There is a general distrust of politicians based on the fact that they always lie, that they are self-serving, promise the earth and never deliver and spin everything so that black becomes white.

Nobody trusts them.

Making politicians accountable for their actions has proved difficult due to the media (for various reasons) being controlled by the politicians themselves or their backers. They feed us on a diet of propaganda within which democracy is strangled.

That is the background. It’s the swamp Trump refers to.

It has driven many people away from all mainstream media and to doubt anything reported in mainstream media or from the mouths of politicians.

In the past, we (the more discerning and less gullible) would apply healthy scepticism and read between the lines. Now we have the internet.

The internet has become the source of information for many people. The premise is that the media lies and the internet is a more reliable source of information; except it isn’t.

The internet is worse that the media, far worse. It’s a platform for every nutcase, anyone looking to make money (look at Alex Jones), every nasty propagandist, big business with vested interests and the organised political groups that, for their own ends, want to spread chaos and disbelief.

So we have the petrochemical industry.

Right-wing propaganda machines.

Spreaders of conspiracy theory for profit – like Alex Jones and a number of other nutcases who have made millions.

Companies with vested interests.

Foreign powers.

They spread false rumours, put out lies, create conspiracies, stoke up disbelief and stir up hate. They thrive on division.

The result of this has been:

The election of Trump, Johnson, Bolsonaro and a raft of populist self-servers.

Brexit.

A fear of vaccination.

Disbelief in global warming.

The daft rise of QAnon nutcases.

Disbelief in scientists and experts.

A rise in superstition and flat-earthers.

Beliefs in bizarre conspiracies – we never landed on the moon, 9/11 was run by the CIA, the UN is a world government, the Democrats are paedophile lizard aliens, they eat babies, planes are seeding the air with some unknown chemical.

It’s interfered with votes in crucial elections. It has brought the USA to the brink of civil war.

All so that some can gain power and wealth.

Of course, there is a grain of truth in everything. Most politicians are greedy, lying bastards. But at least things were stable and we weren’t subject to this extremism.

I preferred things as they were. Conspiracy is taking us to the brink of annihilation. Global warming is not a conspiracy. The petrochemical industry, along with politicians like Trump, has undermined a global response that might have saved us. Global warming is going to be catastrophic. It hasn’t even started properly yet. Conspiracy is likely to see our demise.