Anti-lockdown protests have been hijacked by conspiracy theorists

IN MANY COUNTRIES citizens have in the past few months faced restrictions on their personal freedoms unprecedented outside wartime. Many have been confined to their homes; those venturing out have found restaurants, bars, cinemas, theatres and sports stadiums closed; they have been advised and in many places obliged to wear face-coverings; and large gatherings have been frowned on or banned outright. It is not surprising that all of this has met some resistance. And as lockdown restrictions have eased, in a number of places people have taken to the streets to protest against the remaining constraints. What has been surprising is the nature and content of those protests.