Thomas Theorem

The Thomas Theorem - 

The Thomas theorem is a theory of sociology which was formulated in 1928 by William Isaac Thomas and Dorothy Swaine Thomas (1899–1977) :

If men define situations as real, they are real in their consequences.

In other words, the interpretation of a situation causes the action. This interpretation is not objective. Actions are affected by subjective perceptions of situations. Whether there even is an objectively correct interpretation is not important for the purposes of helping guide individuals' behavior.

Most crises in the mainstream media - AGW, Systemic Racism, Police violence against minorities, Covid-19 (?), Radon Exposure, Cell Phones and Cancer, etc. - tend to be manufactured and perceived as real.  They are then acted on as real and with real consequences.  Usually with unanticipated negative outcomes.

This is, to some extent, just a modern variation of Hamlet's observation that:

There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so.