People are gullible.

A thread.

1. Communist USSR fueled Operation INFEKTION, a disinformation campaign run by the KGB in the 80s, it was the idea that the United States had invented HIV/AIDS as part of a biological weapons project. https://twitter.com/thehill/status/1336782456511459331

2. In 1992, 15% of randomly selected Americans considered that “the AIDS virus was created deliberately in a government laboratory.”

The same "Wuhan Lab, Ch*na Virus rhetoric we see from the Orange Clown & his tweets. His followers believe it - most feed off the propaganda.

3. Misinformation in a pre-internet age had to be delivered with purpose from government actors, with social media, it's any fool with internet access. Too many gullible people on social media lack critical #medialiteracy skills and share in a silo of bias affirmation behaviours.

4. When you see a that a health professional remarked that #covid19 is a “so-called pandemic” and claimed both it and the vaccination process were plots by Russia and China to promote communism internationally - you have to wonder, what makes a smart person go down this path?

5. Being a Dr. does not make him less susceptible to #misinformation - having a bias, being indoctrinated, seeing what he wants to see - that can shadow critical thinking. He said, " #covid19 had been developed as a biological weapon & would reprogram a person’s immune system".

6. The human condition is easily prone to techniques that engage growth of rumours & conspiracy. It is simplistic scapegoating, hyperbole, & projection in a repetitive nature that when mixed with half-truths, lies, & manipulated media, can make smart people believe stupid things.

7. In 80's/90's (even still today) HIV/AIDS had such stigma attached to contraction of the virus that fears about HIV/AIDS are easily manipulated - especially with men. So much #covid19 conspiracy gets traction because of how vulnerable we all are - it's easy to create fear.

8. So, similarly to HIV/AIDS, #Covid19 gets the conspiracy trope because once a conspiracy is lodged in a global sub-conscience & social media zeitgeist, it becomes a pandemic in its own right. We are seeing many disillusioned and choosing to believe opposite of fact because...

9. #COVID19 conspiracy beliefs are strongly related to several psychological & political factors. Controlling political narratives & sowing division works for some political actors, & if the narrative is liked by people, those people become malleable to those who want power.

10. What's terrifying about this stupid #covid19 communism conspiracy is that these tropes worked in communist Russia, in a democracy, the malleable become weapons to tear down structures of democracy and social media is the tool that can make it happen.

11. #Medialiteracy in primary & secondary education can curb misinformation but those most prone are adults currently navigating propaganda on Facebook. Trump is part of a virus that science can't cure, he and people like him have created a monster that will outlive its creators.

12. AND for that reason, if people truly believe in freedom, the values of democracy, the sacrifices of war, don't let those, who can use social media to weaponize division between family & friends, to become rooted in conspiracy belief - factual information isn't poison. END.