Can famous Dutch people be trusted as your daily information source about COVID-19?

The era of media communication tools
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused resistance towards authorities and governments all around the world. Also, in the Netherlands; the government has implemented rules and restrictions on its citizens including closing theatres, closing restaurants, and only allowing a maximum number of people in one space etc. During the summertime, a number of famous Dutch people (BN’ers) collectively decided that they did not want to adhere to the Corona measures anymore. They started the hashtag “#FreeThePeople” and communicated this via their social media accounts. In these posts, they called their followers to action, instructing them to stand up against the governmental measures.

Algorithms to fight … Algorithms?

Nowadays, the Internet has become the main news information source for a lot of people. In fact, by reading this blog in a web browser you are embracing the process of digital revolution. Platforms like Facebook, Twitter or Google have overtaken traditional media forms. Moreover, messaging apps like WhatsApp have enabled people to easily share news information with others. As a result, news information sources are no longer subject to traditional gatekeepers (Barkun, 2016). We’re heading for a “post-truth” world in which it is not factchecked knowledge that shapes opinions, but rather news information that is most influential online (Lewandowski et al., 2017). But who or what determines what news information is “trending” or “interesting” for someone? And what if this news information consists of fake news?

The science behind conspiracy theories

Bill Gates is planning to implant secret chips in all humans through a COVID-19 vaccine. The Rothschild family is in charge of all global finances. 9/11 was an inside job. Lizard people rule the world. NASA faked the moon landing. These claims are some examples of major conspiracy theories from the last century (McGinnis, 2020). Conspiracy theories are intellectual constructs that, in their simplest form, try to explain the cause of an event (Barkun, 2016). Most conspiracy theories thrive on the idea that nothing is what it seems, and there is something or someone behind all significant events in world history (Butter, 2018)