You could be forgiven for thinking that disinformation and misinformation are new conditions afflicting our democracies. From rumours about pizza store paedophile rings, sneaky death taxes and COVID test microchips — it seems like all of a sudden our public life is flooded with absurd yet oddly believable reinterpretations of truth.But by diving into history we can discover that this is far from the first time that a new technology, empowering ordinary people to share information with massive groups of peers, can turn our social norms upside down. For good, and for ill.During the 1500s...…You could be forgiven for thinking that disinformation and misinformation are new conditions afflicting our democracies. From rumours about pizza store paedophile rings, sneaky death taxes and COVID test microchips — it seems like all of a sudden our public life is flooded with absurd yet oddly believable reinterpretations of truth.But by diving into history we can discover that this is far from the first time that a new technology, empowering ordinary people to share information with massive groups of peers, can turn our social norms upside down. For good, and for ill.During the 1500s...WW…