This is a one of those 'read it and make up your own mind' books.

A State of Fear by Laura Dodsworth. It's about fear - fear of a virus, fear of death, fear of losing our jobs, our human connections, health and our minds. It's also about how the government weaponised our fear against us - supposedly in our best interests, until we were the most frightened country in Europe. Questions include -

"Why did the government deliberately frighten us, and how has this affected us as individuals and as a country? Who is involved in the decision-making that affects our lives? How does the media leverage fear? Ahead of any official inquiry into the handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, Laura Dodsworth explores all these questions and more, in a thought-provoking discussion of an extraordinary year in British life and politics."

I didn't read the whole book so I just dipped in and out of it, but some of the newspaper headlines and TV news that the author researched is incredible. Here are a few..
From The Daily Star, 23th July 2020 - "Baldies are 40% more at risk of Coronavirus says US study."
The Daily Mirror, 12th November 2020 - Covid survivors could have life threatening allergic reaction to hair dye."
The Daily Telegraph, 28th July 2020 - People over 6ft have double the risk of Coronavirus.
Where would we be without our media??

sascha · F

Can we see now that we have no freedom, and that our liberties are superficial and subject to change, particularly when we collectively endorse and allow it?

Words that media outlets use should be read and considered properly. "Says US study" means one US study, and "could" only means it is possible, according to what is still likely to be one study. The Telegraph article had the words "study suggests" included, and "study" can mean anything. It usually means very minimal research, often in the form of a survey, conducted by very few researchers, with only a small group to survey.