Conspiracy theories linking “15-minute cities” to sinister ploys to control people may once have been the preserve of fringe groups on social media, but have they now entered the mainstream of British politics?
Speaking at the Conservative Party conference on Monday, Transport Secretary Mark Harper said he was “calling time on the misuse of so-called ‘15-minute cities’”.
Mr Harper did not respond to the BBC’s requests to clarify his comments, which appear to echo conspiracy theories about sinister plots linked to the concept of “15-minute cities”.
But online, a separate conversation appeared to be taking place - one that tapped into genuine grievances against the trial, blending them with rumours pushed by far-right blogs and fringe media outlets around the world.
On social media, some users suggested this was part of a sinister plot to confine people to their local areas for the sake of the environment.
In February, Nick Fletcher, Conservative MP for Don Valley, asked the government to hold a debate on what he described as “the international socialist concept of so-called 15-minute cities and 20-minute neighbourhoods”, which he said “will take away personal freedoms”.
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Conspiracy theories linking “15-minute cities” to sinister ploys to control people may once have been the preserve of fringe groups on social media, but have they now entered the mainstream of British politics?
Speaking at the Conservative Party conference on Monday, Transport Secretary Mark Harper said he was “calling time on the misuse of so-called ‘15-minute cities’”.
Mr Harper did not respond to the BBC’s requests to clarify his comments, which appear to echo conspiracy theories about sinister plots linked to the concept of “15-minute cities”.
But online, a separate conversation appeared to be taking place - one that tapped into genuine grievances against the trial, blending them with rumours pushed by far-right blogs and fringe media outlets around the world.
On social media, some users suggested this was part of a sinister plot to confine people to their local areas for the sake of the environment.
In February, Nick Fletcher, Conservative MP for Don Valley, asked the government to hold a debate on what he described as “the international socialist concept of so-called 15-minute cities and 20-minute neighbourhoods”, which he said “will take away personal freedoms”.
The original article contains 961 words, the summary contains 187 words. Saved 81%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!