The greatest security threat of the post-truth age - BBC Future
The Covid-19 pandemic has made one thing clear: it is very difficult to coordinate the behaviour of an entire society – even in matters of life and death.
Consider the public response to the rollout of vaccines. For the world to beat the coronavirus, most of the population needs to agree to take one, and few democratic governments would choose to make it mandatory. However, there remains significant vaccine hesitancy around the globe. If that group were big enough, one of our most promising routes out of the pandemic would be compromised. The refusal of these individuals would affect everyone, even the vaccinated.
This has been a running theme of the pandemic: at various times, public health officials and politicians have attempted to persuade people to do things that benefit both themselves and their communities, from social distancing to wearing masks. Many have done so, but some people have been more resistant to the advice. False information about vaccines and face coverings, ineffective cures, and unfounded rumours about the origins of Covid-19 have made it exceedingly difficult to coordinate public behaviour.
This fragmented response to a major world event speaks to a worrying trend that bodes ill for other crises we could face in the 21st Century, from future pandemics to climate change. In our post-truth age, it is becoming increasingly difficult to make sure everyone is well-informed. In other words, even if it was clear how to save the world, a degraded and untrustworthy information ecosystem could prevent it from happening.
