COVID-19 misinformation
According to the World Health Organization, the pandemic was also an infodemic, with misinformation spreading like disease. This was because social media let information spread quickly, because celebrities sometimes repeated conspiracy theories, and because many people were locked down at home without much else to listen to.  When doctors or government officials went on television to say these conspiracy theories were wrong, that only made people think the conspiracy theories were important enough for doctors and officials to talk about.  One group of scientists said governments could use conspiracy theories to distract people from real problems.