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Reminds me of the advance fee frauds that people fall for, or compulsive gambling. Once people really believe that first conspiracy theory and then a few other

Reminds me of the advance fee frauds that people fall for, or compulsive gambling. Once people really believe that first conspiracy theory and then a few others, they get totally emotionally invested. After that they can't easily deny anything or the whole chain of belief would start to unravel. The conspiracy theorists might be better off just studying science from high school level upward, but this doesn't provide the easy return that they're looking for. This doesn't mean that governments are always right or honest, eg the WHO and some government's position on not wearing masks to help stop the spread of Covid is downright illogical, negligent at best and criminal at worst: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qNkjJHliMZo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qNkjJHliMZo Of course this adds to a loss of trust in such bodies and in turn can even make conspiracy theories seem more plausible.

nextweek2 7y ago
> help stop the spread of Covid is downright illogical You are thinking from an individual point of view, governments and WHO are thinking of society, not you as an individual. From a society point of view, saying masks don't stop the spread is completely logical. If WHO said "People should wear masks" there would be a world wide shortage overnight. Even for hospitals, care homes and other health workers. That would be a very bad outcome. The current best use of masks is in environments of higher risk, not them being stockpiled in people's homes. You might be sensible and only buy what you need but will others? > This doesn't mean that governments are always right or honest You are judging things only from your perspective, what is right for you and what is right for the masses are not always the same thing. Governments the world over have said they are following scientific advice. That advice is also going to be about hard decisions on who gets saved and who doesn't. That's a hard job for anybody as there is no right, only less wrong.

nextweek2 7y ago

> help stop the spread of Covid is downright illogical You are thinking from an individual point of view, governments and WHO are thinking of society, not you as an individual. From a society point of view, saying masks don't stop the spread is completely logical. If WHO said "People should wear masks" there would be a world wide shortage overnight. Even for hospitals, care homes and other health workers. That would be a very bad outcome. The current best use of masks is in environments of higher risk, not them being stockpiled in people's homes. You might be sensible and only buy what you need but will others? > This doesn't mean that governments are always right or honest You are judging things only from your perspective, what is right for you and what is right for the masses are not always the same thing. Governments the world over have said they are following scientific advice. That advice is also going to be about hard decisions on who gets saved and who doesn't. That's a hard job for anybody as there is no right, only less wrong.