Spinning fake news on the Wild West Web
WHEN Bill Gates criticised Donald Trump for halting funding to the World Health Organisation, it was claimed on social media that he had caused the Covid-19 pandemic and owned the vaccine to protect against it.
Russia said Gates planned to install a microchip into people along with a mandatory dose of the vaccine. A US poll suggests 28% of Americans believe this, with the figure rising to 44% amongst Republicans.
If the purpose was to track us wherever we go, the authorities would have a boring time tracking me (once lockdown is over). “It’s Friday. He’s in the pub again.”
These and other far-fetched claims, led an independent MP in Italy to call for Gates to be taken before the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, by the way, has donated more than $36 billion to charity, including funding to find a vaccine.
Social media is ripe for conspiracy theorists, mischief makers and purveyors of misinformation to seed doubts and daftness during the pandemic. I’m just amazed so many people continue to think they are true.
I mean, who still believes bleach protects against Covid-19? A lot of Americans do.
According to a survey just released from the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, almost 40% of Americans tried washing fruit and vegetables in bleach and other high risk cleaning products to prevent Covid transmission. Four per cent admitted to drinking or gargling with bleach solutions, soapy water and other cleaning solutions to keep them healthy.
Part of the reason fake news has a grip is because many no longer rely on mainstream media and newspapers, that properly research their stories. They prefer easy soundbites and sensation online.
The internet has been a wonderful innovation but remains a wild west of a web with ... the entire universe and all our memories were created last Thursday, which is the one I like
most of all precious few sheriffs to enforce the truth. I went looking for other conspiracy theories and found some beauties.
The sinking of the Titanic was planned, the current year is actually 1723, aircraft trails are spraying chemicals to control our health and food supplies, Paul McCartney died in 1966 and was replaced with a lookalike, the Earth is hollow and other creatures live inside, fluoride in tap water makes us obedient to government commands, the moon landings were fake and, oh yes, the entire universe and all our memories were created last Thursday, which is the one I like most of all.
Check them out on the internet. They’re far more interesting than fabrications about Covid 19.