Then, a couple days ago, I saw a report that members of a flat earth society were concerned that social distancing might cause some people to drop off the edge of the planet. Sigh!
But this was just a prelude to the latest outburst of craziness.
Conspiracy theories would have us believe that wireless communications have always posed a threat to our health and they have now decided that the new 5G (5th generation) mobile technology networks have created and spread the COVID virus. In response, there have been hundreds of fires set across Europe (more than 50 in Britain alone this month) to destroy cell towers and other equipment. In the process, these pathetically deranged individuals are destroying the very infrastructure that is so critical to the efforts to combat the current pandemic. As usual, social media has aided and abetted this delusional activity by sharing false narratives hundreds of thousands of times. As usual, it appears that Russian outlets actively promoted disinformation and helped to create false beliefs and the resulting destructive behaviour.
A world in which mainstream media are often under attack (most notably by Trump’s constant claims of “fake news”) and where people increasingly rely on – and take as gospel – anything they read on social media, is a world of dangerously ill-informed people. Unless this pattern can be reversed, it is hard to feel optimistic about the future of this planet even when the COVID virus runs its course.