There’s no doubt that 2020 has brought a lot of “worst things.” But I think one of the worst things from the perspective of human nature has been how well QAnon conspiracy theories have caught on.
Cosmopolitan has a fascinating profile on how “wellness influencers” were caught up in the Trump conspiracy theories:
To Jennifer, these posts raised “innocent questions”—the kind that the online wellness community had always posed about mainstream health and medical narratives. “They were always like, ‘Put on your critical-thinking hats; this doesn’t make sense,’” she says. “I was in this vulnerable mindset—out of work, at home all the time with nothing to do but scroll online. I wanted to feel like I had more control over the situation than I did.”
Chang, C. (2021, January 12). The Unlikely Connection Between Wellness Influencers and the Pro-Trump Rioters. Cosmopolitan. https://www.cosmopolitan.com/health-fitness/a35056548/wellness-fitness-influencers-qanon-conspiracy-theories/
I encourage everyone to read things on the web with a healthy amount of skepticism, especially on social media like Facebook. Just because you’ve read something many times doesn’t mean it’s true! And just because a friend said it, it doesn’t mean it’s more likely to be true!
And please, use even more care to not spread something that might be true: The more voices spread a lie, and especially voices your friends know like your own, the more likely your friends are to believe it. This is a bad enough problem, there’s no need to add to it.