Conspiracy Theories Generated by Digital Anti-vaccination Communities. Netnographic Case Study of a Facebook Group

The COVID-19 pandemic has contributed to the emergence of anti-vaccine groups and the dissemination of conspiracy theories on social media. These pseudoscientific conspiracy theories have led to the spread of xenophobic, racist, and potentially h...

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Main Authors: Bogna Halska-Pionka, Patrycja Cheba
Format: Article
Language:deu
Published: Jagiellonian University 2024-10-01
Series:Zeszyty Prasoznawcze
Online Access: https://ejournals.eu/czasopismo/zeszyty-prasoznawcze/artykul/conspiracy-theories-generated-by-digital-anti-vaccination-communities-netnographic-case-study-of-a-facebook-group
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author Bogna Halska-Pionka
Patrycja Cheba
author_facet Bogna Halska-Pionka
Patrycja Cheba
author_sort Bogna Halska-Pionka
collection DOAJ
description The COVID-19 pandemic has contributed to the emergence of anti-vaccine groups and the dissemination of conspiracy theories on social media. These pseudoscientific conspiracy theories have led to the spread of xenophobic, racist, and potentially harmful information within society. This article aims to address a research gap by delving into the contextual factors that support the development of conspiracy theories. The aim of this article is to recognize the essence and activity of members of the digital community and to identify the contexts (cultural, economic, political, social, etc.) supporting the process of generating conspiracy theories using the example of a Facebook group. The methodological approach employed will be virtual ethnography (netnography), conducted through an exploratory case study of a selected Facebook group. The empirical data were taken from March 2020 to June 2022. To streamline the analysis, the research team extracted four keywords or concepts – “coronavirus”, “COVID-19”, “COVID”, and “SARS‑CoV-2” – based on the frequency of their occurrence in the content. The research adopts an interdisciplinary perspective, drawing upon insights from media studies, social communication, sociology, and anthropology. The objective of this article is to present the current status of the project, which has received funding under the Strategic Program Excellence Initiative of Jagiellonian University.
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spelling doaj-art-bcb5d7f849a64df4b04c3ece54d7d9f92024-12-13T10:59:52ZdeuJagiellonian UniversityZeszyty Prasoznawcze0555-00252299-63622024-10-012024313715510.4467/22996362PZ.24.033.20105Conspiracy Theories Generated by Digital Anti-vaccination Communities. Netnographic Case Study of a Facebook GroupBogna Halska-Pionka0https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4818-4884Patrycja Cheba1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9125-0202 Uniwersytet Jagielloński w Krakowie Uniwersytet Jagielloński w Krakowie The COVID-19 pandemic has contributed to the emergence of anti-vaccine groups and the dissemination of conspiracy theories on social media. These pseudoscientific conspiracy theories have led to the spread of xenophobic, racist, and potentially harmful information within society. This article aims to address a research gap by delving into the contextual factors that support the development of conspiracy theories. The aim of this article is to recognize the essence and activity of members of the digital community and to identify the contexts (cultural, economic, political, social, etc.) supporting the process of generating conspiracy theories using the example of a Facebook group. The methodological approach employed will be virtual ethnography (netnography), conducted through an exploratory case study of a selected Facebook group. The empirical data were taken from March 2020 to June 2022. To streamline the analysis, the research team extracted four keywords or concepts – “coronavirus”, “COVID-19”, “COVID”, and “SARS‑CoV-2” – based on the frequency of their occurrence in the content. The research adopts an interdisciplinary perspective, drawing upon insights from media studies, social communication, sociology, and anthropology. The objective of this article is to present the current status of the project, which has received funding under the Strategic Program Excellence Initiative of Jagiellonian University. https://ejournals.eu/czasopismo/zeszyty-prasoznawcze/artykul/conspiracy-theories-generated-by-digital-anti-vaccination-communities-netnographic-case-study-of-a-facebook-group
spellingShingle Bogna Halska-Pionka
Patrycja Cheba
Conspiracy Theories Generated by Digital Anti-vaccination Communities. Netnographic Case Study of a Facebook Group
Zeszyty Prasoznawcze
title Conspiracy Theories Generated by Digital Anti-vaccination Communities. Netnographic Case Study of a Facebook Group
title_full Conspiracy Theories Generated by Digital Anti-vaccination Communities. Netnographic Case Study of a Facebook Group
title_fullStr Conspiracy Theories Generated by Digital Anti-vaccination Communities. Netnographic Case Study of a Facebook Group
title_full_unstemmed Conspiracy Theories Generated by Digital Anti-vaccination Communities. Netnographic Case Study of a Facebook Group
title_short Conspiracy Theories Generated by Digital Anti-vaccination Communities. Netnographic Case Study of a Facebook Group
title_sort conspiracy theories generated by digital anti vaccination communities netnographic case study of a facebook group
url https://ejournals.eu/czasopismo/zeszyty-prasoznawcze/artykul/conspiracy-theories-generated-by-digital-anti-vaccination-communities-netnographic-case-study-of-a-facebook-group
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