Viral Buzz: Rumour and Its Disruptions in Pandemic Uncertainty

Abstract

Building on theory and research on rumour dynamics, I examine how the search for and acquisition of information during a time of medical crisis relies on the politics of plausibility and the politics of credibility. In this, I examine how the content and source of information affects the spread of uncertain knowledge during periods of disaster by taking into account the social dynamics of ignorance, a decisive element for fields of knowledge where the public has little ability to judge. The assertion of multiple truth claims about the current pandemic leads to challenges to previously taken-for-granted realities, but also provides potential solutions. Conditions that require an immediate response may differ from those that evolve over a longer period (fast and slow rumours). Making use of rumours about the COVID19 pandemic, I address how epistemic disruption undercuts established norms (disruption-of) but also creates the possibility of desirable change through new negotiations, strengthening community (disruption-for).