When crazy went mainstream

Conspiracy theories used to be seen as the outlandish stories of tinfoil hat-wearing eccentrics, but today’s iterations are far from believing in a flat Earth or a hoax moon landing. Powered by social media and a White House that pedals “alternative facts,” conspiracy theories are spreading faster and further than ever before, eroding society’s trust in facts and undermining health officials at a time when only science can protect society from a tragic pandemic and the looming threat of climate change.

The coronavirus has given rise to an already-growing culture of suspicion, fuelling disinformation and propaganda and providing fertile ground for extreme groups to recruit new members.

Claims range from the virus is a foreign bioweapon to plots of billionaires wanting to profit from vaccines and control society using microchips. There are those who think 5G mobile network towers are to blame for the pandemic, that the virus was released to control population numbers, or that it doesn’t exist at all. Each