Abstract
First discovered in Wuhan, China, in December 2019 the Coronavirus has caused untold havoc throughout the globe and its effects will be remembered for many years to come. This flu like Covid19 virus has resulted in governments introducing some of the most drastic measures to stem its virulence. Because of its evolving nature, and the mystery surrounding its origins scientists, governments and the public have been left puzzled. This has created fertile grounds for speculations, conspiracy theories and fearmongering, particularly on social media platforms, thereby further complicating efforts of governments to combat the pandemic. While vaccines have been developed, uptake of these vaccines, particularly in developing countries such as South Africa has been very low, due to among other things, uncertainty about the efficacy of these vaccines and peddling of conspiracy theories on social media and other mass media platforms. This qualitative study examines users’ comments on the South African Department of Health official Facebook to shed light on the way in which conspiracy theories about COVID19 stand in the way of government efforts to combat the pandemic. The study employs the social cognitive theory to explain the possible effects of conspiracy theories on the government’s information and communication strategies in fighting the Covid19 pandemic.
Presenters
Memory MabikaSenior Lecturer, English, Media Studies and Linguistics Department, University of Venda, Limpopo, South Africa
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
KEYWORDS
Conspiracy Theories, Covid19 Pandemic, Facebook, South African
