COVID-19 CONSPIRACISM IN THE AGE OF POST-TRUTH

The Covid-19 pandemic has triggered one of the most important structural crises of the world as the pandemic has not just had a great impact on the healthcare systems, but it has overwhelmed the world economically, politically and socially due to the extreme measures applied to mitigate the propagat...

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Main Author: Ömer Ersin Kahraman
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Türk Felsefe Derneği 2022-12-01
Series:Felsefe Dünyası
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Online Access:https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/download/article-file/2391645
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author Ömer Ersin Kahraman
author_facet Ömer Ersin Kahraman
author_sort Ömer Ersin Kahraman
collection DOAJ
description The Covid-19 pandemic has triggered one of the most important structural crises of the world as the pandemic has not just had a great impact on the healthcare systems, but it has overwhelmed the world economically, politically and socially due to the extreme measures applied to mitigate the propagation of the virus. This situation has led to numerous debates around the effects of the pandemic and the methods that states applied to deal with it, not only in academic circles but in all levels of society merely throughout social media discussions to which participation does not require any educational or professional background. Consequently, this period has also witnessed the diffusion of conspiracy theories varying from accusations which consider the rapid propagation of the virus as a plot of states and big pharmaceutical companies to allegations which presume the pandemic as a hoax to implement new communication technologies like 5G. It is obvious that this situation misleads people and endangers the struggle against the propagation of the virus. At first glance, it can be thought that the use of new communication technologies is to blame for the diffusion of false news, and a solution can be found in developing new tools to detect hoaxes beforehand. However, although social media facilitates the diffusion of conspiracism, it cannot be taken as the major reason seeing the fact that people have chosen to use social media platforms as their information sources because of their distrust against the mainstream media insomuch as information itself has been commodified in the age of information. Thus, this article aims to investigate within a philosophical perspective the sociopsychological mechanisms of the propensity towards conspiracy theories in the post-truth era in relation with the lost faith in the Enlightenment project’s quest for universal truths due to the commodification and exploitation of information.
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spelling doaj-art-1f85c42108dd4b41924beff92b3c0e8f2025-02-02T13:20:47ZengTürk Felsefe DerneğiFelsefe Dünyası1301-08752022-12-012762272442040COVID-19 CONSPIRACISM IN THE AGE OF POST-TRUTHÖmer Ersin Kahraman0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3744-5965İZMİR DEMOKRASİ ÜNİVERSİTESİThe Covid-19 pandemic has triggered one of the most important structural crises of the world as the pandemic has not just had a great impact on the healthcare systems, but it has overwhelmed the world economically, politically and socially due to the extreme measures applied to mitigate the propagation of the virus. This situation has led to numerous debates around the effects of the pandemic and the methods that states applied to deal with it, not only in academic circles but in all levels of society merely throughout social media discussions to which participation does not require any educational or professional background. Consequently, this period has also witnessed the diffusion of conspiracy theories varying from accusations which consider the rapid propagation of the virus as a plot of states and big pharmaceutical companies to allegations which presume the pandemic as a hoax to implement new communication technologies like 5G. It is obvious that this situation misleads people and endangers the struggle against the propagation of the virus. At first glance, it can be thought that the use of new communication technologies is to blame for the diffusion of false news, and a solution can be found in developing new tools to detect hoaxes beforehand. However, although social media facilitates the diffusion of conspiracism, it cannot be taken as the major reason seeing the fact that people have chosen to use social media platforms as their information sources because of their distrust against the mainstream media insomuch as information itself has been commodified in the age of information. Thus, this article aims to investigate within a philosophical perspective the sociopsychological mechanisms of the propensity towards conspiracy theories in the post-truth era in relation with the lost faith in the Enlightenment project’s quest for universal truths due to the commodification and exploitation of information.https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/download/article-file/2391645covid-19komplo teorilerihakikat sonrasıaydınlanmasosyal psikolojicovid-19conspiracy theoriespost-truthenlightenmentsocial psychology
spellingShingle Ömer Ersin Kahraman
COVID-19 CONSPIRACISM IN THE AGE OF POST-TRUTH
Felsefe Dünyası
covid-19
komplo teorileri
hakikat sonrası
aydınlanma
sosyal psikoloji
covid-19
conspiracy theories
post-truth
enlightenment
social psychology
title COVID-19 CONSPIRACISM IN THE AGE OF POST-TRUTH
title_full COVID-19 CONSPIRACISM IN THE AGE OF POST-TRUTH
title_fullStr COVID-19 CONSPIRACISM IN THE AGE OF POST-TRUTH
title_full_unstemmed COVID-19 CONSPIRACISM IN THE AGE OF POST-TRUTH
title_short COVID-19 CONSPIRACISM IN THE AGE OF POST-TRUTH
title_sort covid 19 conspiracism in the age of post truth
topic covid-19
komplo teorileri
hakikat sonrası
aydınlanma
sosyal psikoloji
covid-19
conspiracy theories
post-truth
enlightenment
social psychology
url https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/download/article-file/2391645
work_keys_str_mv AT omerersinkahraman covid19conspiracismintheageofposttruth