Shapeshifting is a common theme in mythology, folklore, and fairy tales. It is also found in epic poems, science fiction literature, fantasy literature, children's literature, Shakespearean comedy, ballet, film, television, comics, and video games. In its broadest sense, shapeshifting occurs when a being (usually human) either (1) has the ability to change its shape into that of another person, creature, or other entity or (2) finds its shape involuntarily changed by someone else. If the shape change is voluntary, its cause may be an act of will, a magic word or magic words, a potion, or a magic object. If the change is involuntary, its cause may be a curse or spell, a wizard's or magician's or fairy's help, a deity's will, a temporal change such as a full moon or nightfall, love, or death. The transformation may or may not be purposeful.

Shapeshifting may be used as a plot device, as when Puss In Boots tricks the ogre into becoming a mouse so he may eat him, or Jared disposes of the ogre in The Spiderwick Chronicles by convincing him to become a swallow; it may also include a symbolic significance, as when the Beast's transformation at the end of Beauty and the Beast indicates Belle's ability to accept him despite his appearance.

David Vaughan Icke (pronounced /aɪk/, or IKE, born 29 April 1952) is an English writer and public speaker, best known for his views on what he calls "who and what is really controlling the world." Describing himself as the most controversial speaker in the world, he is the author of 19 books and has attracted a global following that cuts across the political spectrum. His 533-page The Biggest Secret (1999) has been called "the Rosetta Stone for conspiracy junkies."

Icke was a well-known BBC television sports presenter and spokesman for the Green Party, when in 1990 a psychic told him he was a healer who had been placed on Earth for a purpose, and that the spirit world was going to pass messages to him so he could educate others. In March 1991 he held a press conference to announce that he was a "Son of the Godhead" – a phrase he said later the media had misunderstood – and the following month told the BBC's Terry Wogan show that the world would soon be devastated by tidal waves and earthquakes. He said the show changed his life, turning him from a respected household name into someone who was laughed at whenever he appeared in public.

Orly Taitz (born August 30, 1962) is an American dentist, lawyer, former real estate agent, and leading figure in the "birther" movement, which challenges whether Barack Obama is a natural-born citizen eligible to serve as President of the United States. She also promotes a number of other allegations both related and unrelated to Obama, and has initiated a number of lawsuits on behalf of the "birther" movement.

Orly Taitz was born to a Jewish family in Chişinău, Moldavian SSR in the Soviet Union (present day Moldova). Both of her parents were science teachers. In 1981, Orly immigrated to Israel, where she obtained a dentistry degree at Hebrew University. In 1987, she met Yosef Taitz who proposed four months later. Orly immigrated to the United States in May 1987, marrying the Latvian-born Yosef in Las Vegas, Nevada. Taitz became a naturalized United States citizen in 1992. She received her law degree from Taft Law School and was admitted to practice law in California in December 2002.

Taitz lives in Laguna Niguel, California and owns dental practices in nearby Mission Viejo and Rancho Santa Margarita. She has three sons, holds a second degree black belt in Taekwondo, and speaks five languages: English, Hebrew, Romanian, Russian and Spanish.

Glenn Edward Lee Beck (born February 10, 1964) is an American conservative radio host, vlogger, author, entrepreneur, political commentator and former television host. He hosts the Glenn Beck Program, a nationally syndicated talk-radio show that airs throughout the United States on Premiere Radio Networks. He formerly hosted the Glenn Beck television program, which ran from January 2006 to October 2008 on HLN and from January 2009 to June 2011 on the Fox News Channel. Beck has authored six New York Times–bestselling books. Beck is the founder and CEO of Mercury Radio Arts, a multimedia production company through which he produces content for radio, television, publishing, the stage, and the Internet. It was announced on April 6, 2011, that Beck would "transition off of his daily program" on Fox News later in the year but would team with Fox to "produce a slate of projects for FOX News Channel and FOX News' digital properties". Beck's last daily show on the network was June 30, 2011. In 2012, The Hollywood Reporter named Beck on its Digital Power Fifty list.

Viktor Andriyovych Yushchenko (Ukrainian:  Ві́ктор Андрі́йович Ю́щенко (help·info); born February 23, 1954) is a former President of Ukraine. He took office on January 23, 2005, following a period of popular unrest known as the Orange Revolution. He failed to secure a runoff spot during the 2010 Ukrainian presidential election.

As an informal leader of the Ukrainian opposition coalition, he was one of the two main candidates in the October–November 2004 Ukrainian presidential election. Yushchenko won the presidency through a repeat runoff election between him and Viktor Yanukovych, the government-supported candidate. The Ukrainian Supreme Court called for the runoff election to be repeated because of widespread election fraud in favor of Viktor Yanukovych in the original vote. Yushchenko won in the revote (52% to 44%). Public protests prompted by the electoral fraud played a major role in that presidential election and led to Ukraine's Orange Revolution.

Following an assassination attempt in late 2004, Yushchenko was confirmed to have ingested hazardous amounts of TCDD, the most potent dioxin and a contaminant in Agent Orange. He suffered disfigurement as a result of the poisoning, but has been slowly recovering in recent years.