Sometimes I feel like a broken record when writing about infectious disease-based public health threats. There are real threats, such as multi-drug resistant Tuberculosis, but these are rarely discussed. And then there is the psychological (eg. information) bioterrorism, the fear porn, a hyped narrative concerning an existential threat repeatedly injected into public discourse and then intentionally amplified to the point that it becomes perverse and, in some cases disabling obsession for many.

Fear porn refers to mainstream media content that deliberately and enticingly plays on people’s fears about disaster, disease, and death. It is often used to describe sensationalized and exaggerated reports or stories that aim to provoke strong emotional reactions, such as fear, anxiety, or outrage. This type of content can be found in various forms of media, including news, social media, and online articles.

The bottom line here is that many national and global actors have long been known to exploit existential fear of infectious disease for political and economic benefit, and that there is a standard playbook for how this is performed. Therefore, the first thing that should come to your mind when you see this type of messaging being deployed and amplified in corporate media is the question, “Who and what is benefitting from this messaging”?

https://www.malone.news/p/avian-influenza-updated-threat-assessment?