> It's been happening way before COVID, your post exemplifies the sentiment: if trusted sources fail at any point they become absolutely distrusted, and people

> It's been happening way before COVID, your post exemplifies the sentiment: if trusted sources fail at any point they become absolutely distrusted, and people prefer to choose their sources which further departs from a shared reality. This doesn't happen when they fail it happens when they lie to manipulate the public. For instance: With the lab leak theory, I believe that was suppressed because the authorities didn't want some kind of backlash against China, therefore regardless of any merits the theory had, it was treated as absolutely false and unspeakable. With masks, I believe the authorities very publicly said they didn't work, because they didn't want the public to consume them. I don't think they'd have lost trust if they hadn't done stuff like that, or spoke with a false confidence when they were just guessing. And I say this as someone who followed all the recommendations during COVID, except for using a mask when they were telling people not to.