1st Edition

Covid Conspiracy Theories in Global Perspective

Edited By Michael Butter, Peter Knight Copyright 2023
414 Pages 2 B/W Illustrations
by Routledge

414 Pages 2 B/W Illustrations
by Routledge

Covid Conspiracy Theories in Global Perspective examines how conspiracy theories and related forms of misinformation and disinformation about the Covid-19 pandemic have circulated widely around the world. Covid conspiracy theories have attracted considerable attention from researchers, journalists, and politicians, not least because conspiracy beliefs have the potential to negatively affect... Read more

Introduction

Introduction: Covid-19 Conspiracy Theories in Global Perspective

Michael Butter and Peter Knight

Section 1: General Perspectives

1. The Psychology of Pandemic Conspiracy Theories

Roland Imhoff

2. Leak or Leap? Evidence and Cognition Surrounding the Origins of the SARS-CoV-2 Virus

Stephan Lewandowsky, Peter H. Jacobs and Stuart Neil

Section 2: Asia

3. Covid Origins, Nationalism and Diasporic Heterogeneity: China, Chineseness and Covid-19

Carwyn Morris, Andy Hanlun Li and Lotus Ruan

4. Dis-Spiracy Theory: Why Corona Rhymes with Corruption in Indonesia

Nils Bubandt

5. Covid-19, Conspiracy Narratives, and the Arab State

Johannes Sauerland

6. Conspiracy Theories about the Covid-19 Pandemic in Turkey

Türkay Salim Nefes

Section 3: Africa

7. Covid-19 Related Rumors and Conspiracy Theories: A Case Study from Cameroon

Martina Drescher

8. "Complòóót?": Theorizing about Covid-19 Conspiracies in Côte d’Ivoire

Oumarou Boukari and Joschka Philipps

9. A Disease of the Rich and a Disease of the Poor: Comparing Rumors about the Coronavirus and Ebola in Guinea

Joschka Philipps and Saïkou Oumar Sagnane

10. The Constitutional Crisis and the Coronavirus: Conspiracies and Deep Politics during South Africa’s Pandemic

Nicholas Abrams and Mongezi Bolofo

11. Africa Out of the Shadows: Authoritarian Anti-Imperialism, Transnational Pentecostalism, and Covid-19 "Conspiracy Theories"

Laura Meek

12. "The Truth Is Not Known": Covid-19 Vaccine Hesitancy as a Failure of Biomedicine’s Moral Legitimacy in Zambia

Justin Lee Haruyama

Section 4: Europe

13. Covid-19-related Conspiracy Theories in the Baltic States

Mari-Liis Madisson and Andreas Ventsel

14. Covid-19 Conspiracy Theories in France

Julien Giry

15. Covid Conspiracy Theories in Germany, Austria and Switzerland

Michael Butter

16. Conspiracy Entrepreneurs, Fringe Movements, and the Pervasive Style of Conspiracy during the Coronavirus Pandemic: The Case of Hungary

Lili Turza

17. Italian Uprising from Covid Skepticism to Societal Polarization

Cecilia Vergnano

18. The Proliferation of Alternative Media: How Corona Conspiracy Theories in the Netherlands Fostered New Social Movements

Jaron Harambam

19. Covid, Conspiracy Theories and the Nordic Countries

Asbjørn Dyrendal

20. The Usual Suspects? Conspiracy Theories and the Covid-19 Pandemic in Poland

Olivia Rachwol

21. A (Cold) War for Vaccines: Retro-Conspiracism in Kremlin-Aligned Russian Discourse on Sputnik V

Boris Noordenbos

22. A Communist Coup by Lockdown: Covid Conspiracy Theories in Spain

Alejandro Romero-Reche

Section 5: North America

23. Anti-Colonialism Meets Anti-Vax Suspicion: The Case of Guadeloupe

Nicole Simek

24. A Perfect Storm: Covid-19 Conspiracy Theories in the United States

Clare Birchall and Peter Knight

Section 6: South America

25. Vulnerability and Conspiracy Theories: Latin America in the Time of Covid-19

Luis Roniger and Leonardo Senkman

26. "The Communavirus Is Here": Anti-Communist Conspiracy Theories in Brazil’s Response to the Covid-19 Pandemic

Katerina Hatzikidi

Section 7: Oceania

27. Covid-19 in Aotearoa New Zealand: The Darker Side of Paradise

Matthew R. X. Dentith

Biography

Michael Butter is Professor of American Studies at the University of Tübingen, Germany. He also directs the ERC-funded project "Populism and Conspiracy Theory." He is the author of The Nature of Conspiracy Theories (2020) and coeditor of the Routledge Handbook of Conspiracy Theories (2020).

Peter Knight is Professor of American Studies at the University of Manchester, UK. His research is on conspiracy theories and the economic humanities. He is the author of Conspiracy Culture, The Kennedy Assassination, and Reading the Market and is co-author of Invested and Conspiracy Theories in the Time of Covid-19 . He is coeditor of the Routledge Handbook of Conspiracy Theories.