University of Twente Student Theses
What are they talking about? Searching for the characteristics of COVID-19 conspiracy theory communities formed on Twitter
Pfeijffer, M. (2022) What are they talking about? Searching for the characteristics of COVID-19 conspiracy theory communities formed on Twitter.
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| Abstract: | INTRODUCTION: With the rise of the COVID-19 pandemic, COVID-19 conspiracy theories emerged as well. Believing in COVID-19 conspiracy theories can stem from different concepts, including demographics, sensemaking, a perceived lack of control and social identification. The latter contributes to the forming of communities, which also happens on Twitter. Little is known about the characteristics of the communities of COVID-19 conspiracy believers. METHOD: Out of 541,294 tweets concerning COVID-19, a dataset of 84,655 COVID-19 conspiracy tweets sent between the 3rd of January 2020 and the 19th of January 2021 had been selected. A topic analysis and network analysis were executed. RESULTS: Communities distinguished themselves from the others based on the topics discussed. In all communities, a mix of COVID-19 conspiracy believers and COVID-19 conspiracy opposers was found. Social identification was also detected. The COVID-19 conspiracy believers were also angry and suspicious towards the government. CONCLUSION: COVID-19 conspiracy communities form based on topics, meaning they form around specific COVID-19 conspiracy theories or subjects which were also discussed in the mainstream public debate. Political topics are also often present, especially because collective narcissism among the COVID-19 conspiracy believers caused the scapegoating of the government. Social identification took place among COVID-19 conspiracy believers and COVID-19 conspiracy opposers separately. The information bias and homophily have both not been detected, further strengthening the view that COVID-19 conspiracy communities are formed based upon specific COVID-19 conspiracy topics. |
| Item Type: | Essay (Master) |
| Faculty: | BMS: Behavioural, Management and Social Sciences |
| Subject: | 05 communication studies, 70 social sciences in general |
| Programme: | Communication Studies MSc (60713) |
| Link to this item: | https://purl.utwente.nl/essays/91980 |
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