It is like ringing a Pavlovian bell. And so, the masses are trained to respond. Motivation is most often by implanting irrational fears (the invisible covid-19 causing death, seemingly random acts of violence, etc., etc.,) followed by shaming those resistant to complying with "expected" insane behavior. Note that the financial costs to implement such a strategy are negligible and nationwide distribution is within in minutes or maybe hours - what an ROI!