Conspiracy Beliefs in the Digitalized World: Examining Pandemic-Related Conspiracy Beliefs Through Twitter Content Analysis

Ahmet Yasin Şenyurt

Makale detayları

Conspiracy Beliefs in the Digitalized World: Examining Pandemic-Related Conspiracy Beliefs Through Twitter Content Analysis

Yazarlar:

Ahmet Yasin Şenyurt

Yayıncı:

Mustafa Süleyman ÖZCAN

Ana Başlıklar:

Sosyal Medya Çalışmaları

Dergi:

İnsan ve Toplum Bilimleri Araştırmaları Dergisi Vol.13 Issue 4, pp.98-113

Belge Tipi:

Makale

Yayın Tarihi:

10/2024

Belge Dili:

Türkçe

Document ID (Org No.):

2001311715

pISSN:

2147-1185

Anahtar kelimeler:

Özet:

 Conspiracy theories can easily spread to large audiences through the influence of social media. These theories reflect peoples tendency to seek order and control in uncertain and anxious situations. Uncertainty Management Theory defines this tendency as an effort to manage uncertainty and anxiety. Additionally, Social Identity Theory suggests that conspiracy theories proliferate among individuals striving to protect their social identities and maintain group memberships. This study aims to systematically analyze the content of tweets related to conspiracy theories shared by Twitter users in Turkey during the COVID-19 pandemic.. For this purpose, 1459 tweets tagged with plandemi shared by individuals with COVID-19-related conspiracy beliefs were examined in 2021. Of these, 616 tweets 41.5 were original tweets, and 881 58.85 were retweets. Data were collected by averaging 200 tweets and retweets per day from December 11 to 18, 2021. Before coding, 140 tweets were selected for content analysis, and codes were created based on these tweets. The created codes were finalized after obtaining feedback from faculty members in health management and psychology departments. Subsequently, 1400 tweets were analyzed using the Maxqda program. The analysis revealed that the 10 most frequently used words were vaccine, global, God, doctor, COVID, equipment, health, climate, PCR, and lies. The findings showed that the codes were grouped around three main themes: economy, external group, and vaccine. Conspiracy theories associated with economic issues and pandemic measures become prominent in tweets. In tweets focusing on the out-group theme, allegations that the pandemic was planned are highlighted, especially concerning global conspiracies and doctors. In the vaccine theme, uncertainties created by the pandemic and the vaccine are emphasized. These findings shed light on the interaction between socio-economic factors and demonization of external groups with conspiracy beliefs.

 Conspiracy theories can easily spread to large audiences through the influence of social media. These theories reflect peoples tendency to seek order and control in uncertain and anxious situations. Uncertainty Management Theory defines this tendency as an effort to manage uncertainty and anxiety. Additionally, Social Identity Theory suggests that conspiracy theories proliferate among individuals striving to protect their social identities and maintain group memberships. This study aims to systematically analyze the content of tweets related to conspiracy theories shared by Twitter users in Turkey during the COVID-19 pandemic.. For this purpose, 1459 tweets tagged with plandemi shared by individuals with COVID-19-related conspiracy beliefs were examined in 2021. Of these, 616 tweets 41.5 were original tweets, and 881 58.85 were retweets. Data were collected by averaging 200 tweets and retweets per day from December 11 to 18, 2021. Before coding, 140 tweets were selected for content analysis, and codes were created based on these tweets. The created codes were finalized after obtaining feedback from faculty members in health management and psychology departments. Subsequently, 1400 tweets were analyzed using the Maxqda program. The analysis revealed that the 10 most frequently used words were vaccine, global, God, doctor, COVID, equipment, health, climate, PCR, and lies. The findings showed that the codes were grouped around three main themes: economy, external group, and vaccine. Conspiracy theories associated with economic issues and pandemic measures become prominent in tweets. In tweets focusing on the out-group theme, allegations that the pandemic was planned are highlighted, especially concerning global conspiracies and doctors. In the vaccine theme, uncertainties created by the pandemic and the vaccine are emphasized. These findings shed light on the interaction between socio-economic factors and demonization of external groups with conspiracy beliefs.

 Conspiracy theories can easily spread to large audiences through the influence of social media. These theories reflect peoples tendency to seek order and control in uncertain and anxious situations. Uncertainty Management Theory defines this tendency as an effort to manage uncertainty and anxiety. Additionally, Social Identity Theory suggests that conspiracy theories proliferate among individuals striving to protect their social identities and maintain group memberships. This study aims to systematically analyze the content of tweets related to conspiracy theories shared by Twitter users in Turkey during the COVID-19 pandemic.. For this purpose, 1459 tweets tagged with plandemi shared by individuals with COVID-19-related conspiracy beliefs were examined in 2021. Of these, 616 tweets 41.5 were original tweets, and 881 58.85 were retweets. Data were collected by averaging 200 tweets and retweets per day from December 11 to 18, 2021. Before coding, 140 tweets were selected for content analysis, and codes were created based on these tweets. The created codes were finalized after obtaining feedback from faculty members in health management and psychology departments. Subsequently, 1400 tweets were analyzed using the Maxqda program. The analysis revealed that the 10 most frequently used words were vaccine, global, God, doctor, COVID, equipment, health, climate, PCR, and lies. The findings showed that the codes were grouped around three main themes: economy, external group, and vaccine. Conspiracy theories associated with economic issues and pandemic measures become prominent in tweets. In tweets focusing on the out-group theme, allegations that the pandemic was planned are highlighted, especially concerning global conspiracies and doctors. In the vaccine theme, uncertainties created by the pandemic and the vaccine are emphasized. These findings shed light on the interaction between socio-economic factors and demonization of external groups with conspiracy beliefs.

 Komplo teorileri, sosyal medyanın etkisiyle kolayca yayılarak geniş kitlelere ulaşabilmektedir. Bu teoriler, insanların belirsizlik ve endişe dolu durumlarda düzen ve kontrol hissi sağlama eğilimini yansıtmaktadır. Belirsizlik Yönetimi Kuramı, bu eğilimi belirsizlik ve kaygı duygularını kontrol altına alma çabası olarak tanımlar. Ayrıca, Sosyal Kimlik Kuramı, komplo teorilerinin sosyal kimliklerini koruma ve grup üyeliklerini sürdürme çabası içinde olan insanlar arasında yaygınlaştığını öne sürer. Bu çalışma, Türkiyedeki Twitter kullanıcılarının COVID-19 döneminde komplo teorileriyle ilgili yaptığı paylaşımların içeriğini sistematik bir şekilde incelemeyi hedeflemektedir. Bu amaçla 2021 yılında, COVID-19la ilgili komplo inançlarına sahip kişilerin plandemi etiketiyle paylaştığı 1459 Twitter X paylaşımı incelenmiştir. plandemi etiketi taşıyan paylaşımların 616sı tweet 41.5 ve 881i retweet 58.85tir. Veriler, 11-18 Aralık 2021 tarihlerinde her gün ortalama 200 tweet ve retweet toplanarak elde edilmiştir. Kodlama öncesinde içerik analizi için 140 tweet seçilerek bu tweetler üzerinden kodlar oluşturulmuştur. Oluşturulan kodlar, sağlık yönetimi ve psikoloji bölümü öğretim üyelerinden görüş alınarak son şeklini almıştır. Ardından, 1400 tweet Maxqda programı ile analiz edildi. Analiz sonucunda en sık kullanılan 10 kelime sırasıyla aşı, küresel, Allah, doktor, COVID, ekipman, sağlık, iklim, PCR ve yalan olarak bulundu. Bulgular kodların 3 ana tem etrafında toplandığını göstermektedir: ekonomi, dış grup ve aşı. Ekonomik sorunlar ve pandemi önlemleriyle ilişkilendirilen komplo teorileri tweetlerde belirgin hale gelmektedir. Dış grup temasında, küresel komplo ve doktorlar üzerine odaklanan tweetlerde pandeminin planlı olduğu iddiaları öne çıkmaktadır. Aşı temasında ise pandemi ve aşının oluşturduğu belirsizlikler vurgulanmaktadır. Bu bulgular, komplo inançlarıyla, sosyo-ekonomik faktörlerin ve dış grup şeytanlaştırmanın etkileşimine ışık tutmaktadır.

Makale detayları

Conspiracy Beliefs in the Digitalized World: Examining Pandemic-Related Conspiracy Beliefs Through Twitter Content Analysis

Yazarlar:

Ahmet Yasin Şenyurt

Yayıncı:

Mustafa Süleyman ÖZCAN

Ana Başlıklar:

Sosyal Medya Çalışmaları

Dergi:

İnsan ve Toplum Bilimleri Araştırmaları Dergisi Vol.13 Issue 4, pp.98-113

Belge Tipi:

Makale

Yayın Tarihi:

10/2024

Belge Dili:

Türkçe

Document ID (Org No.):

2001311715

pISSN:

2147-1185

Out-Group

Economy

Social Identity

COVID-19

UncertaintyDış Grup

Ekonomi

Sosyal Kimlik

COVID-19

Belirsizlik

Sayı

Makale detayları

Yazarlar: Ahmet Yasin Şenyurt

Yayıncı: Mustafa Süleyman ÖZCAN

Ana Başlıklar: Sosyal Medya Çalışmaları

Dergi: İnsan ve Toplum Bilimleri Araştırmaları Dergisi Vol.13 Issue 4, pp.98-113

Belge Tipi: Makale

Yayın Tarihi: 10/2024

Belge Dili: Türkçe

Document ID (Org No.): 2001311715

pISSN: 2147-1185

Sayı

Yazarlar:

Ahmet Yasin Şenyurt

Yayıncı:

Mustafa Süleyman ÖZCAN

Ana Başlıklar:

Sosyal Medya Çalışmaları

Dergi:

İnsan ve Toplum Bilimleri Araştırmaları Dergisi Vol.13 Issue 4, pp.98-113

Belge Tipi:

Makale

Yayın Tarihi:

10/2024

Belge Dili:

Türkçe

Document ID (Org No.):

2001311715

pISSN:

2147-1185