By all means, we are currently living in a post-truth epoch, where the average individual cannot discern truth from falsehood and is mentally indolent. It appears we are trapped in a contemporary version of Plato’s allegorical cave, where natural reality is distorted and clouded by WhatsApp humbugs and Facebook charlatans that are consistently misleading our near and dear ones.

In fact, the dramatic scene that Plato paints is almost analogous to our current quarantine predicament. If you think about it, at this very moment, most people are prisoners in their homes chained to their smartphones and TVs. Engrossed in the peripheral world of digital images, they rely solely on their senses and forsake the authority of their intellect. In most cases, their senses have driven them to a state where they cannot correctly analyze, criticize, or internalize any piece of news. Without being able to see the clear picture, they entrap themselves within false perceptions where the truth remains hidden.

Take, for example, the recent French study of twenty COVID-19 patients, which indicated that the drugs chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine may treat the coronavirus. You may have seen news articles or watched videos of pseudoscientists touting these drugs. You may have even heard public statements from various world leaders, including President Trump calling these drugs potential “game-changers.” However, the truth of the matter is that the efficacy of chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine against COVID-19 are at best unproven. If one were to read beyond headlines and actually take a look at the original study, they would very easily realize that the results were inconclusive. If anything, the study warns that in the wrong hands, these drugs can be lethal:“the margin between the therapeutic and toxic dose is narrow and chloroquine poisoning has been associated with cardiovascular disorders that can be life-threatening.” But despite countless warnings from health experts about the dangers of these drugs, their demand and consumption have continued to surge to the point where one man in Arizona fatally poisoned himself after taking a toxic derivative of chloroquine.