Between Harmless Gossiping and Harmful Politicking: Conspiracy Theories on Covid-19 in Indonesia

Ahmad Norma Permata, Napsiah, Dwi Nur L. Fithriya, Hikmalisa

2021

Abstract

During the escalating Covid-19 pandemic, conspiracy theorists explaining that it is not a natural phenomenon but rather a human one created by some kind of evil international actor for political or economic gain--have caught the attention of social media users around the world and sparked controversy. Indonesia is no exception. Critical responses immediately emerged from the government, medical experts, and other community leaders, who considered it dangerous and detrimental to the community and hampered efforts to overcome the pandemic. However, this article argues that conspiracy theories intransitive arguments that pandemics can be engineered for political and economic purposes are not necessarily harmful. Such habits have their roots in primitive human culture: the animist instinct that some kind of creative agency must be behind complex phenomena such as the Covid-19 pandemic; and gossip about the faults of others. Understanding the difference between the gossiping and political side of conspiracy theories will help find appropriate and effective responses. This article uses the QCA method of seven viral content on Youtube.

Paper Citation

in Harvard Style

Permata A., Napsiah., Fithriya D. and Hikmalisa. (2021). Between Harmless Gossiping and Harmful Politicking: Conspiracy Theories on Covid-19 in Indonesia. In Proceedings of the 3rd Annual International Conference on Social Sciences and Humanities - Volume 1: AICOSH, ISBN 978-989-758-603-3, pages 93-100. DOI: 10.5220/0010805100003348

in Bibtex Style

@conference{aicosh21,
author={Ahmad Norma Permata and Napsiah and Dwi Nur L. Fithriya and Hikmalisa},
title={Between Harmless Gossiping and Harmful Politicking: Conspiracy Theories on Covid-19 in Indonesia},
booktitle={Proceedings of the 3rd Annual International Conference on Social Sciences and Humanities - Volume 1: AICOSH,},
year={2021},
pages={93-100},
publisher={SciTePress},
organization={INSTICC},
doi={10.5220/0010805100003348},
isbn={978-989-758-603-3},
}

in EndNote Style

TY - CONF

JO - Proceedings of the 3rd Annual International Conference on Social Sciences and Humanities - Volume 1: AICOSH,
TI - Between Harmless Gossiping and Harmful Politicking: Conspiracy Theories on Covid-19 in Indonesia
SN - 978-989-758-603-3
AU - Permata A.
AU - Napsiah.
AU - Fithriya D.
AU - Hikmalisa.
PY - 2021
SP - 93
EP - 100
DO - 10.5220/0010805100003348