Spread of Fake News and Conspiracy Theories Leading to Potential Radicalisation During COVID-19 Pandemic: the Case of Telegram.ee

Abstract

This article focuses on the proliferation of fake news and conspiracy theories during the COVID-19 pandemic, leading to potential radicalisation of (vulnerable) people. Upsurge in both fake news and conspiracy theories can lead to a loss of trust in the government and public/governmental institutions, as well as pose a threat to democracy and the fabric of society. Radicalisation can be viewed as the shifting of a citizen’s loyalty away from the established governing authorities of their country. This process has escalated globally during the pandemic, as many people, in the state of fear and uncertainty, experience moral outrage due to social isolation and economic grievances, choosing to believe simple solutions and discourses of blame offered by conspiracy theories. Estonia is part of the global information space, and COVID-19-related fake news, together with conspiracy theories proliferating around the world, quickly find their way into the Estonian context. One of the channels covering and supporting them in Estonia is the website Telegram.ee. Critical discourse analysis of Telegram texts indicates that Telegram constructs the Estonian government as deeply autocratic and as the absolute enemy of the Estonian people and makes indirect calls for the people to defy it. This can contribute to the possible radicalisation of people, shifting their loyalty away from the Estonian state.