The Nexus of QAnon and COVID-19: Legitimation Crisis and Epistemic Crisis

Abstract

In this article, we analyze the role of conspiracy theories, especially the spread of QAnon during the COVID-19 pandemics, in the legitimation crisis and epistemic crisis in contemporary democracies. We discuss Habermas’ theory of legitimation crisis and the potential for reactionary movements in times of such crisis, as well as Hofstadter’s description of the paranoid style in political culture. We explain the notion of ‘epistemic crisis’ as theorized by Larry Laudan and discussed recently in relation to social media. We discuss anti-intellectualism in Hofstadter’s terms, and explain its connection with populism. Finally, we explain how all of this comes to bear on the contemporary proliferation of conspiracy theory, using QAnon and the COVID crisis as our point of reference, and examples from the United States and Brazil to illustrate our points. QAnon fueled COVID-19 conspiracy theories, and COVID-19 conspiracy theories rocketed QAnon to a place of major influence.

“Don’t Make Me Ratio You Again”: How Political Influencers Encourage Platformed Political Participation

“…Initial scholarship theorized that these social networks functioned as echo chambers and filter bubbles (Pariser, 2011) capable of amplifying specific political ideologies to a targeted audience, such as when Occupy Wall Street protesters used live-streaming services to encourage protest as a form of political participation (Calhoun, 2013;Juris, 2012). In the United States, conservatives, the alt-right, and QAnon also implement strategies to manipulate social media platforms to advance their political agenda both online and offline (Bolla Tripodi, 2022;Morelock & Narita, 2022). Social media has been a catalyst for political participation in younger generations (Abidin, 2020;Milkman, 2017).…”

Battling disinformation on the front lines of the pandemic: Physicians’ dual roles as healers and CML educators

“…These lifesaving measures were perceived as persecution by some and created a dichotomy of the “evil persecutors” (doctors and officials) and the “good saviors” of the injustice. It also created fertile grounds to combat the “evil persecutors” in a crusade‐like fashion making compromise impossible (Morelock & Narita, 2022). Additionally, due to the fact that this was a novel virus, information was continuously changing as scientists learned more about COVID‐19.…”

“…Additionally, due to the fact that this was a novel virus, information was continuously changing as scientists learned more about COVID‐19. This not only called the legitimacy of physician experts and government organizations such as the Center for Disease Control (CDC) and the World Health Organization into question, but it created a lack of clarity on where to find the truth creating an ‘epistemic crisis’ (Morelock & Narita, 2022). Adding to this mistrust, the former president separated from the World Health Organization and publicly lambasted the CDC, further distancing this population from the truth and facts regarding COVID‐19 (McLaren, 2022).…”

Z: perception as weaponry in the Russian Ukraine conflict

“…The popular term 'post-truth' refers to a condition where people's beliefs about reality are driven by emotion more than logic or evidence. In the epistemic crisis, the what, the how, and the who of knowledge are caught up in a storm of propositions that do not need much in the way of logic or evidence to act as an effective ground to convincingly base their claims (MORELOCK AND NARITA, 2022). But these categories -beliefs (the what), belief-fixating mechanisms (the how) and belief experts (the who), are interlinked in a kind of syllogistic circuit.…”