How can you order a farmer to destroy their trees? I hope he fights in a higher court. Wish I'd heard about the nectarine giveaway. I'd have gone to pick some.
I personally think it's data overload. The disruption of COVID pushed a lot of people over the edge. They went into a mental lockdown. Rather than filtering on importance, they instead filtered on whole topics.
It's worth noting that the right, in most countries, shifted to a gish-gallop information mentality. This happened around the same time as COVID (though the build up started before e.g Brexit). For those able to rapidly filter, it's just really annoying. To those who relied on authority to filter, it's devastating.
It's the same method as "brave new world" talked about. Swamp important information in a storm of noise.