Why Do People Treat Covid19 Infections With Unproven Medicines?

Nick Robins-Early (a New York-based journalist) has speculated why so many people seem intent on treating Covid19 with 'a laundry list' of unproven 'medicines' like Ivermectin (https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/feb/17/quacks-cashed-in-world-quick-fix-covid-ivermectin-social-media-conspiracy-theories). Robins-Early maintains there is no single reason why people latch on to such bogus 'cures', ignoring the effective vaccines; antivirals etc. He suggests there is a desperate demand for a 'quick fix', as well as a limitless supply of medical misinformation (largely on social media). Robins-Early points out that there are many medical hucksters and conscience-free media influencers profiting directly and indirectly from the misinformation. He also says, however, that some people get an otherwise missing sense of belonging from their membership of a contrary community group. Evidence suggests that conspiracy movements tend to consume people, when they are at their most vulnerable. Robins-Early notes a recent paper in Journal of the American Medical Association, finding that people with symptoms of depression are twice as likely to express opinions containing medical misinformation, than people without such signs. The world-wide-web is simply a technology. It spreads information and misinformation equally quickly. It also appears, however, more likely to be used to establish disparate community groups than older types of media. We certainly need better regulation of the web.