You would think it goes without saying that UK tourists currently in Turkey and those planning to visit during half-term should avoid the Turkish provinces of Kahramanmaraş, Gaziantep, Malatya, Diyarbakır, Kilis, Şanlıurfa, Adıyaman, Hatay, Osmaniye and Adana where the disastrous earthquake took place, but maybe the authorities thought it worth reinforcing the point in the light of Britain’s latest popular tourist spot St Michael’s on the Wyre, where Nicola Bulley has gone missing. Hundreds of people have arrived in the area, including the usual social media influencers and conspiracy theory loons. At a time when Ms Bulley’s family is desperate for word on what has happened to her, people have been turning up, some with their children – it’s been on telly, you see – and generally walking around, taking selfies, wandering through people’s gardens and even breaking into buildings, apparently to find her. This isn’t normal behaviour, is it?
Some people are heading to the bench where Bulley was last scene, commenting on how terrible it all is, than taking family photos. Things got so bad on Wednesday night that the police had to apply for a dispersal order.
There are social media groups – one on Facebook has 25,000 members – whose members appear to be convinced that there’s something going on that the public has not been told about. The usual psychic mediums and so-called “body language experts” have concluded that Bulley’s partner is a wrong ‘un. This sort of nonsense has caused numerous pile-ons, targeting the family. You would not be surprised to learn that some of the more extreme conspiracy theorists are card-carrying anti-vaxxers. That dark state moves in mysterious ways, even if no such state exists.
Just look at the state of a bloke called James McCormick who is a graphic designer. He lives nearby and went along to see for himself. Saying there was “no evidence” Ms Bulley fell in the river, he added: “If this is a case of a woman falling into a river and the police are tired of speculation, then just release the information that proves she’s in the river.” Mr McCormick, whose talents in graphic design may be considerable, does not know the facts anymore than you or me. Indeed, it may come as a great surprise to him that the police do not put in the public arena every bit of information they have. Given the proliferation of nut jobs who have entered the world of armchair detective work, who can blame them?
Social media can be a good thing and this excessive public reaction would probably have happened without it, but it helps no one if the police are having to spend time keeping ghouls and voyeurs – because that is what they are – at bay.
We do not know if there is anything dodgy about Ms Bulley’s disappearance so it’s best to keep quiet about it. Almost all conspiracy theories are based in idle conjecture and guesswork, not with evidence. I just hope the police find her soon. Nothing else matters.
