A quarter of people in the UK believe Covid was or was probably a hoax (as well as believing other conspiracy theories)

[cakeorwine]

Quarter in UK believe Covid was a hoax, poll on conspiracy theories finds | Social trends | The Guardian

"The UK is home to millions more conspiracy theorists than most people realise, with almost a quarter of the population believing Covid-19 was probably or definitely a hoax, polling has revealed.
About a third of the population are convinced that the cost of living crisis is a government plot to control the public, and similar numbers think “15-minute cities” – an attempt to increase walking in neighbourhoods – are a government surveillance ruse, and that the “great replacement theory” – the idea that white people are being replaced by non-white immigrants – is happening."

I guess that there are people out there who believe in conspiracy theories - but I am very surprised by the numbers.

I wonder what the cross over is between theories - in other words, if you believe 1 conspiracy theory, you are more likely to believe another?

Here's one 🥴

Have there ever in history really been people who thought the government didn't lie at least some of the time?!?

Our local council wanted to introduce parking fees in the evenings and at a sports complex where parking had previously been free to members. They worded the questions in a way about supporting initiatives for climate change etc, so that to agree you cared about the environment ....was agreeing to the parking charges. (When the main drive behind it was obviously revenue)

Type into Google conspiracy theories that turned out to be true. There are quite a few. Back when all they were was a conspiracy theory, people I'm sure used to say what some posters on here are saying. It makes you wonder which theories nowadays are true.

🙄that's all

Of course they are. 😂

As soon as I saw the thread title I thought "oh no, here they all come" and I'm not disappointed.

The 15 minute thing is quite funny if you’ve ever seen the videos about social housing developments built in the 50s and 60s to replace old, unsuitable housing. The ideal was to give people safe modern houses (with indoor plumbing!) and have everything they needed within walking distance, so a school, shops, a park etc. It was about convenience! People didn’t have access to cars and they wanted to create a sense of community.

It says a lot about who we are and our view of the state that in the 21st century we can see the same thing as sinister and controlling.

I don’t for a moment think that anyone behind the 15 minute cities sat down and thought ‘how can we come up with a way of restricting people’s freedom and keeping them under surveillance?’ and 15 minute cities were the answer

Neither do I. The thing is, if people who think 15 minute cities are a good idea wanted a situation where they wanted to restrict people's freedom and keep them under surveillance (such as a lockdown) then all the apparatus is there. And I think people are worried, rightly or wrongly, about applications of this apparatus in the future.

If you asked ‘is a side effect of introducing 15 minute cities that it restricts personal freedom and keeps people under surveillance?’ more people would answer yes

IMO people are much more aware of being under surveillance since covid - which was a frightening lesson in just how quickly and completely your freedoms and liberties can be removed and you can't do anything about it.

Well OP, let's look at some issues.

Firstly, power WILL ALWAYS be abused, so we should be extremly careful who we give it to.

Secondly, there are some flaws with your assumption that people believe in some sort of conspiracy and are therefore stupid.

15 minute cities are a an idea from the 70s, they were never adopted because they are are impractical and don't work in the real world. The infrastructure isn't in place and would cost vastly more in tax expenditure than we generate in tax revenue. Also the climate and the topography in the UK isn't suitable for cycling or walking to become legitimate forms of transport. As for the whole "control" aspect, this is true. Labour's Draft Transport Policy is to "Introduce a modal shift away from independent means of travel", that's political speak for introducing policies which take away citizens choices and restricts their movements via government controlled mass transit systems. This isn't a conspiracy theory, it's a published manifesto. Just look at what's happening in London with the expansion of the ULEZ for a glimpse of how power is abused, ability to travel independently is taken away and people are made to pay for it to happen. So no, 15 minute cities and ULEZ zones are very much a power grab and if allowed to happen will be the greatest stripping of basic rights since lockdown.

And as for lockdown, that was an abhorrent abuse of power. It can NEVER be allowed to happen again. Covid was a man made virus, which was most likely leaked by accident from a lab. It was circulating widely across the world for months before it was "first discovered". It was a real virus, but the reaction to it was a manufactured "crisis" which has devastated world economies and societies. Again, not a conspiracy theory, but a fact.

Look at "Climate Change Theory" and you'll get a glimpse of the magnitude of the conspiracy theory issue. The obvious cause of all problems humans face comes down to only ONE issue, and that's population. There are simply too many people alive on this planet. Pollution comes from people, the root cause of all environmental issues are the presence of humans in that particular environment. The Green Warriors of this world are either being deliberately obtuse or they are seriously uneducated and lack any form of critical thinking. Instead of "Just Stop Oil" their slogan should be "Just Stop Children". And this fuzzy thinking isn't limited to a few well to do pensioners and some spoilt rich kids, nobody will discuss it. Why do you think that is?

Climate Change is a very convenient stick for those in power to use to beat people into submission. As long as the point blank refuse to discuss the real problem why should anybody listen to them?

If you really want to frighten yourself, have a watch of the interview with Christine Lagarde where she gives some details about the introduction of the European Digital Currency.

Ever heard the phrase "You will own nothing and be happy"?

That IS precisely the policy that the EU are introducing. Lagarde has stated that access to money in your account will be dependent on your behaviour and such access will be not be a citizens right, but conditional.

Quite a lot of conspiracy theories are actually political facts.

In fact the 15 minute thing is basically a Kirsty + Phil list of requirements when looking for a house!

Walking distance to schools
Walking distance to a shop for milk emergencies
Walking distance to a park for the DC/dogs
Low traffic neighbourhood (noise/air quality)
Easy commuting distance

True and when you see houses being advertised now for rent/ sale it often says it's close to good schools ,local amenities etc.

I don't believe covid was a hoax per se. But I do believe it was a control exercise by the government to see how much they could get away with. Turns out people are EXTREMELY compliant and lack critical thinking skills.

In one breath they say "We have an overpopulation and climate crisis" and in the next "the old must be protected at all costs and especially at the expense of the young".

It says a lot about who we are and our view of the state that in the 21st century we can see the same thing as sinister and controlling

Probably because now people are a lot more cynical and much less trusting of government, local and national.

But I do believe it was a control exercise by the government to see how much they could get away with. Turns out people are EXTREMELY compliant and lack critical thinking skills

I don't believe it was a control exercise. I do think it was a very handy blueprint for any future government that wants that sort of control. Threaten people they'll die if they don't comply and impose draconian social sanctions.

And in complete agreement with you about the lack of critical thinking skills. It was frightening.

I met someone recently who was a charming, interesting person. Then she started telling me about 15 minute cities and gave me a leaflet about how to protest. She genuinely believed that we will not be allowed to travel more than 15 minutes from our homes and that we will never be allowed to go on holiday or visit relatives again.

I don't think as many people would object to the idea of having more facilities and amenities closets them if it wasn't tied in with restrictions and/or fines at the same time. And the LTNs could work really well for the quieter streets in the centre of the area or zone but actually directs more traffic on to some roads which is obviously way more unpleasant for the people that live and work there, and adds to journey times if everyone is directed to the same route.

A guy I know believes literally every conspiracy theory up to and including holocaust denial. He has an argument and 'proof' of everything. When he starts, I just ask what he intends to do about it. There is no point in all the 'knowledge' when you don't do anything with it.

He works in an NLW job, rents a flat, he is as much in the system as the rest of us.

The pandemic and lockdowns have really done a number on our collective mental health.

Rather than seeing 15 minute cities as a conspiracy theory, I'm far more inclined to see our over dependence on the car as a result of a prolonged conspiracy by the car, haulage and oil industries to sabotage public transport initiatives in favour of building roads.

(I know, it's not an overarching conspiracy as such. Just a bunch of incomprehensibly wealthy, profoundly amoral corporations with bottomless pockets funding lobbyists in every government and most news organisations in the world. And spoon feeding the idea to a bunch of "sheeple" that spending hours in their costly cars every day is a cornerstone of personal liberty 🙄)

Well “conspiracy theorist” also covers skeptics with whom you disagree, or indeed with whom those you choose to believe disagree. So really, we are all involved in an ever changing cycle of misinformation of whatever degree. Sometimes disinformation.
The thing about the more clearly nutty conspiracists is that even a broken clock tells the right time twice a day. They are, sometimes, the canary in the mine. Unfortunately when they are right, that dooms the truth they revealed (or perceived or “intuited”) to the label of “conspiracy” thereafter. And, again unfortunately for rational skeptics, a lot of what was dubbed “conspiracy “ a few years ago is now being shown to actually have been the truth, though usually the motivation is greed and incompetence, in roughly that order.

No it's in spite of the internet, not because of it. I worked in pubs as a student in the 90s. A subset of average looking people have always been batshit and believed nonsense.

That’s part of it but I think we’ve also changed in how we view ourselves in relation to society. Those were people who had lived with rationing (continuing) after the war ended until 1954. Their idea of what they personally willing to give up for ‘the greater good’ of society is very different to people now.

The idea of not being able to drive in a particular zone twice in a day, for the good of the many, as an affront to one’s personal rights and freedoms shows how far we’ve come.

😂😂

Well, actually it is a huge jump, people appear to be thinking in extremes now, what happened to rationality and logic.

Yes, no one wants a surveillance society (well some might) but that's what privacy laws and their implementation are about. GDPR came in to play and since we left Europe UK GDPR, to protect human rights and freedoms from a technical dystopia. I work in this area and compliance with data ethics is (due to competitive advantage) and is forced to be (due to data protection laws)a priority for organisations.

Besides, not exactly a secret (so not a conspiracy at all) that people are not aware of digital and physical surevellience.

This is why I just say to colleague, what do you plan to do? I don't just dismiss his views.