Diggit Magazine

Conspiracy theories

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Conspiracy theories, Fake News & Digital Media

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Conspiracy theories and fake news are not new phenomena, but digital media did enable the upscaling of the circulation, and thus the impact of those conspiracy theories. 

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‘5G users be like’: (In)visibility as evidence in 5G conspiracy memes

Article
Mijke Akkermans
09/08/2020
16 minutes to read

For several years, conspiracy theorists have promoted the idea that 5G waves are harmful for one's health, now even relating this to the coronavirus. This paper explores how memes are used to define (in)visibility as evidence within this theory.

QAnon: The alt-right war machine and social media mobilization

Article
Daniel Obubo
10/01/2020
12 minutes to read

QAnon is a far-right conspiracy theory about an on-going war between President Donald Trump and the "deep state". This article examines how QAnon followers use social media to their benefit by inviting skeptics to read between the lines.

Area 51 raiders
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Area 51 raiders: from meme to micro-population?

Article
Leonie Milder
03/12/2019
16 minutes to read

A Facebook event called 'Storm Area 51, They Can't Stop All of Us' went viral in the summer of 2019 and gave rise to 'Area 51 raiders'. Two million people said they'd be 'going'. Its impact was huge, but are Area 51 raiders a micro-population?

Understanding conspiracy theories in modern culture
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Conspiracy theories in digital culture

Article
Romy van Geffen
28/11/2018
9 minutes to read

Conspiracy theories are not a new phenomenon; they existed long before the Internet came along . Nowadays, however, the media play a big role in contributing to and promoting those theories.