A STATE OF FEAR

Author Laura Dodsworth begins her book with an analysis of Boris Johnson's televised speech on March 23, 2020 and its impact on the British population. Boris Johnson said in this speech, in which he appeared very nervous and inauthentic, that the coronavirus was the worst threat to the United Kingdom (UK) in decades and that the population had to stay at home from now on. The unbelievable threat scenario conveyed put people in a state of fear in which they can no longer reflect rationally and are automatically in fight or flight (fighting or fleeing).

From the outset, Laura Dodsworth herself was concerned about the disproportionality of the measures taken against the virus, especially as they were not evidence-based, did not comply with pandemic control protocols and were more reminiscent of totalitarian China.

From the first night the lockdown was announced, she had realized that she was more afraid of the authoritarianism that was likely to ensue than of death. 

At the beginning of January 2020, frightening videos from China showing people collapsing in dramatic fashion went viral in the UK. The first official case with a positive test was in the UK on January 31, 2020, clearly showing that viruses can spread quickly through the air, but fear can spread even faster. 

A closer analysis of the media's activities during the corona crisis makes it clear that the scenes in the videos must have been staged, in some cases amateurish, but that they were disseminated by the leading media without serious scrutiny, thereby creating and fuelling great fear among the population. A legitimate question in this context is whether it was and is not a covert psychological operation with the intention of deliberately creating fear. From a psychological point of view, the availability heuristic (availability heuristic or availability bias) served: We form a picture of the world based on the simplicity with which we can think of examples. For example, people overestimate the likelihood of a severe case of COVID-19 resulting in death when COVID deaths are reported every day and horrific images are presented. The British media also used corresponding images from Bergamo on March 19, 2020 with the army vehicles that transported the coffins to underline the catastrophic conditions and an incredibly high number of deaths, although there are also other now known explanations for this event: 70% of the morticians had to interrupt their work due to the quarantine, so the army had to be called in once to transport these 60 coffins. The few voices that tried to counter this were not heard. The consequences of the lockdown and other damage caused by government intervention were almost completely ignored by the media. 

In her assessment of the role of the media in the current situation, the author draws on statements by several journalists and also refers to Noam Chomsky's book "Manufacturing Consent"in which he describes the dependence of media and media companies on the financial interests and motivations of their owners and investors. Also published on April 23, 2020 Ofcomthe UK media regulator, has a strict reporting guideline on COVID, according to which misleading claims about COVID could also cause adverse effects. So anything the government claims is always considered accurate, anything else is considered fake. or completely concealed. This legitimizes one-sided reporting, i.e. propaganda.

Why do governments use fear? An alarmed population wants to be kept safe by the government. People will consciously sacrifice their freedom for their safety during a crisis. After a crisis, however, some governments may prolong or exaggerate the state of fear to keep the population submissive. The author cites the testimony of Silkie Carlo, the director of Big Brother Watch according to which restrictive measures can be easily enforced today, with very few people opposing them. There is an obvious moralization taking place: if you speak out against these measures, you are not speaking out against the restriction of freedom, but directly against life. 

Fear also generates and promotes denunciation and "scapegoating". As a result, numerous "fact-checker" sites have sprung up on the internet, some of them run by prominent politicians, who "pillory" and denigrate people who express criticism of government statements and measures. These critics are portrayed as more extreme than they actually are, which manifests itself in labels such as "corona deniers", "conspiracy theorists" and similar irrational terms. Democratic cornerstones such as a free press and freedom of expression are being trampled underfoot and abolished under the pretext of measures to combat the pandemic, although these are even more important in times of crisis.

Completely healthy people were portrayed as potentially infectious and treated, even though numerous scientific studies have shown that asymptomatic transmission poses no real risk. People without masks were described as epidemiological time bombs. Not getting vaccinated is described as irresponsible. People who spoke out against the measures were given a narrative of dehumanization. One German doctor, for example, spoke out in favor of refusing hospital treatment to those who do not want to be vaccinated.

The author brings the statement of Piers Robinson, a political scientist and the deputy director of the Organization for Propaganda Studies, according to which COVID-19 is too good a crisis for governments to let it go to waste. The war on terror has already been used for propaganda purposes to wage completely different wars. This time, however, we are destroying ourselves. The current situation is a great propaganda opportunity. In addition to the censorship of dissenting opinions false flagsThe use of manipulation, repetition, manipulation of facts and manipulation of emotions, using targeted methods of behavioral psychology. These processes should be thoroughly investigated and those who are complicit in them as experts should be held accountable.

Laura Dodsworth describes her participation in protest demonstrations as a journalist. She sees the sometimes brutal actions of the police as a strategy to tell a politically heated story in the media and to denounce the people demonstrating against the restriction of basic rights and portray them as enemies. 

Different demonstrations were also treated differently in the UK. One can therefore wonder whether the virus behaves differently in different crowds. For example, recreational events and protests against government measures were classified as dangerous and their participants were labeled as selfish, egotistical, endangering others or as COVID idiots. In contrast, the Black Lives Matter protests that took place on 31 May 2020 were seen as very important and meaningful, with many politicians, including the Mayor of London, showing solidarity with the participants. Interestingly, none of these events were followed by an increase in the number of infections.

Nudging plays an important role in COVID-19 propaganda. Nudging (coined by Cass Sunstein) means subtly moving people in a certain direction without pressure, coercion or economic incentives, without people being aware of this influence. Many behavioral scientists and psychologists are now working on the possible applications of nudging to steer broad sections of the population, including by governments.

Nudging is used to avoid discussions, to reject certain options in decision-making processes or to clearly guide people towards pre-defined choices. Nudging methods are also clearly being used in the current situation.

By creating paternalistic structures, the population is led to believe that decisions and actions are made in their interest and for their own good, without allowing for participatory decision-making. It is therefore important that the use of propaganda and marketing is brought into the public debate.

How science is politically abused, especially in Germany, is shown by the example of the "panic paper" leaked by the Federal Ministry of the Interior in spring 2020 and the associated email correspondence, in which State Secretary Markus Kerber clearly demands a corresponding tendentious work from the scientists involved, which could be used to justify so-called preventive and repressive measures. The author quotes the relevant passages in which the choking images are induced, with which children are to be persuaded that they are to blame for the death of their grandparents because they do not wash their hands. The German government did not follow science, but dictated its will to science. 

Examples of nudging methods

• In order to increase the perceived threat among the population, little attention was paid to the fact that the risk of becoming seriously ill with COVID-19 and dying differs depending on age group and comorbidity. Instead, the correlation "infected - sick - dead" was suggested. As a result, the population overestimates the actual risk of contracting and dying from COVID-19.
• Overestimating this risk leads to the emergence of a climate of overcaution and collectivism. Anyone who deviates from this is labeled negatively, for example as a "COVID idiot" or "corona denier", and made a scapegoat for the fact that the virus is difficult to control or for the ineffectiveness of non-evidence-based, non-pharmaceutical interventions. 
• Behavioral norms and their social control were installed with social punishment (COVIDiot) for non-compliance and social reward (COVID-hero) for norm-compliant behavior.
• Use of the "mood-congruence" effect in the generation of fear: depending on the mood we are in, correspondingly toned memories are also recalled. This creates a fear spiral: fearful images and fearful sentences generate fear, which evokes fearful memories, which in turn reinforce the feeling of fear and thus also the willingness to follow the government's instructions.
• Using the results of opinion polls to influence public opinion in a direction desired by the government (e.g. pro-vaccination).
• "Fundamental attribution errors" in the actions and self-presentation of the government: it is thanks to oneself, i.e. the government, if something has gone well; but if something has not worked well, it is always the fault of others, e.g. the citizens who do not comply with the measures or the "evil lateral thinkers" who sabotage the measures.
• Use of dehumanizing language towards critics, "dissenters": "COVIDiot", "corona denier", etc.
• Use of war vocabulary or making parallels with the Second World War or a state of war in connection with COVID-19: "killer virus".
• Personalization of risk: you not only have an increased risk of falling ill and dying, but you also is even the risk (for parents, grandparents, etc.) The virus narrative makes us enemies of each other. Some statements by doctors even suggest that we have become bio-terrorists and that breathing is an offensive weapon when infected with COVID-19.
• Creating feelings of guilt: If you don't follow the instructions, you put other people and your own family members at risk. Everyone becomes a potential killer. 
• "Foot-in-the-door" technique: The duration of the lockdown was initially announced for 3 weeks, but then extended again and again.
• The main use of masks in public is not to protect against infection (there are numerous scientific publications on this), but to demonstrate compliance with the norm, collectivism and conformism. They are also a visible sign of constant danger and solidarity on the one hand, and serve to build up social pressure and distinguish between "joiners" and "rebels" on the other.
• Confusion and uncertainty among the population with rapidly changing, sometimes contradictory orders (sometimes lockdown, sometimes "normality", "new normality"), criteria for risk assessment (number of infected people, R-value), etc., which increases the population's fear and their willingness to follow the government's authority.

Videos featuring celebrities who used emotional manipulation to promote the vaccination campaign were distributed to increase the willingness of the population to be vaccinated. Claims were made that were either partially or completely unrelated to the health effects of vaccination, such as that we would regain our freedoms, that we could be reunited with our families, that we could save someone's life if we were vaccinated. At the same time, it was claimed that there are no significant side effects of vaccination, which does not stand up to scientific scrutiny.

The fact that people think more slowly under fear and are less amenable to logical arguments than emotional ones has been exploited by the media and politicians. For example, in relation to COVID-19, high numbers, steep lines in graphs, were presented without reference to other causes of death and disease, which on the one hand increased people's anxiety and stress levels and on the other hand further reduced their ability to think rationally and logically. There was also no cost-benefit analysis of such serious measures, the negative consequences of the pandemic control measures such as unemployment, the lengthening of the waiting list in the healthcare system, missed screenings for cancer and thus their deterioration, increased mental health problems and suicides (which could occur months and years after the pandemic), national debt, business closures, etc. were not addressed. 

In addition, certain metrics were misused by the government by repeatedly referring only to people with a COVID-19 diagnosis based on a PCR test (a single positive PCR test is not an effective diagnostic tool for an infection) in hospitals, regardless of what other diagnoses were available. To make matters worse, there were a large number of patients who had only become infected with COVID-19 in hospital. The population in the UK was also misled and exposed to propaganda regarding the death figures, just as in Germany. The so-called current death figures, which were presented to people on a daily basis, were falsified by reporting delays, so that on some days more deaths appeared in the tables than actually died on that day. In addition, COVID-19 deaths included all those who had a positive PCR test at the time of death or weeks before, regardless of the actual cause of death. According to the author, it must also be assumed that many death certificates, on the basis of which the death figures are determined both in the UK and in Germany, were issued incorrectly, as the judgments of the doctors issuing them are not checked. 

Political decisions are made, or at least "falsely justified", on the basis of this falsified data. 

In Laura Dodsworth's view, our current situation has great parallels with religious cults and sects. Numerous authors cited in the book provide evidence of this: 

• the role of priests is assumed by scientists; those who express a dissenting opinion are labeled heretics and scapegoats
• Introduction of a new language: "social distancing", "self-isolation", etc.
• Infantilization and incapacitation of people, depriving them of basic control mechanisms: Curfew, ban on social contact
• Paternalization and totalization of the state: governing with ordinances and decrees, suppression of discussions
• Creating and cultivating powerlessness, dependencies, shame and guilt in order to better influence people.
• Polarization of society: those who conform to the rules are glorified, critics are demonized.
• Framing natural events in a certain way to achieve obedience from members. The world outside the sect (country, city or narrative) is presented as very dangerous.
• Massive threats: anyone who does not abide by the rules will kill others. Drastic penalties for violations.

The author describes this as a "social experiment" in which the population was involved and asks how it would be possible to deprogram people from this cult-like way of thinking? 

It is already clear that the price of this social experiment is very high:

• Many thousands of additional deaths in the coming decades due to economic effects such as reduced income and unemployment, postponed or canceled operations, disruption of emergency care, fear of seeking medical help in the event of a heart attack or stroke.
• Deteriorating mental health: increase in depression, anxiety disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder and other mental disorders in adults and children
• Increase in the number of homeless people and the number of victims of domestic violence.
• Significant deterioration in the economic situation

Why is fear mongering by the government harmful? 

1. Anxiety delays recovery by delaying the return to normal living conditions, which sets up even more damage.
2. The public was not asked for consent and was not informed about subliminal manipulation methods (nudging); the ethical requirements were not observed.
3. Fear causes collateral damage, yet the government has never carried out a cost-benefit analysis of its COVID-19 policy.
4. The political leaders create a false moral authority and profit from it.
5. The use of fear is anti-democratic because fear affects our ability to assess risk. This creates a vicious circle: fear clouds our judgment, which then encourages reliance on the government, which creates even more fear, which in turn paralyzes us even more.

Laura Dodsworth addresses the fact that the vaccination program is being constructed as a "happy ending" to this terrible story of the COVID-19 pandemic with elements of emotional manipulation and coercive control. Those who doubt the effectiveness and benefits of vaccination are referred to as anti-vaccinationists and vaccination sceptics, which suggests pathologization and belittlement. On the one hand, they are portrayed as "stupid" and ridiculous, but on the other hand, the inevitability of vaccination is emphasized. This is done through statements and phrases that are sometimes misleading or even factually incorrect, which are very similar in many languages and raise the question of covert coordination. At the same time, coercive measures regarding vaccination are repeatedly discussed, which, however, is not compatible with democracy and personal responsibility.

How can such disasters (political manipulation of the people, disproportionate government measures and, as a result, extreme individual, social and economic damage) be prevented in the future?

1. Evidence-based pandemic planning and preparedness instead of irrational, fear-driven decisions with massive, disproportionate collateral damage.
2. Responsible media that provide diverse reporting in the spirit of freedom of opinion, enabling people to deal with the issue rationally.
3. Pluralistic expert committees
4. Individual autonomous action by responsible citizens
5. An investigation into the role of behavioral psychology and nudging.

The way the pandemic has been managed should teach us that we should be vigilant about an "invisible" government nudging us and forcing behavioral changes by manipulating our emotions.

The COVID-19 pandemic is likely to prove to be one of the biggest fear campaigns in the UK and globally. It is well known that fear breeds a desire for authoritarian control. Nudging undermines free will. Using fear as a weapon undermines democracy, freedom and humanity. If we truly believe in freedom, we must also believe that we deserve it and exercise our self-responsibility. Let us refuse to live in a state of fear. As we recover from the pandemic, we must also relearn trust and transparency.