Deadly Disinformation

Abstract

Viral online disinformation is misleading content that is generated to manipulate public opinion and to circulate rapidly in the digital space. Although viral disinformation has become an instrument for radicalization, the specific psychological mechanisms by which disinformation can be weaponized––wielded as mobilizing and radicalizing political tools––are not yet well-understood. In this paper, we establish the potential of concerted disinformation efforts to impact mass radicalization and political violence, first through historical precedents of deadly disinformation campaigns, then in modern-day examples from the USA and Russia. Comparing and contrasting political effects of two recent disinformation campaigns, QAnon’s #SaveTheChildren campaign in the USA, and anti-LGBTQ disinformation campaign in Russia, this paper highlights the significance of LGBTQ contagion threat—a notion that people can be “turned” into LGBTQ through deliberate outside influence. The psychological and political consequences of such messaging, its main target audience, and vulnerability factors rendering individuals especially susceptible to its radicalizing effects are discussed.

The Viral Warfare – Uncovering the Connection between Conspiracy Theories on COVID and the War in Ukraine

“…COVID-19 conspiracy theories, claiming for example that the virus is a hoax, or, on the opposite, a deadly dangerous bioweapon (Imhoff & Lamberty, 2022) could undermine healthcare responses and increase mortality by reducing both vaccination intentions and compliance to social distancing regulations, and pushing people towards alternative medicines (see also: van Mulokom et al, 2022; on the impact of anti-vaccine conspiracy theories in general: Jolley and Douglas, 2017). Conspiracy theories about Ukraine -such as that Ukraine is preparing a nuclear attack against Russia, or that Ukrainian authorities committed genocide against the Russian-speaking population in Eastern Ukraine -played a key role in both starting the invasion (see for example: Yablokov, 2022/a), and justifying the massacre of Russian soldiers against Ukrainian civilians (see for example: Habel-Sela et al, 2022;Moskalenko & Romanova, 2022). All the conspiracy theories mentioned above have been found totally fabricated and factually incorrect by fact-checkers (see for example : Reuters, 2020;Deutsche Welle, 2022).…”

“…The invasion of Ukraine by the Russian army was inspired, and legitimized by o cial conspiracy theories of the Putin regime such as the Ukrainians have committed genocide in Donbas, preparing for a nuclear strike against Russia, or that there are secret biolabs in Ukraine operated by the United States (Yablokov, 2022). Conspiracy theories could also play a role in justifying the aggressive behavior of Russian soldiers against Ukrainian civilians, such as it happened in earlier con icts as well (see for example Habel-Sela et al, 2022;Moskalenko & Romanova, 2022).…”