Search

Bakalářská práce se zabývá analýzou vyslýchacího protokolu o údajném spiknutí proti českému králi Vladislavu II. Jagellonskému datovaného do roku 1490. Práce má podrobně prozkoumat protokol uchovaný v rožmberském archivu v Třeboni, shrnout dosud napsané zmínky o obsahu protokolu a vzájemně je porovnat. Práce dále popisuje postavy uvedené v prameni a zabývá se politikou a komunikací v pozdním středověku., The bachelor thesis deals with the analysis of the interrogation protocol about the alleged conspiracy against the czech king Vladislaus II. Jagiellonian dated to 1490. The thesis aims to examine in detail the protocol preserved in the Rosenberg archive in Třeboň, to summarize previously written references to the content of the protocol and to compare them with each other. The thesis also describes the characters mentioned in the source and deals with politics and communication in the late Middle Ages., Fakulta filozofická, Student odpověděl na položené dotazy a odpovídajícím způsobem odpověděl na analýzu textu. Vzhledem k vymezené struktuře a intepretaci nejasnostem se komise shodla na známce E., Dokončená práce s úspěšnou obhajobou

The global COVID-19 pandemic situation has brought with it a growing rise of so-called Conspiracy Theories (CTs) around the world. The period of political exceptionality that this crisis has generated has served as a spur for multiple informal and novel social movements, with a base almost exclusively based on online communicative activity, to take the step towards real collective actions of relative affluence in most developed countries. This paper aims to bring together some sociological tools for understanding the social phenomenon of conspiracy theories and to understand its particularity. The proposal is to leave aside psychological approaches — for the time being the predominant ones — as well as avoiding moralistic assessments and to approach conspiracy theories from the coordinates provided by sociological theory. For this reason, a review and compilation are made of the sociological explanations developed to date on these current phenomena., La situación global de pandemia de COVID-19 ha traído consigo un creciente auge de las llamadas Teorías de la Conspiración (TdC) en todo el mundo. La etapa de excepcionalidad política que ha generado dicha crisis ha servido como acicate para que múltiples movimientos sociales informales y novedosos, con una base casi exclusivamente centrada en la actividad comunicativa online, dieran el paso a realizar verdaderas acciones colectivas de relativa afluencia en la mayor parte de los países desarrollados. Este trabajo pretende reunir algunas herramientas sociológicas para la comprensión del fenómeno social de las teorías de la conspiración y entender su particularidad. Nuestra propuesta consiste en dejar de lado los enfoques psicológicos —por el momento preponderantes—, así como huir de valoraciones moralistas y abordar las teorías de la conspiración desde las coordenadas que la teoría sociológica provee. Por ello, se hace un rastreo y recopilación de las explicaciones sociológicas desarrolladas hasta la fecha que nos permitan dar cuenta de estos fenómenos de actualidad.

The ascent of social media continues to have profound and far-reaching impacts on societies and institutions, by way of becoming increasingly intertwined with social movements across the world. Moreover, there is an increasing awareness of how people are being lured into consuming certain information through meme-like virality, or gamelike characteristics, paralleling an unprecedented contagion of conspiracy theories. Nevertheless, strikingly few studies explicitly connect the dots on how our current post-pandemic onslaught of online conspiracist fervour may have more to do with the medium than with the actual content that comes through. This in spite of the January 6, 2021 attack on the US Capitol, that in large part was enmeshed in this elaborate misinformation complex called Q-anon, wherein a bizarre assemblage of disinformation loosely anchored in an underlying white supremacist logic, could consolidate a global and cross-cultural movement through the power of the meme. In this chapter, we explore how this Q-anon movement that played a significant role in the attack of January 6th did not just pull off this one extraordinary assault on US democracy and fall apart in the flurry of counter-conspiratorial evidence revealed in its wake. More worryingly, it has proved resilient enough to spread globally and across cultural boundaries to countries as diverse as Sweden and Japan. Exploring this phenomenon, we will be web-scraping relevant social media in Japan and Sweden. Finally, by employing a Levinasian perspective on ethics, we consider the appropriate lessons of what in this view may be seen as a reification of otherness to accentuate sameness, as opposed to appreciating alterity as constitutive of subjectification and the ethics associated therewith., JSPS/STINT Bilateral Joint Research Project “Information and Communication Technology for Sustainability and Ethics: Cross-national Studies between Japan and Sweden” (JPJSBP120185411)

The present study evaluated the predictive capacity of fear of Monkeypox (MPX) on the intention to be vaccinated against MPX and the influence of conspiracy beliefs as a mediating variable in this relationship in 516 Peruvian sample with an average age of 27.10 years participated. Monkeypox Fear Scale, MPX Conspiracy Beliefs Scale and a single item of intention to be vaccinated against MPX were used. Statistical analyses have included estimation of descriptive statistics for all variables in the model tested and Structural Equation Modeling to predict intention to be vaccinated against monkeypox. It has been found that fear has a positive impact on conspiracy beliefs about MPX and intention to be vaccinated against MPX. Finally, conspiracy beliefs are negatively related to intention to be vaccinated. As for indirect effects, both are statistically significant. The model explains 11.4% of the variance in beliefs and 19.1% in intention to be vaccinated. It is concluded that fear of MPX played an important role, both directly and indirectly, in the intention to be vaccinated against MPX, having conspiratorial beliefs about MPX as a mediating variable. The results have important implications for public health practices aimed at combating doubts about MPX vaccination., ODS 3: Salud y Bienestar, ODS 4: Educación de Calidad, ODS 16: Paz, Justicia e Instituciones Sólidas

This story also tells a criminal trial that accompanies the literary one. The function of both rites allows us to take stock of one of the most famous intrigues of the sixteenth century, at the time of the Italian wars. Among all the writers who wrote about this tragic event it seems that Ludovico Ariosto was the one who had to convey the official truth, but what is the true meaning of what happened in the court of Ferrara between 1505 and 1506?

COVID-19 public health mandates used in Canada and elsewhere proved to be potent measures for radicalizing new groups to right-wing ideas and gatherings, as well as for broadly main-streaming anti-government and anti-media rhetoric. This is visible online on the sites of some influencers who have waged a battle against COVID-19 mandates, and in real world protests such as Canada’s Freedom Convoy, an event that culminated in a three-week occupation of Canada’s capital, Ottawa, from January 29 through February 20, 2022. The movement had some appeal beyond its core groups and picked up momentum as time went on. The rise of right-wing populism in Canada is a result of multiple factors, but in this article, we will limit the purview to how an anti-vax and anti-mandate movement served to radicalize newcomers to a position antithetical to that of public health authorities and mainstream opinion, and also how this ideological struggle was mobilized and received via algorithm-driven online media., Las disposiciones sobre salud pública respecto al COVID-19 que se emitieron en Canadá y en otros países constituyeron fuertes medidas para que nuevos grupos con ideas derechistas se radicalizaran y agruparan, así como para extender la generalizada retórica antigubernamental y contraria a los medios de comunicación. Esto se puede apreciar en línea en los sitios de algu-nos influencers que han librado una batalla contra las medidas que se tomaron respecto al COV-ID-19 y, en el mundo real, en protestas como el llamado Convoy de la Libertad de Canadá, un evento que culminó en una ocupación durante tres semanas de la capital del país, Ottawa, del 29 de enero al 20 de febrero de 2022. El movimiento tuvo cierta influencia más allá de sus gru-pos promotores y perduró mucho después del lapso en que tuvo lugar. El ascenso del populis-mo de derecha en Canadá es resultado de múltiples factores, pero en este artículo nos limitaremos a ver únicamente cómo un movimiento antivacunas y antiordenamientos sirvió para radicalizar a quienes hubieran sido neutrales, para hacer que adoptaran una posición an-títesis contra las autoridades de salud y la opinión mayoritaria, y también cómo su lucha ide-ológica fue movilizada y recibida vía algoritmos dirigidos por los medios en línea.

Objective: This research aimed at tracing and analyzing the reasons that stood behind the world coronavirus crisis. It discussed the nature and reasons that made the pandemic a continuously developing case, and discrediting the claims made by the competing countries that pandemic was caused by bats, and showing the legitimacy of vaccines in light of not taking enough time to ensure their effect and human safety of side effects. Method: The research used the legal, the researcher used historical, descriptive-analytical, comparative, and legal methods for the purposes of answering the research questions and testing the hypothesis based on the hypothesis that there is a correlation between the international competition for world leadership and subjugating their peoples to control them with new colonial tools. Result: The research showed that the world today is facing a complex humanitarian crisis, which may require control and treatment for several years to come; and the pandemic has proven the weak role of the World Health Organization, which has long been working for the benefit of powerful countries; and the world has become insecure, and humanity is in danger. There are evildoers whose goal is to destroy humanity to fulfill their whims and demonic desires. Conclusion: The research concluded that that the pandemic was used as a third world war by proxy to weaken the world and enslave its peoples by recolonizing it in a new form with an economic flavor, thus insulting human rights and international law.

Der Geisterseher (1787) von Friedrich Schiller setzt sich die psychologische und rationale Aufklärung der darin erzählten Ereignisse zum Ziel, doch die Verschwörung bleibt bis zum Ende unentschlüsselt. Er deckt den Betrug der Geisterbeschwörer und Geheimbündler auf, ohne dabei das eigentliche Geheimnis jemals zu lüften, denn die Konspiration und Einflussnahme des eigentlichen Geheimbundes bleibt bis zuletzt nur angedeutet und als Providenz des Handlungsverlaufs der Erzählung innerhalb der Erzählung unsichtbar. Die dafür benutzten narrativen Verfahren sollen hier anhand einer epistemologisch-narratologischen Analyse offengelegt werden. Außerdem wird zuletzt untersucht, ob der im philosophischen Gespräch offenbarte Freiheitsbegriff des Prinzen tatsächlich einen konspirationistischen Charakter aufweist und einen providentiellen Determinismus impliziert., Der Geisterseher (1787) by Friedrich Schiller attempts to psychologically and rationaly explain the narrated events, but the conspiracy remains undeciphered until the end. It uncovers the deception of the apparitionists and conspirators without ever revealing the actual secret itself, since the conspiracy and influence of the actual secret society remains only hinted at and invisible within the narrative while in fact being the providential structure of the story's plot. The peculiar narrative methods used for this purpose shall be shown here by means of an epistemological-narratological analysis. In addition, it will eventually be examined whether the prince's concept of freedom revealed in the philosophical conversation actually has a conspiracist character and implies a providential determinism., Der Geisterseher (1787) de Friedrich Schiller se propone una explicación psicológica y racional de los acontecimientos, pero la conspiración sigue sin descifrarse hasta el final. Descubre el engaño de los visionarios y los conspiradores sin revelar nunca el secreto real, pues la conspiración y la influencia de la sociedad secreta permanecen sólo insinuadas hasta el final e invisibles dentro de la narración, ya que son la estructura providencial de la trama del relato. Los peculiares métodos narrativos utilizados para ello se revelarán aquí mediante un análisis epistemológico-narratológico. Además, se examinará finalmente si el concepto de libertad del príncipe revelado en la conversación filosófica tiene realmente un carácter conspirativo e implica un determinismo providencial.

Scientists are well aware of the major social, economic and cultural challenges brought about by population decline. However, we can often underestimate the more extreme interpretations of both the causes and the consequences of population decline in the popular discourse. In this commentary, I explore some of these toxic narratives, and speculate about how they may be linked to what appears to be a prevailing populist/ethno-nationalist view of population grounded in political tropes, rather than in scientific reality. Using Armitage’s (2021) concept of “demographic imaginaries”, I argue that much of this public discourse serves several vital purposes: to try to simplify a complex issue; to try to “unify”; to try to blame and scapegoat; and, ultimately, to try to negate the obligation to make tough, complex political and policy decisions. I also argue that scientists working in the field of population decline need to be more aware of these tropes, and should make more active efforts to ground the discourse of population decline in science and reality. I conclude that a bottom-up approach to responding to population decline may be the most fruitful avenue for progress in the future.

COVID-19 public health mandates used in Canada and elsewhere proved to be potent measures for radicalizing new groups to right-wing ideas and gatherings, as well as for broadly main-streaming anti-government and anti-media rhetoric. This is visible online on the sites of some influencers who have waged a battle against COVID-19 mandates, and in real world protests such as Canada’s Freedom Convoy, an event that culminated in a three-week occupation of Canada’s capital, Ottawa, from January 29 through February 20, 2022. The movement had some appeal beyond its core groups and picked up momentum as time went on. The rise of right-wing populism in Canada is a result of multiple factors, but in this article, we will limit the purview to how an anti-vax and anti-mandate movement served to radicalize newcomers to a position antithetical to that of public health authorities and mainstream opinion, and also how this ideological struggle was mobilized and received via algorithm-driven online media., Las disposiciones sobre salud pública respecto al COVID-19 que se emitieron en Canadá y en otros países constituyeron fuertes medidas para que nuevos grupos con ideas derechistas se radicalizaran y agruparan, así como para extender la generalizada retórica antigubernamental y contraria a los medios de comunicación. Esto se puede apreciar en línea en los sitios de algu-nos influencers que han librado una batalla contra las medidas que se tomaron respecto al COV-ID-19 y, en el mundo real, en protestas como el llamado Convoy de la Libertad de Canadá, un evento que culminó en una ocupación durante tres semanas de la capital del país, Ottawa, del 29 de enero al 20 de febrero de 2022. El movimiento tuvo cierta influencia más allá de sus gru-pos promotores y perduró mucho después del lapso en que tuvo lugar. El ascenso del populis-mo de derecha en Canadá es resultado de múltiples factores, pero en este artículo nos limitaremos a ver únicamente cómo un movimiento antivacunas y antiordenamientos sirvió para radicalizar a quienes hubieran sido neutrales, para hacer que adoptaran una posición an-títesis contra las autoridades de salud y la opinión mayoritaria, y también cómo su lucha ide-ológica fue movilizada y recibida vía algoritmos dirigidos por los medios en línea.

A lot has been said about conspiracy theories and how they affect modern communication, but little has been explored about responding to misinformation with more misinformation. This article uses the examples of the movement Birds Aren’t Real and some Colombian site to show how the fun and creative communicative tools used by their creators, can give us clues about the way we relate to new audiences that currently face conspiracy theories and fake news in this universe of alternative realities and post-truth., Mucho se ha hablado de las teorías conspirativas y sobre cómo estas afectan la comunicación moderna, pero poco se ha explorado el fenómeno de responder a la desinformación con más desinformación. Aquí se toman los ejemplos del movimiento Birds Aren’t Real y de portales colombianos para mostrar cómo las exitosas y divertidas herramientas de comunicación que usan sus creadores, nos pueden dar pistas sobre la manera como nos relacionamos con nuevas audiencias que hoy se enfrentan a teorías conspirativas y noticias falsas en este nuevo universo de realidades alternas y posverdad.

Objectives: This study aimed to (1) explore the changes in conspiracy mentality across the four waves of the COVID-19 pandemic; (2) assess the relationship between conspirative mentality and psychological/behavioural variables; (3) identify the predictors of conspirative mentality; and (4) explore the effect of conspirative mentality on COVID-19 protective behaviour. Study design: This was a multiwave survey. Methods: A total of 10,013 Italian individuals, aged 18–70 years, were assessed across the four waves (from January to May 2021) through online survey. We collected information about the sociodemographic characteristics of participants, personal experiences of COVID-19 infection, trust, COVID-19 protective behaviours, COVID-19 risk perception, arousal, auto-efficacy, resilience and well-being. Conspiracy mentality was assessed with the Conspiracy Mentality Questionnaire. The statistical analyses included exploratory factorial analyses, Pearson correlations and multiple linear regressions. Results: The conspiracy mentality score during the COVID-19 pandemic was medium–high (mean 59.0 on a 0–100 scale) and slightly increased from 58.2 to 59.9 across months, in parallel with a slight decrease in trust in health institutions and scientific informational sources. Individuals aged >35 years, poorly educated and particularly scared about their financial situation were at risk of showing higher levels of conspirative mentality. Higher levels of conspirative mentality were risk factors for low levels of COVID-19 protective behaviours. Conclusions: Clear and effective communication may improve trust in health institutions and informational sources, decrease conspirative theories and increase compliance with protective behaviour.

The present study explored the predictive capacity of fear of COVID-19 on the intention to be vaccinated against COVID-19 and the influence in this relationship of conspiracy beliefs as a possible mediating psychological variable, in 13 Latin American countries. A total of 5779 people recruited through non-probabilistic convenience sampling participated. To collect information, we used the Fear of COVID-19 Scale, Vaccine conspiracy beliefs Scale-COVID-19 and a single item of intention to vaccinate. A full a priori Structural Equation Model was used; whereas, cross-country invariance was performed from increasingly restricted structural models. The results indicated that, fear of COVID-19 positively predicts intention to vaccinate and the presence of conspiracy beliefs about COVID-19 vaccines. The latter negatively predicted intention to vaccinate against COVID-19. Besides, conspiracy beliefs about COVID-19 vaccines had an indirect effect on the relationship between fear of COVID-19 and intention to vaccinate against COVID-19 in the 13 countries assessed. Finally, the cross-national similarities of the mediational model among the 13 participating countries are strongly supported. The study is the first to test a cross-national mediational model across variables in a large number of Latin American countries. However, further studies with other countries in other regions of the world are needed., ODS 3: Salud y Bienestar, ODS 10: Reducción de las Desigualdades, ODS 17: Alianzas para lograr los Objetivos

The present study evaluated the predictive capacity of fear of Monkeypox (MPX) on the intention to be vaccinated against MPX and the influence of conspiracy beliefs as a mediating variable in this relationship in 516 Peruvian sample with an average age of 27.10 years participated. Monkeypox Fear Scale, MPX Conspiracy Beliefs Scale and a single item of intention to be vaccinated against MPX were used. Statistical analyses have included estimation of descriptive statistics for all variables in the model tested and Structural Equation Modeling to predict intention to be vaccinated against monkeypox. It has been found that fear has a positive impact on conspiracy beliefs about MPX and intention to be vaccinated against MPX. Finally, conspiracy beliefs are negatively related to intention to be vaccinated. As for indirect effects, both are statistically significant. The model explains 11.4% of the variance in beliefs and 19.1% in intention to be vaccinated. It is concluded that fear of MPX played an important role, both directly and indirectly, in the intention to be vaccinated against MPX, having conspiratorial beliefs about MPX as a mediating variable. The results have important implications for public health practices aimed at combating doubts about MPX vaccination., ODS 3: Salud y Bienestar, ODS 4: Educación de Calidad, ODS 16: Paz, Justicia e Instituciones Sólidas

The present study explored the predictive capacity of fear of COVID-19 on the intention to be vaccinated against COVID-19 and the influence in this relationship of conspiracy beliefs as a possible mediating psychological variable, in 13 Latin American countries. A total of 5779 people recruited through non-probabilistic convenience sampling participated. To collect information, we used the Fear of COVID-19 Scale, Vaccine conspiracy beliefs Scale-COVID-19 and a single item of intention to vaccinate. A full a priori Structural Equation Model was used; whereas, cross-country invariance was performed from increasingly restricted structural models. The results indicated that, fear of COVID-19 positively predicts intention to vaccinate and the presence of conspiracy beliefs about COVID-19 vaccines. The latter negatively predicted intention to vaccinate against COVID-19. Besides, conspiracy beliefs about COVID-19 vaccines had an indirect effect on the relationship between fear of COVID-19 and intention to vaccinate against COVID-19 in the 13 countries assessed. Finally, the cross-national similarities of the mediational model among the 13 participating countries are strongly supported. The study is the first to test a cross-national mediational model across variables in a large number of Latin American countries. However, further studies with other countries in other regions of the world are needed., ODS 3: Salud y Bienestar, ODS 10: Reducción de las Desigualdades, ODS 17: Alianzas para lograr los Objetivos

Conspiratorial ideas have permeated the American ethos for decades. Whether it be Hollywood faking the moon landing to government involvement in the 9/11 attacks on the twin towers, there has always been a subsection of the population who believes larger relevant forces are at work. As humanity moves towards a more digital existence, conspiracy theorists also have advanced; enter Qanon. This paper will attempt to deduce the correlation between members of the Qanon community and what external factors could drive one to this belief. Qanon is a conspiratorial community that has attached itself to former President Donald Trump; their thoughts are intriguing, ranging from government corruption to the occult. The groups can attribute its founding to online forums where "Q" was conceived, lurking in dark corners of anonymous websites exchanging information of the "conspiracy." However, in recent years "Q" has emerged from the shadows and made its way into the fray. QAnon presents an interesting case study on how digital media can influence individuals' behavior and beliefs. This paper will investigate how different forms of media consumption correlates with the adoption of conspiratorial beliefs. Furthermore, due to the pertinence of Donald Trump in the conspiracy, Party affiliation will be investigated in conjunction with emotions tied to the January 6th insurrection. By understanding how online information can be leveraged to shape one's own beliefs, it could be possible for regulators to further limit such information from reaching susceptible individuals.

Conspiracy theories flourish during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic especially regarding vaccinations. As the vaccination reluctancy in Austria is high, it is important to understand the antecedents of vaccination intention at the preapproval stage of the vaccination process. An online survey was conducted in August 2020 in Austria with 217 primarily younger, female, educated participants. A two-step cluster analysis resulted in a sceptics cluster with a clear antivaccination tendency along with a right-wing political position, lower trust in general vaccines and lower education levels and the reference cluster. A considerable percentage of participants reported their reluctancy to have a COVID-19 vaccine. Although vaccination intention can be explained by attitude and subjective norm, this decision-making process is undermined by underlying factors such as conspiracy ideation and political position. Policy makers and health interventionists should take political background into consideration in efforts to increase vaccine compliance.

The climate of division and polarization in the US politics is increasing, going beyond the time in the office of a specific leader. Several political or technological challenges have ended up eroding this trust, making social cohesion difficult. In this context, this research examines the communication strategies of the elected president Biden after the 2020 elections, shedding light on how his legitimacy was built. All the messages that the Democrat published on his personal Twitter account (@JoeBiden) were collected, from the day after the presidential elections (4 November 2020) until his inauguration as president of the United States (20 January 2021). Using a content analysis method on issue/game frame and dissemination of the messages (n = 379), and an analysis of the 100 first keywords, results showed a plan of the Democratic candidate to reinforce the role of public institutions but without interaction with the polarized electorate. In this sense, the strategies of the president-elect related to the promotion of political action, the call for unity, and the fight against the pandemic stood out. The frequent use of words with a positive attitude reveals how Biden avoided confrontation with Donald Trump.

The climate of division and polarization in the US politics is increasing, going beyond the time in the office of a specific leader. Several political or technological challenges have ended up eroding this trust, making social cohesion difficult. In this context, this research examines the communication strategies of the elected president Biden after the 2020 elections, shedding light on how his legitimacy was built. All the messages that the Democrat published on his personal Twitter account (@JoeBiden) were collected, from the day after the presidential elections (4 November 2020) until his inauguration as president of the United States (20 January 2021). Using a content analysis method on issue/game frame and dissemination of the messages (n = 379), and an analysis of the 100 first keywords, results showed a plan of the Democratic candidate to reinforce the role of public institutions but without interaction with the polarized electorate. In this sense, the strategies of the president-elect related to the promotion of political action, the call for unity, and the fight against the pandemic stood out. The frequent use of words with a positive attitude reveals how Biden avoided confrontation with Donald Trump.

The past several years have seen a national increase in mass shootings by white supremacists, many of whom have cited their belief in the supposed “Great Replacement” as a motivating factor for their violence. The “Great Replacement” is a far-right, white supremacist conspiracy theory that argues that the white race is being replaced by people of color, immigrants, and Jewish people. While several scholars have attributed the theory’s origins to the rise of the internet age and subsequent online communities for white power activists, this paper argues that “Great Replacement” ideology continues a white supremacist tradition of conspiratorial thought that dates back over a century, originating with the similarly named theory of “race suicide.”In the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, different trends in immigration and the simultaneous rise to prominence of pseudoscientific racism in the United States led many prominent nativists to claim that the white race was committing “race suicide,” killing off its own race by allowing immigrants into the country and by having interracial children. This theory was intertwined with the rise of the early eugenics movement, a large-scale effort to strengthen civilization by promoting white reproduction and attempting to impede reproduction among “undesirable” populations. I use the case studies of two leading U.S. political figures and eugenicists–President Theodore Roosevelt and conservationist Madison Grant¬¬ –to demonstrate how the “race suicide” theory functioned as a pronatalist argument that encouraged white, “fit” women to reproduce. From the passing of the first Chinese Exclusion Act in 1882 to the 1924 Immigration Act, this paper charts the four-decade influence of the race suicide theory, which I argue further speaks to a continued tradition of white supremacist groups relying on “narratives of victimhood” to justify racial and xenophobic violence.

Conspiracy theories flourish during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic especially regarding vaccinations. As the vaccination reluctancy in Austria is high, it is important to understand the antecedents of vaccination intention at the preapproval stage of the vaccination process. An online survey was conducted in August 2020 in Austria with 217 primarily younger, female, educated participants. A two-step cluster analysis resulted in a sceptics cluster with a clear antivaccination tendency along with a right-wing political position, lower trust in general vaccines and lower education levels and the reference cluster. A considerable percentage of participants reported their reluctancy to have a COVID-19 vaccine. Although vaccination intention can be explained by attitude and subjective norm, this decision-making process is undermined by underlying factors such as conspiracy ideation and political position. Policy makers and health interventionists should take political background into consideration in efforts to increase vaccine compliance.

Conspiracy theories flourish during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic especially regarding vaccinations. As the vaccination reluctancy in Austria is high, it is important to understand the antecedents of vaccination intention at the preapproval stage of the vaccination process. An online survey was conducted in August 2020 in Austria with 217 primarily younger, female, educated participants. A two-step cluster analysis resulted in a sceptics cluster with a clear antivaccination tendency along with a right-wing political position, lower trust in general vaccines and lower education levels and the reference cluster. A considerable percentage of participants reported their reluctancy to have a COVID-19 vaccine. Although vaccination intention can be explained by attitude and subjective norm, this decision-making process is undermined by underlying factors such as conspiracy ideation and political position. Policy makers and health interventionists should take political background into consideration in efforts to increase vaccine compliance.

Partiendo del libro de 2020 de Michal Sandel “La tiranía del mérito”, en este ensayo estudiaremos cómo el resentimiento de los trabajadores blancos estadounidenses sin título universitario hacia las élites políticas, económicas y sociales se ha retroalimentado con el fenómeno de la desinformación y las teorías de la conspiración, concretamente con la conocida como QAnon. Primero exploraremos el libro de Sandel y su relación con la paranoia y después expondremos las claves de la teoría de la conspiración QAnon, que nos servirá para comparar las semejanzas entre sus causas y lógicas con las reflexiones de Sandel acerca de las consecuencias de la meritocracia., Starting from the Michal Sandel’s 2020 book “The Tyranny of Merit”, in this essay we will study the resentment of white American workers without college degrees towards political, economic and social elites and its relationship to the phenomenon of disinformation and conspiracy theories, specifically the one known as QAnon. We will first explore Sandel’s book and its relationship with paranoia and then we will expose the keys to the QAnon conspiracy theory, which will serve to compare the similarities between its causes and logics with Sandel’s reflections on the consequences of meritocracy.

This article addresses some specific phenomena in the field of digital communication, namely disinformation, infodemics and conspir-acy mania; these phenomena make it difficult for people to distinguish between truth and lies, fact and fiction, opinion and knowledge, and in the long run create indifference to the distinction itself. These issues have, thus, decisively altered users’ patterns of rationality and common sense and contributed to the rise of anti-democratic and anti-scien-tific attitudes. To tackle this complex problem, a systemic approach is proposed which frames these concepts as factors that interfere in the ethical-epistemic equilibrium that links uncertainty, trust and responsi-bility. After identifying a set of dynamics generated by these disruptive factors, three aspects are explored in depth: the polarisation and lack of a deliberative culture, the necessary correction of the social image of scientific practice, and the impact of the post-truth discourse. The article concludes with reflections about how to reformulate the three key con-cepts –uncertainty, trust and responsibility– in light of the demands of the digital sphere, El artículo aborda una serie de fenómenos en el ámbito de la comunicación digital –la desinformación, la infodemia y la conspiranoia– que fomentan la indiferencia respecto a la distinción entre verdad y mentira, realidad y ficción, opinión y conocimiento. Así han provocado cambios decisivos en los patrones de racionalidad y sentido común de los usuarios y contribuido al auge de posturas antidemocráticas y anticientíficas. Para afrontar la compleja problemática, se desarrolla una perspectiva sistémica que enfoca dichos fenómenos como factores perturbadores de un equilibrio ético-epistémico entre incertidumbre, confianza y responsabilidad. Tras identificar una serie de dinámicas generadas por estos factores disruptivos, se profundiza en tres aspectos: la polarización y falta de cultura deliberativa, la necesaria corrección de la imagen social de la práctica científica y el impacto del discurso de la posverdad. El artículo concluye con reflexiones sobre la redefinición de los tres conceptos clave de incertidumbre, confianza y responsabilidad a la luz de las exigencias de la esfera digital.

The climate of division and polarization in the US politics is increasing, going beyond the time in the office of a specific leader. Several political or technological challenges have ended up eroding this trust, making social cohesion difficult. In this context, this research examines the communication strategies of the elected president Biden after the 2020 elections, shedding light on how his legitimacy was built. All the messages that the Democrat published on his personal Twitter account (@JoeBiden) were collected, from the day after the presidential elections (4 November 2020) until his inauguration as president of the United States (20 January 2021). Using a content analysis method on issue/game frame and dissemination of the messages (n = 379), and an analysis of the 100 first keywords, results showed a plan of the Democratic candidate to reinforce the role of public institutions but without interaction with the polarized electorate. In this sense, the strategies of the president-elect related to the promotion of political action, the call for unity, and the fight against the pandemic stood out. The frequent use of words with a positive attitude reveals how Biden avoided confrontation with Donald Trump.

The climate of division and polarization in the US politics is increasing, going beyond the time in the office of a specific leader. Several political or technological challenges have ended up eroding this trust, making social cohesion difficult. In this context, this research examines the communication strategies of the elected president Biden after the 2020 elections, shedding light on how his legitimacy was built. All the messages that the Democrat published on his personal Twitter account (@JoeBiden) were collected, from the day after the presidential elections (4 November 2020) until his inauguration as president of the United States (20 January 2021). Using a content analysis method on issue/game frame and dissemination of the messages (n = 379), and an analysis of the 100 first keywords, results showed a plan of the Democratic candidate to reinforce the role of public institutions but without interaction with the polarized electorate. In this sense, the strategies of the president-elect related to the promotion of political action, the call for unity, and the fight against the pandemic stood out. The frequent use of words with a positive attitude reveals how Biden avoided confrontation with Donald Trump.

The climate of division and polarization in the US politics is increasing, going beyond the time in the office of a specific leader. Several political or technological challenges have ended up eroding this trust, making social cohesion difficult. In this context, this research examines the communication strategies of the elected president Biden after the 2020 elections, shedding light on how his legitimacy was built. All the messages that the Democrat published on his personal Twitter account (@JoeBiden) were collected, from the day after the presidential elections (4 November 2020) until his inauguration as president of the United States (20 January 2021). Using a content analysis method on issue/game frame and dissemination of the messages (n = 379), and an analysis of the 100 first keywords, results showed a plan of the Democratic candidate to reinforce the role of public institutions but without interaction with the polarized electorate. In this sense, the strategies of the president-elect related to the promotion of political action, the call for unity, and the fight against the pandemic stood out. The frequent use of words with a positive attitude reveals how Biden avoided confrontation with Donald Trump.

BackgroundThe hesitancy in taking the COVID-19 vaccine is a global challenge. The need to identify predictors of COVID-19 vaccine reluctance is critical. Our objectives were to evaluate sociodemographic, psychological, and behavioral factors, as well as attitudes and beliefs that influence COVID-19 vaccination hesitancy in the general population of Italy. MethodsA total of 2,015 people were assessed in two waves (March, April and May, 2021). Participants were divided into three groups: (1) individuals who accepted the vaccination ("accepters"); (2) individuals who refused the vaccination ("rejecters"); and (3) individuals who were uncertain about their attitudes toward the vaccination ("fence sitters"). Group comparisons were performed using ANOVA, the Kruskal-Wallis test and chi-square tests. The strength of the association between the groups and the participants' characteristics was analyzed using a series of multinomial logistic regression models with bootstrap internal validation (one for each factor). ResultsThe "fence sitters" group, when compared to the others, included individuals of younger age, lower educational level, and worsening economic situation in the previous 3 months. After controlling for sociodemographic factors, the following features emerged as the main risk factors for being "fence sitters" (compared with vaccine "accepters"): reporting lower levels of protective behaviors, trust in institutions and informational sources, frequency of use of informational sources, agreement with restrictions and higher conspirative mentality. Higher levels of COVID-19 perceived risk, trust in institutions and informational sources, frequency of use of informational sources, agreement with restrictions and protective behaviors were associated with a higher likelihood of becoming "fence sitters" rather than vaccine "rejecters." ConclusionsThe "fence sitters" profile revealed by this study is intriguing and should be the focus of public programmes aimed at impro

[EN] This article addresses some specific phenomena in the field of digital communication, namely disinformation, infodemics and conspir-acy mania; these phenomena make it difficult for people to distinguish between truth and lies, fact and fiction, opinion and knowledge, and in the long run create indifference to the distinction itself. These issues have, thus, decisively altered users’ patterns of rationality and common sense and contributed to the rise of anti-democratic and anti-scien-tific attitudes. To tackle this complex problem, a systemic approach is proposed which frames these concepts as factors that interfere in the ethical-epistemic equilibrium that links uncertainty, trust and responsi-bility. After identifying a set of dynamics generated by these disruptive factors, three aspects are explored in depth: the polarisation and lack of a deliberative culture, the necessary correction of the social image of scientific practice, and the impact of the post-truth discourse. The article concludes with reflections about how to reformulate the three key con-cepts –uncertainty, trust and responsibility– in light of the demands of the digital sphere, [ES] El artículo aborda una serie de fenómenos en el ámbito de la comunicación digital —la desinformación, la infodemia y la conspira-noia— que fomentan la indiferencia respecto a la distinción entre verdad y mentira, realidad y ficción, opinión y conocimiento. Así han provocado cambios decisivos en los patrones de racionalidad y sentido común de los usuarios y contribuido al auge de posturas antidemocráticas y anticien-tíficas. Para afrontar la compleja problemática, se desarrolla una pers-pectiva sistémica que enfoca dichos fenómenos como factores perturba-dores de un equilibrio ético-epistémico entre incertidumbre, confianza y responsabilidad. Tras identificar una serie de dinámicas generadas por estos factores disruptivos, se profundiza en tres aspectos: la polarización y falta de cultura deliberativa, la necesaria corrección de la imagen social de la práctica científica y el impacto del discurso de la posverdad. El artí-culo concluye con reflexiones sobre la redefinición de los tres conceptos clave de incertidumbre, confianza y responsabilidad a la luz de las exigen-cias de la esfera digital.

Although vaccines are among the most effective interventions used in fighting diseases, vaccination readiness varies substantially among individuals. Vaccination readiness is defined as a set of components that increase or decrease AN individual's likelihood of getting vaccinated. Building on earlier work that distinguished five components of vaccination readiness (confidence, complacency, constraints, calculation, and collective responsibility), we revised the questionnaire used to measure these components to improve its psychometric properties, specifically criterion validity. In doing so, we also developed two new components of vaccination readiness: compliance and conspiracy. Compliance is the tendency to support monitoring to control adherence to regulations; conspiracy is the tendency to endorse conspiratorial beliefs about vaccination. The newly introduced 7C scale was initially piloted in a cascade of serial cross-sectional studies and then validated with N = 681 participants from the COVID-19 Snapshot Monitoring in Denmark. We report a bifactor measurement model, convergent validity with other questionnaires, and an explanation of 85% variance in the willingness to vaccinate against COVID-19. We also present a 7-item short version of the scale. The instrument is publicly available in several languages (www.vaccination-readiness.com), and we seek collaboration to provide translations of our instrument into other languages.

The article seeks to undertake an intellectual approach to the concept of conspiracy theory, in order to tentatively explore possible cartographies for an adequate understanding of its contemporary significance and pregnance. To do this, we will proceed to a brief review of recent contributions to the study of conspiracy theories from a plurality of disciplines (cultural studies, political theory, psychoanalysis, social psychology or philosophy), and an exploration of their operating mechanisms and their possible functions within the field of forces configured around the relationship between neoliberalism and populism. Finally, a conception of contemporary conspiracy theory is proposed as a form of theodicy, insofar as it fulfills the functions of explaining evil and displacing responsibility., El artículo trata de acometer una aproximación intelectual al concepto de teoría conspirativa, a fin de explorar tentativamente posibles cartografías para una adecuada comprensión de su significatividad y pregnancia contemporáneas. Para ello, se procederá a un somero repaso de las aportaciones recientes al estudio de las teorías conspirativas desde una pluralidad de disciplinas (estudios culturales, teoría política, psicoanálisis, psicología social o filosofía) y a una exploración de sus mecanismos de funcionamiento y sus posibles funciones dentro del campo de fuerzas configurado alrededor de la relación existente entre neoliberalismo y populismo. Finalmente, se propone una concepción de la teoría conspirativa contemporánea como una forma de teodicea, en cuanto a que cumple funciones de explicación del mal y de desplazamiento de la responsabilidad.

During the State of Emergency in the health sector with the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, numerous manifestations of unitive emotional demands occurred. This period of disruption also gave rise, however, to a revival of phenomena of identification of hate target groups, as it happens in moments of rupture. This paper intends to analyse from an “onlife” perspective the role of emotions and moral disengagement in favouring the manifestations of hated. The case study of online anti-Semitism at the time of Covid-19 and post-truth is analyzed, highlighting how “new viruses” are used to unleash hostility towards “old targets”. Flaming targets new groups and new symbols. These different forms of hate language are fueled by common elements such as conspiracy mindset and conspiracy theories that have increased their impact in the political and social conflict, alongside with the expressions of anger towards measures that are perceived as oppressive towards the “I” at a time when society is struggling to get out of the pandemic emergency.

Conspiracy theories flourish during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic especially regarding vaccinations. As the vaccination reluctancy in Austria is high, it is important to understand the antecedents of vaccination intention at the preapproval stage of the vaccination process. An online survey was conducted in August 2020 in Austria with 217 primarily younger, female, educated participants. A two-step cluster analysis resulted in a sceptics cluster with a clear antivaccination tendency along with a right-wing political position, lower trust in general vaccines and lower education levels and the reference cluster. A considerable percentage of participants reported their reluctancy to have a COVID-19 vaccine. Although vaccination intention can be explained by attitude and subjective norm, this decision-making process is undermined by underlying factors such as conspiracy ideation and political position. Policy makers and health interventionists should take political background into consideration in efforts to increase vaccine compliance.

RationaleVaccination willingness is a critical step in the effort to reach herd immunity and control the COVID-19 pandemic. Nevertheless, many people remain reluctant to be vaccinated.ObjectiveIntegrating the literature on Self-Determination Theory, trust in authorities, and conspiracy theories, this research examines (a) the direct and indirect effect of government trust and conspiracism via underlying forms of motivations for (not) getting vaccinated against COVID-19 and (b) whether these associations differ across the two largely politically independent Belgian linguistic groups.MethodsUsing Structural Equation Modeling, we tested our models in two independent samples, in February 2021 (T1) and April 2021 (T2) (Total N = 8264).ResultsAt T1 and T2, Government trust and conspiracism both predict COVID-19 vaccination intention, respectively positively and negatively. These relations are fully mediated by motivational factors, with identified motivations having a larger positive contribution. Looking at linguistic context, differences emerge at T2, with French-speaking Belgians showing lower levels of government trust and higher levels of conspiracism than Dutch speakers.ConclusionsResults highlight the importance of integrating distal (trust in government, conspiracism) and proximal (motivational) variables to understand vaccination intentions., SCOPUS: ar.j, info:eu-repo/semantics/published

Conspiracy theories flourish during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic especially regarding vaccinations. As the vaccination reluctancy in Austria is high, it is important to understand the antecedents of vaccination intention at the preapproval stage of the vaccination process. An online survey was conducted in August 2020 in Austria with 217 primarily younger, female, educated participants. A two-step cluster analysis resulted in a sceptics cluster with a clear antivaccination tendency along with a right-wing political position, lower trust in general vaccines and lower education levels and the reference cluster. A considerable percentage of participants reported their reluctancy to have a COVID-19 vaccine. Although vaccination intention can be explained by attitude and subjective norm, this decision-making process is undermined by underlying factors such as conspiracy ideation and political position. Policy makers and health interventionists should take political background into consideration in efforts to increase vaccine compliance.

Conspiracy theories flourish during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic especially regarding vaccinations. As the vaccination reluctancy in Austria is high, it is important to understand the antecedents of vaccination intention at the preapproval stage of the vaccination process. An online survey was conducted in August 2020 in Austria with 217 primarily younger, female, educated participants. A two-step cluster analysis resulted in a sceptics cluster with a clear antivaccination tendency along with a right-wing political position, lower trust in general vaccines and lower education levels and the reference cluster. A considerable percentage of participants reported their reluctancy to have a COVID-19 vaccine. Although vaccination intention can be explained by attitude and subjective norm, this decision-making process is undermined by underlying factors such as conspiracy ideation and political position. Policy makers and health interventionists should take political background into consideration in efforts to increase vaccine compliance.

Studying epistemically unwarranted beliefs (EUB) is relevant at basic, applied, and social levels. However, EUB scales validated in Spain are scare. Consequently, we aimed to develop and validate a scale of this kind. One thousand four hundred and sixty participants answered to a preliminary version of the questionnaire. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses revealed the final form of PEUBI: a 36-item instrument with five related factors (Superstitions, Occultism and Pseudoscience, Traditional Religion, Extraordinary Life Forms, and Conspiracy Theories). The results showed that the items were little affected by social desirability bias. PEUBI factor scores showed good internal consistency (estimates between .85 and .97), test-retest reliability (estimates between .75 and .93), and convergent-divergent validity. Sociodemographic differences were also explored, observing lower levels of EUB in men, elders, from pure sciences and technology, and atheists. In conclusion, PEUBI is a valid and reliable psychometric instrument to assess paranormal, pseudoscientific and conspiracy beliefs in Spanish adults.

During the first few months of the COVID-19 pandemic, a 26-min documentary entitled Plandemic was released online and fanatically shared via Twitter and other major social media platforms. The producers of the documentary sought to spread misinformation and conspiracy theories and to discredit scientific experts using a sophisticated disinformation campaign. They set out to accomplish this by coaching citizens toward activism to maximize the speed at which the documentary propagated and decrease positive sentiments toward public health interventions. Applying techniques from social network analysis in conjunction with a formative content analysis of Twitter data, we examined the effectiveness of the Plandemic disinformation campaign as a case study of social engineering during the COVID-19 pandemic. By comparing the Twitter network's community structure and communication patterns before and after the release of the film, we demonstrate the Plandemic campaign to have been effective for two reasons. First, the campaign established a decentralized information sharing network on Twitter by coaching low-reach social media users to mass share the documentary, effectively subverting efforts to gatekeep its misinformation. Second, the campaign amplified negative sentiments regarding vaccination and containment measures among conspiracy theorists. These effects possibly have an indirect impact on the public's willingness to comply with public health measures. Our results show the necessity of further research about sophisticated social experiments such as the Plandemic disinformation campaign and provide important insights for policy-making to combat the spread of health misinformation during public health crises.

The study of conspiracy theories has existed for many decades, however, a new species of conspiracy, labeled QAnon, has surfaced in recent years - QAnon theories are directly tied to current radical politics and former President Donald Trump. My research will aim to explain how the outlandish and often racist beliefs of QAnon followers have come to be not only believed but have affected so many people that a terrorist attack on the United States Capitol occurred as a result. My research will include analysis of the Chapman Survey of American Fears which includes people on both sides of the political spectrum in order to correlate belief in QAnon’s allegations with a number of other different radical theories, as well as use existing research on the basis of political conspiracy belief, the factors that affect it, and the effect that belief of corruption in government can have on belief in radical deviant subjects. This will provide context for QAnon belief because QAnon is rooted in the belief that there is widespread government corruption. QAnon is a relatively new species of conspiracy and thus has very little research surrounding it and its causation. My project will serve to show that QAnon is related to a number of factors similar to the basis of belief in most conspiracy theories but the most principle will be strong belief in corruption in government and other theories where distrust in government or government officials is prevalent.

Conspiracy theory is a truly global form: Conspiracy narratives transgress the boundaries between cultures, media formats, and languages with ease, as is illustrated by the example of the US-American qanon-narrative, which is now a standard reference point for German Covid-19-‘sceptics.’ Conspiracy theory seemingly becomes a ubiquitous phenomenon and, at the same time, constitutes a global context of interchange between conspiracy readers and authors. My paper examines the example of the ‘Great Reset’-conspiracy theory. This narrative originated in libertarian circles and alleges the existence of a socialist world conspiracy. My paper investigates the roots of this narrative and shows that it has an antisemitic kernel. Drawing on Moishe Postone’s theory of structural antisemitism, I argue that conspiracy thinking is intrinsically connected to antisemitic thinking.In a second step, the paper discusses the narrative structure of conspiracy theories. Through means of narrativization and fictionalization, conspiracy theories conceptualize world as a text that requires meticulous interpretation to reveal its true meaning. Thus, instead of theorizing world, conspiracy theories mythologize it, constituting world as an affective context within a narrative structure. By discussing this complex, I propose the thesis that conspiracy theory resembles in many regards the concept of world literature, as it constitutes world as a function of narrativization. Conspiracy theory could therefore be understood as a clandestine undercurrent of the discourse of world literature, which, albeit seemingly connected to progressive values, is charged with its regressive other. Correlating world literature and world conspiracy literature, my paper seeks to establish a better understanding of the contemporary phenomenon and to challenge our concept of world literature.

El asalto al Capitolio y el proceso de impeachment contra Donald Trump, tras las elecciones en EEUU (3-N), reabren el debate sobre el poder de la Retórica en el discurso político. Un líder no sometido a reglas impone el lenguaje de la desinformación y del populismo como eje del relato. Twitter se convierte en una herramienta para la deslegitimación de las instituciones, a través de un mensaje que arenga a las masas a la movilización. El objetivo principal del estudio es conocer la temática y estrategias discursivas de Trump en Twitter, dirigidas a denunciar la conspiración y el fraude de los resultados electorales. Aplicamos una metodología de análisis de contenido triangulado basada en el uso de palabras claves (15.365) sobre una muestra general de tuits (721) publicados por el mandatario desde el día después de las elecciones hasta la proclamación de Joe Biden como presidente electo de EEUU. El avance de resultados pone de relieve la influencia del líder, por delante de gobiernos y partidos, el poder de un lenguaje simple y subliminal, el sesgo personal de ganador o de víctima y una capacidad de producción de falacias en Twitter sin precedentes. Los efectos de la mentira de Trump sobre la audiencia social requieren de acciones conjuntas de instituciones, medios de comunicación y plataformas sociales que garanticen el futuro de la democracia., The Capitol riot and the impeachment process against Donald Trump, after the US elections (3-N), reopen the debate of the Rhetoric power in political discourse. A leader not subject to rules imposes the language of disinformation and populism as the axis of the story. Twitter becomes a tool for the delegitimization of institutions, through a message that harangues the masses to mobilize. The main objective of the study is to learn about Trump's themes and his discursive strategies on Twitter, aimed to denouncing the conspiracy and fraud of the electoral results. We applied a triangulated content analysis methodology based on the use of keywords (15,365) on a general sample of tweets (721) published by the president from the day after the elections until the proclamation of Joe Biden as president-elect of the United States. The advancement of results highlights the influence of the leader, ahead of governments and parties, the power of a simple and subliminal language, the personal bias of winner or victim and an unprecedented capacity to produce fallacies on Twitter. The effects of Trump's lie on the social audience require joint actions by institutions, the media and social platforms that guarantee the future of democracy.

From Covid-19 to Qanon to a global warming hoax, we live in a world drowning in misinformation spread on the internet. Q-anonymous, a purposed government “leaker” is an alleged high-level government informant, according to Qanon followers, who posted cryptic messages about a satanic government on the now-defunct forum website, 8chan. This project will examine the possible relationship between a belief in various conspiracy theories associated with Qanon and how the Coronavirus affected rates of belief, utilizing the Chapman Survey of American Fears, a national study using a representative sample of U.S. adults. I expect to find that partisanship will play a large role in predicting rates of belief in Qanon. I believe I will find this relationship to be dependent on the nature of the conspiracy theories themselves. Conspiracy theories that stress governmental lies and secret groups of great control likely will likely have gained support in light of the Coronavirus outbreak and subsequent shutdowns. In this project, Questions on partisanship, Qanon and two COVID19 related conspiracy theories will be used to test for the aforementioned ideas. I expect believers in COVID19 related conspiracy theories to have a higher belief in the notion the government is hiding information about Qanon. With this project, I hope to identify the links between conspiracy theory belief, Qanon, and the Covid-19 virus in order to better understand public attitudes on the subject.

El asalto al Capitolio y el proceso de impeachment contra Donald Trump, tras las elecciones en EEUU (3-N), reabren el debate sobre el poder de la Retórica en el discurso político. Un líder no sometido a reglas impone el lenguaje de la desinformación y del populismo como eje del relato. Twitter se convierte en una herramienta para la deslegitimación de las instituciones, a través de un mensaje que arenga a las masas a la movilización. El objetivo principal del estudio es conocer la temática y estrategias discursivas de Trump en Twitter, dirigidas a denunciar la conspiración y el fraude de los resultados electorales. Aplicamos una metodología de análisis de contenido triangulado basada en el uso de palabras claves (15.365) sobre una muestra general de tuits (721) publicados por el mandatario desde el día después de las elecciones hasta la proclamación de Joe Biden como presidente electo de EEUU. El avance de resultados pone de relieve la influencia del líder, por delante de gobiernos y partidos, el poder de un lenguaje simple y subliminal, el sesgo personal de ganador o de víctima y una capacidad de producción de falacias en Twitter sin precedentes. Los efectos de la mentira de Trump sobre la audiencia social requieren de acciones conjuntas de instituciones, medios de comunicación y plataformas sociales que garanticen el futuro de la democracia., The Capitol riot and the impeachment process against Donald Trump, after the US elections (3-N), reopen the debate of the Rhetoric power in political discourse. A leader not subject to rules imposes the language of disinformation and populism as the axis of the story. Twitter becomes a tool for the delegitimization of institutions, through a message that harangues the masses to mobilize. The main objective of the study is to learn about Trump's themes and his discursive strategies on Twitter, aimed to denouncing the conspiracy and fraud of the electoral results. We applied a triangulated content analysis methodology based on the use of keywords (15,365) on a general sample of tweets (721) published by the president from the day after the elections until the proclamation of Joe Biden as president-elect of the United States. The advancement of results highlights the influence of the leader, ahead of governments and parties, the power of a simple and subliminal language, the personal bias of winner or victim and an unprecedented capacity to produce fallacies on Twitter. The effects of Trump's lie on the social audience require joint actions by institutions, the media and social platforms that guarantee the future of democracy.

While COVID-19 spreads aggressively and rapidly across the globe, many societies have also witnessed the spread of other viral phenomena like misinformation, conspiracy theories, and general mass suspicions about what is really going on. This study investigates how exposure to and trust in information sources, and anxiety and depression, are associated with conspiracy and misinformation beliefs in eight countries/regions (Belgium, Canada, England, Philippines, Hong Kong, New Zealand, United States, Switzerland) during the COVID-19 pandemic. Data were collected in an online survey fielded from May 29, 2020 to June 12, 2020, resulting in a multinational representative sample of 8,806 adult respondents. Results indicate that greater exposure to traditional media (television, radio, newspapers) is associated with lower conspiracy and misinformation beliefs, while exposure to politicians and digital media and personal contacts are associated with greater conspiracy and misinformation beliefs. Exposure to health experts is associated with lower conspiracy beliefs only. Higher feelings of depression are also associated with greater conspiracy and misinformation beliefs. We also found relevant group- and country differences. We discuss the implications of these results.

Conspiracy theory is a truly global form: Conspiracy narratives transgress the boundaries between cultures, media formats, and languages with ease, as is illustrated by the example of the US-American qanon-narrative, which is now a standard reference point for German Covid-19-‘sceptics.’ Conspiracy theory seemingly becomes a ubiquitous phenomenon and, at the same time, constitutes a global context of interchange between conspiracy readers and authors. My paper examines the example of the ‘Great Reset’-conspiracy theory. This narrative originated in libertarian circles and alleges the existence of a socialist world conspiracy. My paper investigates the roots of this narrative and shows that it has an antisemitic kernel. Drawing on Moishe Postone’s theory of structural antisemitism, I argue that conspiracy thinking is intrinsically connected to antisemitic thinking.In a second step, the paper discusses the narrative structure of conspiracy theories. Through means of narrativization and fictionalization, conspiracy theories conceptualize world as a text that requires meticulous interpretation to reveal its true meaning. Thus, instead of theorizing world, conspiracy theories mythologize it, constituting world as an affective context within a narrative structure. By discussing this complex, I propose the thesis that conspiracy theory resembles in many regards the concept of world literature, as it constitutes world as a function of narrativization. Conspiracy theory could therefore be understood as a clandestine undercurrent of the discourse of world literature, which, albeit seemingly connected to progressive values, is charged with its regressive other. Correlating world literature and world conspiracy literature, my paper seeks to establish a better understanding of the contemporary phenomenon and to challenge our concept of world literature.

El asalto al Capitolio y el proceso de impeachment contra Donald Trump, tras las elecciones en EEUU (3-N), reabren el debate sobre el poder de la Retórica en el discurso político. Un líder no sometido a reglas impone el lenguaje de la desinformación y del populismo como eje del relato. Twitter se convierte en una herramienta para la deslegitimación de las instituciones, a través de un mensaje que arenga a las masas a la movilización. El objetivo principal del estudio es conocer la temática y estrategias discursivas de Trump en Twitter, dirigidas a denunciar la conspiración y el fraude de los resultados electorales. Aplicamos una metodología de análisis de contenido triangulado basada en el uso de palabras claves (15.365) sobre una muestra general de tuits (721) publicados por el mandatario desde el día después de las elecciones hasta la proclamación de Joe Biden como presidente electo de EEUU. El avance de resultados pone de relieve la influencia del líder, por delante de gobiernos y partidos, el poder de un lenguaje simple y subliminal, el sesgo personal de ganador o de víctima y una capacidad de producción de falacias en Twitter sin precedentes. Los efectos de la mentira de Trump sobre la audiencia social requieren de acciones conjuntas de instituciones, medios de comunicación y plataformas sociales que garanticen el futuro de la democracia., The Capitol riot and the impeachment process against Donald Trump, after the US elections (3-N), reopen the debate of the Rhetoric power in political discourse. A leader not subject to rules imposes the language of disinformation and populism as the axis of the story. Twitter becomes a tool for the delegitimization of institutions, through a message that harangues the masses to mobilize. The main objective of the study is to learn about Trump's themes and his discursive strategies on Twitter, aimed to denouncing the conspiracy and fraud of the electoral results. We applied a triangulated content analysis methodology based on the use of keywords (15,365) on a general sample of tweets (721) published by the president from the day after the elections until the proclamation of Joe Biden as president-elect of the United States. The advancement of results highlights the influence of the leader, ahead of governments and parties, the power of a simple and subliminal language, the personal bias of winner or victim and an unprecedented capacity to produce fallacies on Twitter. The effects of Trump's lie on the social audience require joint actions by institutions, the media and social platforms that guarantee the future of democracy.

Der Glaube an Verschwörungstheorien verbreitet sich immer mehr in der Gesellschaft. Die wissenschaftliche Forschung an dieser Thematik wird deshalb immer relevanter. Das Ziel dieser Masterarbeit ist es, zu untersuchen, ob der Neoliberalismus für den zunehmenden Glauben an Verschwörungstheorien in der Bevölkerung verantwortlich ist. Da Verschwörungstheorien tief in der Geschichte verankert sind, wird der Neoliberalismus in dieser Arbeit nicht als Ursache für den Glauben gesehen, sondern als Produzent. Dabei wird davon ausgegangen, dass der Neoliberalismus den Zugang und den Glauben an Verschwörungstheorien erleichtert und antreibt. Die Forschungsfrage lautet in diesem Zusammenhang: Steht die zunehmende Verbreitung von Verschwörungstheorien im Zusammenhang mit dem Neoliberalismus und anders gefragt: Produziert der Neoliberalismus Verschwörungstheoretiker*innen? Um die Forschungsfrage zu beantworten, wurde zuerst der Literaturbestand hinsichtlich der Definitionen von Verschwörungstheorien sowie den Ursachen und Funktionen für den Glauben an Verschwörungstheorien untersucht. Viele der eruierten Ursachen für den Glauben an Verschwörungstheorien ließen einen Zusammenhang mit dem Neoliberalismus vermuten. Als theoretisches Konzept diente die Theorie des Neoliberalismus von Michel Foucault, angelehnt an dessen Werk „Kritik des Regierens“. Um die These, wonach der Neoliberalismus den Glauben an Verschwörungstheorien antreibe, empirisch zu überprüfen, wurde sich für eine qualitative Forschungsmethode in Form von zwei problemzentrierten Leitfadeninterviews entschieden, als Auswertungsmethode diente die qualitative Inhaltsanalyse nach Mayring, nach der dann ein deduktives Kategoriensystem basierend auf dem gesammelten Wissen aus der gesichteten Literatur generiert wurde. Daran anknüpfend wurden Hypothesen, bezogen auf die jeweilige Kategorie und Forschungsfrage, erstellt. Die Transkription der Interviews erfolgte nach den Transkriptionsregeln von Udo Kuckartz mittels dem Comput, The belief in conspiracy theories is spreading in society. Therefore, scientific research on this topic is getting more relevant. The aim of this master’s thesis is to investigate if neo-liberalism is responsible for the increasing belief in conspiracy theories. With conspiracy theories being deeply rooted in history, neo-liberalism will not be seen as the cause, but as a producer for the belief. It is assumed that neo-liberalism is facilitating and powering the access to as well as the belief in conspiracy theories. In this context, the research question will be: Is the increasing spread of conspiracy theories linked to neo-liberalism or in other words: Is neo-liberalism producing conspiracy theorists? In order to answer the research question, existing literature considering the definitions as well as the causes and functions of conspiracy theories had been examined in the beginning. Many of the found causes for the belief in conspiracy theories suspected a connection to neo-liberalism. The theory of neo-liberalism by Michel Foucault, referring to his book “Kritik des Regierens”, has been serving as a theoretical concept for this thesis. To check the hypothesis that neo-liberalism is driving the belief in conspiracy theories empirically, it has been decided on a qualitative research method consisting of two problem-centered guided interviews. Qualitative content analysis by Mayring had been chosen for analysis and interpretation of these interviews, after which a deductive category system based on the collected knowledge had been generated. Following this, hypotheses relating to the particular category and research question have been formulated. The transcription of the interviews has been guided by the transcription rules of Udo Kuckartz and by using the software MAXQDA. During the first analysis, peculiarities, consensus and patterns have been recorded and the hypotheses have been tested. Afterwards, these results have been interpreted and connected to the resear, Julia Poggemann, Masterarbeit Universität Innsbruck 2021

This article examines dystopian motifs in Ricardo Piglia's work. Assertions on narration and power are discussed in "Teoría del complot" and other essays by the author, also, police power and narration is analyzed in Los diarios de Emilio Renzi and La ciudad ausente. It is argued here that Piglia views both Latin American and Argentinian history in a dystopian light. This interpretation is visually and narratively rooted in a tradition of dystopian novels and films, under analyzed in the studies about the Argentinian writer. With the recent publication of the diaries, and the posthumous appearance of books of lectures and interviews by Piglia, this interpretation line has become increasingly relevant. © 2019 Universidad EAFIT. All rights reserved.

El asalto al Capitolio y el proceso de impeachment contra Donald Trump, tras las elecciones en EEUU (3-N), reabren el debate sobre el poder de la Retórica en el discurso político. Un líder no sometido a reglas impone el lenguaje de la desinformación y del populismo como eje del relato. Twitter se convierte en una herramienta para la deslegitimación de las instituciones, a través de un mensaje que arenga a las masas a la movilización. El objetivo principal del estudio es conocer la temática y estrategias discursivas de Trump en Twitter, dirigidas a denunciar la conspiración y el fraude de los resultados electorales. Aplicamos una metodología de análisis de contenido triangulado basada en el uso de palabras claves (15.365) sobre una muestra general de tuits (721) publicados por el mandatario desde el día después de las elecciones hasta la proclamación de Joe Biden como presidente electo de EEUU. El avance de resultados pone de relieve la influencia del líder, por delante de gobiernos y partidos, el poder de un lenguaje simple y subliminal, el sesgo personal de ganador o de víctima y una capacidad de producción de falacias en Twitter sin precedentes. Los efectos de la mentira de Trump sobre la audiencia social requieren de acciones conjuntas de instituciones, medios de comunicación y plataformas sociales que garanticen el futuro de la democracia., The Capitol riot and the impeachment process against Donald Trump, after the US elections (3-N), reopen the debate of the Rhetoric power in political discourse. A leader not subject to rules imposes the language of disinformation and populism as the axis of the story. Twitter becomes a tool for the delegitimization of institutions, through a message that harangues the masses to mobilize. The main objective of the study is to learn about Trump's themes and his discursive strategies on Twitter, aimed to denouncing the conspiracy and fraud of the electoral results. We applied a triangulated content analysis methodology based on the use of keywords (15,365) on a general sample of tweets (721) published by the president from the day after the elections until the proclamation of Joe Biden as president-elect of the United States. The advancement of results highlights the influence of the leader, ahead of governments and parties, the power of a simple and subliminal language, the personal bias of winner or victim and an unprecedented capacity to produce fallacies on Twitter. The effects of Trump's lie on the social audience require joint actions by institutions, the media and social platforms that guarantee the future of democracy.