The debate between the two U.S. presidential candidates, Trump and Kamala Harris, became particularly controversial when Trump claimed that immigrants were stealing and eating locals’ pets.
This statement, naturally from Trump, sparked conversations not only in the U.S. but also across Western countries. Many can now add their own stories, claiming they witnessed such events firsthand, fuelling this new form of anti-immigrant rhetoric. For some, these claims aren’t just speculative but a certainty.
Equally certain for some is the claim that the pearl earrings Kamala Harris wore during the debate weren’t what they appeared but were, in fact, Bluetooth devices through which her team fed her lines.
Even if those earrings were smashed into pieces in public view, those predisposed to believe in such theories would remain unconvinced, seeing the reality not as it is, but as it’s been planted in their minds.
How many of Trump’s supporters now doubt that the Canadian Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, is the son of Fidel Castro?
In one of Trump’s rants, he claimed that Trudeau’s mother was rebellious, stayed out at clubs, and had remarked that Fidel Castro was “sexy.”
That, and the fact that Trudeau has thick hair —just like Castro— while his “father” was bald is, for Trump, proof of Trudeau’s lineage.
“Castro had great hair, his ‘father’ didn’t, and Justin has great hair and has become a communist just like Castro,” Trump wrote in one of his books.
These kinds of stories, whether born from a mad or a rational mind, spread like wildfire in dense forests, prevailing as accepted truths.
These “truths” can influence elections in a global superpower and, in turn, shape the future of humanity.
Perhaps human minds have always been vulnerable to conspiracy theories, but in the past, there wasn’t the means to transmit these ideas so rapidly and to such vast populations. Back then, someone might have said something in a village café, spreading it to a few listeners who might have passed it on, but the rumours would stay within the village or, at most, the neighbouring one.
Today, these ideas gain global traction almost instantly. No logical, scientific, or other explanation can undo the damage once the misinformation is out.
Despite all of humanity’s progress, it has never been easier to manipulate the masses.