Remarks on conspiracy theory entrepreneurs

Diogenes ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 039219212094560
Author(s):  
Véronique Campion-Vincent
Keyword(s):  
Conspiracy Theory ◽  
Conspiracy Theories ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Media ◽  
The Subject ◽  
The Universe

This note presents an outline of the social and intellectual conditions accounting for the rise of “conspiracy entrepreneurs”, that is these heterodox thinkers who make a living from their denunciations and revelations on the malevolent organisations and characters who really lead the universe. A special attention has been focused on the reports concerning conspiracy entrepreneurs in the media, which describe them as eccentric and thus entertaining. After the presentation of some studies of David Icke's reptilian hypothesis, a question is raised: is it not legitimate to assert that academics studying conspiracy theories are themselves conspiracy entrepreneurs through their role in the spread of the subject of their studies.

CONSPIRACY THEORIES AS A PHENOMENON OF MEDIA IMPACT ON PUBLIC CONSCIOUSNESS

2020 ◽  
pp. 94-102
Author(s):  
Andrei A. Khokhlov ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Conspiracy Theory ◽  
Conspiracy Theories ◽  
Media Impact ◽  
Modern Media ◽  
The Social ◽  
Public Consciousness ◽  
The Media ◽  
The Russian Federation ◽  
Official Information ◽  
Alternative Theories

The article deals with the issue of spreading conspiratorial ideas in social networks and in the media, in connection with the COVID19 epidemic in the Russian Federation. A brief overview of the most well-known scientific approaches to the study of non-conventional concepts and various “conspiracy theories” is given. Special attention is paid to the connection of the conspiracy theories with postmodern ideas and a critical attitude to any official information from authoritative sources. It is emphasized that the equality of statements, that was insisted on by the supporters of postmodernism, leads to an increase in information noise and blurring the boundaries between fact and fiction. Modern conspiracy theory is the audience’s reaction to alarmism in official media publications. The author denotes an increase in such perceptions in the context of the crises, catastrophes and epidemics. An attempt is made to identify typical conspiracy versions for the causes of the coronavirus epidemic in the Russian segment of the social network Facebook. The article examines the fact of the growing popularity of “alternative theories” in the context of social fears of Russians, in connection with the deepening economic crisis and the prospect of losing their jobs. The growth of conspiracy ideas is analyzed in connection with the phenomenon of media influence on public consciousness. The functions of modern media are determined by the gradual replacement of the social reality of media with a reality that replicates simulacra, and is not only engaged in informing The article states that the influence of media materials on consumers of the news content is quite strong, which is one of the reasons for the spread of conspiracy theories in various groups and communities of media users.

scholarly journals Conspiracy Theories and Their Societal Effects During the COVID-19 Pandemic

2021 ◽  
pp. 194855062110002
Author(s):  
Lotte Pummerer ◽  
Robert Böhm ◽  
Lau Lilleholt ◽  
Kevin Winter ◽  
Ingo Zettler ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Longitudinal Study ◽  
Random Sample ◽  
Social Engagement ◽  
Risk Groups ◽  
Conspiracy Theory ◽  
Sample Survey ◽  
Institutional Trust ◽  
Conspiracy Theories ◽  
The Media ◽  
And Behavior

During COVID-19, conspiracy theories were intensely discussed in the media. Generally, both believing in conspiracy theories (i.e., explanations for events based on powerholders’ secret arrangements) and being confronted with a conspiracy theory have been found to predict cognition and behavior with negative societal effects, such as low institutional trust. Accordingly, believing in conspiracy theories around COVID-19 should reduce institutional trust, support of governmental regulations and their adoption, and social engagement (e.g., helping members of risk groups). We tested these predictions in a national random sample survey, an experiment, and a longitudinal study ( N total = 1,213; all studies were preregistered). Indeed, believing in and being confronted with a COVID-19 conspiracy theory decreased institutional trust, support of governmental regulations, adoption of physical distancing, and—to some extent—social engagement. Findings underscore the severe societal effects of conspiracy theories in the context of COVID-19.

scholarly journals Concept of the development of nature and society in the works of P. Teilhard de Chardin and comparison of his views with the ideas of globalization of Z. Bauman

2021 ◽  
pp. 67-74
Author(s):  
Egor Sergeevich Shushakov
Keyword(s):  
Social Development ◽  
Modern Science ◽  
Evolutionary Development ◽  
Social Actors ◽  
Key Characteristics ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Nature And Society ◽  
Physical Phenomena ◽  
The Universe

The object of this research is the concept of evolutionary development of the universe of P. Teilhard de Chardin and the concept of “liquid” reality” of Z. Bauman. The subject is the methodology of P. Teilhard de Chardin and his idea of the future of social development, as well as Z. Bauman’s description of the key characteristics of globalization. Emphasis is placed on the methodology of P. Teilhard de Chardin (interaction of tangential and radial energies), as within the framework his concept, the social, biological and physical phenomena do not have fundamental differences and abide the general universal laws. In broad outlines, the article reconstructs the idea of P. Teilhard de Chardin on social development and the theses of Z. Bauman about the key characteristics of modern globalization. The novelty of the research lies in the attempt to present the methodology of P. Teilhard de Chardin as acceptable for modern science and highlight its predictive power; as well as in comparative analysis of the ideas of Z. Bauman and P. Teilhard de Chardin on the processes of global social integration. The following conclusions are made: both scholars advance the idea on the progressing polarization of society; 2) globalization in their works correlates with the process of individualization of social actors, and defense of own identity.

scholarly journals Social media and the spread of COVID-19 conspiracy theories in Nigeria

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 432-437
Author(s):  
Sarah Gambo ◽  
Woyopwa Shem
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Subject Matter ◽  
Research Interest ◽  
Conspiracy Theories ◽  
The Social ◽  
Recent Outbreak ◽  
Social Media Platforms ◽  
The Subject ◽  
National Orientation ◽  
And Control

Background: Amidst the recent outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, there seems to be an avalanche of conspiracy theories that abound on social media platforms, and this subject attracted a lot of research interest. This study aimed to examine the "social media and the spread Covid-19 conspiracy theories in Nigeria" in light of the above.  Methods: The study adopted a qualitative design in order to explore the subject matter thoroughly. Thirty-five participants were conveniently sampled, and interviews were conducted to retrieved data from the participants. Results: Findings of this study revealed that there is a prevalence of conspiracy theories that have saturated social media ever since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic. It was also found that ignorance, religious fanaticism, lack of censorship, and insufficient counter information on social media platforms are some of the possible factors that aided the spread of Covid-19 conspiracy theories among Nigerian social media users. Conclusion: This study recommends, among other things, that there is a swift need to curtail the spread of conspiracy theories through consistent dissemination of counter-information by both individuals and agencies like the National Orientation Agency (NOA) and the Nigerian Centre for Disease and Control (NCDC).

Issue Salience and Political Decisions

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philip Moniz ◽  
Christopher Wlezien
Keyword(s):  
News Media ◽  
Issue Salience ◽  
Political Issue ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Political Issues ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Media ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Political Decisions

Salience refers to the extent to which people cognitively and behaviorally engage with a political issue (or other object), although it has meant different things to different scholars studying different phenomena. The word originally was used in the social sciences to refer to the importance of political issues to individuals’ vote choice. It also has been used to designate attention being paid to issues by policy makers and the news media, yet it can pertain to voters as well. Thus, salience sometimes refers to importance and other times to attention—two related but distinct concepts—and is applied to different actors. The large and growing body of research on the subject has produced real knowledge about policies and policy, but the understanding is limited in several ways. First, the conceptualization of salience is not always clear, which is of obvious relevance to theorizing and limits assessment of how (even whether) research builds on and extends existing literature. Second, the match between conceptualization and measurement is not always clear, which is of consequence for analysis and impacts the contribution research makes. Third, partly by implication, but also because the connections between research in different areas—the public, the media, and policy—are not always clear, the consequences of salience for representative democracy remain unsettled.

scholarly journals Conspiracy Theories and the Study of Alternative and Emergent Religions

2015 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 5-16 ◽  
Author(s):  
David G. Robertson
Keyword(s):  
Conspiracy Theory ◽  
Religious Groups ◽  
Conspiracy Theories ◽  
Aum Shinrikyo ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Alternative Religions ◽  
Conspiracy Narratives

This introduction addresses a number of approaches to the emerging field of the study of conspiracy theories and new and alternative religions. Scholars can examine how certain religious groups have been the subject of conspiracy narratives created by the wider culture, and how conspiracy narratives are mobilized within religious groups such as Aum Shinrikyo, Scientology or others. Moreover, we can fruitfully examine secular conspiracy theories through ideas typically applied to religions, such as theodicy, millenarianism, and esoteric claims to higher knowledge. Most studies assume that conspiracy theories indicate pathology—paranoia or simply stupidity. Increasingly however, scholars have begun to interpret the term “conspiracy theory” as operating polemically to stigmatize certain beliefs and ideas. The field therefore offers a microcosm of broader trends in the interplay of knowledge and power. The study of both new and emergent religions and conspiracy theories comes of age only when we cease to think of them as necessarily deviant and irrational.

scholarly journals LEITURA E CIVILIDADE: um estudo discursivo de práticas de silenciamentos pela violência “costurada” no corpo infantil

Organon ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 24 (48) ◽  
Author(s):  
Carme Regina Schons
Keyword(s):  
Social Setting ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Media ◽  
The Subject ◽  
The One

The present work intends to reflect, starting from the theories of text and discourse, on silencing forms produced in the/by the media regarding children´s exploitation. To elucidate what was proposed, we took into account the concept of language as structure and event, developed by Pêcheux (1983), and the reflections of Orlandi (1996) on the concept of silencing - local silencing and constituent silence. Our question was established from our reading of the corpus: what is delivered by the abuse of the word and what is recovered in the restriction of language? In our analysis, we noticed the work of interdiscursive relationships as much as the one of the relationships of historicity involving specific conditions, since it is in the process of enunciation that the subject-victim enters the scene, is introduced in the social setting and, on being spoken about, assumes an institutionally and socially marked place of fragility and of incapacity of defense.

scholarly journals Corpo, sujeito e experiência: rede telemática, TV e leitura

2005 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 22
Author(s):  
Alemar Rena
Keyword(s):  
Present Essay ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Media ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Points Of View ◽  
Media Experience

<p><strong>Resumo</strong>: O presente artigo investiga a experiência do sujeito perante as telas e os textos verbais. É dada ênfase aos meios TV, rede telemática e livro, embora eventualmente se aborde também o jornal impresso e o rádio. Argumenta-se que o limite entre real e virtual é mais complexo (senão impossível) de ser apontado do que parece, pois diante dos meios virtualizadores nos encontramos em um entre-lugar. Discute-se ainda a identidade do sujeito perante os meios, sugerindo estar aí o cerne da questão sobre o que os meios virtuais significam, do ponto de vista social e político, para o homem contemporâneo.</p><p><strong>Palavras-chave</strong>: meios; experiência; identidade.</p><p><strong>Abstract</strong>: The present essay looks at the subject’s experience before the screens and verbal texts. Emphasis is given on TV, Internet and book, although radio and newspaper are also approached. It is argued here that the limits between reality and virtuality are more complex (if not impossible) to be pointed out than it normally seems to be, for before the virtualizing media we find ourselves in between. The identity of the subject before the media is also discussed; it is suggested that this discussion is crucial for an understanding of what the media might mean for contemporary man from the social and political points of view.</p><p><strong>Keywords</strong>: media; experience; identity.</p>

scholarly journals Solidão, amor e sexo na mulher de mais de sessenta anos

2008 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 15-20
Author(s):  
Teresinha Mello da SILVEIRA
Keyword(s):  
Middle Class ◽  
Social Representation ◽  
Consumer Society ◽  
Age Group ◽  
Technological Changes ◽  
Old People ◽  
The Third ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Media ◽  
The Subject

The anguish experiencied by women over sixty relates mainly to issues such as desire of to live – going beyond subjects like losses and grief. Their love and sex life is still riddler with taboos, surrouded by a silence that deniesthe problem or disqualifies those who dare to approach the subject. Under these circumstance, loneliness, somatization and depression develop easily, this way confirming the sayings: “Old people love to talk about diseases”, or “Old people do nothing except complain”. In an attempt to explode this myth and help old women to take control of their condition and rights taken into account, I will approach issues such as love, sex and loneliness in this age group. So as to profile the middle class old people, I will take into consideration historical facts, the rapid social, cultural and technological changes and the imperatives of the consumer society, the influence of the media, and the new types of family arrangements. I will approach issues referring to sexual activity and love in the third age, and point out the origins of the loneliness experiencied by women based on this frame of refence. Finally, I will show ways that allows changes in the social representation of old women – changes that may make it possible for them to be listened, respected and welcomed with regard to their affective and sex life – and that contribute to revise the psychotherapeutic practices related to this segment.

scholarly journals The peculiarities of sociopolitical news discourse on the example of regional news public pages in the social network VKontakte

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-17
Author(s):  
Olesya Yur'evna Gorchakova ◽  
Anastasiya Vyacheslavovna Larionova ◽  
Yuliya Konstantinovna Aleksandrova ◽  
Evgenii Yur'evich Petrov
Keyword(s):  
Social Network ◽  
Value Judgments ◽  
Narrative Strategy ◽  
News Content ◽  
News Reports ◽  
News Discourse ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Media ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Empirical Material

The subject of this research is the news content of public pages in the social network VKontakte. The goal consists in examination of peculiarities of organization of the regional news discourse, comparison of Tomsk and Novosibirsk news public pages. For achieving the set goal, the article employs the methods of qualitative (manual coding and machine learning) and quantitative data processing (content analysis, thematic analysis, psycholinguistic analysis). The empirical material contains regional news reports on sociopolitical topics, available for public viewing in the social network VKontakte (Tomsk and Novosibirsk). Analysis is conducted on the 3,786 postings in Novosibirsk and 887 postings in Tomsk. The author determines peculiarities and differences of media consumption depending on the region. It is noted that the federal news enjoy greater popularity among the users of the social network VKontakte; Tomsk residents are more concerned with the news reports covering regional events. The article reveals the specifics of creating news content characterized by the tendency towards narrativization of the news discourse. The prevalent narrative strategy of the media authors of regional news public pages consists in factual interpretation of the material with responses of high-ranking officials, authorized representatives of various structures, as well as regular persons (their opinions and attitudes, value judgments).

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