A model of factors influencing COVID-19 vaccine acceptance: A synthesis of the theory of reasoned action, conspiracy theory belief, awareness, perceived usefulness, and perceived ease of use

The aim of this study is to investigate the key factors influencing the acceptance of COVID-19 vaccines and develop a model based on the theory of reasoned action, belief in conspiracy theory, awareness, perceived usefulness, and perceived ease of use. The authors created and distributed a self-administered online questionnaire using Google Forms. Data were collected from 351 respondents ranging in age from 19 to 30 years, studying at the graduate and postgraduate levels at various public universities in Bangladesh. The Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) method was used to analyze the data. The results indicate that belief in conspiracy theory undermines COVID-19 vaccine acceptance, thereby negatively impacting the individual attitudes, subjective norms, and acceptance. Individual awareness, on the other hand, has a strong positive influence on the COVID-19 vaccine acceptance. Furthermore, the perceived usefulness of vaccination and the perceived ease of obtaining the vaccine positively impact attitude and the acceptance of immunization. Individuals’ positive attitudes toward immunization and constructive subjective norms have a positive impact on vaccine acceptance. This study contributes to the literature by combining the theory of reasoned action with conspiracy theory, awareness, perceived usefulness, and perceived ease of use to understand vaccine acceptance behavior. Authorities should focus on campaigns that could reduce misinformation and conspiracy surrounding COVID-19 vaccination. The perceived usefulness of vaccination to prevent pandemics and continue normal education will lead to vaccination success. Furthermore, the ease with which people can obtain the vaccine and that it is free of cost will encourage students to get vaccinated to protect themselves, their families, and society.

COVID-19 Conspiracies, Trust in Authorities, and Duty to Comply with Social Distancing Restrictions

In 2020 governments worldwide implemented various laws and social distancing restrictions to contain the spread of the COVID-19 virus. At the same time, conspiracy theories emerged purporting that authorities were using the COVID-19 pandemic to permanently control or harm citizens. These conspiracies undermined government responses to the pandemic and in some cases elicited civil disobedience. Using survey data from 779 Australians collected eight months into the pandemic, we examined the relationship between conspiracy beliefs, trust in the government, and duty to comply with authorities during the COVID-19 pandemic. We also examined whether trust in government moderated the association between conspiracy beliefs and duty to comply. We found that those prone to conspiracy theory beliefs and who distrusted government were less likely to comply with authorities during the pandemic. We also found that trust in the government moderated the negative relationship between conspiracy beliefs and duty to comply; high trust served as a protective factor against conspiracy beliefs. Importantly, we found that how government actions were experienced and perceived during the pandemic were important correlates of Australians’ level of trust in the government. Our findings point to the importance of governments maintaining high trust in their efficacy and approach during a crisis.

COVID-19 and the Conspiracy Theories

The first known use of the term conspiracy theory dated back to the nineteenth century. It is defined as a theory that explains an event or set of circumstances as the result of a secret plot by usually powerful conspirators. It is commonly used, but by no means limited to, extreme political groups. Since the emergence of COVID-19 as a global pandemic in December 2019, the conspiracy theory was present at all stages of the pandemic.

The Mythologeme «Conspiracy Theory» in the Modern Civilization Space

Modern civilization space is characterized by a high level of technical and scientific discovery, however, mythological consciousness and belief in conspiracy theories still exist. The article deals with one of the popular mythologies of modern civilization – the conspiracy theory. The relevance of the presented research is due to the importance of considering from the position of linguistic and cultural understanding the mechanisms of the generation and spread of myths in the modern communicative mass consciousness, which actively appeals to mythologems, despite the highly developed science. The analysis of a wide range of theoretical sources of both Russian and foreign authors is carried out in order to comprehensively study the stated issue. The description of universal and ethnospecific mythologies of the modern civilizational space is given, which indicates both the globalization processes and the uniqueness of the value system of each country, respectively. The determination of the values that make up the conspiracy discourse, the dominant “evil”, remains constant. The analysis of the empirical research material is carried out in line with the linguistic and cultural approach with the involvement of elements of frame analysis and discourse analysis. Special attention is paid to the issues of the structure of the conspiracy theory, as well as to the conspiratorial discourse, within which the frame «conspiracy theory» gets its implementation. When describing the «Conspiracy Mystery» frame, its hierarchically ordered structure is noted, which consists of interconnected subframes and slots. The analysis made it possible to determine the common characteristics of the «conspiracy theory» frame, as well as to identify areas of ethno-cultural reflection. The structure of the conspiracy discourse is described: participants, chronotope, value priorities, and strategies. It is noted that most of the theories under consideration are universal, but local ones that are widespread within a certain state remain.

On the Classification of Fake Information During the Coronavirus Pandemic

This article presents the classification of fakes on grounds of the information source that underlies the occurrence of false information. The study was perfomed on the coronavirus fakes that spread in Russian Federation in March 2020 during the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic in our country. For the analysis, only those fakes were taken, which the Administrations of the Russian regions promptly denied in their official accounts on social networks. Based on this, only those fakes that caused the greatest public response were selected for analysis. In this article, the following types of fakes are distinguished: folklore, symmetric, interpretive, additional, and conspiracy. Folklore fakes in various variations reproduce the same motives and are associated with well-established ideas and stereotypes in the mass consciousness. Symmetrical fakes partially or completely transfer true facts from one territory (country, region) to another. They can also transfer information from one person (structure) to another (s). Interpretative fakes are associated with the incorrect interpretation of events, information disseminated, or decisions made by the authorities by individual individuals. Additional fakes for a short period of time continue the theme of previously thrown disinformation. Conspiracy fakes are associated with conspiracy theory, characterized by stuffing on a wide territory and a large audience This classification is not exhaustive and can be supplemented as new fakes appear and are studied. Also, within the framework of this article, recommendations are given on how to refute a particular fake, depending on its belonging to a particular type.

Wpływ pandemii na polską, bułgarską i czeską leksykologię w roku 2020 i na początku 2021

The influence of the pandemic on Polish, Czech and Bulgarian lexicography in 2020 and early 2021 I discuss the linguistic consequences of the current pandemic, such as the emergence of new words and/or an increase in the frequency of use of some pre-existing words, and issues linked to communication. The paper refers to the Polish, Bulgarian and Czech languages. A frequentative approach is applied. Although the outlined linguistic processes are global in nature, several key aspects differentiate the three chosen languages in terms of frequency (including the occurrence of words and functions of speech). The linguistic data was gathered using online resources, including: The National Corpus of Polish, the Czech National Corpus, the Bulgarian National Corpus, the Polish-Bulgarian-Russian parallel Corpus (co-authored by the author of this paper), popular word browsers (frazeo.pl, slowanaczasie) and digital dictionaries (miejski.pl), journalism and information programs, and some of the most recent academic literature. Keywords: pandemic, lexicology, word of the year, neologism, conspiracy theory, frequency of use, the year 2020, Polish language, Bulgarian language, Czech language

Sound Biting Conspiracy: From India with “Love Jihad”

Since 2013, India has seen a remarkable growth of a conspiracy theory known as “love jihad”, which holds that Muslim men conspire to lure Hindu women for marriage to alter India’s religious demography as part of a political takeover strategy. While earlier scholarship on “love jihad” emphasizes the Hindu nationalist propagation of this conspiracy theory, this article pays equal attention to its appeal among conservative Hindus. Making its point of departure in the generative effects of speech, it argues that the “love jihad” neologism performs two logical operations simultaneously. Firstly, it fuses the long-standing Hindu anxiety about daughters marrying against their parents’ will, with the equally long-standing anxiety about unfavorable religious demographic trends. Secondly, it attributes a sinister political takeover intent to every Muslim man who casts his eyes on a young Hindu woman. To bring out these points, this article pays equal empirical attention to marriage and kinship practices as to the genealogy of, and forerunners to, the “love jihad” neologism, and develops the concept of “sound biting” to bring out its meaning-making effect.