Covid misinformation takes its toll on British doctors, teachers

Conspiracies thrive in U.K. as as doctors struggle with Covid variant "In the U.K., we can look at the U.S. and take that as a warning sign of where things may be heading," one misinformation expert said. NBC News

LONDON — British front-line workers who were applauded on doorsteps in the early weeks of the pandemic now confront a torrent of polarization and misinformation.

Doctors, teachers and other exhausted workers say they are feeling incredibly demoralized after reading social media posts insisting Covid-19 is a hoax or overblown. And that has had serious, real-world consequences in recent weeks, with demonstrators picketing hospitals and hurling abuse at health care staff.

Some researchers say the polarization between British people who are sucked in by these ideas and those who aren't is becoming more extreme — and in turn more like the United States.

In the U.K., we can look at the U.S. and take that as a warning sign of where things may be heading if we're not careful enough," said Sander van der Linden, a professor of social psychology in society at the University of Cambridge. ...

Conspiracy theories are far from new here, and Britain has grappled with coronavirus-related misinformation since the start of the pandemic. But now "the polarization has become more intense, and more like the U.S.," van der Linden said. ...