Dealing with mis/disinformation at the local level [VGS]
“The small town of Totnes in Devon is known for its warmth and open-mindedness, gong baths and healing crystals, but a fault line has emerged between the minority who’ve been drawn in by disinformation laced with hate and those who are fighting against it.” [Marianna in Conspiracyland – BBC Radio 4]
.
The VGS is part of the Transition Town movement – and Totnes is where it was born back in 2006:
We believe community activism can make a huge difference. With transition comes change, resilience and adaptation. And our Totnes community is key to shaping the places we love to live. Transition Town Totnes
Totnes in Devon might be the most forward-thinking eco settlement in the world. As fossil-fuel reserves dwindle and the economy contracts, will resident-led Transition Towns become the way that we all live? Totnes: Britain’s town of the future | Transition towns | The Guardian
The movement does not pull its punches on the key issues – with the founder being very critical of attempts to undermine moves to limit climate change back in 2009: Six Things We Know For Sure in the Wake of ‘Climate Gate’ – resilience
Totnes is perhaps the place to establish a movement which challenges complacency:
On the ‘Welcome to Totnes’ sign that greets people to the town somebody added ‘Twinned with Narnia’ below it. It’s been removed since by those who don’t have a sense of humour, but to me it’s a perfect description of Totnes. The town has been described as ‘New Age’, ‘Alternative’ and even ‘eccentric’ but however you like to describe it, Totnes is different to any other town in the South Hams, or even Devon for that matter. The alternative lifestyle that many people in and around Totnes have adopted originally stems from the Dartington Hall Estate, and in particular the ideas of Dorothy and Leonard Elmhirst who came here in 1925. Dartington is just a couple of miles outside of Totnes and I’ve given it a separate page, but for now I’ll just say that it’s somewhere that specializes in the ‘arts, social justice and sustainability’. Totnes – Twinned with Narnia – Easymalc’s Wanderings
Since the pandemic, however, there has been what many consider to be a very disturbing ‘challenge to complacency’ happening in Totnes.
As residents in Totnes went about their usual Sunday routines, an unknown number of volunteers were busy posting copies of ‘The Light’ through letterboxes across town Anger in Totnes as Covid ‘anti-vax’ propaganda posted through letterboxes – Devon Live
This has been the starting point to a new series on BBC Radio 4:
What’s happening in the Devon town of Totnes? The small town of Totnes in Devon is known for its warmth and open-mindedness, gong baths and healing crystals, but a fault line has emerged between the minority who’ve been drawn in by disinformation laced with hate and those who are fighting against it. Some in the town were drawn into a conspiracy theory movement during the pandemic, one whose monthly marches and rallies persist to this day. A conspiracy theory newspaper called The Light seems to have played a key part in the division there. BBC disinformation and social media correspondent Marianna Spring investigates how the theories that dominate its pages are changing the town. Marianna in Conspiracyland – 1. Entering Conspiracyland – BBC Sounds
The wider media has taken up the story: The Light: Inside the UK’s conspiracy theory newspaper that shares violence and hate – BBC News and ‘Conspiracy theories have become normalised in the UK’, says BBC disinformation correspondent Marianna Spring
Including the Sidmouth Herald: Conspiracy ‘newspaper’ distributed around Sidmouth | Sidmouth Herald and Conspiracy newspaper The Light still circulating in Sidmouth | Sidmouth Herald
Here’s the conclusion from an interesting overview of how ‘New Age’ West Country has become embroiled in such conspiracy theories:
There’s just a mismatch between New Age spirituality and the demands of the time. Spirituality has a lot going for it, but it’s hyper-individualistic, super-intuitive, and deeply suspicious of mainstream news and mainstream science. It was never going to do great in a public health crisis. What’s happened should make us humble and realistic about the deep imperfections in western spirituality. We like to pride ourselves that we are the wisest, the most conscious, the most empathic, the avant garde of evolution. At the moment, we’re like any other narrow-minded and bigoted religious sect. Make love, not vaccines: why are New Age hippies so anti-vax? — Philosophy for Life
Finally, the VGS has recently looked at the broader picture: Dealing with mis/disinformation at the local level – Vision Group for Sidmouth