And in July, rapper Kanye West told Forbes that he believed a coronavirus vaccine could “put chips inside of us.”
Unfortunately, the Pandemic and those who denied its true impact on the world increased in magnitude once more celebrities came out to express similar conspiracies. My own father partook in the spreading of the vaccine rumors and did his best to convince me not to get the vaccine. There were celebrities who I never even thought would believe such outlandish theories about the vaccines and the virus itself that amplified misinformation across the web. These conspiracy theories not only put people at physical risk but also affect the mental state of people in their "impact zone" by directly affecting relationships amongst family members and friends. This is similar to the 2016 US Presidential Election and the infamous Thanksgiving Clapbacks that occurred soon thereafter. Donald Trump directly affected my family after both of these massive events. These celebrities and influencers need to be held accountable for the spreading of disinformation. It seems as though the Pandemic has changed the way people interact with influencers by fact-checking everything they say or put out into the digital world. This needs to continue and will continue to be an effective method to disbursing ideaologies and groups similar to Q-Anon.