaign. In "Project Jonah," groups of people go to foreign countries where they similarly wander the streets distributing "tracts," or leaflets, that tell the citizens of those countries the world is about to end. A slide show on Camping's web site shows photos of his followers handing out leaflets in South Africa and Cameroon, a flat-bed truck outfitted with a traveling billboard driving along the roads in Nicaragua, huge billboards and out-sized Judgment Day banners next to roadways in Samoa, Korea, and more.

If you think Camping's global campaign is silly and harmless, think again. His mission has successfully convinced many people to empty their bank accounts, quit their jobs and devote their "remaining" time on Earth to "saving" others. A retired New York city transit worker reportedly spent his entire life savings -- $140,000 -- on 1,000 bus shelter and subway car ads announcing Camping's May 21 apocalypse. Camping's followers have sold their homes, antique collections and divested themselves of all their worldly goods. Some are spending all their assets down at a rate that will render them completely broke by May 21. Camping says he takes no salary in his position as head of Family Radio, Inc., but he has effectively been getting others to turn over their assets to advance his cause.

Preying on Camping's Followers

Doomsday billboard truck in NicaraguaUnwilling to let a fanatical religious end-of-the-world scare go to waste, some entrepreneurs have been taking advantage of people taken in by Camping's scare campaign. Websites offer Christian believers services like post-Rapture pet care and the emailing of letters to loved ones who will be left behind after the Earthly disasters. Bart Centre of New Hampshire launched a venture called Eternal Earth-Bound Pets, in which, for a fee of $135, a confirmed atheist will rescue one pet per address within 24 hours of the rapture. Additional pets at the same address are $20 more each. Centre's price used to be $110, but he raised it after the demand increased this year due to Camping's media campaign. Another service called "You've Been Left Behind" promises (for a fee of $14.95) to send letters to non-believing friends and relatives who get stuck on Earth after the rapture.

Camping's Other End-of-the-World Prediction

Camping predicted the world would end once before, in September, 1994. After it did not happen, he merely asserted his calculations were off. Undaunted, he came up with the new date of May 21, 2011. His prior error apparently hasn't dampened his followers' enthusiasm for Armageddon, though. This time, Camping claims to be absolutely positive the world will end as he has predicted. His massive global media campaign aimed at striking fear in people's hearts has been scaring them into pouring even more money into his religious campaign, multiplying its reach more than ever. All this has enabled Camping to draw more media attention to himself than ever before, and pull even more naive people into his scheme.

Not bad for an 89 year old religious huckster whose own days, according to actuarial tables, are limited.

We will see after May 21 what comes next from Camping's Global PR and prediction factory.

Comments

When this day comes and goes Harold Camping is going to either run and hide or come up with some religious excuse that washes his hands of all of his BS. When the 21st is over I will first laugh in his face then, I will judge him and his entire religion. Write that entire book off as complete waste of paper. To add to the scheme, all bibles at Barns and Noble went on sale when he started this campaign.

camping is full of bs since the bible specifically says even jesus does not know the date of the end, or when the rapture is scheduled to occur. people should be reading the bible themselves and not depending on someone to interpret for them. never mind the fact that the rapture will either happen before the 7 years of tribulations or in the middle. the tribulations will see the rise to power and dictatorship of the antichrist. study ist and 2nd thessalonians for his description. so the world does not end with natural disaster, anyway. although people left behind after the rapture will fall victim to several plagues that the bible prophecies about in revelations. camping has the time-line all screwed up and doesn't seem to understand it himself. then he takes advantage of those who don't understand it either. that is criminal if you ask me. while the world, and especially the united states are headed for financial/economic disaster and eventual one world governement (the very environment the antichrist will come to power in), we're not there yet. certainly not by this saturday. there is a book written that predicts the antichrist will be a muslim, which makes perfect sense. we know from the bible that the antichrist will allow the jews to rebuild the temple in jerusalem, then will desecrate it. read people, read for yourselves. the arabs have control of the temple mount right now with the dome of the rock on top of it. that is an arab monument to mohammed. and a great theft by the arabs as well, of the temple mount. the rapture and the rebuilding of the temple will be a true sign of the end of the church age and the start of the tribulations period. i don't plan to miss the rapture, and i hope you don't either. life will be hell on earth after that, and not worth living. i am a baptised (full immersion) christian, and do not consider myself to be naive at all when it comes to god's plan for the world. the lines of battle have been drawn for ages and it is up to each individual to decide where they stand. that's the free will part of the deal god gave us. but you better know the price you'll pay if you are on the wrong side, physically and spiritually. and there's plenty of confusion on that subject, due to a multitude of erroneous beliefs out there. good luck.

this is definitely the best and most accurate interpretation i have heard anyone display. I have almost given up on humanity its good to know there are still intelligent conscious people on this planet. not to say people are stupid just lazy and lack the will to think. If only i could help people understand the importance of consciousness. I thank you for the time you put in writing what you had its been inspirational to me to see my brothers and or sisters truly identifying with the word of the lord and not the words interpreted through idealistic man who were the cloth. It was the dark ages the propelled religion into what it is today, it was just men who wanted power using the word of god a a fear tactic to get people to do as they wished, like fighting meaningless wars. Basically acting out hypocrisy, how detached from god must be the souls of these men to manipulate the masses to serve themselves through the face of god. It truly sickens me but your acknowledgement of this gives me hope for we the people always have the ability to prevent a rapture but as i look at the world i acknowledge that god must be upset with humanity because i truly am and the end will come in our life time but its not the end. it has occurred before and i believe it has to happen again.

it has occurred before and i believe it has to happen again." Believe this…your end will come at the end of your own time. Period. If you have a telescope or have seen photos by NASA of outer space, then you know that 'rapture' is not physically possible. These photos don't deny the presence of a god, but they do stoutly disprove a place called 'heaven'. Etemology: Obsolete French, abduction, carrying off, from rapt, carried away, from Old French rat, from Latin raptus; see rapt.

Well he says he believes in the bible and yet it says: no man shall know the end not even jesus himself, so how's he supposed to know hhmmmm

I am of the LDS faith and in my religion we are taught to NOT speculate how or when the second comming is going to be. Christ will come like a thief in the night and even he dosen't know when he is comming. The stars are supposed to fall from the heavens or at least appear to be that way. The stars will stay right where they are and so it really will be us that will be comming to him and also him comming to us this means that we will meet half way. I thnk you are wrong to judge him though. What I mean is he is just an old man who has probably been out in the sun too long. The old fart is obviously demented. He thinks he has had a stroke of genious when in all reality, he has just had a stroke. This catostrophic event might ot happen for the next 500 years or so. Even still it might happen on the 21st of May or it might happen on February, 12 2049 about three years after I am supposed to die. Now, does this sound like a bunch of jiberish? I am only trying to stress a point here and that is just leave the old man to his beliefs. After all, he is nearly 90 years old and really old folks like this poor old guy are famous for speaking jiberish that dosen't make any sense. If you really want to do some good for all of us, let us all get together and put this old guy into a nursing home where he belongs. This is just so that he can't do any harm to either himself or other people and his followers should be put into psyciatric hospitals for the same reasons.

I do admit the world is a mess and people need to wake up a bit and stop acting like little kids in the back seat on a long trip but this guy is just out to sell a book if it is the end of the world who would have time to read it. In reality the impressionable people need to take what he says with a grain of salt and not buy into what this guy is selling he could do more harm than good.

God is real and this man that is spreading the end of the world is a false prophet..God only knows when the end of the world is Jesus the son of God does not even know when it will take place... Only God our Father..So yes this man truly is wrong but the bible and God is real...

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