To flatten the Covid-19 curve, it will help if we can find ways of flattening the conspiracy theory curve too.

Last week Facebook announced it would inform users if they had liked or commented on Covid-19-related posts that later turned out to contain harmful misinformation.

This is a start, but think of the millions of other passive readers, those who didn’t like or comment on the posts, but still exposed themselves to toxic ideas. Can we vaccinate people against conspiracy theories? Some would argue that this is one of the goals of our education system.

READ Facebook: Mark Zuckerberg pledges warning labels for millions of fake Covid-19 posts

Another significant psychological consequence of the Covid-19 pandemic, or rather our response to it, is rising levels of loneliness. Physical distancing and lockdown measures have disrupted and diminished opportunities for face-to-face social interaction.