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Conspiracy Talk on Social Media: Collective Sensemaking during a Public Health Crisis

Authors:

Kathleen PineAuthors Info & Claims

Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction, Volume 1, Issue CSCW

Article No.: 61, Pages 1 - 21

https://doi.org/10.1145/3134696

Published: 06 December 2017 Publication History

Abstract

Conspiracy theories have gained much academic and media attention recently, due to their large impact on public events. Crisis informatics researchers have examined conspiracy theories as a type of rumor. However, little is known about how conspiracy theories are produced and developed on social media. We present a qualitative study of conspiracy theorizing on Reddit during a public health crisis--the Zika virus outbreak. Using a mixed-methods approach including content analysis and discourse analysis, we identified types of conspiracy theories that appeared on Reddit in response to the Zika crisis, the conditions under which Zika conspiracy theories emerge, and the particular discursive strategies through which Zika conspiracy theories developed in online forums. Our analysis shows that conspiracy talk emerged as people attempted to make sense of a public health crisis, reflecting their emergent information needs and their pervasive distrust in formal sources of Zika information. Practical implications for social computing researchers, health practitioners, and policymakers are discussed.

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Cited By

Peng WMeng JLing T(2024)The media literacy dilemma: can ChatGPT facilitate the discernment of online health misinformation?Frontiers in Communication10.3389/fcomm.2024.14872139Online publication date: 29-Nov-2024
https://doi.org/10.3389/fcomm.2024.1487213
Peng WLee HLim S(2024)Leveraging Chatbots to Combat Health Misinformation for Older Adults: Participatory Design StudyJMIR Formative Research10.2196/607128(e60712)Online publication date: 11-Oct-2024
https://doi.org/10.2196/60712
Boulianne SLarsson ASchatto-Eckrodt TClever LFrischlich L(2024)The Seed of DoubtSocial Science Computer Review10.1177/0894439324124628142:5(1160-1180)Online publication date: 1-Oct-2024
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Index Terms

Conspiracy Talk on Social Media: Collective Sensemaking during a Public Health Crisis
1. Human-centered computing
  1. Human computer interaction (HCI)
    1. Empirical studies in HCI

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cover image Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction

Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction Volume 1, Issue CSCW

November 2017

2095 pages

EISSN:2573-0142

DOI:10.1145/3171581

Editors:
Clifford Lampe
University of Michigan
,
Jeff Nichols
Google
,
Karrie Karahalios
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
,
Geraldine Fitzpatrick
Vienna University of Technology
,
Uichin Lee
KAIST
,
Andres Monroy-Hernandez
Snap Inc.
,
Wolfgang Stuerzlinger
Simon Fraser University

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Published: 06 December 2017

Published in PACMHCI Volume 1, Issue CSCW

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Cited By

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https://doi.org/10.3389/fcomm.2024.1487213
Peng WLee HLim S(2024)Leveraging Chatbots to Combat Health Misinformation for Older Adults: Participatory Design StudyJMIR Formative Research10.2196/607128(e60712)Online publication date: 11-Oct-2024
https://doi.org/10.2196/60712
Boulianne SLarsson ASchatto-Eckrodt TClever LFrischlich L(2024)The Seed of DoubtSocial Science Computer Review10.1177/0894439324124628142:5(1160-1180)Online publication date: 1-Oct-2024
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1177/08944393241246281
Bhimdiwala AAdavi KArif A(2024)Fighting for Their Voice: Understanding Indian Muslim Women's Responses to Networked HarassmentProceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction10.1145/36410058:CSCW1(1-24)Online publication date: 26-Apr-2024
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