Everybody knows:

1. Experts always get it wrong.
2. You can’t trust scientists they are all employed by Big Business or Governments.
3. Science doesn’t have answers.
4. Governments always lie.
5. The establishment controls everything.
6. We are all being fed a diet of misinformation.
7. All politicians are greedy, self-serving scum.
8. The whole mainstream media is controlled by the government.
9. We are being lied to and manipulated by everyone.
10. We need to get ‘the real facts’ from other sources.

I used to select my newspapers with the knowledge of their ownership and bias. I used to watch news on the telly with a skeptical eye. I mixed up a variety of inputs. I read between the lines and tried to keep abreast of situations.

I am a scientist so I am used to reading scientific papers. I look at the sources. I am well aware that the Oil Industry will pump out propaganda about Green Energy. I know that the tobacco industry used to tell us how healthy smoking was. I know the power of Big Pharma and the Agriculture industries. I add that into my thinking.

As an intelligent, rational, well-educated human being I rate myself capable of reaching well-thought-through conclusions.

The right-wingers, under the likes of Trump, Farage and Johnson, have spent the last decade disparaging experts, undermining science, spreading disinformation and supporting conspiracy. It was in their interests to sow the seeds of doubt and undermine the establishment.

Now, I have always been very anti-establishment. I know the entire system is run by the wealthy to maintain the wealth of the wealthy, to gain power and control us. I know Big Business just wants to exploit us and make lots of money. That’s obvious.

But… the end result of all this knocking experts, scientists, media and the establishment is that nobody knows what to believe anymore, nobody trusts any source of information and the conspiracists have risen in power. All this confusion is just what the right-wingers want. They have exploited it ruthlessly:

There are swamps to be drained

We don’t trust experts or scientists

All mainstream media tells lies

The establishment is pushing great conspiracies – like climate change and covid vaccination – in order to fleece us

Everything said against them is fake news

The only people you can trust are Trump, Farage, Johnson and Tice

So people turn to the internet and choose to believe conspiracy spreaders like David Icke and Alex Jones (who have made millions out of it). Social Media connects people and reinforces these nutty and often dangerous ideas. Deliberate disinformation and malicious information is targeted by interested parties – enemy governments, big business, political parties. Conspiracy groups like QAnon rise and gain traction.

Our algorithms are studied – Alexa knows more about us that we do ourselves – our political views, likes, dislikes and hates. He who has access to that information has the power to manipulate us

Now governments interfere with elections in other countries

Lies and disinformation are carefully targeted

Elon Musk runs disinformation on Twitter

Fake news is a cry when the right-wingers are accused of lying

We think elections were stolen, court cases rigged and a rapist, serial sex pest, repeated felon billionaire is really a good guy who has been framed and has the interests of working people at heart

We believe that immigrants are paradoxically taking all our jobs and scrounging off the system. They eat pets and are wrecking the country. Their all murderers, terrorists, drug dealers, rapists and thieves who work in gangs and target white women. It’s immigrants making us poor and not the billionaires profiteering.

We think the holocaust didn’t happen

We never landed on the moon

Putin is a good guy

Covid was a con

The CIA blew up the twin towers

Global warming is a global conspiracy

The Earth is flat

The only real source of information is via our selected internet site run by Cindy-Lou in Texas. She may be illiterate, having dropped out of school in the fourth grade, but she has her finger on the pulse. God directs her. We believe everything Cindy-Lou says. It’s backed up by Alex Jones, David Icke and Fox News. Besides, Elon Musk wouldn’t put it out on Twitter (X) if it wasn’t true and all my buddies on social media wouldn’t fall for it!

So, we were persuaded to vote Brexit, even though it is costing us an arm and leg, we elected a total self-serving, incompetent, lying clown as PM, suffered 14 years of corruption and the destruction of our public services and now have a fascist, lying nincompoop as a President!

I think I preferred it when I knew where I stood. We knew we were being conned but it was not as extreme.

So who do we believe? Where is this heading?

Who has their finger on the nuclear trigger? Is Donald, Mickey or Goofy?