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- Convenors:
-
Ela Drazkiewicz
(Slovak Academy of Sciences)
Anastasiya Astapova (University of Tartu)
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- Discussant:
-
Andrea Kitta
(East Carolina University)
- Format:
- Panel
- Stream:
- Narratives
- Location:
- D51
- Sessions:
- Thursday 8 June, -, -
Time zone: Europe/Prague
Short Abstract:
When the world falls apart, information becomes a key weapon. In this panel, we ask what strategies and genres individuals, organisations, state and non-state actors use to narrate the uncertain times?
Long Abstract:
When the world falls apart, information becomes one of the most important weapons. In this panel, we ask what strategies individuals, organisations, state and non-state actors take to narrate the uncertain times. How are certainty and uncertainty crafted, by whom and to what end? How do stakeholders on the different sides of political and military divides manoeuvre the complicated field of information games? The goal of this panel is not to find out who is right or wrong in these games, but rather to analyse what strategies different stakeholders apply to fill the gaps in their knowledge, to manipulate information and secrecy, and to provoke suspicion or generate trust; yet also to relieve the tension of uncertainty and maybe even sometimes going as far as making fun of it. We invite papers that consider diverse communicative genres of propaganda, trolling, and uncertainty, such as (but not limited to) gossip, rumours, and conspiracy theories. We are particularly interested in studies that provide the perspective of both 'truthers' and 'truth defenders' and focus not only on 'usual suspects' (for instance, conspiracy theorists) but also analyse the role of researchers, state authorities, journalists or NGOs in truth games.
Accepted papers:
Session 1 Thursday 8 June, 2023, -Dani Schrire (The Hebrew University of Jerusalem)
Paper short abstract:
S. Ansky, writer, folklorist, revolutionary, published in 1920 a book on the destruction of the Jews of Galicia in the Great War. Based on covert ethnography he analyses anti-Semitic rumours where he both defends the truth and strives to understand the mechanism of such narratives
Paper long abstract:
My paper addresses rumour in times of War in Galicia (Western Ukraine) during the First World War, analyzing a work of S. Ansky on that topic. Ansky (b. Vitebsk 1863 - d. Warsaw 1920) was a unique figure: a Russian and Yiddish writer, author of the Dybbuk play, socialist-revolutionary, folklorist, leader of the expedition to study the Jewish Pale of settlement in 1912-1914 (Safran 2010). In a less know work of his, The Destruction of the Jews of Galicia (published in 1920; trans. as The Enemy at His Pleasure) he describes in horrifying detail the fate of the Jews of Galicia in the War. This work combines reports of dry facts in a journalistic manner, with rich ethnographic and cultural insights. Among them, Ansky writes much on anti-Semitic narratives that spread among the Russian soldiers. These he classified as 'rumours', 'dreadful accusations', 'wild and fantastic stories', 'whispered libels', 'false claims'. On the one hand Ansky stands for the truth, debunking these rumours, but on the other hand he uses his folkloristic sensitivity to make sense of why and how these stories circulate. In the context of current crises and the War in Ukraine, my paper aims at addressing this historical case-study in relation to older anti-Semitic tales and theories of legend, rumour, conspiracy and 'fake news'. I maintain that Ansky's unique position as a 'truther' disguised in his fieldwork as a Russian officer, interpreting rumours that accuse Jews for being covertly German, is crucial in comprehending his analysis.
Anastasiya Astapova (University of Tartu) Maili Pilt (Institute of Cultural Research. University of Tartu)
Paper short abstract:
This paper explores the Facebook group which targets disinformation and pseudoscience by trolling and reporting on conspiracy theories entrepreneurs and right-wing politicians. The research is based on online fieldwork as well as the interviews with the group's activists.
Paper long abstract:
This research focuses on combating conspiracy theories on a grassroots level, that is, in one of the Facebook debunking groups created by ordinary social media users. The online community under observation is the Estonian-language Facebook group "Victory of Light! Continuation" (Valguse võit! Järg), which emerged in the middle of the pandemic. This group exemplifies social media activism, bringing together people dedicated to fighting misinformation and conspiracy theories by reporting on and trolling those who spread these. This paper traces the development and strategies of the debunking group from its creation in 2021 to fight the Covid-related misinformation to 2022, when it mostly had to turn to debunk fake news about the Ukrainian war. We examine the motives and strategies for fighting conspiracy theories and false information based on online fieldwork and a face-to-face interview with the group’s founder. We also analyze how the group members identify themselves as an online community fighting together against misinformation and how they unwittingly create the folk archive of conspiracy theories.
Olivia Rachwol (University of Tübingen)
Paper short abstract:
Drawing on conversations with Polish (far) rightists, this paper shows the relationship between populism, conspiracy theories and collective memory for supporters and representatives of the Polish government alliance Zjednoczona Prawica and the far-right conglomerate Konfederacja.
Paper long abstract:
Looking back at a roughly 1000-year-old history of ups and downs, the last centuries’ recurring switches between occupation and freedom left a significant mark on the Polish collective memory. Not only did the country’s historical experiences intensify the religious imagination of Poland being the “Christ of Nations”, predestined to live through a circle of suffering, death, and rebirth, as well as nourish belief in conspiracy theories. More recently, they have also helped the right-wing populist Prawo i Sprawiedliwość (PiS) gain and retain power, not least by convincing their electorate that Poland needed to be protected from foreign occupants and interior enemies again.
Although the PiS-party’s government comeback revived research interest in right-wing populism, conspiracy theories and collective memory in Poland, more ethnographical accounts into the connections between them are needed. Departing from the ERC project PACT, which investigates the connection between populism and conspiracy theories for countries all over the world, the proposed paper looks at these phenomena in Poland with a view to integrating the self-conception of the interviewees into the analysis. Drawing on conversations with a range of interlocutors affiliated with the Polish (far) right, the paper aims to answer: how do supporters and representatives of the national-conservative party alliance Zjednoczona Prawica (Prawo i Spawiedliwość, Solidarna Polska) narrate the current political situation? How important is conspiracy theory to them? How does their narrative differ from the one presented by the far-right and openly conspiracist party conglomerate Konfederacja? And how do both weave Poland’s course of history in?
Ela Drazkiewicz (Slovak Academy of Sciences)
Paper short abstract:
The COVID-19 pandemic promoted simple dichotomies of laudable doctors supported by the trusting science citizens vis-à-vis an irrational mob endorsing dangerous theories. This paper examines methodological and ethical challenges of doing research with people separated by the conspiratorial divide.
Paper long abstract:
When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, two contrasting images quickly became representative of the crisis. On the one hand, there were heroic doctors working day and night with the novel virus, risking their lives and making sacrifices to save others. On the other, there were ‘anti-maskers’ and ‘anti-vaxxers’: people doubting if the virus is real, questioning the effectiveness of protective measures, suspicious that the crisis is nothing more than an elaborate plot, a scam aimed to redesign their world and to destroy the values they hold dear. Reflecting on research conducted in Ireland with people separated by the conspiratorial divide, this paper examines some methodological and analytical challenges of doing simultaneous research with opposing stakeholders. Analysing my own entanglements in the conflicts over vaccines and conspiracy theories in this paper I argue that the pandemic was not just a battle to secure the acceptability of specific medical technology (the COVID-19 vaccine) but was also about safeguarding respectability of science and maintaining the rule of experts. It was about preventing ontological turn, the end of the era of reason, a dawn of modernity.
Toni Saarinen (University of Helsinki)
Paper short abstract:
”Eschatological populism” as exemplified by the apocalyptic Great Replacement myth argues for a covert genocide of the ”white race” undertaken by ”the elite.” In this paper, I discuss its features and how such conspiracism emerges as a discursive strategy that can support a comprehensive worldview.
Paper long abstract:
I understand conspiracist myths such as The Great Replacement as instances of ”eschatological populism.” This term refers to the discursive practices of both right-wing populist politicians and far-right groups who construct a world where the malicious ”elite” is attempting a slow, covert genocide of ”the people.” In the Western countries, this threat typically concerns the white majority population that the elusive elite is purposefully replacing with immigrants, usually from the Middle East. Supporting a (mostly) secular ideology with an apocalyptic narrative, eschatological populism talks of an imminent existential threat to a perceived homogeneous culture. The idealized concepts of ”the people” and ”our culture” are painted as natural and semi-eternal, while their anthropogenic eradication looms near.
In this paper, I will first quickly discuss the connections between conspiracism and populism. Next, I will sum up the eschatological features of such populism based on theories of apocalypticism. Finally, I will demonstrate the discursive use of these features by specifically concentrating on The Great Replacement in the U.S. This conspiracist narrative is presented in the form of a secular prophecy, offering a teleological explanation of history. It is typically used for strategic purposes as a political response to societal change, but the most extreme versions of this racist myth emerge as individual acts of violence such as the Christchurch mass murder of 2019. In addition to a political strategy, The Great Replacement can thus form an explanatory framework for interpreting the world and reinforcing dangerous convictions.
Natália Slivková (Institute of Ethnology and Social Anthropology, SAS)
Paper short abstract:
The negative perception of conspiracy theories moves them into a sensitive research area. The Internet offers an alternative research field in which a lot of quality research data can be obtained. However, their collection raises several ethical questions.
Paper long abstract:
Conspiracy theories evoke negative connotations in society. Being labeled a conspiracy theorist can mean discredit in social discourse. The period of the pandemic crisis didn´t benefit their social reputation either. Defenders of conspiracy theories have become targets of various pejorative stickers. For example, the well-known term “desolate” was created in Slovakia. Investigating conspiracy theories in an atmosphere of the global crisis is, for scientists, a sensitive field with possible obstacles. I would like to outline my dilemmas in my dissertation research. These ethical dilemmas result from the negative perception of conspiracy theorists, and also from limitations in the application of digital ethnography. I focus on the problem of refusing compulsory vaccination of children. Refusal of compulsory vaccination is a decision and action in violation of the law, which carries social and economic risks. For this reason, it´s understandable that people resort to private groups providing a comfort zone and safety. However, the private group’s status can prevent the researcher from accessing data that could be crucial for mapping the issue. How to deal with ethical dilemmas and get answers to research questions? How to investigate conspiracy theories on the Internet following a code of ethics that doesn´t elaborate on the specifics of the online space? And how to gain the trust of the respondents under the influence of social perception in the post-pandemic atmosphere, in which even a scientist can represent untrustworthy authority? This post doesn't provide answers but foregrounds the questions I face in my research, offline and online.