Golbraikh V.B. Conspiracy discourse of Russian covid-dissidents in social networks (on the example of virtual communities in VKontakte). Political Expertise: POLITEX, 20(2), 212–230. ttps: ...

Текст статьи на сайте журнала URL: https://politex.spbu.ru/article/view/20275 (дата обращения 29.12.2024)

Abstract

This paper examines the conspiracy discourse of Russian covid-dissidents. The use of conspiracy theories is typical of radical covid dissidents who have become more active in recent times. Social networks play a significant role in the spread of conspiracy theories. As part of the study, it was decided to limit ourselves to the consideration of virtual anti-vaccination communities created in the largest social media in Russia - Vkontakte. These communities are a significant resource for anti-vaccine mobilization.To analyze the posts of online communities, manual quantitative content analysis was used. The study showed an intense discussion of issues related to covid-19. At the same time, the analysis revealed a clear increase in the discussion of the pandemic in November 2021 around the preparation for the adoption of laws on QR codes in the State Duma. The analysis revealed a significant proportion of conspiracy posts. As the study showed, almost all known conspiracy theories related to the covid-19 pandemic and appearing in various states were present to varying degrees in the analyzed online communities.