Disinformation Is Causing More Real-World Pain

Disinformation can have some serious real-world consequences and in the last week I've seen more examples of that.

• How conspiracy theories affect the families of believers (22 minute listen). "Over the past several years, followers of QAnon – a conspiracy theory suggesting Donald Trump is the leader of a secret war against the "deep state" – have gained political influence in the United States and beyond. Several of them were part of the attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Now, investigative reporter Jesselyn Cook is looking into the human toll of believing in such conspiracies – both on followers, and their loved ones. She joins Piya Chattopadhyay to discuss her book The Quiet Damage, which explores the social fallout of QAnon and challenges our ideas about truth and reality." This is heartbreaking. 
• U.K. Police Officers Injured in Far-Right Riot After Deadly Stabbing (gift link). "A day after an attacker with a knife killed three girls in Southport, northwestern England, violence driven in part by disinformation erupted in the town." As if the stabbing of children wasn't bad enough. 
• The blaze in Jasper fueled a wider disinformation firestorm. "The researchers found that social media lubricates the spread of false and misleading information in times of crisis. But the effects persist beyond hindering evacuation efforts and emergency response; disinformation about the wildfires also helped fuel opposition to climate policies." Hindering evacuation efforts is not a good thing.