Irish Examiner view: Fake news is another pandemic

Participants scuffle at a rally under the slogan "Free citizens Kassel - basic rights and democracy" in Kassel, Germany.

Now that time has begun to do what it always does — confer a more complete perspective — we can offer thanks for the last American presidency even if only for one aspect of it. That misadventure showed what happens when an unanchored force uses disinformation to achieve its objectives. It might be tempting to dismiss the suggestion that such an up-the-garden-path strategy might work here with the disdain of a Parisien rejecting a vaccine because it was not made in France but that would be foolish. Dangerous too.

Saturday’s anti-lockdown march in Dublin was a modest affair involving around 150 souls but 11 were arrested. Others were fined for ignoring public health guidelines. It is difficult, and disheartening, to try to understand why people, even if only a tiny minority, subscribe to views so very contrary to public health advice.