[War & Business] Blood Moon and Infodemic

[Image source=NASA website/www.nasa.gov ]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunwoo Lee] As the novel coronavirus infection (Wuhan pneumonia) spreads, one of the recommendations issued by the World Health Organization (WHO) to countries is the management of 'infodemic.' Infodemic is a neologism combining the English words 'information' and 'epidemic,' meaning the rapid spread of rumors through social networking services (SNS) and other means, which can spread like an epidemic. Preventing this can help avoid greater damage.

In particular, infodemics spreading in extreme situations can shake national systems, so thorough management is crucial. There are cases in the Middle Ages where countries collapsed due to infodemics. The infodemic about the 'Blood Moon' during the 1453 Siege of Constantinople is famously known for causing the fall of the Eastern Roman Empire, which had withstood the siege for over 50 days, overnight.

Constantinople is the old name of present-day Istanbul, Turkey. The Ottoman Turkish army, which began its attack in early March 1453, struggled despite having ten times the number of troops and failed to succeed by the end of May. Although they attacked the walls daily with cannons for 50 days, the thick walls, which had been repeatedly repaired over a thousand years, showed no signs of collapsing. Rumors even spread that the Roman Papacy in the west would send reinforcements, causing the Turkish troops to fear being encircled in return, which severely lowered their morale.

Just when it was expected that the Turkish army would retreat if they held out a few more days, a natural phenomenon completely reversed the situation. It was the Blood Moon. During a total lunar eclipse, the moonlight scatters through the Earth's atmosphere, causing the moon to appear blood-red. Today, it is simply regarded as an astronomical observation event, but among the citizens of the Eastern Roman Empire, who were surrounded on all sides in an extreme situation, rumors spread that this phenomenon was a sign of doom. Soldiers who had been fighting well laid down their swords overnight, and the fortress fell the very next day.

Originally, the Blood Moon was considered a symbol of bad luck not only in Europe but also in the Mediterranean region. Although the Ottoman Turkish army's morale initially dropped, Emperor Mehmed II changed the atmosphere. Unlike the Eastern Romans, who dismissed it as mere rumors and did not respond at all, Mehmed II exploited the fact that the Blood Moon appeared when he ascended the throne as a symbol of victory to boost the army's morale. The different responses to the infodemic decisively influenced the outcome of the battle.