The Edges of a Pandemic: Pseudoscience, Alternative Medicine, and Belief in the Age of COVID

Abstract

The circulation of misinformation, pseudoscience, and conspiracy theories related to the global pandemic caused by the COVID-19 virus are often subjected to a hegemonic categorization that renders those ignoring social distancing recommendations or seeking alternative cures “covidiots.” This text examines the public circulation of those fragments of discourse simultaneously relegated to the edges of the pandemic and made hypervisible through mediated repetition.