| Time (EDT) | Time (CET) | Title | Presenters |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8:20 a.m. | 2:20 p.m. | Florian Primig & Julia Lück-Benz (Freie Universität Berlin) | |
| 8:30 a.m. | 2:30 p.m. | Lisa D. Lenoir & Bianca Pugliesi (Indiana University) | |
| 8:40 a.m. | 2:40 p.m. | Conspiracy Theories: A Critical Perspective on Common Concepts | Steffen Göths (Freie Universität Berlin) |
| 8:50 a.m. | 2:50 p.m. | Loose Change, Joe Rogan, and Conspiracy Theory Entertainment | Meaghan Murphy (Indiana University) |
| 9 a.m. | 3 p.m. | Questions/Discussion for Session 1 presentations | |
| 9:30 a.m. | 3:30 p.m. | Break (5 minutes) |
Shobha S V is a fourth-year PhD student at the Media School. She is interested in the fast-changing media landscape mediated by technology with a particular focus on journalism, its labor, gender, consumption of media, and its impact on democracy. She holds a Masters’s degree in Sociology from Delhi School of Economics, Delhi University, India.
8:20 a.m. EDT | 2:20 p.m. CET
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Germany has seen a resurgence of far-right protests facilitated by conspiracist and far-right extremist networks on Telegram and other platforms. Research has thus far mainly focused on the far-right hybrid-media activism. Since the beginning of the far-right online protests, however, they have been monitored and reported on by digital counter-activists who have yet to receive scholarly attention. We analyze this monitorial online activism grounded in the theory of monitorial democracy, surveillance culture, and digital activism using eight semi-structured, in-depth interviews with monitoring activists. Our study conceptualized online monitoring activism as a specific form of individual digital activism, which is not directly affiliated with organized protest movements or social movements yet contributes to their existence by furnishing essential information. This information serves a dual purpose: it can contribute to awareness-raising and consciousness-building efforts and inform organized activists' actions. Simultaneously, this form of activism aims to disrupt, if not prevent, opposing social movements by making pragmatic use of the power of visibility but also institutionalized power within an ambivalent framework of general belief in the normative institutionalized order and vigilante self-empowerment facilitated by a vacuum of the same institutionalized power in the web.
Florian Primig is a research associate in the Department of Digitalization and Participation at the Institute for Media and Communication Studies at Free University of Berlin. His research interests include social media phenomena, dis- and misinformation as well as media trust and trust in epistemic authorities.
Julia Lück-Benz is a Research Associate with a focus on teaching at the Division Media Analysis/ Research Methods of the Institute for Media and Communication Studies of Freie Universität Berlin. She earned her PhD at the University of Mannheim, researching the deliberative quality of climate change news in Germany, the United States, and Brazil.
8:30 a.m. EDT | 2:30 p.m. CET
The "Make America Great Again" hat has become a recognizable symbol of 21st-century politics, introduced in the 2016 presidential campaign by Donald J. Trump. The hat has come to represent a floating signifier at the intersection of "woke culture"—the contemporary phenomenon that explores social consciousness and/or awareness, where race, gender, class, and consumer culture intersect. This interdisciplinary study aims to seek wisdom about individual and collective reflections, social practices, and perceptions related to this cultural symbol. The goal is to dissect discourses and beliefs to gain insights into the MAGA hat's cultural and ideological impact on defining citizens' roles and practices in a democracy. We will provide preliminary results from semi-structured interviews of 18–24-year-old college-age students, where themes have begun to emerge. Some findings include the following: 1) respondents associate Trump with economic and international policies; 2) they form their opinions of the hat based on media reports and imagery; 3) they state the outgroup lacks intelligence for wearing the hat; and 4) they politically withdraw when presented with real-life scenarios involving wearers. The study builds upon the limited scholarship exploring the MAGA hat's ideological and material significance.
Lisa D. Lenoir is a critical/cultural media sociologist who studies race, gender, and class. She holds a Ph.D. in media sociology from the University of Missouri-Columbia; an M.S. in International Public Service from DePaul University; and a B.A. in Journalism, with a minor in Graphic Design from Indiana University Bloomington. For 17 years she worked as a professional journalist covering and editing everything from fire to fashion at the Marietta Times (Marietta, Ohio); The Peoria Journal Star; The Indianapolis Star; and the Chicago Sun-Times. She was an instructor at Columbia College Chicago for 14 years and an assistant professor at Stephens College in Missouri teaching fashion communication for seven years. She was a Lillian Kopenhaver Center Fellow in 2017 and won numerous awards as a journalist. Her research uses a critical and cultural paradigm to examine contemporary cultural phenomena in media discourses. Areas of interest include journalism studies; activism; and identity and consumer culture. Her dissertation explored “woke culture” discourses in Essence; O, The Oprah Magazine; and Teen Vogue. At IU she teaches courses in the Media School’s new Fashion Media program.
Bianca Pugliesi is a PR professional with experience in digital strategy, social media campaigns, and monitoring and reporting. Utilizing her background in both strategic communication and merchandising, she takes a well-rounded approach to analysis and problem-solving. She also has a strong background in qualitative research, both in her academic and professional pursuits. She has represented a variety of clients in the fashion, tech, and food industries. Bianca graduated in May 2023 from Indiana University with a degree in Public Relations & Apparel Merchandising.
8:40 a.m. EDT | 2:40 p.m. CET
Conspiracy Theories are often described as a form of cognitive malfunction or a disorder of public discourse. Such conceptions fail to acknowledge the impact of social structures on the ideas of individuals and also ascribe the responsibility for the existence of conspiracy theories solely to individuals. Therefore it seems to be more useful to consider conspiracy theories as outcome of the fundamental structures of the current society. Conspiracy theories can be seen as an expression for a desire of concrete power instead of the invisible and structural powers of modern capitalist societies. Many strategies for dealing with conspiracy theories only declare them as unreasonable without explaining the actual social structures, therefore being apologetic towards such structures. In contrast, this contribution argues for a critical approach towards conspiracy theories as well as the social conditions fertilising them in the first place.
Steffen Göths is a researcher and Ph.D. candidate at the Institute for Media and Communication Studies Freie Universität Berlin. His research interest covers Conspiracy Theories, Public Sphere Theory, Alternative Media, and Critical Communication Studies. He studied Media and Communication Studies as well as Political Sciences in Berlin and Gothenburg.
8:50 a.m. EDT | 2:50 p.m. CET
The distinction between conspiracy theory and entertainment media which discuss it is murky at best. Loose Change: 1st Edition, for example, is an 80-minute 9/11 conspiracy theory bonanza written and produced in 2005 by Korey Rowe and Dylan Avery. Despite its outlandish claims about imposter Bin Ladens and the relative melting temperature of steel beams, the film accumulated more than 10 million views in its first year, becoming one of the first real viral videos. Although few would argue that reading Joseph McElroy’s 9/11 conspiracy novel Cannonball is equivalent to an endorsement of radical conspiracy belief, both the novel and Loose Change exist in the tenuous sphere of conspiracy entertainment. Beginning with Loose Change and moving through a variety of literature (Foucault’s Pendulum, and Joseph McElroy’s Cannonball), films (The Parallax View, Behind the Curve, Plandemic), and podcasts (The Joe Rogan Experience, Knowledge Fight, Behind the Bastards) this paper explores the gamut of conspiracy theory as entertainment to address two primary questions. First, can we draw a distinct line between conspiracy theory and conspiracy entertainment? Second, at what point does the American pop interest in conspiracy theory open into endorsement or actual belief?
Meaghan Murphy is a PhD student in the Department of Comparative Literature at Indiana University. Her dissertation examines the way conspiracy theory complicates the distinction between literature and history in the works of Tacitus, Joseph McElroy, and modern conspiracy theorists. In her spare time, she uses discarded drafts of her dissertation to make recycled paper.
