The COVID-19 pandemic’s legacy of distrust, confusion, conspiracies, death, illness, and disinformation continues, even as we have accepted that the viral illness will be among us for years to come.And as much as we try to convince ourselves that we are logically thinking, well-informed people in Barbados, we continue to be influenced by the information and disinformation emanating from the mass media, and most important – social media.This not only applies to the man on the street, but in many cases, it includes our political and business leaders, who are also impacted by the influential content coming at us from various formats.The battle for the hearts and minds of citizens on issues related to the pandemic emerged again recently as the Barbados Hotel and Tourism Association (BHTA) pushed for a review of the legal requirement to wear masks in public places.The organisation, that represents the major players in our vital tourism industry, insists that we are losing market share to some of our regional neighbours and other destinations such as Mexico who have dropped the requirement.
