From “the discourse” you would think that Americans are all furious about the mitigation measures that were taken during the pandemic. Not true:
Even the school closings are supported by 60% of the public. As David Roberts pointed out on BlueSky:
It was really eye-opening, during Covid, watching right-wingers deploy the media tactics & infrastructure they’d spent decades developing to deliberately & completely hijack public discourse. An absolute case study in how a relatively small group of cranks can manipulate a democracy.
I think it led directly to RFK Jr’s popularity leading up to the 2024 election and his appointment to HHS where he is now in the process of destroying the U.S. health system, which was already in trouble. So much of what we are suffering now, from Trump to Musk to Hegseth to Bobby Jr, all of it, is the result of this distorted information environment. Until we deal with that, reality and truth are going to be at a catastrophic disadvantage.