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Project

Truth is Broken: Online conspiracy theories in competition with science

Truth is broken. In this allegedly ‘post-truth’ decade, we have seen online conspiracy theorists contest longstanding scientific consensus as fake news. Growing groups of citizens insist that climate crisis is a hoax, earth is flat and vaccines are dangerous – if not in each case ways for powerful elites to manipulate us. Recent research has moved past pathologizing conspiracy networks as lone paranoid maniacs, seeing their theories as forms of ‘popular knowledge’ in response to the opacity of modern institutions. However, we need to study the role of internet platforms (e.g., Reddit, YouTube) to understand how these online networks suddenly so popularly compete with science. Methodically, the question is threefold. Discourse analysis shows 'How do conspiracy networks relate their popular knowledge production to scientific knowledge production?' Content analysis shows ‘In what forms is popular knowledge produced, textually, through memes, or otherwise?’ Online ethnography and interviews answer ‘How do people come to appropriate and (re-)produce such theories online, as democratized ‘prosumers’ or otherwise?’ These questions show not only that conspiracy networks contest scientific consensus, but also how online platforms enable that; in which forms popular knowledge is (re-)produced, and by whom. Such insights are valuable both to understand the rise of conspiracy theories, and the role of online platforms in enabling citizens to turn their backs on scientific consensus.
Date:1 Nov 2020 →  31 Oct 2021
Keywords:Digital media, Cultural media, Social change, Media Sociology, Political economy of communication
Disciplines:Cultural sociology, Communication research methodology